The Great Birthday Adventure, Part 2

1/5/17

I'm calling it "Part 2" because "Day 2" of their adventure was Wednesday when they went up to Laredo on their own to get the Amazon Kingfisher!  Yesterday's adventure was an attempt to bag Aplomado Falcon and Cassin’s Sparrow along Old Port Isabel Road (OPIR), and if possible, the Tropical Parula and Groove-billed Anis that had been reported at Laguna Atascosa.  

It was a cool, relatively calm day, and the cloud cover was helpful in that we weren’t looking right into the sun going northeast on OPIR.  Our first stop interestingly had an Olive Sparrow singing from the brush across the field, and a White-tailed Hawk posed on top of one of the railroad crossing barriers (that come down when a train is coming)!  The hacking platform was empty, and no falcons were about, so we just went slow and stopped every mile to see what we could scare up.  Long-billed Curlews were very common and cooperative (and noisy J), and several stops at some “seeps” failed to kick up the Cassin’s.  But finally a flock popped up along the side of the road that had a couple of Savannah Sparrows, but also a great look at a classic Cassin’s!  That was Griffin’s 500^th bird, so it was cause for celebration!  But what got me more excited in the group of warblers was a tail-pumping Palm; since Griffin was already out of the car shooting the Cassin’s, I yelled, “Griffin!  Get a picture of that Palm Warbler!”  After several “Where?!”s I was finally able to point the guy out before the flock moved over to my side of the road and I was able to document it as well!  Not a life bird for Griffin (common fall migrant where they are), but an exciting bird for these parts!

White-tailed Hawk

Palm Warbler 

Continuing on, we were watching the tall power poles, when Griffin spotted something suspicious, and a scope view did indeed reveal a pair of Aplomado Falcons, but waaaay over there!  Miraculously a White-tailed Kite showed up on the scene and the falcon pair went after it (or maybe it was the other way around – it happened too fast), and the next thing we knew the pair landed on a utility pole practically next to us!  What views!  We were debating whether it was a pair or siblings (I incorrectly assumed the buffy coloration on the rear of the supercilium was indicative of a younger bird, but it’s not), and in looking at the pictures, one of the birds looks slightly larger, so it could have been a mated pair.  Definitely thrilled with that!

Aplomado Falcons

Griffin digiscopes lifer #501! 

The powers that be must have recently graded the road, because OPIR was actually in terrific shape (relatively speaking)!  We made it through to SR 100, adding a couple of Caracaras guarding a No Trespassing sign, and some Great Blue Herons and Mottled Ducks in the canal.  Just past the canal I thought I heard some suspicious chinking, so we got out to see if what I was hearing was a Sedge Wren, as it was perfect habitat!  There was definitely a House Wren burbling and scolding in there, and one stubborn wren sure was acting suspicious, but never would give us a view, so we finally gave up and headed on.  While pointing out the other traditional falcon-viewing spots, a Chihuahuan Raven posed on a wire while another flew overhead!

Crested Caracara 

Crawling through Laguna Vista and onto Buena Vista Road, I again heard a suspicious wren, and once again we got out to check; this time there was no doubt about what I was hearing, and bird seemed to be responding to the tape, but all it did was give us a fleeting view as it darted from one bush to the next.  I consoled them with the strong possibility that they would get tons of ‘em up at Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR! 

We continued to crawl up Buena Vista Road, having a small flock of Sandhill Cranes fly overhead and a whole power-line full of Couch’s Kingbirds!  The refuge had been closed for three days, so no one had any recent reports of either bird, so we made an initial wander around the VC area and Kiskadee Trail, enjoying Green Jays at the feeders, but that was about it.  We then headed out to Osprey Overlook where there was an absolute mob of egrets and ibis on the shore, plus gobs of Ruddy Ducks in the water (along with a couple of alligators that were exciting the non-birding tourists J)!  Griffin spotted a huge pod of Pied-billed Grebes engaged in a feeding frenzy on the point, and he also had a white egret that he was hoping was a white morph Reddish, but struck me as an immature Little Blue, as the legs were greenish and the base of the bill was pale blue.  A Roseate Spoonbill fed “like an avocet” he noted; his life birds had flown over at the Stripes earlier, but this was a much better view! J

One of at least ten Couch's Kingbirds

Green Jay

View from Osprey Overlook

Wader Mob

Female Ruddy Duck 

From there we hiked a bit of the Scum Pond Trail, where apparently anis had been reported, but we didn’t want to do the whole four-mile round-trip hike, so we just hiked in as far as the trail split and then came back.  A suspicious-looking flycatcher flopped around and “pupped” but refused to give a good look, and I had thoughts of Mary Gustafson’s Brown-crested Flycatcher, but alas, it didn’t cooperate.  An Eastern Phoebe on the way back was more cooperative, but the walk was better for exercise than anything else…

Scum Pond Trail

Looking for anis...

...and only finding an Eastern Phoebe 

We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon waiting to see if the parula would show up, so we split up, and I took the VC shift, finding a pair of mating Mestras in the process!  I eventually heard a feeding flock that led me over to the Kiskadee Trail where Griffin was, where he had a couple of tyrannulets that were pretty good for Cameron County, but otherwise just had more Orangecrowns, titmice, and a Black-and-white Warbler.  We split up again, and I heard some rustling in the leaves, wondering if it was Griffin’s Indigo Snake he had seen earlier, but it turned out to be an Armadillo!  Griffin had found me again by that time, and when I whooped at his little ears (the Armadillo, not Griffin), he suddenly looked up and started running towards us!  What a look!  Unfortunately the only decent shot I could get was his rear end heading back into the bush…

Mating Common Mestras

South end of a northbound Armadillo... 

Diane wondered if it might be profitable to try for the Santa Ana parula again before our time totally ran out, so we headed back towards Alamo, picking up a Roadrunner on the way out.  But after some on-line EBird research, it was concluded that the Santa Ana parula was being seen in the volunteer “camp” (which is off limit to the public), so he suggested cruising the neighborhood and listening for feeding flocks, hoping my Tropical Parula would make an appearance!  We did run into a flock, but unfortunately Griffin’s camera decided to malfunction about that point, so we called it a day.

Greater Roadrunner 

Bird List (with Griffin’s additional species in brackets): 

  Snow Goose                           

  Mottled Duck                         
  Northern Shoveler
  [Blue-winged Teal]                   
  Lesser Scaup                         
  Ruddy Duck                           
  Plain Chachalaca                     
  Pied-billed Grebe                    
  Double-crested Cormorant             
  American White Pelican               
  Great Blue Heron                     
  Great Egret                          
  Snowy Egret                          
  Little Blue Heron                    
  Tricolored Heron 
  [Cattle Egret]                   
  White Ibis                           
  White-faced Ibis                     
  Roseate Spoonbill                    
  Black Vulture                        
  Turkey Vulture                       
  Osprey                               
  White-tailed Kite                    
  Northern Harrier                     
  Sharp-shinned Hawk                   
  Cooper's Hawk                        
  Harris's Hawk                        
  White-tailed Hawk                    
  American Coot                        
  Sandhill Crane                       
  Killdeer                            
  [Black-necked Stilt]
  Long-billed Curlew                   
  Laughing Gull      
  [Ring-billed Gull]                 
  Rock Pigeon                          
  Eurasian Collared-Dove               
  Mourning Dove                        
  White-tipped Dove                     
  Greater Roadrunner                   
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            
  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             
  Crested Caracara                     
  American Kestrel                     
  Aplomado Falcon                      
  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet        
  Eastern Phoebe                       
  Great Kiskadee                       
  Couch's Kingbird                     
  Loggerhead Shrike                    
  White-eyed Vireo                     
  Green Jay                            
  Chihuahuan Raven                     
  Horned Lark                          
  Black-crested Titmouse               
  Verdin                               
  House Wren                           
  Sedge Wren                           
  Bewick's Wren                        
  Cactus Wren                          
  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                
  Ruby-crowned Kinglet                 
  Curve-billed Thrasher                
  Long-billed Thrasher                 
  Northern Mockingbird                 
  European Starling                    
  Orange-crowned Warbler               
  Nashville Warbler                    
  Common Yellowthroat                  
  Palm Warbler                          
  Yellow-rumped Warbler                
  [Black-and-white Warbler]
  Olive Sparrow                        
  Cassin's Sparrow                     
  Savannah Sparrow                     
  Lincoln's Sparrow                    
  Northern Cardinal                    
  Red-winged Blackbird                 
  Eastern Meadowlark                   
  Western Meadowlark                   
  Great-tailed Grackle                 
  Brown-headed Cowbird                 
  House Sparrow                        

78 SPECIES (83 with Griffin’s)

The Great Birthday Adventure, Day 1

1/3/17 

As a birthday present, Griffin from Connecticut was given his choice of a birding destination, and he chose south Texas! J  So on this first day of his adventure, I met him and his mom Diane outside the Inn and headed in the fog to Bentsen State Park.  They had made a quick visit to Santa Ana the evening before and bagged the easy specialties (and a couple of not-so-easy ones, including the Fulvous Whistling Duck), but still had several on his wish, including Buff-bellied Hummingbird.  So we checked out the garden feeders at the visitor center upon arrival, but instead, what should come to the feeder near the tram stop but a nice male Black-chinned Hummingbird, which was also a life bird for him!  We stopped at the canal to scan, and what should come rowing towards us head-on but a gorgeous male Ringed Kingfisher!  Walking up to the Gatehouse feeders a mob of Chachalacas gathered to await breakfast, and amongst them was a pair of White-tipped Doves!  Quickly a Clay-colored Thrush whizzed in and gave great views, and three Altamira Orioles landed on top of one of the telephone poles on the way out!  Although not a target, a pair of Black Phoebes at the canal was nice for the day list, and Griffin spotted a pair of Olive Sparrows in the bushes near the tram stop; they both agreed that for a “killing time till Anzalduas opens” spot, it was pretty productive! J

A Chachalaca stares us down at Bentsen

The mob waits for breakfast...

Clay-colored Thrush 

As the spoiler stated, Anzalduas was the next stop, where we parked and got our feet soaking wet tromping across the field in search of Sprague’s Pipits!  We flushed several, and Griffin was able to get some “belly shots” as a couple of birds bounced overhead, but alas, we couldn’t corner the one bird that decided to land amongst the Western Meadowlarks.  We searched in vain for Zone-tailed Hawk, but a nice Red-shouldered Hawk posed instead.  Another target bird, a pair of Mottled Ducks, showed well, along with Griffin’s life Crested Caracara perched across the way.  Nice “non-targets” included a huge flock of Lesser Scaup, a Vermilion Flycatcher, and both species of cormorant. 

The next stop was Quinta Mazatlan for Tropical Kingbird and an off chance at parrots and parakeets, but not before spotting a young White-tailed Hawk along Shary Road that we almost passed off as a Redtail as it had the classic white chest/belly band pattern!  A Tropical Parula had been reported, so when we ran into a good feeding flock with a suspicious bird, the adrenalin started flowing, but when the bird decided to give us a non-backlit view we discovered it to be a classic male Northern Parula (still good for this time of year).  The flock itself was quite varied, with Blue-headed Vireo and Black-throated Green and Black-and-white Warblers in addition to the normal winter birds.  More Chachalacas sat inches from us along the trail, and we finally got great looks at the Buff-bellied Hummingbird around a large cactus that was in bloom.  As is so often the case, the Tropical Kingbird showed up “back at the car”, along with a Curve-billed Thrasher (another “bank bird” in case they decide to split our bird off from the Arizona race). 

Young White-tailed Hawk

Curve-billed Thrasher

Tropical Kingbird

Griffin tries recording the kingbird (circled in white) 

We decided to make a return visit to Santa Ana for the tyrannulet, and indeed, we heard it shortly after hitting the Chachalaca Trail!  However, the tree it was in was right in the sun, so we continued on hoping the one closer to the tour road would sound off.  It didn’t, so back we trucked, and this time the bird called and came down low near the blind area, giving great looks!  We padded the day list with ducks and grebes in Willow Lake, and Griffin spotted a lovely adult White-tailed Hawk through the trees! 

Aside from the obstinate Tropical Parula (several had been reported at various places) and members of the parrot tribe (which you almost have to plan a sunset roost trip to see), we had pretty much cleaned up on Griffin’s targets, so we headed To Estero Llano Grande for the Pauraque and McCall’s Screech Owl!  On the way Griffin thought he had a flock of Snow Geese flying in the distance, so I pulled over to check it out, and it turned out to be a White Pelican Ballet!  Once at Estero we enjoyed more ducks and grebes off the deck (including the Cinnamon Teal), picked up their lifer Couch’s Kingbird along the trail, and chuckled at Diane’s reaction to the huge Alligator in Grebe Marsh! J  The Softshell Turtle was on his same rock at Alligator Lake (along with the night herons), and as we took up our positions behind the Pauraque’s barrier, I almost didn’t see the one bird that had settled so close to said barrier that I was practically within touching distance (and he saw me long before I saw him, as his eye was on me)!  Diane spotted a second bird that was actually shuffling a little bit; they were both surprisingly sitting in the direct sunlight, and we got to wondering if they were thinking about shifting to a more shady spot…  Unfortunately the owl was down inside his box, and both the other stakeouts were not at home, either.  L

Couch's Kingbird

Lazing Alligator

Waterfowl Club

Great Kiskadee

Pauraque 

We headed back to the Tropical Zone as that’s where Estero’s parula had been hanging, and we ran into Huck Hutchins, May and Rick Snider, Mary Gustafson, and Ben Basham all lined up on the benches patiently watching the water puddle!  Huck had indeed seen the parula earlier, but it turned out that’s not what they were waiting for:  an Ovenbird had shown up that morning!  (Diane ruefully said, “We’ll mail you one…” J)  After a few minutes Griffin and I made the loop (as that’s apparently what the parula had been doing) and managed to pick up a Nashville Warbler in with the Orange-crowns, but not much else.  We put in a valiant watch for a good long time (during which we heard Sandhill Cranes in the distance), but then decided to head on home when a visiting birder from Tennessee (whom Griffin and Diane had met at Santa Ana the day before and we had run into again that morning) offered to show us the long-lived Guatemalan Cracker that was still hanging around!  (The Blomfeld’s Beauty was seen that morning but was gone by the time we walked by…)  While looking at that Griffin noticed a raptor coming at us and then circled overhead, which turned out to be a Peregrine!

Griffin checks out a feeding flock in the Tropical Zone

An Orange-crowned Warbler pondering the grapefruit

Long-lived Guatemalan Cracker 

We actually got back to Alamo a little early, so I offered to take them on a short walk down to Fannin Street in hopes of maybe at least hearing some fly-by parakeets and show them where I had found yet another Tropical Parula the day before (but as we all agreed, these feeding flocks move around and your chances of finding them again are slim).  All we got out of that jaunt was a White-winged Dove, barking dogs, and more exercise J, so we called it a day.   

Griffin had caught sight of Eurasian Collared Dove and White-tailed Kite while I was watching traffic, so his two additions made it a “centennial” day! J  Bird list:

  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck         

  Muscovy Duck (two feral birds at Anzalduas)
  Gadwall                              
  Mottled Duck                         
  Blue-winged Teal                     
  Cinnamon Teal                        
  Northern Shoveler                    
  Northern Pintail                     
  Green-winged Teal                    
  Ring-necked Duck                     
  Lesser Scaup                         
  Plain Chachalaca                     
  Least Grebe                          
  Neotropic Cormorant                  
  Double-crested Cormorant             
  American White Pelican               
  Great Blue Heron                     
  Snowy Egret                          
  Black-crowned Night-Heron            
  Yellow-crowned Night-Heron           
  White Ibis                            
  White-faced Ibis                     
  Turkey Vulture                       
  Osprey
  [White-tailed Kite]                          
  Cooper's Hawk                        
  Harris's Hawk                        
  White-tailed Hawk                    
  Red-shouldered Hawk                  
  Red-tailed Hawk                      
  Common Gallinule                     
  American Coot                        
  Sandhill Crane                       
  Black-necked Stilt                   
  Killdeer                             
  Greater Yellowlegs                   
  Least Sandpiper                      
  Long-billed Dowitcher                
  Wilson's Snipe                       
  Laughing Gull                        
  Caspian Tern                         
  Rock Pigeon
  [Eurasian Collared Dove]                          
  White-winged Dove                    
  Mourning Dove                        
  Inca Dove                             
  Common Ground-Dove                   
  White-tipped Dove                    
  Common Pauraque                      
  Black-chinned Hummingbird            
  Buff-bellied Hummingbird             
  Ringed Kingfisher                    
  Belted Kingfisher                     
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            
  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             
  Crested Caracara                     
  American Kestrel                     
  Peregrine Falcon                     
  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet        
  Black Phoebe                         
  Eastern Phoebe                       
  Vermilion Flycatcher                 
  Great Kiskadee                       
  Tropical Kingbird                    
  Couch's Kingbird                     
  Loggerhead Shrike                    
  White-eyed Vireo                     
  Blue-headed Vireo                    
  Green Jay                            
  Tree Swallow                         
  Black-crested Titmouse               
  Verdin                               
  House Wren                           
  Carolina Wren                        
  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                
  Ruby-crowned Kinglet                 
  Clay-colored Thrush                  
  Curve-billed Thrasher                
  Long-billed Thrasher                 
  Northern Mockingbird                 
  European Starling                    
  Sprague's Pipit                      
  Black-and-white Warbler               
  Orange-crowned Warbler               
  Nashville Warbler                    
  Common Yellowthroat                  
  Northern Parula                      
  Yellow-rumped Warbler                
  Black-throated Green Warbler         
  Olive Sparrow                        
  Savannah Sparrow                     
  Lincoln's Sparrow                    
  Northern Cardinal                    
  Red-winged Blackbird                 
  Eastern Meadowlark                   
  Western Meadowlark                   
  Great-tailed Grackle                 
  Altamira Oriole                      
  Lesser Goldfinch                     
  House Sparrow                        

98 SPECIES (100 with Griffin’s extra two)

A Wild Rarity Hunt

12/30/16 

After having birded on their own for several days, there were still a couple of target birds that Robert and Denise needed (mainly for Denise as she was a new birder), so they asked if they could shanghai me for a morning to try and nail Northern Beardless Tyrannulet and Tropical Parula in particular.  There had been several of the latter reported around the Valley (a surprise in and of itself), but one of them was at Santa Ana NWR, and seeing I had heard the tyrannulet when I was there last week with Minda and Harle, I figured that would be a good place to bird for the morning, especially since a female Blue Bunting had also been reported, and the Glossy Ibis was apparently still hanging around!

Heading down Alamo Road, a flyover White-tailed Kite got the day list off to a good start, but unfortunately I was the only one to see it, even after we turned around and tried to refind it.  In the parking lot we were greeted by hundreds of flyover Red-winged Blackbirds and the Starlings hanging on the cell tower, and after crossing the levee we got a brief glimpse of a Bobcat hightailing it into the woods!  We took the beginning of the Willow Lake Trail, where eagle-eyed Robert spotted a couple of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers on a dead tree!  Eventually winter flocks consisting of Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Black-crested Titmice, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets came in, but along the cutoff to Chachalaca Trail, Robert spotted a couple of Nashville Warblers!  A Verdin chirped brightly but refused to come in, and a Carolina Wren sang in the background, but as we connected with the main trail, several Altamira Orioles and Green Jays were making a ruckus, but try as we might, we couldn’t find what was causing it.  Scott (another birder staying at the Inn) was around the corner intently looking at something that turned out to be Olive Sparrows that had just flown the coop… 

We took a quick look at the lakes just to pad the list:  tons of Blue-winged Teal and Shovelers were “tipping up”, and at the blind a couple of Least Grebes skittered away.  At the lake the ibis had been in last week we had a couple of snipe, a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs, and several Black-necked Stilts.  Continuing on the Willow Lake Trail, some Olive Sparrows were making little noises right beside us, and finally one ran across the path with his tail cocked, enough of a view so Denise could say she saw it! J  Then a Clay-colored Thrush tuck-tucked and finally gave a great view, but in the middle of that I heard the tyrannulet go WeeeeK!  So we hurried along and followed the calls, just getting glimpses as the thing bounced from tree to tree along with the rest of the flock it was hanging with, until finally it gave a great view out on the tour road!  High five!  On the walk out a nice Harris’ Hawk posed on a pole.

Willow Lake

Hungry Shoevelers and Blue-winged Teal

Snoozing Zebra Heliconians

Altamira Oriole

Wilson's Snipe

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet 

Of the birds on our “board” at the Inn, the Mountain Plover intrigued Robert, but Sprague’s Pipit was also on his wish list, and I was getting ready to take us out to Anzalduas until I remembered the fiasco from last Friday and was afraid that maybe they’d be closed this Friday, too, due to the upcoming holiday (and the folks in the visitor’s center concurred).  So we opted to blast out to Harlingen to try for the plovers, even though they hadn’t been reported for a while (but there had been no negative reports, either…).  Unfortunately after a thorough scouring of the fields on both sides of FM 1599, we couldn’t even kick up a Killdeer, although several Caracaras and Turkey Vultures sat in the south field, along with several Sandhill Cranes.  I told them that Sprague’s Pipit was remotely possible even here, and while an American Pipit and several Horned Larks flew over, no Sprague’s sounded off, although Robert had a small bird that could have been one; we just couldn’t get a decent look. 

We had to head back to Alamo at that point, so after stopping at a roadside fruit stand for a bag of oranges, we flew back home with 52 species for the morning (53 if you count the Cooper’s Hawk that Robert spotted but eluded me).  Bird List: 

  Gadwall                   

  Blue-winged Teal                  
  Northern Shoveler                    
  Plain Chachalaca                     
  Least Grebe                           
  Double-crested Cormorant             
  American White Pelican               
  Turkey Vulture                       
  White-tailed Kite
  [Cooper’s Hawk]                   
  Harris's Hawk                        
  American Coot                        
  Sandhill Crane                       
  Black-necked Stilt                   
  Killdeer                             
  Lesser Yellowlegs                    
  Least Sandpiper                      
  Wilson's Snipe                       
  Rock Pigeon                          
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            
  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker             
  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             
  Crested Caracara                     
  American Kestrel                     
  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet        
  Eastern Phoebe                       
  Great Kiskadee                       
  Loggerhead Shrike                    
  White-eyed Vireo                     
  Green Jay                             
  Horned Lark                          
  Tree Swallow                         
  Black-crested Titmouse               
  Verdin                               
  House Wren                           
  Carolina Wren                         
  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                
  Ruby-crowned Kinglet                 
  Clay-colored Thrush                  
  Long-billed Thrasher                 
  Northern Mockingbird                 
  European Starling                    
  American Pipit                       
  Orange-crowned Warbler               
  Nashville Warbler                    
  Common Yellowthroat                  
  Yellow-rumped Warbler                
  Olive Sparrow                        
  Savannah Sparrow                     
  Northern Cardinal             
  Red-winged Blackbird
  Great-tailed Grackle
  Altamira Oriole                      

52 SPECIES