Adventures of a German Writer - Part 1

4/6/16

            Early this month we once again hosted a visiting journalist from Germany, courtesy of South Texas Nature!  Christopher Schmidt was an avid birder in addition to being a writer, artist, and teacher, and it was a delight to take him around and show him our special birds!  My “shift” included Estero Llano Grande State Park the afternoon of the 6^th, and a morning of local birding on the 8^th.

            The temperatures were surprisingly mild by the time Christopher arrived from South Padre Island, so we had a pleasant afternoon temperature-wise.  The afternoon lighting off the deck at Estero was perfect, and we had great comparative looks at Stilt Sandpipers next to Long-billed Dowitchers, and Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teals together.  I spotted a female Wilson’s Phalarope across the way which got Christopher excited, but before I could get my scope on it Ranger John showed up, and once we started talking Pauraques the phalarope was forgotten in favor of looking for a somewhat reliable bird near the park host camp (I was concerned about the Alligator Lake bird because she had moved her babies back into the central part of her patch and was harder to find)!  Unfortunately John’s bird proved elusive, so we wandered back into the Tropical Zone where we ran into Huck, who knew exactly where the “TZ Pauraque” was located!  He/she was hiding as well, but on the way Huck spotted a Clay-colored Thrush high in the trees, and the Red-crowned Parrot sitting in her nest hole was a great consolation prize!

 

 

Gulf Fritillary in the parking lot

 

Best guess is a Laredo Spotted Whiptail

 

Lesser Yellowlegs 

 

 

Long-billed Dowitchers

 

Stilt Sandpiper with a goodie... 

 

 

Blue-winged (left) and Cinnamon Teals 

 

 

Red-crowned Parrot in her nest hole

            Even though he hadn’t been able to spot it that morning, Huck offered to take us back to the Alligator Lake bird in hopes of maybe spotting her, so we traipsed around Ibis Pond and made a quick stop at Curlew Pond for the resident Least Grebe, after which Huck spotted one remaining Fulvous Whistling Duck on Dowitcher Pond for Christopher!  Heading back towards Alligator Lake the guys were scouring Grebe Marsh for a Green Kingfisher when a Bobcat started sauntering down the trail ahead of us!  Christopher had been hoping for an Ocelot sometime during his trip, but this was definitely the next best thing! 

 

 

An inquisitive Bobcat keeps an eye on us as we approach Alligator Lake!

 

 

            On to the patch, and as Huck and Christopher scoured the ground litter, I went around to the “traditional” spot just in case the bird had decided to move back, but before long I heard “spotted it” and hustled back around to find that Christopher had actually found her!  He was able to get his scope on her and her two fuzzy babies! J  While he went running (literally) back to the car to get his digiscoping camera, Mr. Bobcat moseyed by us again even closer, and both Huck and I were worried he might try to go after Mrs. Pauraque!  She indeed went instantly from a snoozing pose to a “high alert” pose, head up and eyes wide open!  Apparently the bobcat was more interested in the two cottontails that were a little further down the trail and she went back to snoozing…

 

 

Christopher zeroes in on the Pauraque while Huck peer over his shoulder

 

 

Meanwhile, the Bobcat strolls by again!

            That was Christopher’s #1 prize, so with that we headed back to the Inn and dinner with Keith!  Since it had been an extremely long day already for him with a fabulous boat trip out in the bay with Scarlet Colley, they chose to forego the night walk at Bentsen, so I proposed taking him in an hour before dawn on Friday, and he was thrilled with the prospect!

 

Bird List:

  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck         

  Fulvous Whistling-Duck               

  Gadwall                              

  Mottled Duck                         

  Blue-winged Teal                     

  Cinnamon Teal                         

  Northern Shoveler                    

  Least Grebe                          

  Great Blue Heron                     

  Tricolored Heron                     

  Yellow-crowned Night-Heron           

  White-faced Ibis                     

  American Coot                        

  Black-necked Stilt                   

  American Avocet                       

  Killdeer                             

  Lesser Yellowlegs                    

  Stilt Sandpiper                      

  Least Sandpiper                      

  Long-billed Dowitcher                

  Wilson's Phalarope                   

  Rock Pigeon                          

  White-winged Dove                    

  Mourning Dove                        

  White-tipped Dove                    

  Common Pauraque                      

  Buff-bellied Hummingbird             

  Green Kingfisher                     

  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            

  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             

  Red-crowned Parrot                   

  Great Kiskadee                       

  Couch's Kingbird                     

  White-eyed Vireo                     

  Purple Martin                        

  Black-crested Titmouse               

  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                

  Clay-colored Thrush                  

  Long-billed Thrasher                 

  Northern Mockingbird                 

  European Starling                    

  Common Yellowthroat                  

  Lincoln's Sparrow                    

  Northern Cardinal                    

  Red-winged Blackbird                 

  Great-tailed Grackle                 

 

46 SPECIES