3/21/22
Sirimon, Surusak (Sak for short) and their child Sarida were visiting the Valley for the first time (originally from Thailand, they now lived in Chicago while Sarita was attending college in my old stomping grounds of San Diego), so since they wanted a well-rounded experience (and were going to visit Cameron County and South Padre Island on their own), I had planned on taking them up to Starr County for their first day. I wasn’t too hopeful with a wind advisory issued no matter where we went, but we all piled in Sak’s rented pickup (quite roomy, actually) and headed up first to Starr County Park in hopes of Red-billed Pigeons.
None had been reported in a long time, and I was concerned that the coma trees (the berries of which the pigeons come to eat this time of year) took a bad hit during the Big Freeze and just weren’t producing. A quick swing around the park still proved productive, however, with Loggerhead Shrike, Lark Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlarks, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and the star of the show, a pair of Vermilion Flycatchers! What looked like an all-black cowbird making funny and unrecognizable noises allowed one inconclusive photo before taking off, and thinking “zebras” I was wondering if we might have had a Shiny Cowbird, but a blow-up on the computer revealed it to be a Brown-headed after all (glad I didn’t plaster that one all over the RBA L)! [Update: Ironically, one WAS reported two days later near Corpus Christi! Hmm...]
From there we headed to Salineno and hiked the Seedeater Trail; no seedeater, but there was no wind to speak of, so it was actually quite pleasant! A Ruby-crowned Kinglet played hide-and-seek right at the beginning of the trail, while both a Long-billed Thrasher and an Audubon’s Oriole sang and called from the woodland but wouldn’t show. A couple of Olive Sparrows shot across the trail, and another one was singing close by, but when I saw a small bird come in to my pishing I thought that was it until Sarida said, “No way!” Said bird turned out to be an Orange-crowned Warbler (as the Olive Sparrow still sang away in the nearby brush J)! A little further down a pair of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers came to say hello, and several unseen Laughing Gulls made a ruckus!
An hour’s watch at the end of the trail yielded a pair of Altamira Orioles, both Mexican and Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teal (a group of five that kept wheeling back and forth several times), and a “fitting” Marsh Wren. Both cormorants powered by at different times, and a pair of Black Vultures were in the dead tree across the way, to be usurped later by a Gray Hawk! A White-eyed Vireo actually sat up out in the open and sang on top of a dead tree, while a White-tipped Dove called mournfully in the distance. A pair of Ospreys circled close while a Swainson’s Hawk soared way over Mexico, and an Eastern Phoebe flopped in and peeped while a Couch’s Kingbird gave his distinctive “Cher-REER!” call, but amazingly a Tropical Kingbird also tittered, which is rare in that area! (Unfortunately he shut up before I could get a recording… L) Kiskadees flew back and forth, and surprisingly we had no kingfishers whatsoever, so I figured they had probably started nesting. A few fly-by White-winged Doves got us going once in a while, but no Red-billed Pigeons.
From there we crawled along the Dump Road, where a Pyrrhuloxia finally gave a decent view! A Black-throated Sparrow popped up with a little coaxing, but the Bewick’s Wren wasn’t as cooperative (and the Cactus Wren was too far away to even try for, as was the Ash-throated Flycatcher). A Harris’ Hawk sailed by in front of a couple of Turkey Vultures, and Caracaras flew across the road.
We ran over to Falcon State Park to eat lunch, but
we didn’t have enough time to visit Park Host Mike’s feeders before we had to
head to Rancho Lomitas, so we just headed straight there. We added a young White-tailed Hawk on the way
in, along with two more Turkey Vultures.
Anna met us and had the vittles out already, where it didn’t take long
for a Black-crested Titmouse to come in even before we sat down! Green Jays were quick to come in as well, and
even the signature Scaled Quail quickly warmed up to us and trotted over (and
they were starting to get feisty as well)!
Thankfully the Audubon’s Oriole came in, as well as a Hooded a little
later and a few Inca Doves. A male
hummingbird breezed through that in that desert area I called a Black-chinned,
especially with the “ringing” wings. But
the real ham (besides the quail) was their “tame” Roadrunner who came right up
to us, wanting his mealworms! Anna
clucked at him and I cooed at him, so between the two of us he was really being messed
with! J
Picnic time at Falcon State Park
Watching the show at Rancho Lomitas
Before long it was time to head home, but I took them out the “back” way, where we found another Vermilion Flycatcher, but also a flock of House Finches and Chipping Sparrows! And although we didn’t encounter much wind at all, I found out later that the coastal areas had experienced hurricane-force gusts at times, and we in Alamo had lost power several times! So we indeed made the right choice in destinations!
Finished the day with 62 species, which is pretty decent for Starr County! Bird list:
Blue-winged Teal
Mexican Duck
Mottled Duck
Scaled Quail
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Laughing Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Gray Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Marsh Wren
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
House Finch
Olive Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
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