Rajiv and Sudha, retired physicians from
Michigan (and originally from India), were making a last-minute trip to South
Texas to see some new birds: they were
beginners (Rajiv admitted that Sudha was really the birder J), so since their time was limited she was trying to
consolidate the best bang for their buck in terms of species! (She confessed that it was a trip to Costa
Rica that really got her hooked on birding!)
We started at Santa Ana, where Green Jays were all over the parking lot,
and Rajiv (who also went by Sitar) spotted a White-winged Dove in great
light! I finally herded them into the
Visitor’s Center where the volunteer had just put the feed out in back, and we had
a great time: Chachalacas were crowding
the seed on the ground, Green Jays were again all over (including one with a
funky tail), White-tipped Doves paraded back and forth, a Black-crested
Titmouse would zip in, grab a seed, and zip out (as is their habit), and a male
Golden-fronted Woodpecker showed off in all his glory!
White-winged Dove
Chachalaca feeding frenzy
Shy Green Jay
With funky tail
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
After using the
restrooms we headed out to the trails, and we had barely gotten past the levee
when not only a House Wren actually showed itself, but an Olive Sparrow as
well! On the Chachalaca Trail we had a
very cooperative Blue-headed Vireo, and we could hear lots of stilts and ducks
even before we reached the overlook! But
the very first duck we saw once we got there was the coveted Wood Duck!! (He had been reported all week – while
considered somewhat of a vagrant, usually one or two show up every winter…) The resident Harris’ Hawk was sitting across
the way in his tree, and the ducks and shorebirds had certainly discovered the
newly-filled lakes: Blue-winged Teal,
Gadwall, Mottled Duck, and Shoveler were all represented, and both Greater and
Lesser Yellowlegs fed on the other side along with lots of Black-necked
Stilts. A couple of fluffy-butt Least
Grebes floated along, and several Kiskadees showed off in great light, but the
stars (besides the Wood Duck J) were the Green Kingfishers as they ticked and
splatted and flew back and forth! I
heard a Sora from the blind along with lots of Yellowthroats chacking, but
nothing new besides the calling Beardless Tyrannulet that of course didn’t wanna
show…
Blue-headed Vireo (also below)
Willow Lake
Wood Duck, a rarity in the Valley!
Least Grebe
Sitar wanted to
rest a spell, so we sat him down at the bench where the Pintail Lake Cutoff Trail
empties out, but even then Sudha and I didn’t get far as three Altamira
Orioles made an appearance in this lone scraggly tree out in the middle of
noplace, along with a couple of Eastern Phoebes! We finally got going (as I was
hearing the Ringed Kingfisher in the distance), but it was special bird after
special bird on the way out there: first
off, an incredibly cooperative male Kestrel sat still as we walked past him and
positioned ourselves for photographs, and he was so laid back that Sudha was
even able to digiscope him! A brilliant
male Vermillion Flycatcher showed off, and the main lake had several White Ibis
of all ages, Snowy Egrets, and a pod of Long-billed Dowitchers trying to
snooze. Even more ducks were out in the
deeper stuff; in addition to what we had already seen we added a female
Bufflehead, some Ruddy Ducks, a single female American Wigeon, and Sudha
spotted the lake’s namesake, a pair of Northern Pintail! J We flushed
several Snipe as we headed for the end pond, and paused for a look at a
Tropical Kingbird on the way. We finally
made it to the back pond, where the Ringed Kingfisher was performing well,
albeit not in the best lighting conditions, but she caught a fish for us a
couple of times and flew to various perches and showed off at all angles! After enjoying the kingfisher we studied a
couple of Plegadis ibis that were “right there” in with the Whites,
close enough to see that their faces were pink and not gray, nailing them as
the expected White-faced Ibis.
Sudha and Sitar check out the Altamira Orioles (below)
Friendly (!) American Kestrel (also below)
White Ibis and Long-billed Dowitchers
Tropical Kingbird
The same Kestrel (probably) follows us to the far lake!
On the way back we
had a tailless Black Phoebe, and as I scanned the lake I noticed that Sitar was
standing under a tree right next to the lake!
So we headed that way, passing three university students who asked a lot
of questions about why the dowitchers were sleeping instead of eating J, and then headed back to the bench to pick up our
jackets we had left with him and then head back to the visitor’s center. On the way I pointed out the whistling of the
(unseen) Gray Hawks, although Sitar said he saw a “speckled” hawk at the bench,
which could have very easily been a juvenile.
We had gotten all the way back to the car when I realized I didn’t have
my camera L, so the guy on duty very graciously let me use an
electric scooter to zip back to Pintail Lakes to retrieve it (given it was
still there)! That was a fun adventure,
never having driven one of those puppies before (except for the electric
grocery cart when I broke my ankle L), and negotiating
a bumpy trail was particularly adventurous, but thankfully (and obviously) the
camera was still there! Comedy relief
was supplied when I was putzing my way back (those things don’t go very fast)
and went to check something on my phone only to have it say, “You will not
receive notifications while driving!” J
Pintail Lake (look hard for Sitar under the tree!)
The next planned
stop was Anzalduas, but Sudha had a lot of questions about several nearby
places, so since it was on the way, we decided to stop at Old Hidalgo Pumphouse
and bag the Monk Parakeets on 5th and Gardenia! Unlike the last time I went there during
“inclement weather”, the birds were out and about and showing well! We headed on quickly in order not to cause
the neighborhood pit bull too much stress, and checked out the pumphouse; no
birds to speak of, but I did point out the early version of The Wall and the
tract of LRGV NWR land behind it.
Monk Parakeet
Gardens at the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse
Sudha and Sitar on the overlook
Still shooting for
Anzalduas, we made the obligatory stop for Burrowing Owls in Granjeño, and I
was ready to give up when I finally spotted one staring at me, and before I
could get the scope on him he actually jumped up and flew to a rock where he
stood in the open – what a view! Then
we finally made it to Anzalduas, where Sudha was up for the Pipit Poke; the
pack of Western Meadowlarks was out there, of course, and she was just as
fascinated by them! We eventually did
flush a Sprague’s Pipit and even managed to get him in the scope, and as is
often the case, as we were heading back and amiably chatting, a second bird
exploded from our feet!
Burrowing Owl (also below)
Sudha enjoying her life Sprague's Pipit!
As usual, my
charges enjoyed the fact that Mexico was also right there (there was
certainly more party action on that side than our side J), but the birdlife was in bits and pieces: the Osprey had a big fish for lunch, and
Coots (plus a single Common Gallinule) and the resident feral Muscovy were in
the Rio Grande. I believe we had another
Vermilion Flycatcher or two, but the real star was an immature Zone-tailed Hawk
sailing high overhead! Cutting through
the midsection I heard one of the resident House Finches (my charges always get
a kick out of the fact that they’re actually rare down here), and some American
Pipits were foraging in one of the lawn areas on the way out. But just before we reached the entrance shack
I heard a metallic call note and saw three dark birds wheel in and land in the
field; Sudha and I jumped out to confirm that we had three Brewer’s Blackbirds
– a male and two females! That was a
hoot, seeing as about the only reliable place in the Valley to get these things
is up at the Rio Beef Feedyard (and one of the HEB parking lots, I think…)!
Brewer's Blackbirds - common as dirt out west but hard to find in the Valley!
It was time for lunch
after that, and Sitar had noticed a Subway on the way, so we swung back, only
to find that that whole strip was closed tight!
So we ended up at the Stripes (I tell everyone that you can’t come to
South Texas without stopping at a Stripes J), and since we
really didn’t have time to do Wallace Road by then, we decided to quickly check
out Edinburg Wetlands. Only when we got
there, I had totally forgotten that the place was closed on Sundays! L No
worries: the South Pond is always open,
so we parked and headed over there, where a lady was already enjoying a
friendly Tricolored Heron! Across the
way were the expected Neotropic Cormorants and Snowy Egrets (with a few Cattle
thrown in), but a female Anhinga was a hit as well! A Green Heron called and fled, and several White
Pelicans floated further out in the water, along with a Pied-billed Grebe being
followed by a Least Grebe! Sudha was
distracted by the Yellow-rumped Warbler that flew in, and on the way out we had
wonderful sunlit views of a Curve-billed Thrasher and Orange-crowned Warbler
feeding on the cactus tunas! Some scaly
Inca Doves were somewhat anticlimactic, and Sudha spotted a Cardinal on the way
out feeding under a bush.
Enjoying the Tricolored Heron (below)
Curve-billed Thrasher (also below)
Orange-crowned Warbler (also below)
My internal clock
was urging me to give the Parakeet Show on 10th a try (an hour before
sunset is the ideal time to start looking), so we headed down to Trenton and
then to 10th, and by the time we arrived at the traditional hotspot
at 10th and Dove (specifically, the Lowe’s parking lot), there they
were! Many were bathing in the fountain
at the entrance, and the sunlight on them was just gorgeous! We parked and enjoyed the spectacle as more
and more wheeled in and lined the wires; there must have been at least 200
birds there! What a show!
Green Parakeets enjoying the fountain in the Lowe's parking lot!
Pondering whether to take the plunge...
Headed home after
that with 91 species for the day! Bird
list:
Muscovy Duck
(Domestic type)
Wood DuckBlue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Anhinga
Neotropic Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
Gray Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Burrowing Owl
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Monk Parakeet
Green Parakeet
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
House Finch
Olive Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
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