5/5/22
For our last morning together, Becky wanted to check out Quinta Mazatlan for its reputation as a good migrant trap, but Michael was primarily interested in all the cool statuary and sculptures scattered around the trails! Right in the parking lot a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak eeeked and eventually came into the tree over our heads, and a young Hooded Oriole sang a little of his song. A female Bronzed Cowbird sat in a dead tree, as did a Mockingbird, who was still in the same spot when we returned to go home!
The visitor center wasn’t open yet, but the gate was, so we strolled in and first took the Mesquite Trail to the right. It was rather slow to begin with (we could hear warblers “seeping” but trying to spot them was a trick), but as we poked down a little dead end, a pair of Groove-billed Anis got their curiosity up and came right out to say hello! We all got great head shots, although I think Becky was dubious about my exclaiming how cute they were! J
We continued the stroll as Mesquite Trail turned
into Wildcat Trail (so called because of all the cat statuary I’m sure – we even
saw a live black-and-white kitty), and things started picking up along the
trail to Ebony Grove: a Long-billed
Thrasher sang and then decided to come out in the open – right overhead, of
course! L A Yellow Warbler briefly showed itself, while
a female Black-and-white Warbler was a little more cooperative (but “jumpy” as Michael
put it)! An Eastern Cottontail was
munching on some mesquite legumes, and a Curve-billed Thrasher posed on the
fake egret statue, making for an amusing photo op, while a young Orchard Oriole
sang behind us! We rested for a bit by
the feeder area where White-winged Doves were indulging in something, despite Park
Naturalist John Brush’s warnings that they had suspended feeding for the season
(maybe somebody dumped in the leftovers…)!
Some titmice also came in briefly before we continued the loop, where a
warbler that looked best like a Black-throated Green showed itself against the sky.
Becky and Michael in the "tunnel of sticks"
Shooting a Curve-billed Thrasher posing on an egret statue (below)
A young staffer approached us with a twinkle in her eye and said there was something at the pond that we’d probably enjoy seeing, only don’t approach too quickly! Usually when another birder teases me like that (“Look out for a special bird!”) I throw up my hands in defeat, figuring I’ll never spot the thing, whatever it is, but this time it was pretty obvious: a beautiful Snowy Egret was fishing along the shoreline! He gave us some nice reflective photo ops before slinking behind a palm tree, at which time a Western Kingbird decided to fly up and pose quite nicely at eye level! (A Couch’s Kingbird called on a wire behind him for a good comparison!) Continuing on we had a pair of Clay-colored Thrushes collecting nesting material, along with another Curve-billed Thrasher doing the same!
After finishing the Ebony loop we then continued on the Granjeno Trail, where we had a nice male American Redstart who was nonetheless uncooperative for pictures… As the trail came to a bend I thought we had a female House Sparrow hop up on a stick close to the ground, but it turned out to be an Olive Sparrow, also with nesting material! (They were all busy little beavers today…) We took the shortcut to the back side of the historic house (which doubles as the VC), discovering some Peccaries as we did so, which led to a discussion about the aggressiveness of feral hogs! They had several of these painted posts with “heads” along the trails, mostly painted up like comic book super heroes, but we stumbled upon a group that represented all the branches of the military, so Becky made Michael and me stand next to our respective “posts” and sing the first line of our respective military anthems! It wasn’t the greatest of performances as the Chachalacas insisted on joining us in the chorus! J
After paying our fees and taking care of things, we then continued on the Canal Trail towards the Discovery Center. A field trip of little kidlets was in process (Becky threatened to join them when she saw all the little easels set up, ready to be drawn on J), but access to the Discovery Pond was closed off, probably to protect the kids. A bunting-like spink revealed a Northern Waterthrush that blasted across the pond and into the shrubbery when Michael announced that he saw “a guy” back there, so there must be access. I was trying to shoot a Texan Crescent when “the guy” came around the corner and turned out to be none other than Ryan Rodriguez, our teen prodigy birder whose neighborhood Becky and Michael had raided when they saw good birds had been reported there! J He had already seen a bunch of migrants (ah, the eyes of youth J), so he graciously took us to the areas where he had seen Wood Thrush, Mourning Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, and a bunch of other stuff. At the back side of the pond, his Great Crested Flycatcher showed up, as well as his Magnolia Warbler along with a male Common Yellowthroat. He shared that simply giving this spot lots of time would often yield good warblers (like Swainson’s and Kentucky) simply working the edge of the pond!
It was close to quitting time, so I suggested we go look for the McCall’s Screech Owl that John had told us about, so we bade our farewells to Ryan and headed towards the amphitheatre. We actually found the field trip first, and I wasn’t sure if she was just telling the kids about the owl or if they actually had him (she was using a portable headset microphone), but there he was, right over their heads, not bothered at all by everyone’s excitement! (You wonder if he was being paid mice to perform… J) So we stepped right in when they moved on and got our own pics (I was actually afraid he’d be too close for their lenses)!
Headed back to the Inn after that, adding a nice
Swainson’s Hawk along Ridge Road on the way, and ending up with 43 species for
the morning! Bird list:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Inca Dove
White-winged Dove
Groove-billed Ani
Chimney Swift
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Snowy Egret
Swainson's Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Western Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Black-crested Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Clay-colored Thrush
House Sparrow
Lesser Goldfinch
Olive Sparrow
Orchard Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
No comments:
Post a Comment