Hitting the Cold Front

2/25/22 

Mary from Houston had won a silent auction bid at their local Audubon fundraiser for a three-night stay at the Inn (with a half day of guiding), so she and her other half Tom were finally able to get away and use it!  Problem was, a cold front arrived the night before our outing, so it never got above 43 all day and was misty to boot! L  (Thankfully it was for only a half day…)  We were playing the itinerary by ear (because sometimes down here they predict rain but it never happens) and I gave them several options, but the possibility of the continuing Bat Falcon was too tempting to pass up, so I met them at the Inn at 6:30 and we headed down to Santa Ana in the mist!

The bird wasn’t on “his” post when we arrived, so as we pondered how to wait for him while still staying dry, we noticed a guy pulled over on the west-bound shoulder, so we swung around and pulled up behind him with a ring-side view of the “stage”!  (Some other folks were parked along the entrance road, but it didn’t look like anyone was enforcing the “no parking” rule in that weather…)  We gave it until 7:30 with no falcon L, but we did log the day’s only White-tailed Kite pumping by!

Since the mist seemed pretty light by that point, we went ahead and parked in the lot to hike the Chachalaca Trail.  Three Kiskadees showed off right away, but a titmouse in the parking lot was less cooperative. We poked along the road and over on the levee to the trail, all bundled like Eskimos; naturally it was pretty quiet, but a troupe of Green Jays happened by, giving everyone great looks!  An Olive Sparrow lisped unseen, but no other songbirds showed themselves for the first part of the trail.  We did hear a distant Carolina Wren, which prompted a story from Mary about how they would nest in an empty pack in their golf cart if they didn’t use it very often!

Tom and Mary enjoying the Green Jay family 

All the action was at Willow Lakes:  we had a good assortment of water birds including both grebes, Shovelers, Blue- and Green-winged Teal, Coots, Common Gallinules, and a hiding Sora whining.  A Ringed Kingfisher machine-gunned and then shot by too fast to get a good look at, and later a Belted Kingfisher did the same.  Over at the blind were both flavors of egrets along with a couple of immature spoonbills, plus a female Yellowthroat that deigned to let us see her!  At the far deck were more birds than I’d seen there in a long time:  a big flock of Long-billed Dowitchers and Least Sandpipers fed on the “sand bars”, while a large group of White Ibis huddled together along with more Snowy Egrets.  White Pelicans sailed overhead, and Mary and Tom were surprised to find out that the Whites are actually quite a bit bigger than the Browns they have in Houston (and here, of course)! 

Great Blue Heron

White Ibis (showing his black wingtips) with Snowy Egrets

Mottled Ducks

Long-billed Dowitchers

Young Roseate Spoonbills

American White Pelican

Pied-billed Grebe

Least Grebe

Northern Shoveler

Snowy Egrets

On the way back I was surprised at a cooperative pair of Verdins who came in close to investigate (but frustrated Tom to no end in his photographic endeavors as the silly bird was in constant motion J).  A Golden-fronted Woodpecker was more cooperative, however! 

Verdin

They wanted to see the Rio Grande, so that was a good excuse to go to Anzalduas Park and road-bird a little!  On the way in we logged a Loggerhead Shrike that liked the chain-link fence up on the levee, and as always enjoyed pointing out that one is looking north into Mexico at that point!  We forewent the Pipit Poke seeing as it was still misty and the field was probably wet (to say nothing of the fact that the last couple of times I looked for them I came up empty L), but we did pull over and scan the river from the car, adding the scaup and coot flock, plus a Ring-billed Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, and a couple of Caspian Terns!  The big mass of vultures I had seen sitting on the grass the last two times apparently had left for drier parts…

The Rio Grande at Anzalduas County Park 

As we made the right and rolled by closer to the river (where a lone Lesser Scaup was closer among the Coots), suddenly another Ringed Kingfisher let loose, and this time we spotted him as he made several circles and landed on the island where we all got great looks at his chestnut breast!  (Took a little while to point him out as it was hard to find a clear window through the brush…)  The Osprey that had been whistling suddenly materialized on a dead snag, and we were able to get a tiny bit closer to the Caspian Terns so that their red bills were visible (if you had 10x bins J)!  Four Killdeer lined the little ridge, so that was fun to see. 

Ringed Kingfisher through the brush

The back side of the park was still closed due to immigrant COVID testing, so we crawled along the rest of the open park, but things were just simply dead.  We still had a little time yet with no other road-birding options, so we decided to try Bentsen for some feeder birds, and that turned out to be a great decision as the “wet” totally went away when we got there!  On the way in a Long-billed Thrasher serenaded us and provided great photo and video ops, and the new PB feeder outside the Visitor Center window (as well as the platform feeder) was being attacked by Cardinals and Green Jays, along with Inca Doves on the ground picking up the leftovers!  After checking in we headed straight to La Familia Nature Center and the feeders there, adding a Great Blue Heron and Great Egret along the canal (we lost Tom briefly as he was taking pictures of the Border Wall…J)! 

Tom and Mary shoot a Long-billed Thrasher (below), at the end of the arrow above!

Female Cardinal and Inca Doves

Male Cardinal

That place was hopping!  Chachalacas were all over the floor, and a pair of Altamira Orioles were fighting with the blackbirds over the sunflower seed feeder!  The requisite Green Jays and Cardinals were going back and forth, and on the other side we picked up the White-tipped Dove.  All too soon it was time to head back, so after getting “we were there” pictures of Mary and Tom with the Border Wall in the background J, we stopped in the VC for a snack before heading home (and Mary braved the freeway construction famously – all she had to say to calm my fears was, “I drive in Houston!” J)!

Mary shooting the Chachalaca mob (below)

Tom shooting the Altamira Oriole (below)

 

White-tipped Dove

Green Jay (yes, it was cold!)

The morning’s list was pretty dismal with only 44 species, but considering the weather we had to deal with, that wasn’t bad!  Bird list:

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Mottled Duck

Green-winged Teal

Lesser Scaup

Plain Chachalaca

Least Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

White-tipped Dove

Sora

Common Gallinule

American Coot

Killdeer

Least Sandpiper

Long-billed Dowitcher

Ring-billed Gull

Caspian Tern

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

White Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

White-tailed Kite

Ringed Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Great Kiskadee

Loggerhead Shrike

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Carolina Wren

Long-billed Thrasher

Olive Sparrow

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Cardinal

A Girls' Day Out

2/21/22 

My first words to Liz from New Mexico and her friend Karen from Dallas as they pulled into the parking lot at Estero Llano Grande were, “There goes a Ringed Kingfisher!!”  Unfortunately, they both missed it, of course, but they took it in stride; both were rather laid-back birders who were happy to see whatever came by!  Karen was a beginner, so everything was a new delight, whereas Liz had only been to the Valley once before to visit relatives (and was not a birder at the time, so she only remembers seeing a Green Jay J).  We had opted to meet each other at the park due to COVID concerns, so after we all got our stuff together, we headed on in, deciding to take a quick peek first to see if “Pam in the Palm” (one of our resident “McCall’s” Screech Owls) was in her box!  (She received that moniker as her usual roost was next to a palm tree, but she moved…maybe it’s time to change her name to “Barb in the Box”…)  She/he/it wasn’t there, but we nailed their first Valley (Texas, really) specialty, a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, on a power pole!  A funny call note I couldn’t place coming from a bush at our feet had me convinced we might have a Winter Wren, but before long the bird started saying something I recognized (besides having a “family member” calling nearby) and briefly showed itself, proving to be a Carolina Wren!   We then headed down the brick walkway where we picked up a singing Long-billed Thrasher (a good example of being almost within touching distance but practically invisible)!

The girls spotted some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks actually on the roof of the building next to the “restroom feeders” (we later saw a couple actually on the log feeder), and indeed most of the had vacated Ibis Pond.  We had a few ducks:  Shoveler, both Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, some Gadwall, and a pair of Mottled Ducks.  A Least Grebe kept playing hide and seek behind a log, and a quartet of Snowy Egrets fed across the way, along with a couple of Common Gallinules.  We checked out Avocet Pond and found the Gadwall/Pintail hybrid, but no Fulvous Whistling Duck.  A few Kiskadees came into the tree full of redwings across the way, and they were definitely a hit, especially after they were joined by an Altamira Oriole! 

Hybrid Gadwall/Pintail

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks raiding the feeder

Swinging around the boardwalk we added a Caracara keeping pace ahead of a Turkey Vulture, then headed to Curlew Pond with nothing to show except a Lincoln’s Sparrow.  Dowitcher Pond was pretty quiet on the southern end as well (although we did heard avocets on the other side of the levee).  As we headed towards Alligator Lake a White-tailed Kite just performed beautifully (easy for him to “kite” in the wind as it kicked up), and Soras called from the reeds.  At the north end we found more ducks, Coots, and gallinules, but nothing unusual.  The sun came out about then, and the black sky to the north was quite dramatic!

Karen and Liz head down the Wader's Trail

Lincoln's Sparrow

White-tailed Kite 

Liz and Karen admiring the sky

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Grebe Marsh was empty of life as well (except for a Red-eared Slider), but all the action appeared to be at Alligator Lake:  both flavors of night herons came through, along with a Green Heron that spooked, and a Tricolored Heron sitting stoically across the way.  A Snowy Egret was having a “bad hair day”, and an Anhinga dried his wings, offering the opportunity to explain why they did that!  (No oil glands to keep their feathers waterproofed…)  The Ringed Kingfisher shot silently overhead, but unfortunately the girls only saw the blob…  More Least Grebes gave point-blank looks, and we were entertained by a Pied-billed Grebe gagging down a fish as big as his head!

A Pied-billed Grebe's lunch puts up a fight!

Least Grebes

Snowy Egret having a Bad Hair Day 

We started the Pauraque Prowl, and thankfully didn’t have to go far before I spotted him (with a sigh of relief)!  He was definitely a hit!  The big overlook gave us a Neotropic Cormorant that kept flying circles over us, while another Anhinga sat on a picturesque branch against the sky (and here was where Karen discovered that something had “decorated” her… L)!  Heading back to the visitor’s center several Tree Swallows circled overhead, and four White Pelicans sailed by, a couple starting to get their bill horns!  Had more views of the kite, and after checking in and using the facilities, we headed into the Tropical Zone. 

Obligatory Pauraque shot

Obligatory "enjoying the Pauraque" shot

Art Deco Anhinga

Both Yellow-crowned (left) and Black-crowned Night Herons

Right away we headed over to Park Hosts Susan and Steve’s feeders and “changed the guard” with a couple who said it was “rather dead”, but I talked the girls into giving it at least ten minutes for the birds to get used to you (normally I give it 15 but many people don’t have the patience).  It was indeed rather dead to start with, but the minute my timer went off the place exploded with birds:  Orange-crowned Warblers came down to the PB log, an Altamira Oriole came in to the nectar feeders (and the suet cake), a female Black-chinned Hummer came in to that feeder (the combination of flopping tail, long bill, and blobby outer primary sold me), and several Clay-colored Thrushes suddenly bounced around and under the RV!  What a show!

Steve and Susan's feeder area 

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

Altamira Oriole

Then we checked in on “Pam”, and there she was!  I explained why they should put this one in the “bank” in case the powers that be decide to split the “McCall’s” off from the standard Eastern Screech Owl as we made our way to the Indigo Blind.  A treefull of Black-crested Titmice (and a single Blue-gray Gnatcatcher) distracted us, but there was nothing at the “Picnic Table Feeders”, so we headed on over to the blind.  A “pupping” sound betrayed the presence of an unseen Couch’s Kingbird, but before long he darted out, caught himself a bee, and landed right over our heads!  Nice show!

"I see you!!"  (McCall's Screech Owl)

Reading about the exotic Avocado Tree

Couch's Kingbird with lunch 

Ida, one of our Winter Texan fixtures around the Valley J, was already in the blind and reported an Olive Sparrow that had been on a log.  Again, I insisted on giving it at least 15 minutes this time, and while it was slow to begin with, we eventually got looks at both Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Black-crested Titmice, both Ruby-throated and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds (plus an Archilochus hummer that seemed to have characteristic of both), and finally a brilliant Green Jay (who was banded)!  Ida’s hubby Ty came in, and shortly after a Kiskadee came to take a drink and yelled the “all clear”, the place exploded with activity:  Clay-colored Thrushes, Chachalacas, White-tipped Doves, and even the Olive Sparrows all came in!  A Green Jay alarm sent everyone except a statuesque Clay-colored scrambling (I heard a Red-shouldered Hawk in the distance, but I doubt that was the source of the scare), so we used that opportunity to go see the nesting Great Horned Owl.  I had seen it twice before so I was a little nonplussed when I couldn’t find the thing (you have to be standing in just the right spot), but finally spotted Momma with the fluffy chick high in the tree!  What a treat!

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Black-crested Titmouse

Green Jay

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Olive Sparrow

That look when the Green Jay calls the alarm! (Clay-colored Thrush)

We called it a day after that with 62 species for the morning, which is pretty decent!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Gadwall

Mottled Duck

Northern Pintail

Gadwall x Northern Pintail (hybrid)

Green-winged Teal

Plain Chachalaca

Least Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

White-tipped Dove

Common Pauraque

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Sora

Common Gallinule

American Coot

American Avocet

Killdeer

Anhinga

Neotropic Cormorant

American White Pelican

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Tricolored Heron

Green Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Turkey Vulture

White-tailed Kite

Red-shouldered Hawk

Eastern Screech-Owl

Great Horned Owl

Ringed Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Crested Caracara

Great Kiskadee

Couch's Kingbird

White-eyed Vireo

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Tree Swallow

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Carolina Wren

European Starling

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Cardinal