John
was giving his wife Lisa a birding vacation for her birthday J, so the goal was
to basically see everything we had to offer!
Since they had flown into Harlingen they had already visited Hugh Ramsey
Park and then Estero Llano Grande on the way to Alamo, logging a bunch of
Valley specialties, so since Painted Bunting was big on her list (even though I
was pretty sure they’d bag one at the Island when they went on Tuesday), I
decided to take them up Brushline Road for the morning, as that’s also good for
raptors they may not see otherwise.
John
was a hunter, so they were both very good at spotting things! The area was socked in with fog on the way up
(some of it very dark and eerie-looking), but once on south Brushline the
common things showed well, such as Lark Sparrows, Couch’s Kingbirds, and of
course Mockingbirds (John’s favorite bird, he said J)! The lighting wasn’t the greatest to start,
but we did manage good looks at Blue Grosbeaks, Bullock’s Orioles, Curve-billed
Thrashers, and even a small flock of Indigo Buntings right out the car! Lisa spotted something yellow in the back of
a tall tree that turned out to be her life Dickcissels! We tried to peek in one of the exotic game
ranches (John spotted an antelope of some kind) and spooked a Harris’ Hawk in
the process! A young Swainson’s Hawk
also gave a good view, and an immature White-tailed Hawk posed on a post. But the star of the show was a gorgeous
White-tailed Kite that gave great looks!
While I was inputting the eBird list Lisa spotted a pair of Cedar
Waxwings in the tree next to us!
Curve-billed Thrashers
Indigo Bunting pair
Close-up of male
Juvenile Swainson's Hawk
White-tailed Kites
Crossing
the highway, we started exploring the thornscrub, where a beautiful male
Painted Bunting finally came out and gave great looks! A family of Bobwhite trotted across the road,
one female lingering for pictures, and yet another oriole posed on a wire, but
this one caused a bit of discussion as in the poor light I was having a hard
time discerning whether we had a young Orchard or Hooded Oriole, as their songs
sound similar to my ear. Looking more on
the greenish side I think I settled on Orchard…
Several Scissor-tailed Flycatchers posed and delighted, and one little
lively spot had a cooperative Bewick’s Wren, several Verdins chasing each
other, and yet another Painted Bunting! Lisa
spotted another yellow bird in a tree that (by the time I finally spotted it)
turned out to be a female Summer Tanager!
Pyrrhuloxias were somewhat curious along the length of the route,
whereas I think we only spotted one Cardinal.
Cassin’s Sparrows and White-eyed Vireos weren’t cooperative at all, and
would only sing for us…
Female Bobwhites
Young male Orchard Oriole
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
We
opted to bypass Ken Baker in favor of hopefully kicking up a Roadrunner by
continuing on Brushline, and had great looks at a Caracara just before the road
makes a hard right! A Shrike (nasty birds,
says John) flew up and down from the wire, and a couple of Rheas on the other
side of the fence was a hit! The pond
was pretty sparse, although we padded the list with some egrets and a couple of
shorebirds. Since we had to get back, we
booked pretty well on the return leg, although we stopped for the Caracara in
good light, and slammed on the brakes when John spotted a group of “Rio
Gobblers” (aka tom turkeys)! He thought
that was very unusual that they all be toms this time of year, but got them all
gobbling by calling to them (and they of course wouldn’t cooperate once I
started the video…)! Lisa had been
wanting to see a Green Jay all along (even though they saw several the day
before), and she happened to miss the only one that flew across the road! L
Crested Caracara
John and Lisa (with Heppy) near the north terminus of Brushline
Wild Turkey toms
We
headed off in earnest after that with Lisa talking to one of her kids in the
back seat (on the phone, that is J), when a
Roadrunner chose that time to cross the road right before the main highway! It disappeared, of course, but I pulled over
about then to input the eBird list; as I was doing that I heard him rattling
behind us, so unable to resist messin’ with Roadrunners, I backed up and cooed
at him, and he poked his head up from behind the berm, but ducked down before
Lisa saw him! L I
cooed in earnest, and he cooed back (which delighted my charges), but he
wouldn’t come out, so I continued inputting the eBird list when John announced
he was up in the tree! Sure enough, he
was curious enough to check us out and coo back several times, and both were
impressed with how big and beautiful he really was (just like Beep Beep J)!
Greater Roadrunners
Finally
got going after that, finishing up with 60 species for the morning! Bird list:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Northern Bobwhite Wild Turkey
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Bewick's Wren
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Olive Sparrow
Cassin's Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Dickcissel
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
House Sparrow
60 SPECIES
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