Todd from Pennsylvania was game to go
chase the Green-breasted Mango (even though he had already seen it in Costa
Rica), so away we went! We were amused
by the fact that Quinta Mazatlan had a “sandwich sign” set out with one arrow
pointing toward the mango, and the other pointing towards where the mimic white
had been found! The crowd was even bigger
than when Heather and crew came, and it sounded as though there was at least
one other guided bird tour there (someone quipped that he didn’t appreciate the
Inca Doves saying, “No hope!” J)! While we waited we poked around the greenery
while still within earshot, and picked up Kiskadee, Vermilion Flycatcher (a
life bird for Todd), and a pair of Tropical Kingbirds! We moseyed back to the crowd and before long
the place exploded with cries of, “There he is!” Sheri Williamson (the Hummingbird Lady from
Arizona) got a bunch of us on him (he could only be seen through a little
window of the hackberry tree), and after a few pictures, he was gone! There were a lot of happy campers after that,
but unfortunately a few latecomers (including my boss Keith) just missed it! L Thankfully I got word from him later that the
bird showed again briefly, so that was a relief! J
"Proof shot" of the immature Green-breasted Mango
John Brush (right), Quinta's resident naturalist, found the thing!
Todd (left) and Keith (who seems pretty happy despite just having missed the bird...)
In the meantime Todd and I made the trail
loop, which was very productive: right
away we got great looks at Chachalacas, a Clay-colored Thrush at one of the
water features, and a Long-billed Thrasher that photo-bombed my video of the
thrush! We ran across a few feeding
flocks that included mostly Orange-crowned Warblers, one Black-throated Green, and
a Blue-headed Vireo, and Todd was thrown by the Starlings whistling that
sounded so different from his back in Pennsylvania! A lady Ladder-backed Woodpecker posed
overhead, while Olive Sparrows were all around us but refused to show… We decided to sit at the feeders for awhile
where the Kiskadees, Green Jays, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, and White-winged
Doves were more than cooperative!
Clay-colored Thrush with a funky wing
Todd awaiting photo ops at the feeders
Several shots of Great Kiskadee
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Green Jay
White-winged Dove
Finally tearing ourselves away from there
we headed to Anzalduas, making a brief stop at Granjeño where Todd was actually
able to spot one of the Burrowing Owls after much diligent searching amongst
the rocks! The same little gang of Least
and Pied-billed Grebes, Coots, and the female scaup were still in the little
wetland along the spillway, but we got “spanked” by the Constable, however, as
“No Parking” along there apparently also means “No Stopping For Birds!” So we entered the park with our tails between
our legs, but at least Todd got his Least Grebe! J
Burrowing Owl
The hike across the Sprague’s Pipit field
was productive (although none stood still for us, Todd at least got a great
“wingless torpedo” shot of one that clearly showed the plain face); one poor
lady was wandering around trying to flush one but didn’t know the flight call,
so we cottoned her onto that… The raft
of scaups and coots was still in the river, along with a Snowy and Cattle Egret
keeping each other company on a log! A
nice Osprey and Great Blue Heron were across the way as well, but no Ringed
Kingfisher this time… L
Cattle (left) and Snowy Egrets
We made the circle without picking up much
else (except a nice Merlin and a flock of Western Meadowlarks), so headed
straight to Estero Llano Grande after a convenience store stop. That proved very productive, as we checked
out the deck first and picked up Todd’s life Cinnamon Teal from the mob of
other ducks! On the way to Alligator
Lake a Snipe flushed next to us, and the Spotted Sandpiper was back on his log
at Dowitcher Pond! J
The Green Kingfisher that likes to hang out along the canal near the little
footbridge put on a great show, and a little Common Ground Dove posed along the
canal as well! Several Least Sandpipers
were poking around Grebe Marsh, along with a White-faced Ibis that a lady asked
us about (she was concerned it might be a Glossy, but immatures are virtually
identical…). Down at the turnoff to the
Pauraque spot the Yellow-crowned Night Herons had returned in force, and the
namesake Alligator was sprawled on the bank!
A flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers (aka Butterbutts) flew over, and Todd
spotted an Anhinga hiding in the foliage.
We approached the barrier, and I breathed a great sigh of relief when I
spotted the Pauraque (which appropriately wowed Todd), but the Screech Owl was
a no-show. A Soft-shelled Turtle sliding
across the trail was a nice consolation prize, however!
Merlin
Loggerhead Shrike
Green Kingfisher hides in the sticks...
...then comes out in the open!
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Pauraque
We headed to the Tropical Zone by way of
the Wader’s Trail, where Todd was finally able to get a decent shot of a
Vermilion Flycatcher! I heard an Avocet
yelling from the levee area, but the trail produced no sparrows, and the
wetlands near the gazebo produced no American Bittern that had been reported
there. L So we headed on into the Zone and pretty much
went straight to the Drip, where after 15 minutes things really started
hopping! Both Orange-crowned and
Nashville Warblers came down to take a bath (and you could even see the orange
crown!), and titmice came in to investigate.
Even a White-eyed Vireo finally showed himself, and the White-tipped
Dove came prancing through! But the star
of the show only deigned to let Todd get a look: the Tropical Parula! A sapsucker also called, but he was almost
anticlimactic! During all this an
Altamira Oriole and Beardless Tyrannulet called, but we couldn’t pin them down;
we did, however, get less-than-stellar looks at a Buff-bellied Hummingbird that
was guarding a giant Turk’s Cap bush on one of the roads!
Todd shoots a Vermilion Flycatcher (below) from the boardwalk
An Orange-crowned Warbler (actually showing the orange crown) takes a bath while a Nashville Warbler looks on
Curious Black-crested Titmouse
After sitting fruitlessly at the VC hummer
feeders (and adding Tree Swallow to the day list) we decided to hit the
Progresso Silos. My plan was to go in
via the road off US281 so that the Yellow-headed Blackbirds would be on Todd’s
side of the car when we made the turn, but that plan backfired as they were on my side of the car this time, along with
about five Bronzed Cowbirds! We enjoyed
watching the carpet of blackbirds across the road life off every time a vehicle
went past!
Carpet of blackbirds at the Progresso Silos
Todd shooting a distant Yellow-headed Blackbird
With what little time we had left I
decided to take a cruise up Border Road for another crack at Sprague’s Pipit
and Burrowing Owl, but they weren’t to be found (we did pick up Black-crowned Night Heron for the trip at that private
lake, so it wasn’t a total loss), so we headed on home with an impressive 92
species for the day! Bird list:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Gadwall
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Anhinga
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
American Avocet
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Burrowing Owl
Common Pauraque
Green-breasted Mango
Archilochus Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Green Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Clay-colored Thrush
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Tropical Parula
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Altamira Oriole
House Sparrow
92 SPECIES
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