1/13/22
Kerry was the leader of a great group from Lake/Cook County Audubon (Chicago area), so we met at the Historic Building with a big van that Keith’s stepdaughter Carrie would drive for us (and being a knowledgeable historian, she kept everyone entertained regarding the area’s history as well along the drive)! Our first destination was (of course) Estero Llano Grande for the mix of Valley and water birds, and right away at the “Brick Walkway Feeder” a lone Long-billed Thrasher was jockeying for position amongst the White-winged Doves! The gang was duly impressed by the mob of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks right off the deck, Chachalacas on the side, and their first Kiskadee that showed off near the “Restroom Feeders”! We eventually made our way to the boardwalk to view Ibis Pond in better light (the line of whistlers lining the boardwalk was still there), and got nice looks at Shovelers, Blue-winged Teal, and Mottled Duck, along with Least and Pied-billed Grebes. A Common Gallinule provided comedy relief as he appeared to fend off several whistlers from his stem! Avocet Pond was in terrible light, but thankfully the Fulvous Whistling Duck actually called and then flew almost right over our heads before circling back to land!
On the way back to the main trail an Eastern Phoebe
flopped over to the top of a tree, and plenty of Common Yellowthroats called
from the marsh. I discovered that some
of the group were also into butterflies, so I pointed out a sunning Queen next
to the trail. At Dowitcher Pond one of
the gals saw a Sora run across an opening (we had heard one earlier), and Kerry
spotted a sharp-looking male Pintail dabbling.
The gang was thrilled with the Anhinga posing at Grebe Marsh, while a
Verdin called from an inaccessible area (most had seen one in Arizona, so that
didn’t get their juices going like it does some visitors J). The Green Kingfisher was another story,
however, and it didn’t help that she was giving us very limited views from
within the sticks! A few White Pelicans sailed
over the levee, and the requisite night herons showed well at Alligator
Lake. After briefing the group on what
to look for regarding the Pauraque, I was sweating finding this thing when Linda spotted it (even so, it took a while for some to get on it)!
The gang enjoys a young Anhinga (below) at Grebe Marsh
We continued to the big overlook in hopes of the Ringed Kingfisher, but Kerry (I think) spotted a Belted instead, and another Green Kingfisher went darting back and forth and giving us fits! A Bewick’s Wren sang across the way (someone remarked how similar it sounded to a Song Sparrow) and a White Peacock sunned on the grass just below the deck for the butterfly fans! A Tricolored Heron flew by, while a very distant hawk turned out to be a young White-tailed (definitely a BVD – “Better View Desired” – bird). A Harrier was more cooperative, and on the way out a Giant White (a rare but regular Valley specialty butter) showed well, along with a pair of Altamira Orioles!
On the way to the Big Overlook
Northern Harrier (note the owl-like face)
White Peacock
Belted Kingfisher
On the way back to the VC we ran into a friend of
theirs from the Chicago area who was here chasing rarities, so his report about
the Golden-crowned Warbler at Valley Nature Center got them all excited (we’d
save that one for the Chase Day)! The
requisite White Ibis was back at Ibis Pond, and from there we headed to the
Tropical Zone to try for “Pam in the Palm” who had moved to the owl box! J Thankfully she was there, so everyone got
great looks (I advised them to put this one “in the bank” as our “McCall’s”
Screech Owl is a candidate for a split from Eastern).
The gang enjoys the McCall's Screech Owl (below)
The Indigo Blind was hopping, as park volunteer Brian
had just put the food out! Of course the
usual Green Jays, Kiskadees, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, and titmice were hits,
but what really caused excitement was the Olive Sparrow that came out into the
open! A Carolina Wren showed briefly,
and a female Archolichus type hummingbird sitting at the feeder showed enough of a blobby outer
primary and longish bill for me to comfortably call it a Black-chinned. But the real prize was the female Hooded
Oriole that came to the PB log!
We had to scoot to have lunch and then hit Quinta Mazatlan, but park volunteer (there’s a lot of ‘em J) Tom Unsinger talked us into visiting Park Hosts Susan and Steve’s feeders as a young male Hooded Oriole would often come in, and not everyone had gotten on the one at the blind. We gave it about five minutes which yielded a closeup look at an Orange-crowned Warbler, and another specialty butter, a Mexican Bluewing, sunning on one of the fold-up chairs! Out in the parking lot a young Harris’ Hawk posed on a pole, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher bounced around.
Carrie suggested we dine at Burger Ranch, a restaurant
right there on International Boulevard that served huge homemade burgers (as
well as other stuff), which was great, as you could eat outdoors, and the food
was really wonderful (and I had never heard of the place)! From there we went straight to Quinta Mazatlan,
and right when we all piled out of the van a couple of Gray Hawks called and
wheeled overhead! That was (almost) the
highlight of the day for many! Diane
spotted a Curve-billed Thrasher in the parking lot, and as we went to check in
a Buff-bellied Hummingbird rattled and darted amongst the Turk’s Cap outside of
the mansion. While enjoying that we ran
into my friend Tamie, Father Tom, and Sara, who said they had the grosbeak a half
hour before! So we checked in post
haste, checked the spot where they had had the bird, then sat the amphitheater
where the bird often showed up. While
waiting we enjoyed the Clay-colored Thrushes and the wintering Summer Tanager, but
when the grosbeak did come in briefly, an excited birder that had been standing in front of
the seating area spooked it, then ran around the corner to try and find it L.
The gang at Quinta Mazatlan
Gray Hawk
After things quieted down we decided to wander and headed to Ebony Grove, as that was another spot the bird liked to hang around. We hadn’t gone far before we heard the bird give its characteristic wheeoo! call, so back to the main trail we went, I sent those with good eyes ahead of me to track it down J, and Kerry spotted it! Everyone there was able to get decent looks, but Cici and Rob had gone wandering on their own, so I did the whole loop trying to chase them down! Thankfully someone else in the group texted them, and they got back before I did and were able to enjoy the bird! J
We added Inca Doves on the way out, and got another
Buffbelly (or maybe even the same one) back at the VC for those who needed a
better look, plus a Pale-banded Crescent for the butter people. Those who made it back to the van before the
rest of us added a Red-shouldered Hawk to the day list!
All in all we racked up a modest 63 species for the day. Bird list:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Inca Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Pauraque
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Sora
Common Gallinule
Anhinga
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Gray Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
European Starling
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Clay-colored Thrush
House Sparrow
Olive Sparrow
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Summer Tanager
Crimson-collared Grosbeak
Northern Cardinal
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