A Guide in the Making, Part 2

6/9/21  

Well, I was greeted with the good news that Hudson had gotten his Aplomado Falcon along SR 100 the evening before (and the bird was apparently well-camouflaged, too…), so that was wonderful!  This morning we took off first for Palo Alto Battlefield in hopes of seeing the Lesser Nighthawks I had seen the last time I was there; no Lessers (although we heard Commons), but we did find a female Hooded Oriole next to the building!  We scared a pair of huge Nilgai as we approached the trail, and at least got a better look at a singing Botteri’s Sparrow and a couple of Lark Sparrows!  Hudson picked up the bouncing ball song of the Olive Sparrow, while a Bewick’s Wren also sang unseen.  Circling back around the building an Eastern Cottontail was very friendly, and while the gang was enjoying his antics a huge Indigo Snake slithered across the sidewalk!  (Hudson wanted to play with him, but I told him that’s why they’re endangered:  they do make good pets because they’re so docile!)  But just as one snake disappeared, Paul spotted another one that we all walked right past and never saw:  a coiled up Western Diamondback Rattler!  What was amazing was the fact that we passed so close and he didn’t bother rattling (he did look rather full), but that started a conversation about how some rattlesnakes have quit rattling, and one of the theories was that they’ve learned that (in some places) rattling only attracts a hoe or a shotgun!

Sunrise at Palo Alto Battlefield 

Indigo Snake

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake face-on

"Too much excitement for one morning!"

From there we went to Resaca de la Palma State Park to try and get some of the Valley specialties we would have ordinarily gotten at Sabal Palm.  The main gate was open, so we parked in the lot and started wandering; right away Hudson spotted his first Green Jay!  As usual, birding the lot proved very productive:  we also picked up Altamira Oriole, a fluttering Kiskadee, Couch’s Kingbird, another Long-billed Thrasher, and something I hardly believed myself:  a Pauraque doing a subsong!  We soon heard some jays fussing over by the visitor’s center, so we went over to see if we could find yet another snake J, and saw that the mob included another oriole and a couple of grackles!  (The grackles seemed to be part of the mob, not the cause of it…)  Our approach broke up the party, and about that time the center opened, so we went on in to check in. 

Hudson finds an Altamira Oriole!

Paul and Karen check out a Kiskadee

Long-billed Thrasher

A little later we ran into my friend Alicia, who was gonna drive the tram that morning (which was something Karen especially was interested in)!  We tried a little of the Ebony Trail where Karen and Paul pointed out several flowers (including this stunning Passion Flower), and a nice Brown-crested Flycatcher posed, but we were ultimately driven back by the mosquitoes L.  Heading around the back of the building one of the rangers called our attention to a tarantula she was trying to rescue!  (It was actually trying to get in the building…)  It was really putting on a defensive show, and the ranger thought that maybe it had been traumatized by a Tarantula Hawk Wasp (which we actually had seen earlier), and described the Alien-like way the wasp would lay her eggs inside the tarantula, and the babies would then eat their way out once hatched!

Passion Flower

Tarantula 

By then it was time for the tram ride, and we actually went by way of the mesquite savannah first; a Blue Grosbeak sang unseen while the gang tried to zero in on some kingbirds.  Alicia identified a lot of the trees and plants for us, including a delicate little Salvia flower!  A Bronzed Cowbird had the trail claimed, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos were all over, more so than in previous years, Alicia was saying.  At one point an interesting bug landed on the tram; our first thought was an assassin bug of some kind, but the guys at BugGuide came to the rescue and ID'd it as Mozena lunata, a leaf-footed bug with thus far no English name!  (Shall we make one up?? 😁)  

Salvia

"Luna Leaf-footed Bug" hitching a ride on the tram!

The real treat was going down Hunter’s Lane to the resaca:  three Black-bellied Whistling Ducks posed, and Hudson at least spotted both a Yellow-crowned Night and Green Heron!  Least Grebes were trumpeting unseen from the grass, and I was surprised to hear a Belted Kingfisher, but apparently a few do hang around all summer!  Alicia showed us an Altamira Oriole nest, and interestingly a couple of Tropical Kingbirds fluttered up to that tree and took a strand of material from the oriole nest!  White-tipped Doves were calling all over but never showed, along with a distant Common Ground Dove.  We had been hearing chorusing Chachalacas all morning, but distant, so we were thrilled to see some on the road way ahead of us (with an ani calling next to us), and actually stay put as we pulled alongside them, the male fanning his tail like a little Turkey!  

Karen, Hudson, and Alicia on the Hunter's Trail

Resaca

Looking the other way

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (can you see them in the resaca picture above?)

Altamira Oriole nest

Panting Chachalaca

Catfish proving that they're not always bottom feeders!

Eastern Cottontail

After finishing that up and kissing Alicia goodbye, we paid the gift shop one last visit (Grandma and Grandpa bought Hudson a stuffed Roadrunner, and all of us an ice cream J) then made our way back to the car, with one last Green Jay seeing us off! 

Paul playing with the Roadrunner he bought Hudson (needed a video to appreciate it... 😊)

Green Jay 

A try for the Tamaulipas Crow was next, so we headed over to the Brownsville Dump, where the line going in was almost enough to discourage us!  While we were waiting I heard a Bobwhite and thought I saw it sitting up on a metal post, but it turned out to be a meadowlark… L  But we patiently made it through and went up to the fences, parked, and poked along.  Almost right away I spotted a crow heading away from us over the hill; Paul and Karen got on it before it dipped out of sight, but unfortunately Hudson wasn’t able to, so I was sorely bummed! L  So we kept scanning; we did see a couple of Chihuahuan Ravens on a distant fence, which was also a life bird for Hudson, so that was fun!  After several minutes of searching, it sounded like the folks were ready to throw in the towel (I think lunch was on their minds J), but Paul suggested we walk up the hill where the crow had gone, and Karen agreed that would be our “last-ditch effort”!  The words were hardly out of her mouth when here came the crow!  He landed on the fence right on front of us and “burped” at us, and then his/her mate came wheeling in!  After posing on the fence they went down to a mound of garbage (where the lighting was admittedly better) and gave great looks before finally taking off!  What a show!

Someone got creative and put together a "toytown" landfill!

The gang studies the Chihuahuan Ravens (below) on a distance fence.

Lousy picture, but it shows the diagnostic white basal feathers!

The Tamaulipas Crow pair finally shows up!

Showing the squared-off tail that would rule out the raven...

The crew enjoys the crows (who are behind the fence)! 

Headed home after that with a modest 56 species for the morning, but included some great birds (along with the other great critters)!  Bird list: 

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Plain Chachalaca

Northern Bobwhite

Least Grebe

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Inca Dove

Common Ground Dove

White-tipped Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Groove-billed Ani

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Common Nighthawk

Common Pauraque

Chimney Swift

Killdeer

Laughing Gull

Neotropic Cormorant

Snowy Egret

Cattle Egret

Green Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Belted Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Tropical Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

White-eyed Vireo

Green Jay

Tamaulipas Crow

Chihuahuan Raven

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Carolina Wren

Bewick's Wren

European Starling

Curve-billed Thrasher

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

House Sparrow

Botteri's Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Eastern Meadowlark

Hooded Oriole

Altamira Oriole

Bronzed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Northern Cardinal

Blue Grosbeak

 

A Guide in the Making, Part 1

6/8/21 

At 11 years old, Hudson was already an avid eBirder, so his grandparents brought him down to the Valley from the Hill Country for a couple of days to add to his life list (I ribbed them about really needing more than two days… J)  Since they were staying in a new RV park right next to Old Port Isabel Road in Brownsville, I met them there at 6:30 am, and the plan was to go to Sabal Palm Sanctuary to bag those Valley specialties!  Only we were greeted with an unpleasant surprise:  they implemented new summer hours and were only going to be open Friday through Monday!!  Well, we got a Yellowthroat coming in that we didn’t get anywhere else… L

So we decided to head down Boca Chica Boulevard and see what we could see.  Paul had a Subaru Outback, so I ended up driving, which is really preferable when we’re road-birding as I can pull over suddenly if we have to! J  The only downer was all the Space-X traffic, plus something being constructed at my old Aplomado Falcon pulloff place (which is probably why I haven’t been able to find that nesting platform – they probably removed it in light of the future construction…).  I tried a couple of pulloffs down the road, where a nice male Bronzed Cowbird posed, Hudson spotted a flyover Willet, and an Olive Sparrow finally popped up, but the traffic was still too noisy (although during a lull I heard a Bobwhite), so we ended up focusing on Palmito Hill Road.

Bronzed Cowbird

That was really the best move, as the area was very birdy!  On the poles we had Harris’ Hawks and a Caracara, and a Cassin’s Sparrow sat on a post where Hudson could get a great look!  Further down at the cactus patch we finally got a Cactus Wren to show (the wind was starting to pick up), and a Botteri’s Sparrow sat nicely on a dead snag – but right in the sun (good thing he was singing)! L  Eastern Meadowlarks were all over and fooled us more than once into thinking we had something else!  One of the highlights was a couple of young male Blue Grosbeaks sitting in the open, along with a couple of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers!  Another Olive Sparrow sat silhouetted against the sun, but he was singing as well, and thankfully Paul saw the wing stripes on the two Black-bellied Whistling Ducks that flew by!  But at one point I thought I saw a falcon flying overhead, but it turned out to be something even better so far as eBird was concerned:  a late Mississippi Kite! 

Karen, Paul, and Hudson scan for falcons on Palmito Hill Road

Crested Caracara

Immature male Blue Grosbeak

"Proof shots" of the Mississippi Kite

The banded tail show that it's an immature bird.

After making the sharp left, things began to pick up:  two Long-billed Thrashers sang and eventually showed themselves, and a family of Verdins finally came out (at least one of the members)!  At the end of the road (where the residences are) a Common Ground Dove popped up (also a life bird), and a nice male Hooded Oriole posed, which Paul was thrilled about because that was the mystery bird they had seen at Palo Duro Canyon (and that’s real rare up there)!  But as they were oohing and ahing over that, a Groove-billed Ani went blasting through an opening, which was one of Hudson’s target birds!  So after turning around we parked and waited, and eventually he came right out in front of us, giving great looks!  Hudson then spotted a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in the same tree!  On the way out we had a Curve-billed Thrasher that was rather shy when we got the cameras out, plus a Brown-crested Flycatcher that was fairly cooperative, but a White-tailed Hawk sailing across the road put on a great show!

On the back side of Palmito Hill Road 

Curve-billed Thrasher

Groove-billed Ani

Shy Hooded Oriole 

Not-so-shy Long-billed Thrasher

I wanted to try for some water birds down at the flats, and we at least had a couple of Least Terns and a few egrets (no Reddish this time), but I was really discouraged by all the traffic (we even got stuck behind a big crane poking down the road).  I was gratified when Hudson spotted our Wilson’s Plover down by the old Space-X facility closer to the beach; at least he seems to be pretty consistent!  I was wondering if Paul and Karen were gripping the armrests in the back seat as I four-wheeled it through that rough spot at the end of the road that dumps onto the beach (like driving through snow, I said J), but there was nothing on the beach except for two (count ‘em – two) Laughing Gulls, and since I hadn’t planned on going out there I hadn’t checked the tide tables, so I had no idea if the tide was coming in or out, so after a quick look up and down the beach we turned around, tackled the “snow bank” again, and headed out with a couple of pull-overs on the way out to check for falcons (nada), although we did pick up Black Vulture for the day, and a beautiful Osprey powered across the road just before the checkpoint!  A quick stop at Medford Pond (which had a little water in it after the rains) produced nothing but cowbirds, so we called it a day and headed back to the RV park with a modest 48 species for the morning.  

(And a word of explanation about the title:  Hudson was a natural at describing exactly where the bird was - an absolute "must have" skill as a guide!  Although a laser pointer helps, too... J)

Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Northern Bobwhite

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Common Ground Dove

Mourning Dove

Groove-billed Ani

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Wilson's Plover

Killdeer

Willet

Laughing Gull

Least Tern

Brown Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Mississippi Kite

Harris's Hawk

White-tailed Hawk

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Crested Caracara

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Couch's Kingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

White-eyed Vireo

Verdin

Bewick's Wren

Cactus Wren

European Starling

Curve-billed Thrasher

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

House Sparrow

Botteri's Sparrow

Cassin's Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Eastern Meadowlark

Hooded Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Bronzed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Cardinal

Blue Grosbeak

Birding the Border

6/4/21  

Mary and her hubby from Corpus were back in town, this time for a house-building project in one of the colonias, so while Tom worked on the house, Mary and I did some casual birding along the border!  We were concerned about the forecast as thunderstorms were predicted, but it turned out to be a glorious morning:  We started at Bentsen at dawn, and we could hardly hear ourselves think over the cacophony of bird song (granted, mostly grackles and White-winged Doves J)!  As per usual, we didn’t see a whole lot at first, but a nice male Cardinal sat up and sang for us once we were inside the park proper (we had to bust the balloon of a young first time visitor who thought she could drive in), and while White-tipped Doves were “coke-bottling” left and right, one finally sat up in the open for us!  A little further down was a special treat: a rather ratty-looking Groove-billed Ani on a snag!  Mary spotted a Caracara flying ahead of us being chased by something, and here and there a Green Jay would fly across the road.  A small flock of Neotropic Cormorants flew overhead, but Mary missed the single Laughing Gull…  A couple of Yellow-billed Cuckoos sang here and there, and while trying to pish out a Verdin a Turkey gobbled in the distance! 

White-tipped Dove

"There goes a Green Jay!"

Morning sun on the trees

Ragamuffin Groove-billed Ani 

We spent a few minutes at the resaca but didn’t see much except another ani and a Chachalaca perched high above the trees.  A Golden-fronted Woodpecker showed well, and had a ratty-looking pair of Chachalacas preening each other (I think the big rain last night did everyone in)!  But the star of the show was a brilliant Altamira Oriole sitting up in the open and preening away, putting on a great show!  We also had some kind of Orb Weaver along the road, and heard a Painted Bunting singing way back in the brush near the Nature Center on the way back.  With the sun a little higher the Cave Swallows were now flying around the bridge, so we got some good looks at them.

Best guess by the BugGuide experts was Western Spotted Orbweaver!

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Altamira Oriole

Wind-blown Chachalaca 

From there the plan was to head to the National Butterfly Center next door for feeder birds, but before we even got there a Ringed Kingfisher flew over the car!  Added a singing Eastern Meadowlark out the window, and a fluttering Bronzed Cowbird almost got nailed by an oncoming car, but as we pulled in to the center, we saw the gate to the back gardens was closed, and for good reason:  with all the heavy rains we’ve been having lately, the flooding’s still pretty pronounced, and the road back there was probably impassable!  So we wheeled around and continued to Anzalduas, adding a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher to the list along Old Military Highway!

Anzalduas was quite productive:  on the way in we had a young male Blue Grosbeak singing on the wire (I thought it was a female until he opened his mouth J), a distant Bobwhite let his presence known, and Dickcissels were singing from the fields but just not visible.  A couple of Great Egrets were in the canal next to the levee, and as we crested said levee I was amazed at the amount of water in the “Pipit Field” – I hadn’t seen it that wet since Hurricane Alex when they had to open the floodgates!  We quickly added Coots and a hooting Pied-billed Grebe as we crossed the spillway, and logged two Snowy Egrets in the field along with all the grackles.  Just before the entrance kiosk a Swainson’s Hawk was hightailing it across the road followed closely by a grackle…

Stopping at my normal spot by the Rio Grande, we scanned the river and enjoyed a Four-spotted Pennant, but then got distracted by the dear-dear-dear of a Beardless Tyrannulet!  So we walked over to the boat ramp, but he quit calling (naturally), so we went back and checked out the rest of the river.  From there we crawled over to the dam where we again got out and finally found a Black Phoebe!  Unfortunately the little trail that leads to the window into the river behind the dam was overgrown, but we still enjoyed the Cliff Swallows and their nests, and an Osprey flew by one of the “windows” between the dam structures.  I felt some sharp zings on my feet and thought I had walked through some of those nasty spiky burrs that like to stick to your socks, but in reality I apparently had dislodged a fire ant nest!  The good news was that I was spared having to perform the “Fire Ant Strip-Tease” I’ve heard so much about, because my pants were stuffed into my socks and the ants were all on the outside (but marching up rapidly)!  Mary helped tremendously in swatting the ones I couldn’t see off my pants (“I don’t wanna swat your butt,” says she; “No!!  Swat it!!” says I… J), but I think the fact that I had sprayed that area beforehand helped, and I came out of my first fire ant experience none the worse for wear…

The Rio Grande at Anzalduas County Park

Four-spotted Pennant

Mary ponders her field guide as we enjoy the Cliff Swallow nests on the dam! 

We came down the road by the maintenance buildings looking for House Finches, but instead had a wire-full of fledgling Rough-winged Swallows, one that fluttered his wings and buzzed at another that came up!  They were all dislodged by a Brown-crested Flycatcher (guess he saw the camera and wanted his picture taken, too J)!  After making the turn on that middle road I suddenly heard a WheeK! and pulled over to try for that pesky tyrannulet again!  This time we found him, and he was uncharacteristically cooperative, sitting out in the open and pulling on Spanish Moss!  Then Mary found a second bird, and we strongly suspected they were building a nest!  Mary was thrilled – she said that was the best look she had ever had of that bird! 

Fledgling Rough-winged Swallow (note the gape marks)

Brown-crested Flycatcher that ran him off...

Peek-a-boo Beardless Tyrannulet 

We added a Black-necked Stilt flying over the spillway on the way out, then headed for the next place on the list:  the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse!  As I predicted, we got the Monk Parakeets right along Bridge Street at their nests!  (This was the first nesting site I had seen outside of the “colony” around 5^th and Gardenia…)  A Lesser Nighthawk batting low over the buildings was a nice addition, behaving just like the ones that nest on our roofs at the Inn!  This was a spot Mary had never been to before, and she really liked it; we accessed the walking trail by going around the building (I assumed the gate from the garden area would be locked, and it was) and had a pair of cute little Inca Doves right away!  The deck overlooking the channel was pretty quiet except for a Green Heron and a pair of Brown-crested Flycatchers, plus more fly-by Monk Parakeets.  We then went up on the levee and walked westward, seeing as the trail down below was too muddy, and that turned out to be great; we had a wonderful (albeit brief) look at an Olive Sparrow, and a cute little Mexican Ground Squirrel went scurrying down the road in front of us, tail held high!  We got a glimpse of a White-eyed Vireo, while a Black-crested Titmouse flew into a dead tree and posed briefly with some kind of nut in his beak.  A Verdin called (but wouldn’t show), a Ladder-backed Woodpecker sat out in the open, and a presumed male Black-chinned Hummingbird sat on a twig; we couldn’t get any glint of color (even though we both thought something should be refracting at that angle), but Ruby-throated would have gotten flagged at this late date, and Black-chinned is an expected breeder here.  [Update:  It was - the pictures showed a glint of purple!]  On the way back to the car we added an Eastern Cottontail to the mammal list.

Inca Dove

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Couch's Kingbird

Eastern Cottontail with lunch 

Was time to head home after that with a respectable 64 species for the morning!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Plain Chachalaca

Northern Bobwhite

Wild Turkey

Pied-billed Grebe

Rock Pigeon

Inca Dove

White-tipped Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Groove-billed Ani

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Lesser Nighthawk

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

American Coot

Black-necked Stilt

Killdeer

Laughing Gull

Neotropic Cormorant

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Green Heron

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Swainson's Hawk

Ringed Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Crested Caracara

Monk Parakeet

Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet

Black Phoebe

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Tropical Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

White-eyed Vireo

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Purple Martin

Cliff Swallow

Cave Swallow

European Starling

Curve-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

House Sparrow

Lesser Goldfinch

Olive Sparrow

Eastern Meadowlark

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Bronzed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Cardinal

Blue Grosbeak

Painted Bunting

Dickcissel