Tag Team Guiding Part 2

 3/30/21 

With the reappearance of the Yellow-faced Grassquit at Estero Llano Grande, I asked MB if that was something she’d be interested in, and it certainly was, so we changed plans and headed over to the park!  But first I was curious about this so-called “Donna Sod Farms” where a Ferruginous Hawk was reported on eBird, but the location was pinned as being south of the reservoir!  MB was certainly game for that, so we headed over, picking up lots of Bronzed Cowbirds on the fly at the Bit-O-Heaven RV Park! 

Once on Valley View Road we first took a quick look at the reservoir itself, which was pretty empty except for a couple of Coots and a Double-crested Cormorant; Tricolored and Little Blue Herons flew over the road, and a Snowy Egret also made a pass, but those were the most exciting waterbirds (we were hoping for a longshot Eared Grebe).  But the real show was the lineup of swallows on the wires, and also on the road itself:  mostly Barns, but also Rough-winged, Tree, a couple of Banks, and a couple of Cliffs, but we were able to pick out one Cave, which is the one MB wanted to see!  While driving down to the fields an Upland Sandpiper called several times overhead and unseen…

Barn, Tree, and Rough-winged Swallows are visible in this shot!

The ”sod farms” actually looked like baby cane (or corn, or something…), so we turned around and took Business 83 over to International and then down to Estero Llano Grande.  After checking in we scoured Ibis Pond for the Fulvous Whistling Ducks I had heard the day before when my friend Pat and I made a run for the grassquit (dipped that time, too L), but they were nowhere to be found, although all the other regulars were there, including the Cinnamon Teal (the Mexican was probably in there, too, but we couldn’t pick him out).  So we made the circle that would touch on all the ponds in hopes of finding the Fulvous.

Northern Shoveler

A quick survey of Avocet Pond added several Least Grebes, and we were out on the Spoonbill Trail boardwalk when I heard a Red-crowned Parrot cleo-chopping, but when I looked back the bird flying at us was a Caracara, with a White-tailed Kite hot on his tail!  Curlew Pond was empty, and shockingly so was Dowitcher Pond except for another Coot and a pair of Mottled Ducks!  A nice Swainson’s Hawk circled in front of us, however!  Heading over the bridge, we ran into park host Susan Keefer with a hopeful birder, so we headed straight back to the “Fenceline Trail” (which is actually the maintenance road), where birding buddy Huck (another park volunteer) had found a female Lazuli Bunting!  Unfortunately no one else could refind it, although we did spot a couple of Indigo Buntings.  There had been a little more action along this stretch:  the gang had found both Worm-eating and Hooded Warblers, and Susan got a glimpse of the Bell’s Vireo, but I think we only got to see the Hooded and a very confiding White-eyed Vireo.  In the raptor department a Harris’ Hawk sailed over along with a quick-flapping Black Vulture.

The "Fenceline Trail", definitely the road less traveled!

 

Mega-enhanced White-eyed Vireo

We decided to give it a half hour, so when that was up and no grassquit was to be had, we headed into the Camino del Aves area as MB wanted a better look at Verdin.  Coming to the end of the connector trail she saw a flycatcher that looked like a Great Crested to her; having heard one in that same area the day before I wouldn’t have been surprised, but I never got on it, and that started a conversation about Myiarchus ID!  Shortly we did have a bird in the bush which turned out to be a friendly Bewick’s Wren, and a bright chirp did betray the presence of a Verdin, but like most of them, he just didn’t wanna play ball… L  So we dragged ourselves back to the Visitor’s Center, giving Ibis Pond one last looking over (got quite the knock-down drag-out between two Mottled Ducks on video while MB was in the ladies’ room), then heading to the Tropical Zone.

 

Budding Prickly Pear

Blue-winged Teal pair

Two Mottled Ducks having it out...

Final words...

The goal was to find the lady trogon, but we didn’t get far:  we first spent several minutes at the Green Jay Trail Drip, where after waiting patiently two Nashville Warblers came in (along with an Orange-crowned and a White-tipped Dove)!  We took the little “warbler trail” towards the interior of the Zone, and had quite the feeding flock:  three Northern Parulas were buzzing at each other, a nice Blue-headed Vireo came in close, a couple of titmice showed off their cuteness, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler made a brief appearance along with a Black-and-white Warbler.  Carolina Wrens were singing but, as per usual, didn’t show themselves…  A Myiarchus popped up along the trail and gave good looks and photo ops, which looked too pale for Great Crested, so I called it a Brown-crested, and sure enough, after he flew he (or another bird) started calling down the road! 

White-tipped Dove

Northern Parula

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Blue-headed Vireo (also below)

Black-crested Titmouse

Along the main road we looked in vain for the trogon, but did catch a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher drifting overhead while trying to re-find the Brown-crested Flycatcher.  We ran into Ranger Javier (who was showing the Pauraque to some folks), and when MB mentioned wanting to see a Bobcat, he sent us to the trail in back of the blind (not that we’d see one, but once a group he was leading had a mother and her playful kitten back there who paid them no mind)!  Not surprisingly it was dead as a doornail, so we decided to sit in the blind for a while, where there was a bit more action:  in addition to the Red-winged Blackbirds, we eventually had Altamira Oriole, a Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, and one of Tony Henehan’s banded Green Jays!  When another gentleman came in we decided to move on, enjoying Chachalacas back at the visitor’s center.  Marla was gonna sit at the feeder behind the VC while I used the facilities, but a Roseate Spoonbill in Ibis Pond got her back on deck! J 

Immature Altamira Oriole

Buff-bellied Hummingbird showing off his tongue...

Golden-fronted Woodpecker doing the same...

Here's what Tony had to say about this Green Jay:  "I banded this individual July 10, 2020 near Pauraque Hall. At the time, it was a Second Year bird."  The color combination identifies the individual, not necessarily the numbered band!

Roseate Spoonbill with Shoveler

We were debating about going to some additional places, but we were both pretty shot, so decided to call it a day.  But we still had a hard time making it out of there as a strange high-pitched call got my attention at the end of the brick walkway, and when MB described it as something with wing bars and an eyering, I suddenly heard the lower chortle of the second half of the song – it was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet tuning up!  All in all, we managed 79 species, which isn’t bad for a half-day!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Gadwall

Mottled Duck

Green-winged Teal

Plain Chachalaca

Least Grebe

White-tipped Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Chimney Swift

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Common Gallinule

American Coot

Black-necked Stilt

Upland Sandpiper

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

White-faced Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

White-tailed Kite

Harris's Hawk

Swainson's Hawk

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Crested Caracara

American Kestrel

Red-crowned Parrot

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Couch's Kingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

White-eyed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Loggerhead Shrike

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Purple Martin

Tree Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Cave Swallow

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Carolina Wren

Bewick's Wren

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Hooded Oriole

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Bronzed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Black-and-white Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Hooded Warbler

Northern Parula

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Northern Cardinal

Indigo Bunting

Tag Team Guiding - Part 1

 3/23/21 

 [Ed. Note:  This isn't "Part 1" of MB's total Birding Adventure, as she had been out several times with different guides before it was my turn! J]

MB from Chicago was spending several weeks with us (I was impressed with the hammock she put up J) and wanted to see “everything”, so since I was only available one day a week, fellow guide Tiffany Kersten helped put together a team of guides to take her out several days a week, and that worked great! MB was one of those energetic gals who delighted in everything, so even if something wasn’t a “lifer”, it still warranted attention and awe (it’s just that the lifers elicited even more excitement and awe J) !  When we chatted on Monday (trying to figure out an itinerary for the next day), one of the “places to see” on her list was Santa Ana, so seeing as that was right down the road, we decided to head there the next morning.

It was a pleasant 70 degrees when we left, but overcast most of the morning, and even misting pretty good when we got out to Pintail Lakes, but I’m getting ahead of myself – in the parking lot a Couch’s Kingbird was calling along with a buzzing gnatcatcher, and the Starlings serenaded us as we passed through the breezeway.  Things were actually pretty quiet in the woods; about the only things we heard were Cardinals and Carolina Wrens, plus a single American Goldfinch doing his ba-boy call.  Nothing was showing itself in the gloom until we got to Willow Lake, where there were several Coots and a few Blue-winged Teal.  Where the Tower Trail met the tour road a pair of White-tipped Doves strutted across, and Yellow-rumped Warblers chipped from the trees as we made our way out to Pintail Lakes.

Chachalaca Trail nearing Willow Lake

And that’s where all the action was, despite the wet:  we were immediately met by a female Vermilion Flycatcher and an Eastern Phoebe in a scraggly tree, and the first pond we came to was loaded with Coots, Shovelers, Gadwall, all three teal, Black-necked Stilts, Least Sandpipers, and Common Gallinules!  On the far side of the pond was MB's target, the Least Grebe, so we ended up cutting over to the main trail where she could get a closer look, and there turned out to be several more Least Grebes in the next pond over – one was even gathering nesting material!  In amongst them was a female Ruddy Duck, which was another lifer!  Across the way a Tropical Kingbird tittered, which she had already seen in New England of all places!

Least Grebe with nesting material

Northern Shoveler

Least Sandpipers

Dragging ourselves away from there we headed towards the end of the trail where I was hoping to find the specialty kingfishers.  Instead we spooked up a flock of sparrows, which included a couple of Larks (another lifer), some Savannahs, and some Lincoln’s.  At the end of the trail several Rough-winged Swallows sat on dead twigs, but this other spindly tree in the middle of one of the lakes also had a couple of Tree Swallows, a Cliff, a Bank, and a Barn as well!  Both White and White-faced Ibis sailed in to join all three egrets, and on some deadwood a female Anhinga posed with a Neotropic Cormorant and another Cattle Egret.  Some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks wheeled in as well as we continued around the back side of the lake towards the Rio Grande.  At that point I heard the machine-gunning of a Ringed Kingfisher, and before long he flew over the treetops! 

 

L-R:  Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Cattle Egret

Swallow Tree with five species of swallows (Tree, Cliff, Bank, Barn, and Rough-winged)!  

Can you find them all?

Northern Rough-winged Swallows

Great Egret

We couldn’t find a Green Kingfisher at the overlook (although a Long-billed Thrasher was singing), so we headed back to the main trail, waving to a couple of Border Patrol agents that came driving up (we wondered if we set off a sensor by being back there J)!  After encouraging them to find a Green Kingfisher for us J we poked along, enjoying a beautiful Osprey overhead which inspired a story about the Bald Eagle nest MB monitors back home!  Back at Pintail Lakes, we spotted a Pied-billed Grebe getting his pied bill, as well as a Snipe that kept flushing and hiding!  But as we approached the bench where the Lark Sparrows had been before, up popped a Grasshopper Sparrow, and he just put on a great show!  That was another life bird MB had been wishing for!  A Greater Yellowlegs flew past, and on the way to the cutoff a nice Long-billed Dowitcher did his sewing-machine feeding behavior close to shore!

 

Rio Grande

Grasshopper Sparrow (also below)

Long-billed Dowitcher

Retama

We were starting to drag as we made our way along the cutoff, trying to nail down a Verdin and a White-eyed Vireo (that one wasn’t critical as she had seen one close enough to “see its eyelashes,” at least briefly) but then MB spotted a hawk above us; what she saw was pretty low, but what I saw in the gap was a huge kettle of Broad-winged Hawks way up high!  (That happened to be her low one as well…)  What a show!  A Swainson’s Hawk drifted by lower down where we could get a good look at his wing pattern.  The same Border Patrol pair wheeled by (they hadn’t found a Green Kingfisher J), and up on the main road we also spotted a harrier before almost getting run over by a maintenance guy! J

 

Small part of the Broad-winged Hawk kettle

Swainson's Hawk

Our morning was up, but MB wanted to grab her point-and-shoot (she had been lugging a nice Nikon with a long lens) so she could photograph some mystery plants and just take her time enjoying the place.  We had driven separately due to COVID, so I headed on home, having logged a respectable 68 species for the morning!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Gadwall

Mottled Duck

Green-winged Teal

Ruddy Duck

Least Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

White-tipped Dove

Mourning Dove

Common Gallinule

American Coot

Black-necked Stilt

Killdeer

Least Sandpiper

Long-billed Dowitcher

Wilson's Snipe

Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Anhinga

Neotropic Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Cattle Egret

White Ibis

White-faced Ibis

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Northern Harrier

Broad-winged Hawk

Swainson's Hawk

Ringed Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Eastern Phoebe

Vermilion Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Tropical Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird

White-eyed Vireo

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Tree Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Carolina Wren

European Starling

Long-billed Thrasher

American Goldfinch

Grasshopper Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Northern Cardinal

 

Trying Out Texas

3/19/21 

Rich and Mary were fellow southern Californians, here to give South Texas a try after visiting Southeast Arizona for so many years!  As a result, almost everything was new (except for our “western” birds and a few eastern backyard birds at their daughter’s place in Tennessee)!  We started at Estero Llano Grande State Park where a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and several Orange-crowned Warblers greeted us in the parking lot.  Their first Golden-fronted Woodpecker was attached to a power pole near the brick walk, while a Long-billed Thrasher faaaad from the undergrowth and actually gave decent views!  The other shocker was an Olive Sparrow that hopped by practically at our feet – boy, was I glad to get that one under their belt!

Visibility from the deck wasn’t the greatest, of course, first thing in the morning (as it would turn out to be a beautiful, sunny day), so we headed for the boardwalk, but not before bagging their first Chachalacas at the “restroom” feeders!  Purple Martins were back in force, and out on the boardwalk the main players were Shovelers, Mottled Ducks, and a few Blue-winged Teal, but a flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks came sailing in, which was very exciting for them!  Two Soras whinnied, but only one gave us a brief butt shot…  Kiskadees played on a dead log in the water, along with several Red-winged Blackbirds.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, along with Mottled Ducks and a single Shoveler in the foreground.

Mottled Ducks

From there we headed towards Alligator Lake, making a quick stop at Dowitcher Pond to see what was there.  A pair of Avocets was nice (one coming into breeding plumage) and we enjoyed their antics as they chased around a Black-necked Stilt!  The same set of ducks were joined by two male Cinnamon Teal, plus Coots and some wheeling Least Sandpipers.

Grebe Marsh actually had a little pod of Least Grebes, but no kingfishers L.  A couple of Common Gallinules were new for the day list, however.  A Harrier flew by close (sending a few things scattering), and a Couch’s Kingbird pupped and finally showed himself; a little later a pair of Tropical Kingbird tittered near the same place!  It looked as though most of the night herons had fled Alligator Lake, as we only spotted three Yellow-crowned Nighties (although that’s the rare one in southern California).  A close Neotropic Cormorant gave us a good view of its gular pouch, but sadly we couldn’t local the Pauraque or the McCall’s Screech Owl (which is par for the course once they start breeding).  

Least Grebes

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Rich and Mary view a close night heron

We made a brief scan at the big overlook, and not finding anything (even an alligator) we headed back to the visitor’s center, picking up some Long-billed Dowitchers in their namesake pond on the way.  A quick second look at Ibis Pond added its namesake White Ibis (we had seen White-faced earlier), and while I was in the restroom Mary got her first Altamira Oriole and a Black-chinned Hummingbird at the feeder!  As we were checking in Mary noticed that a Roseate Spoonbill had been seen, which I knew was hit or miss, but a quick look at Avocet Pond across the way bagged the spoonbill!

Dowitcher Pond

Shoveler

Purple Martins (and House Sparrows) at the apartments!

Black-bellied Whistling Duck thinking about jumping up on the feeder...

After that we headed to the Tropical Zone.  At the foot of the brick walk a White-eyed Vireo was singing, which would have been another lifer, so I cringed and started looking (they can be tough to pull out), but lo and behold this guy came right out in the open (albeit briefly)!  He was chasing another bird, which frankly made it easier…

White-eyed Vireo 

We then headed to Steve and Sue’s (the park hosts) feeders!  At the time we were the only visitors, but were immediately treated to several Altamira Orioles and the female Hooded Oriole (the male came in later)!  A pair of Golden-fronted Woodpeckers came in, along with a pair of Ladder-backed, and eventually a Buff-bellied Hummingbird visited his own feeder.  The Clay-colored Thrush put on a very good show, and several Lincoln’s Sparrows bounced around, but unfortunately almost immediately after Rich left to use the restroom, the Audubon’s Oriole came in! L  (Mary and I made a pledge not to break the news to him when he returned… J)  While Rich was gone birding buddy Huck showed up, who volunteers a lot at the park, shortly to be joined by Ranger John, and even Steve!  When Rich returned Mary caved and told him about the Audubon’s J, but thankfully he came back several times and Rich was able to get his pictures!

Hooded Oriole

Audubon's Oriole

Clay-colored Thrush

Huck had offered to show us where two staked out screech owls were, so we followed him back into the Zone, and had he not pointed this thing out way up in the tree I never would have found him!  But we explained how this was a good bird to put in the “bank” as it might be split off from Eastern Screech in the future!  He showed us the second stake-out, but he wasn’t home…  He then showed us the general area where the lady trogon had been hanging out, then tried to spot the “other” Pauraque in its well-guarded patch, but we couldn’t find him, either… L 

 
Huck confers with another birder while we wander on

After that he left us to explore on our own, so we and another couple wandered back behind Ben Basham’s old trailer, not finding much of anything, really, so we meandered over to the Indigo Blind.  Giving that spot 15 minutes finally bagged us a White-tipped Dove, and the Carolina Wrens were coming in to one of the grapefruit feeders!  Rich was finally able to get a picture of a Green Jay (we had had fleeting looks all morning), and titmice would light but be off in a flash.  The Buffbellies rattled but never came in to the feeder…

A special app correctly ID's a mystery plant as an Anacua!

Great Kiskadee

Lincoln's Sparrow

About that time a lady came in with her doggie and announced that she had seen the trogon!  So we all hightailed it over to the area to which she directed us (which was right where Huck had told us she was hanging out), but couldn’t find a thing.  We then saw three other birders, one of whom was Sue the Park Host, and they had just glimpsed the bird, who flew off to the other side of the patch!  Rich decided to take that back road (might have been Kingbird Trail – I get all confused back there) while Mary and I stayed on the main road.  I shortly got a phone call from Rich saying he had the bird!  But she had flown back towards us, and when Rich finally caught up with us, we got a decent view of her shooting from the tree she had been and into another tree, where we lost her totally.  Rich had gotten a decent “dorsal” photograph, however, and since they had seen trogons in Arizona before, the quick look was good enough for Mary!

Female Elegant Trogon (Photo © 2021 Richard Castillon)

After taking a second look at the screech owl (he was actually in a better position) we decided to head to Quinta Mazatlan, taking the back way to avoid the construction on I-2.  Heading south on FM 1015 we had a lovely White-tailed Kite hovering over the spillway!  Once on US 281, we made a quick stop to check the Burrowing Owl’s standpipe, but he wasn’t there and had presumably headed back north.  When we got to Quinta, the parking lot was stuffed, and they were actually taking payment in the little “private office” there just past the gate; we asked if an event was going on, and in addition to Spring Breakers, they were having a special kid’s book event (it had to do with a Dr. Seuss book, as they had kid-sized pages from the book all along the trails), so needless to say the place was packed!  We managed good looks at a Curve-billed Thrasher (another potential split from the one in Arizona), but the trails were so crowded that we decided to sit at the amphitheater feeders for 15 and then head on.  I unfortunately had to play the “mean ol’ lady” by asking a bunch of kids who were having a big time to come out of the feeder area! L  We bumped into Ryan who had seen the Dusky-capped Flycatcher earlier, but he was nowhere to be found now (the flycatcher, not Ryan)…  Otherwise (after the kids vacated the feeders) we enjoyed Chachalacas, Inca and White-winged Doves, and of course lots of House Sparrows, but nothing unusual came in.

"McCall's" Screech Owl

Rich enjoying a thrasher at Quinta Mazatlan

 
Inca Doves

Joined by two larger White-winged Doves

Curve-billed Thrasher

After checking out the mansion (read: restrooms) we headed to Bannworth Park in Mission for a shot at the Fulvous Whistling Duck.  The park wasn’t nearly as packed (with birds or people) as I’ve seen in the past, but there were still lots of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, a couple of stilts, some Double-crested Cormorants, a nice golden-slippered Snowy Egret, and plenty of domestic-type waterfowl.  (The Soft-shelled Turtles and Red-eared Sliders plastering the entire far shore were pretty amazing as well!)  We almost got ready to leave when I decided to walk up to the bank to get some pictures, and there was the Fulvous, peeking his head up!  They all meandered out into the water of course, but what a way to get a life bird!

Rich and Mary at Bannworth Park

Red-eared Sliders and Softshell Turtles hauled out on the opposite bank

Black-necked Stilts

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

The target:  Fulvous Whistling Duck!

 

We still had some time, so consulting Bird’s Eye, Mary said she’d really like to see a Caracara, so the closest spot where one was seen recently was Anzalduas County Park, so down we went!  Thankfully it was open (I warned then that sometimes they close it if there’s “activity” across the border), and they were duly impressed with the Rio Grande and the humble little park across in Mexico!  We added Pied-billed Grebe on the fly, and since Mary and Rich were game to try for Sprague’s Pipit, we hiked across the field but with nothing to show for it except three presumed Western Meadowlarks.  Over in the river was the requisite raft of coots and Lesser Scaup, plus a complaining Osprey on a dead tree.  A flock of Gadwall wheeled in while we were there, which was nice, and a pair of Laughing Gulls was another lifer for Rich and Mary (they even laughed a little for us)!

I play the Sprague's Pipit flight call so Mary will know what to listen for!  

(Photo © 2021 Richard Castillon)

Laughing Gulls

Continuing on,  Rich spotted a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on a fence wire (they said people are always mistaking their feral Pin-tailed Whydahs for Scissortails)!  We stopped at the “corner” and checked the river again, only adding a Least Grebe to the birds already seen.  Crawling along we added Loggerhead Shrike and Kestrel to the list, and even stopped to try for the Rock Wren at the dam; he was a no-show, but we at least picked up Rough-winged and Cliff Swallows.  But the best bird was in a dead tree on the other side of the levee:  an adult Gray Hawk!

Loggerhead Shrike

Gray Hawk

Blue-winged Teal

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Nothing else popped up except a little mob of Cardinals under a picnic table, but after some consultation on where to bird the remainder of their week here, we headed home the back way, with a total of 75 species for the day!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Gadwall

Mottled Duck

Lesser Scaup

Plain Chachalaca

Least Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

Rock Pigeon

Inca Dove

White-tipped Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Sora

Common Gallinule

American Coot

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

Killdeer

Least Sandpiper

Long-billed Dowitcher

Laughing Gull

Neotropic Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Snowy Egret

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

White Ibis

White-faced Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

White-tailed Kite

Northern Harrier

Gray Hawk

Eastern Screech-Owl

Elegant Trogon

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

American Kestrel

Great Kiskadee

Tropical Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

White-eyed Vireo

Loggerhead Shrike

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Purple Martin

Cliff Swallow

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Carolina Wren

European Starling

Curve-billed Thrasher

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Western Meadowlark

Hooded Oriole

Altamira Oriole

Audubon's Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Cardinal