The Crew from Cook County, Day 3

 1/15/22 

The original plan was to hit South Padre Island today, but with a Gale Warning out for that area, Michael Marsden was very happy to take them out there on his guiding day tomorrow, and we would make today the “chase day”, even though I warned the crew first thing – don’t expect anything in this wind! L

Between missed birds from the first two days and additional “want” birds that I was able to weasel out of them, I whipped up a tentative itinerary starting at UTRGV Brownsville for the Social Flycatcher.  Once piled out of the van, we zeroed in on the resaca next to the bookstore; the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were all huddled on a concrete “island” across the way (along with a token White Ibis), and of course there were plenty of feral Muscovies around, most of which actually had “wild” plumage, so that was fun to study.  One Neotropic Cormorant conveniently posed next to two Double-crested, but the star of that stop was the Black Phoebe that peeped and flopped in, posing very nicely on a stalk near the water!

Perusing one of the resacas at the UTRGV Brownsville campus 

Black Phoebe

From there we walked over to the land bridge, and thankfully there were a few other people already there, but the bad news was that they had just seen the Social, and it flew across the resaca! L  Rather than go running around to the other side, we opted to stay put and see if it would come back, as that apparently was a common pattern.  In the meantime we enjoyed a male Anhinga, a stately Great Blue Heron, and a White Pelican in the main resaca.  After about 15 minutes we also walked the edge of the resaca habitat (the original group came back and hadn’t seen it), hoping to at least hear the thing.  I thought I was hearing a Wilson’s Warbler, but the wind was so bad it was hard to make out much of anything.  From the bridge we had another Great Blue and a Great Egret, and way on the east end was a diving duck that looked like a female Ring-necked Duck, at least as best as I could make out (my scope took a nasty spill there as well, knocked over by the wind).  Kerry spotted a Belted Kingfisher, so I got my scope on him to make sure it still worked… L  We swung back around to the land bridge, where a couple of guys had at least heard the Social, so we gave it five more minutes, but all we heard were chattering Green Jays.

Hunt for the Social Flycatcher 

Great Blue Heron

Anhinga

From there we headed to the Progresso area, as Long-billed Curlews, Sprague’s Pipit, and Burrowing Owl were on the wish list.  The water had dried up at the Rio Rico Sod Farms, so we headed on in to the new development along Esperanza (still known as the Progresso Sod Farms in eBird), where we ran into fellow guide Jim Danzenbaker coming out!  He had seen a Say’s Phoebe near the end of the road, but also the curlews along the last connector road, so we thanked him profusely and Carrie proceeded to crawl along the road while we scoured the fencelines and open areas.  A couple of Western Meadowlarks flew along (with a Starling right behind them, giving a great comparison of their similar wingbeats), but that was about all the birdlife we had along that stretch.  At the end of the road a shrike posed, and an Eastern Meadowlark exploded from the grass, showing the quail-like wingbeat pattern.  A flopping Mockingbird got everyone excited for a minute J, but then on the connector road we found the curlews, all huddled down – they would have been very easy to miss if you hadn’t been looking for them!  We headed out on Hernandez, hoping the phoebe maybe headed over that direction, but got a couple of Cattle Egrets instead (there was white garbage in the yard they were in, and one of us almost wrote them off as just another piece of garbage J)!  We took a quick look at the standpipe where the Burrowing Owl was wintering, but he was apparently hunkered down (don’t blame him in that wind), so we headed on to Weslaco. 

Long-billed Curlews

After a great lunch at Nana’s, we tootled over to Valley Nature Center in hopes of bagging the Golden-crowned Warbler!  We headed in, bypassing the family that was enthralled with the turtles on the bridge J, and headed straight to the Butterfly Trail, treading quietly and listening for its distinctive tick.  When we got to the paved walkway we encountered three other guys also looking for the bird, but they had heard it (right around the same area I had it last time), so we all surrounded the area.  Eventually I heard the thing like two feet in front of me, deep in this thick bush, and some of the guys literally got on the ground to try and see it!  Suddenly he really started ticking, then hopped up into the open, right in front of Kerry and those who happened to be next to him!  He told Diane that she’d probably have the best shot of it based on where she was sitting, and sure enough, she got the documentation photo! J

The gang on the bridge at Valley Nature Center

Zeroing in on the Golden-crowned Warbler (below)

(Photo ©2022 by Diane Hansen)

Most everyone at least got a “naked eye” view, so we continued on as we still needed to nail down that pesky White-tipped Dove for those who hadn’t seen the one blasting through at Rancho Lomitas!  Chachalacas fooled us a couple of times, and some Inca Doves startled some of the folks, but finally Diane spotted one crossing the road, and when it took off and flew back across the road, everyone but John saw it, so we pushed him to the front while we tried to refind it.  It did do its coke-bottle coo for us, so we zigzagged trying to track down the thing until we finally flushed one for John! 

Chachalaca

Sleepy Inca Dove

We didn’t have time to go to either Anzalduas (which was thankfully open again) or Laguna Seca Road, so we opted for a return trip to Estero to try for the Hooded Oriole, since some had missed the female at the blind on our first trip.  John had a distant falcon in the parking lot that none of us could get on that he assumed was a Merlin (hold that thought).  At the VC I padded the list with the whistler mob off the deck, along with a female Blue-winged Teal, before heading back to the camp host area.  I had sent the crew back there while Carrie and I got everyone checked in, but when I showed up at the park host feeders, Park Host Susan, volunteer Huck, and another gentlemen were there, but no crew!  Come to find out one of the group had convinced the others to go back to the Indigo Blind where we had the bird two days ago, but when I told Kerry over the phone that Huck had the bird here five minutes ago, he wasn’t too happy! L So they schlepped back over, and we took up watch for about a half hour, enjoying several Clay-colored Thrushes, Orange-crowned Warblers, a Kiskadee, a Long-billed Thrasher, and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker that came in.  Huck and the guys erupted behind us, so we followed suit thinking they had the oriole, but they had actually spotted a Peregrine going over!  None of us saw it, but I suggested to John that maybe that’s what he saw, as his bird was so distant he really couldn’t pin down the ID for sure!  Some of the crew decided to go to the deck and shoot the ducks (with the camera J), but they weren’t gone too long before Susan saw the oriole out her camper window at the other feeders and alerted us, so I called Kerry who got the wanderers back post haste, only the bird was gone even before we scrambled over there!  L  The Altamira Oriole was a nice consolation prize, however!  As Susan and I chatted an Olive Sparrow lisped from the foliage. 

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Clay-colored Thrush

We really had to get home after that, so we dragged ourselves back to the van and headed towards Alamo, but not before taking a detour to marvel at the Bronzed Cowbird flock that carpeted the lawn off Tower Road!

On the way back to Alamo, we stop to enjoy a carpet of Bronzed Cowbirds (below)!

Good-bye shot (with Carrie and Kerry in the middle)

We had a meager 45 species for the day, but with that horrendous wind, I’m amazed we saw what we did!  [Oh, and as a happy ending update, Kerry reported that they returned to Brownsville on their South Padre Island day with Michael, and bagged the Social Flycatcher!]

Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

Plain Chachalaca

Rock Pigeon

Inca Dove

White-tipped Dove

Mourning Dove

Long-billed Curlew

Anhinga

Double-crested Cormorant

Neotropic Cormorant

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Cattle Egret

White Ibis

Turkey Vulture

Belted Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

American Kestrel

Peregrine Falcon

Black Phoebe

Great Kiskadee

Loggerhead Shrike

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

European Starling

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Western Meadowlark

Eastern Meadowlark

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Bronzed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Golden-crowned Warbler

Northern Cardinal

The Crew from Cook County, Part 2

1/14/22 

Today was the big excursion to Salineno, so we left early and decided to take the long way around in order to avoid all that construction work on I-2 (including coming in to La Joya)!  Carrie’s plan was to go up to Trenton and over, which I realized was a great idea as I would often get the Green Parakeets that hung around the HEB there in the morning!  Not today, though, so I suggested we take 10^th up to SR 107 as they sometimes staged along that area as well.  This time we hit pay dirt, as we first heard a flock screeching by, then found a mass of them on the wires!  We found a parking spot so that people could get pictures; that was definitely an unexpected blessing!

Enjoying the Green Parakeets (below) along 10th Street

 

We made it up to Salineno without incident (Carrie, John, and Elizabeth entertained those within earshot with a “pun-off” that lasted all day on and off J), where Carrie parked the van in the Valley Land Fund parking lot, and with scopes in hand we trucked down to the Rio Grande.  Right away a Ringed Kingfisher flew overhead, making his cracking flight call, and on the river we had good comparative views of a Neotropic Cormorant next to two Doublecrests.  Someone spotted a Spotted Sandpiper on the bar, and at some point the Least Sandpiper flock went wheeling past. 

There were some ducks way upriver (Pintail were the only identifiable ones at that distance), so we headed up the rather quiet (except for a calling Greater Yellowlegs) trail to the cul-de-sac, where the ducks spooked, but we were at least able to nail down Blue-winged Teal and Mottled Ducks.  The Osprey pair was chasing each other, and the Vermilion Flycatcher was still performing from his tree across the way!  The dead snag hosted a Merlin, but I had just gotten the scope on it when I heard a suspicious and somewhat Song Sparrow-like bark, and a little pishing betrayed the presence of the coveted Morelet’s Seedeater!  She miraculously came right to the top of a stalk next to us (eating seeds, someone pointed out J), and actually stayed put for a while, giving everyone great views!  By the time she decided she had had enough attention and said her farewells, the snag had become host to a pair of rattling Caracaras along with a Black Vulture companion.  On the way back someone near the end of the line spotted some flying ducks that had the tell-tale white borders to the speculums, nailing them as Mexicans (or at least something with Mallard blood in them…).

Checking out the Rio Grande at the end of the "Seedeater Trail"

Female Morelet's Seedeater

Vermilion Flycatcher

Crested Caracaras (before the Black Vulture showed up) 

Sadly, we didn’t even hear any Audubon’s Orioles along the trail, and Merle reported that they hadn’t been coming to the feeders, but we at least enjoyed the regulars, with the highlights being the Green Jays, Kiskadees, sunning Chachalacas, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Long-billed Thrasher, a shy Clay-colored Thrush, knock-out Altamira Orioles, and a female Ladder-backed Woodpecker that stayed put even when the Sharp-shinned Hawk came blasting through!  (The Bewick’s Wren was content to sing but didn’t come in…)  From there we made a stop at Subway in Roma and took our sandwiches to Bicentennial Plaza, then headed over to Rancho Lomitas in Rio Grande City.

Feeding stations 

Long-billed Thrasher

Great Kiskadee

Clay-colored Thrush

Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Altamira Oriole

Sunning Chachalaca

Orange-crowned Warbler

Green Jay

Young Sharp-shinned Hawk that broke up the party...

Gulf Fritillary (token butter)

Lunch break at Bicentennial Plaza in Roma

This is the place to get Scaled Quail in the Valley, but one must make prior arrangement with Toni Trevino so she can prepare the feeders!  It was also our last best chance at getting the Audubon’s Oriole, as they were a no-show at Salineno.  L  Today Anna greeted us and encouraged us to split up between the casita feeders and the feeders at Jim’s (the resident naturalist) trailer; I stayed at the casitas with Kerry and a handful of others, where once the humans got settled J the Scaled Quail eventually came in to our feet at Anna’s prompting!  Other expected suspects showed up (including a titmouse that grabbed a peanut almost as big as he was), but before long Kerry spotted the Audubon’s, which eventually came down to the feeders!  What a look!  A White-tipped Dove gave a fleeting but identifiable glimpse as he blasted across the courtyard. 

A Red Admiral poses on one of the inspirational signs

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

A Black-crested Titmouse makes off with a peanut

Audubon's Oriole

The Scaled Quail start off hiding in the bushes...

...then end up literally at our feet!

Why some people call them "coneheads"...

Before long we really had to get going, but just as we were pulling out to pick up the gang that had gone to Jim’s, Anna called us back – the Roadrunner came out!  So we all piled out and got great looks and pictures; even Carrie was able to walk right up to him for an iPhone video! 

Their resident Roadrunner hides in the shadows..

...then creeps out into the open! 

After that we picked up the rest of the gang (who thankfully had also seen the Audubon’s)  and came home by way of FM 490 and McCook, where we were able to pick up a Krider’s Red-tailed Hawk and a better look at a White-tailed Hawk!  We ended the day with 59 species (and one subspecies counting the Krider’s), which is about right for the deserts of Starr County!  Bird list:

Blue-winged Teal

Mexican Duck

Mottled Duck

Northern Pintail

Plain Chachalaca

Scaled Quail

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Inca Dove

White-tipped Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Greater Roadrunner

Least Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Double-crested Cormorant

Neotropic Cormorant

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Cattle Egret

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Harris's Hawk

White-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Ringed Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Crested Caracara

American Kestrel

Merlin

Green Parakeet

Vermilion Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Loggerhead Shrike

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Bewick's Wren

European Starling

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Altamira Oriole

Audubon's Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Northern Cardinal

Morelet's Seedeater

The Crew from Cook County, Part 1

1/13/22  

Kerry was the leader of a great group from Lake/Cook County Audubon (Chicago area), so we met at the Historic Building with a big van that Keith’s stepdaughter Carrie would drive for us (and being a knowledgeable historian, she kept everyone entertained regarding the area’s history as well along the drive)!  Our first destination was (of course) Estero Llano Grande for the mix of Valley and water birds, and right away at the “Brick Walkway Feeder” a lone Long-billed Thrasher was jockeying for position amongst the White-winged Doves!  The gang was duly impressed by the mob of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks right off the deck, Chachalacas on the side, and their first Kiskadee that showed off near the “Restroom Feeders”!  We eventually made our way to the boardwalk to view Ibis Pond in better light (the line of whistlers lining the boardwalk was still there), and got nice looks at Shovelers, Blue-winged Teal, and Mottled Duck, along with Least and Pied-billed Grebes.  A Common Gallinule provided comedy relief as he appeared to fend off several whistlers from his stem!  Avocet Pond was in terrible light, but thankfully the Fulvous Whistling Duck actually called and then flew almost right over our heads before circling back to land! 

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks guard the boardwalk

Least Grebe

Common Gallinule

On the way back to the main trail an Eastern Phoebe flopped over to the top of a tree, and plenty of Common Yellowthroats called from the marsh.  I discovered that some of the group were also into butterflies, so I pointed out a sunning Queen next to the trail.  At Dowitcher Pond one of the gals saw a Sora run across an opening (we had heard one earlier), and Kerry spotted a sharp-looking male Pintail dabbling.  The gang was thrilled with the Anhinga posing at Grebe Marsh, while a Verdin called from an inaccessible area (most had seen one in Arizona, so that didn’t get their juices going like it does some visitors J).  The Green Kingfisher was another story, however, and it didn’t help that she was giving us very limited views from within the sticks!  A few White Pelicans sailed over the levee, and the requisite night herons showed well at Alligator Lake.  After briefing the group on what to look for regarding the Pauraque, I was sweating finding this thing when Linda spotted it (even so, it took a while for some to get on it)! 

The gang enjoys a young Anhinga (below) at Grebe Marsh

Pointing out the cryptic Pauraque (below) to the rest of the group!

We continued to the big overlook in hopes of the Ringed Kingfisher, but Kerry (I think) spotted a Belted instead, and another Green Kingfisher went darting back and forth and giving us fits!  A Bewick’s Wren sang across the way (someone remarked how similar it sounded to a Song Sparrow) and a White Peacock sunned on the grass just below the deck for the butterfly fans!  A Tricolored Heron flew by, while a very distant hawk turned out to be a young White-tailed (definitely a BVD – “Better View Desired” – bird).  A Harrier was more cooperative, and on the way out a Giant White (a rare but regular Valley specialty butter) showed well, along with a pair of Altamira Orioles!  

On the way to the Big Overlook

Northern Harrier (note the owl-like face)

White Peacock

Belted Kingfisher

Giant White

Altamira Oriole

On the way back to the VC we ran into a friend of theirs from the Chicago area who was here chasing rarities, so his report about the Golden-crowned Warbler at Valley Nature Center got them all excited (we’d save that one for the Chase Day)!  The requisite White Ibis was back at Ibis Pond, and from there we headed to the Tropical Zone to try for “Pam in the Palm” who had moved to the owl box! J  Thankfully she was there, so everyone got great looks (I advised them to put this one “in the bank” as our “McCall’s” Screech Owl is a candidate for a split from Eastern).

The gang enjoys the McCall's Screech Owl (below) 

The Indigo Blind was hopping, as park volunteer Brian had just put the food out!  Of course the usual Green Jays, Kiskadees, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, and titmice were hits, but what really caused excitement was the Olive Sparrow that came out into the open!  A Carolina Wren showed briefly, and a female Archolichus type hummingbird sitting at the feeder showed enough of a blobby outer primary and longish bill for me to comfortably call it a Black-chinned.  But the real prize was the female Hooded Oriole that came to the PB log!

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Female Hooded Oriole

Olive Sparrow

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird 

We had to scoot to have lunch and then hit Quinta Mazatlan, but park volunteer (there’s a lot of ‘em J) Tom Unsinger talked us into visiting Park Hosts Susan and Steve’s feeders as a young male Hooded Oriole would often come in, and not everyone had gotten on the one at the blind.  We gave it about five minutes which yielded a closeup look at an Orange-crowned Warbler, and another specialty butter, a Mexican Bluewing, sunning on one of the fold-up chairs!  Out in the parking lot a young Harris’ Hawk posed on a pole, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher bounced around. 

Mexican Bluewing

Carrie suggested we dine at Burger Ranch, a restaurant right there on International Boulevard that served huge homemade burgers (as well as other stuff), which was great, as you could eat outdoors, and the food was really wonderful (and I had never heard of the place)!  From there we went straight to Quinta Mazatlan, and right when we all piled out of the van a couple of Gray Hawks called and wheeled overhead!  That was (almost) the highlight of the day for many!  Diane spotted a Curve-billed Thrasher in the parking lot, and as we went to check in a Buff-bellied Hummingbird rattled and darted amongst the Turk’s Cap outside of the mansion.  While enjoying that we ran into my friend Tamie, Father Tom, and Sara, who said they had the grosbeak a half hour before!  So we checked in post haste, checked the spot where they had had the bird, then sat the amphitheater where the bird often showed up.  While waiting we enjoyed the Clay-colored Thrushes and the wintering Summer Tanager, but when the grosbeak did come in briefly, an excited birder that had been standing in front of the seating area spooked it, then ran around the corner to try and find it L. 

The gang at Quinta Mazatlan

Gray Hawk 

Female Summer Tanager

After things quieted down we decided to wander and headed to Ebony Grove, as that was another spot the bird liked to hang around.  We hadn’t gone far before we heard the bird give its characteristic wheeoo! call, so back to the main trail we went, I sent those with good eyes ahead of me to track it down J, and Kerry spotted it!   Everyone there was able to get decent looks, but Cici and Rob had gone wandering on their own, so I did the whole loop trying to chase them down!  Thankfully someone else in the group texted them, and they got back before I did and were able to enjoy the bird!  J 

Searching for the elusive Crimson-collared Grosbeak (below)!

We added Inca Doves on the way out, and got another Buffbelly (or maybe even the same one) back at the VC for those who needed a better look, plus a Pale-banded Crescent for the butter people.  Those who made it back to the van before the rest of us added a Red-shouldered Hawk to the day list!

All in all we racked up a modest 63 species for the day.  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Mottled Duck

Northern Pintail

Plain Chachalaca

Least Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

Rock Pigeon

Inca Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Common Pauraque

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Sora

Common Gallinule

Anhinga

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Tricolored Heron

Cattle Egret

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

White Ibis

Turkey Vulture

Northern Harrier

Harris's Hawk

White-tailed Hawk

Gray Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Eastern Screech-Owl

Belted Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Eastern Phoebe

Great Kiskadee

Tropical Kingbird

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Carolina Wren

Bewick's Wren

European Starling

Curve-billed Thrasher

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Summer Tanager

Crimson-collared Grosbeak

Northern Cardinal