Today
Norma, Fran, Deb, and I went on a spur of the moment trip up to Rancho Lomitas,
a native plant nursery and guest ranch out in the boonies north of Rio Grande
City! If you call ahead, Toni (the
owner) will put out food for the birds, as this is about the only truly
reliable spot in the Valley any more for Scaled Quail! (Contact info: https://rancholomitas.com/ ) Since we left from Deb’s house off Monte
Cristo Road in North McAllen, we took the back way through McCook, and saw that
the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers had returned in force along FM 490! We eventually wound up on La Sagunada Road,
which was quite birdy: we heard lots of
Verdins, Bewick’s Wrens, and Pyrrhuloxias, along with at least one Ash-throated
Flycatcher and Black-throated Sparrow.
Once
we got to the ranch we opened the gate and let ourselves in, then rolled down
to where the casitas were (which are very nice: every suite is fully furnished and equipped,
so all you need to do is stock up on groceries in Rio Grande City and you can
easily chill here for a week)! Toni had
put out oranges, seed, and marshmallows (!) for the birds, so after using the
facilities we settled down and waited for the show! The quail had made a brief appearance while
we were lined up to use the bathrooms, but when we came back things quieted
down (except for the Pyrrs and Cardinals coming in at point blank), and Teri was
so apologetic! But as I often declare to
my guests (and they thankfully concur J), I assured her,
“You’re not in charge of the birds!”
Norma and Deb get ready to settle in!
Male Pyrrhuloxia studies the feeder
Check out that crest!
Female
The Scaled Quail sneak in while we're taking a bathroom break!
And
stuff did start trickling in: the
Hooded Oriole dined on the orange to the right, the Altamira whistled and dined
on the suet feeder to the left, and the Audubon’s dined in the middle! The Orange-crowned Warbler favored the
marshmallow, and Green Jays blasted in, grabbed a peanut, and then took off,
while Inca and White-tipped Doves strutted around on the floor. A single White-winged Dove skittishly tried
to land on the bird bath, while a couple of Bronzed Cowbirds joined the other
ground feeders (thankfully the Red-winged Blackbirds weren’t as plentiful here
as in other feeder areas). A couple of
Curve-billed Thrashers ran around in front of us, and the girls were
particularly thrilled with the Cactus Wren that showed off! A Long-billed Thrasher came in to the suet
feeder, and a Black-throated Sparrow was just a little ham as he chewed his
seed on the ground! Even the little
Mexican Ground Squirrel was a hit! But
eventually the Scaled Quail came running in and gave great views, along with a
pair of Bobwhite that snuck in as well!
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Orange-crowned Warbler
Green Jay
Audubon's Oriole
Grabbing a PB ball...
With his nose in the marshmallow...
Hooded Oriole
His face mask is more rounded compared to the Altamira (below)
Notice how the Altamira's orange cheek angles in!
More Altamira Orioles...
Curve-billed Thrasher
Face on...
Pondering a peanut...
Several shots of the very cooperative Cactus Wren
And the stars of the show, the Scaled Quail!
Easy to see why they're nicknamed "Cottontops"!
He's got a different-looking friend behind him...
A Northern Bobwhite!
Bronzed Cowbird
Long-billed Thrasher
Inca Dove
Black-throated Sparrow
Mexican Ground Squirrel (token mammal)
A
Kiskadee spooked everything away, so Toni used the opportunity to show us one
of the casitas, then pulled out the “Bad Boy” (she described it as a souped-up
golf cart) so we could swing down to the pond and see if we could log anything
else for the day! We did spook a
pair of Blue-winged Teal, and Fran (I think it was) spotted an Eastern Phoebe
on some sticks across the way. A mystery
bird drinking on the opposite end struck us as a dove before it flushed; my gut
feeling was a Common Ground Dove, and thankfully we heard one sing as we swung
back around to the main area. We also
saw that the Purple Martins had arrived in force in their two martin houses!
The Purple Martins are back!
Closeup of one of the martin pairs (female left, male right)
Deb holds the gate open for us...
I
actually went too far, and as I was turning around Norma spotted a Roadrunner
sitting up on a rock! Not being able to
help myself J, I started messin’ with him, and he came
right over and practically hopped into the Bad Boy! When he started singing back the girls were
just awestruck! Some felt that was worth
the whole trip!
This Roadrunner came right up to us after I cooed at him!
...and he cooed back!
I
had driven separately to honor the Coronavirus Social Distancing Rule, so at
that point the others headed to Wallace Road before dropping Deb off, and I
continued to scout La Sagunada to its north end terminus as a possible new
road-birding route (including a stop at Rancho Lomitas, of course J)! I really didn’t have time left to “BBS” it,
but it was a lovely drive through the desert scrub, and I ended up picking up
three new birds for the route: a Turkey trying to keep ahead of me, a singing
Cassin’s Sparrow, and a brilliant Vermilion Flycatcher!
"Windshield shot" of the Turkey trying to stay ahead of me...
The north end of La Segunada Road (looking south)
Vermilion Flycatcher
Including
the Great Egret I saw at Deb’s, the Scissortails along 490, the Collared Dove
along the ranch road, and the Cattle Egret back home, I ended up with a modest 44
species for the morning, but the quality couldn’t be beat! Bird list:
Blue-winged
Teal
Northern
BobwhiteScaled Quail
Wild Turkey
Eurasian Collared Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Killdeer
Turkey Vulture
Harris's Hawk
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Purple Martin
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Cassin's Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Hooded Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
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