Jon
and Nancy were newly retired and late risers, so we compromised on a start time
of 8:00 to head out to Starr County (so managed to pick up Green Parakeet for
the day while going to pick them up)!
They were new birders and had already explored parts of the Valley, but
Jon was especially interested in good photo ops, so Salineño was definitely the
place to go!
As
per usual the plan was to start at Falcon State Park while things were still
active, but even the drive up was raptor-friendly with Harris’, Red-shouldered,
and White-tailed Hawks! On the entrance
road a cooperative shrike flew up and down off his wire for us, along with a
pretty Kestrel! Even before making the
turn on the loop road the resident Caracara posed for us on a post! Down in the primitive area we finally nabbed
several Pyrrhuloxias feeding on the ground, but I was more excited about the
Lark Bunting pair! Also in the crowd
were some spizella sparrows, but the
distance and poor light precluded a positive ID… L With the sun finally shining, the place was
crowded with fishermen, so we didn’t bother driving down into the overflow lot
as it was already stuffed with vehicles!
Loggerhead Shrike eyeing his next meal
American Kestrel
Curve-billed Thrasher
Lark Bunting
There
was a report of a Rock Wren “on the rocks between the hall and the lake,” so we
headed that direction but were waylaid by a very
cooperative Verdin that was sitting out in the open and chirping away! While Jon was out shooting him, Sheri Wilson
(the park host) wheeled by and mentioned that their bird walk couldn’t kick up
the reported Rock Wren, but she confirmed the area where it had been seen, as I
really had no idea where it was! So we parked and walked the little trail to
the picnic tables, shooting the Snouts that had “come to life” with the warmer
weather! We actually found a little
trail behind one of the shelters, and it did indeed lead to a nice rocky area
that looked perfect for Rock Wrens!
However, we saw and heard nothing, but had a lovely view of Falcon Dam!
Chirpy Verdin
Jon shoots a Snout (below)
Ventral view of the Snout (you can see where they get their name)
The search for the Rock Wren (with Falcon Dam in the background)
On a clear day you can see Mexico's Sierra Madre Oriental!
Even
though Jon was interested in leps (and the butters were starting to fly), the
garden didn’t look very active, so we bailed on that and headed to the picnic
area where we drove to the very end and walked down to the lake and back in a
loop, picking up Caspian Tern, Laughing Gulls, some Savannah Sparrows on the
fence, and a somewhat cooperative Belted Kingfisher! After a fruitless cruise through the cabin
area, we checked the hookups and finally
bagged a Roadrunner for the day!
Gray Hairstreak
Belted Kingfisher
Greater Roadrunner
The
feeders at Salineño were great! The
usual suspects came in and Jon was thrilled, but what was even more exciting to
me was the arrival of a Clay-colored Thrush!
After spending an action-packed hour there we reluctantly headed to the
car to “do” the boat ramp and “Seedeater Trail”, when who should we see coming
up the road but my boss Keith and his cousins Paul and Chris! J They had just come from the trail (no
seedeater, but they did have an
excavating Ladder-backed Woodpecker), so they went to the feeders and we headed
on down. Before we even started on the
trail a beautiful Gray Hawk circled overhead, and unfortunately Jon’s camera
decided not to fire! (I can relate –
nothing more frustrating than pushing the shutter and nothing happens…) The trail was quiet (except for Keith’s
woodpecker) so we sat and ate lunch at the boat ramp while waiting for
something exciting to fly by; cormorants were the only customers, along with
the ever-present Ospreys. We did the
Dump Road to finish the day, which was really
quiet: we only added Mourning Dove,
Black Vulture, and a Fuertes’ Redtail.
Salineno feeder area (note the bucket in front...)
Altamira Oriole claims an orange!
Immature Altamira
"Anything left in here?"
The adult sneaks in to grab some PB mixture out of the aforementioned bucket!
Sunning Chachalaca
Chachalacas chowing down
Great Kiskadee likes the PB mixture
Olive Sparrow
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
The top of his crown has an interesting pattern!
Trying to be sneaky...
Clay-colored Thrush makes a maiden appearance!
Black-crested Titmouse
Northern Cardinal
Even birds blink when you take their picture!
(Female Golden-fronted Woodpecker)
The male has a delightful combination of color on his crown!
Green Jay
Immature Hooded Oriole
White-tipped Dove
Long-billed Thrasher
Audubon's Oriole
An Orange-crowned Warbler tries to sneak into the bucket as well...
Mike makes sure everyone signs in!
We run into my boss and his cousins! (L-R: Chris, Paul, Keith, Nancy, and Jon)
Nancy and Jon at the boat ramp along the Rio Grande
Crested Caracara
Since
we started “late,” we were naturally getting back “late,” so we decided to make
a swing through the “Parrot Neighborhood” in McAllen on the way home to see if,
perchance, we could bag these noisy fellows!
We did indeed hear and see a distant flock, but as we followed it to the
area of Cynthia we couldn’t find anything (except another car of birders), so
we decided to call it a day. We were
several blocks down the road when Mary Gustafson (another Valley guide) called
me and said, “They’re in the eucs on Cynthia!”
Jon and Nancy were game, so we did a U-ie and found them right where
Mary and her crew had them, getting great scope looks at the Redcrowns and one
Lilac-crowned (and they had seen a Yellow-headed earlier)! Turns out Mary was hidden in that car we
passed – she saw me but I didn’t see her! J
Finally
headed home with a respectable (for Starr County) 64 species for the day! Bird List:
Plain Chachalaca
Northern Bobwhite Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Gray Hawk
“Fuertes’” Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Laughing Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
White-tipped Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Belted Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Green Parakeet
Red-crowned Parrot
Lilac-crowned Parrot
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Clay-colored Thrush
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
House Sparrow
64 SPECIES
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