Met
Tom and Pam outside the Garden Suites this morning for a general hunt for our
local specialties! With all the rarities
around I gave them that option, but they opted for Estero Llano Grande State
Park (which never disappoints J), and I’m glad
they did!
We
started as per usual in the parking lot, where we didn’t get far as a flock of
Red-crowned Parrots was yelling over at the golf course across the street and
occasionally flying around for a look! A
Long-billed Thrasher sat out in the open as he sang for us, letting us know
that spring was just around the corner (as they never seem to sit up until it’s
time to proclaim their territory)! Once
in the Tropical Zone Tom was worried that we were gonna wake Rick and May
Snider (our intrepid park hosts) up as a feeding flock consisting of
gnatcatchers and kinglets was right outside their RV! We managed scope looks at the Golden-fronted
Woodpecker but the Ladder-backed wasn’t as cooperative… A Clay-colored Thrush was chased away by a
Mockingbird, but a Couch’s Kingbird sat up on one of the pines and called for
us! White-winged Doves were all over,
and we managed a nice look at a titmouse in a bare tree while a Purple Martin
sailed overhead. I almost walked right
past a Curve-billed Thrasher sitting almost within touching distance on a
cactus, just singing away as well!
Then, interestingly, someone (Tom, I think) spotted another thrasher
feeding on the ground that looked like that funky bird other birders had found
in the area that was finally ID’d as a Long-billed/Curve-billed hybrid! He had the chest streaks of a Long-billed but
then that was replaced by thrush-like spots, plus he had the white tail tip of
a Curve-billed – a strange bird indeed!
Tom and Pam in the parking lot at Estero
Thrasher #1 - Long-billed in the parking lot
Thrasher #2 - Curve-billed in the Tropical Zone
Thrasher #3 - the funky presumed hybrid, also in the TZ (also below)!
Down
at the feeders we got wonderful views of Chachalacas, Green Jays,
Orange-crowned Warblers, Cardinals, more titmice, and finally a White-tipped
Dove that pranced across the floor! In
the Indigo Blind we joined a couple of photographers who were “friendly competitors”
and entertained my charges with their stories!
But aside from more jays, blackbirds, doves, and a noisy Kiskadee (plus
a pair of Fox Squirrels chasing each other), the feeders were pretty quiet. The female Hooded Oriole made a brief
appearance outside the blind, however.
Green Jay
We
came back by way of the Tyrannulet Trail (I think – it was the middle one with
the hummer feeder at the picnic table), and while trying to pull a White-eyed
Vireo out, what I assumed was a Blue-headed Vireo came out to play, but from my
initial views he looked awfully gray overall with very little yellow (just a
faint wash on the vent), but since my experience with Plumbeous involved birds
showing no yellow whatsoever, I wrote it off as a Blue-headed until proven
otherwise… Once I got home and analyzed
the brief video I was able to get (and consulted the Sibley), I learned that
first-year Plumbeous can indeed show a pale yellow wash, so the video grabs I
posted on Facebook and eBird are now open for discussion! Pam was able to get a brief look at the
Buff-bellied Hummingbird as it whizzed back and forth, chattering up a storm,
but Tom was unfortunately unable to get on it…
A brilliant Vermilion Flycatcher played hide and seek on top of a tree
near the park host area on the way out.
Video grabs of a first year Plumbeous Vireo (no one's challenged it, anyway...)
From
there we headed to the VC where we saw that several school trips had descended
upon the area, so we made a command decision to head straight to Alligator Lake
and get the Pauraque first, then take our time coming back! We had a hard time doing that, however, as we
were compelled to enjoy the Shovelers and teal in Ibis Pond, and at Grebe Pond
a lady Green Kingfisher demanded our attention!
We bypassed the night heron spot briefly (where members of both species
were cooperatively snoozing out in the open) to find the Pauraque, where
another couple had just found him, but couldn’t refind him for us! (Isn’t that always the way?? J) I think it was Pam that actually spotted him
close to the barrier, just as pretty as could be! We then returned to the night heron spot and
enjoyed Anhingas and a Neotropic Cormorant (the Pied-billed Grebe was ignored J) where we ran
into Gunnar and Lorna, two of our Winter Texans at the Inn, and while chatting
with them another gentleman came and asked us where the Pauraque was, so Pam
volunteered to show him, only she couldn’t refind him, either! J We finally did – always a fun game to see
peoples’ reaction when they finally do
see him!
The famous Pauraque
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
We
took our time heading back, finally finding the Least Grebe at Grebe Marsh
(plus many red-eared Sliders, including several babies), and ran into a couple
who had seen the Virginia Rail right out in the open! But did he do that for us? Of course not! We passed Ranger John with one of the school
groups, instructing them to all say hello to us (which they did J)!
Tom
and Pam preferred a sit-down lunch, so since the next spot was the La Sal area,
we calculated that we’d get to Raymondville right about lunch time, and I
suggested a little hole-in-the-wall spot that the Birder Patrol had visited
once called the Boot Company. We managed
to find it, and I think Pam was actually afraid to go in, as it was just a
blank building with no windows and a plain beat-up door that looked like it
went into one of those seedy nightclubs, but the inside was a whole other
story! Filled with locals, antiques, and
great food, we thoroughly enjoyed our lunches (and the pecan pie was to die
for)!
From
there it was actually closer to bird the La Sal Viejas area, so we headed for
the famous CR 20, which was dry as a bone now but we still managed some nice
birds in the thornscrub: a Bewick’s Wren
came out briefly (a Lark Sparrow was “snorting” up a storm but never showed), and
a calling Ash-throated Flycatcher was a nice surprise! We had nice comparative views of both
yellowlegs at the actual La Sal Viejas, and on the “dicey” part of Ken Baker what
I thought was their Lark Sparrow in bad light turned out to be a Vesper Sparrow
upon closer inspection (Savannahs were all over)! On the “good” part of Ken Baker we finally
got the Pyrrhuloxia, plus a pair of high-flying White-tailed Hawks! I heard some very distant Sandhill Cranes
along with Cassin’s Sparrows starting to proclaim their territories, but
unfortunately we never saw any of either…
But what we thought was a stick at first turned out to be a Mexican
Racer (best guess anyway) with his head sticking up! He let
us get great looks as he checked us over before finally lowering himself and
slithering off…
Dicey CR 20 at the La Sal Viejas Tract
Two views of the actual La Sal Viejas
A Mexican Racer checks us out
We
needed to take off after that, but not before nearly running down a Roadrunner
that darted out in front of us, plus a big black Indigo Snake that made haste
off the road! (Pam was sure we had a
third snake, but neither of us could recall the incident…) The final tally was a respectable 77 species
for the day! Bird list:
Blue-winged
Teal
Northern
Shoveler Mottled Duck
Green-winged Teal
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Common Pauraque
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Anhinga
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Red-crowned Parrot
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Green Jay
Purple Martin
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Clay-colored Thrush
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Long-billed x Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cassin's Sparrow
Olive Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
House Sparrow
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