3/18/22
With a report of both a Hook-billed Kite and Audubon’s Oriole (the latter is rare in Hidalgo County) at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park (and the promise of a tram ride between spots J) Jen and Joe were game to make that today’s destination! We went the back way to avoid the construction/rush hour traffic on I-2, and picked up a Great Egret in the ditch on Military Highway that way. In the parking lot an Orange-crowned Warbler finally gave everyone a good look (unlike the bird yesterday), and added Chachalacas waiting for breakfast on the way in (Joe made the comment that they were like big chickens and a passing volunteer quipped, “They are chickens!” J). We arrived just as the visitor’s center was opening, so we got checked in and then made our way to the Nature Center feeders, enjoying three feral Muscovies in the canal (which triggered a conversation about “countable” Muscovies) and logging a fly-by White-tipped Dove. The guy was just putting out the food when we arrived, so we enjoyed more Chachalacas, a Long-billed Thrasher that almost didn’t wait for the guy to finish before dashing in for his food, and of course lots of Kiskadees, Green Jays, and Red-winged Blackbirds. Our only Inca Dove of the day fed on the ground near one of the poles.
The plan was to wait for the 9:00 tram to take us
to Kingfisher Overlook, but when Jen learned that it was only a 15 minute walk
there, she enthusiastically insisted she could do that, so we headed out and
enjoyed the other feeders on the way (as we were basically on the heels of the
Food Guy)! Young Altamira Orioles were
coming in to Feeder #3, and Joe was intrigued with the log PB feeders! After five minutes we headed to Feeder # 4
near Ebony Grove, where a herd of Turkeys was hanging out, one big tom
regularly jumping up to the PB feeder to grab a bite!
From there it was just a short walk to the resaca,
where the only birds we logged were scattered Pied-billed Grebes (the wind was
kicking up again by then), and Jen reported nothing but redwings at the wall
blind, so we strolled down to the Green Jay Blind, hearing a rattling Belted
Kingfisher and finally getting a good look at a Bronzed Cowbird that was
hanging in the top of a tree with a few redwings! We were the only ones in the blind at the
time, and it didn’t take long for the Audubon’s to come in, get a drink, and
grab some PB! The only thing that
bothered me was that he showed a bit of green wash on the back of the head (in
other words, he didn’t have a clean black hood), so I was wondering if we
actually had the reported “Smudgy” Oriole (an Altamira/Audubon’s hybrid, which
used to be much more regular years ago).
But this guy looked like he had enough Audubon’s blood in him to make
him “countable” for J&J! J
Bronzed Cowbird
In addition to the (at least quasi) Audubon’s, we enjoyed both Hooded and Altamira Orioles coming in at point blank, as well as more redwings, Green Jays, and Kiskadees! Additional visitors included Lincoln’s Sparrows on the ground, unseen Olive Sparrows singing, Cardinals, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that Jen spotted to the side. We even had some Hispid Cotton Rats nosing near the water feature! But the star of the show was a young Gray Hawk that flew overhead and then landed in a dead tree!
While we were in the blind a report came over the local RBA What’s App that the Hook-billed Kite was presently perched at the hawk tower, but we figured that trying to hoof it down there would be impracticable (besides it being way too long of a hike for Jen), so we opted to continue enjoying the feeder birds and wait for the tram. Gradually more folks were coming in to the blind, so since it was getting close to 10:00 we headed to the bench to wait. A Common Ground Dove went whizzing past in the meantime, and both a Black and Turkey Vulture wheeled around in front of us. We grabbed the remaining seats when the tram rolled in and kept an eye out for Roadrunners (no dice this time L), but Joe was the only one to see the Harris’ Hawk sitting ramrod still right next to the road! Once at the tower we piled out (along with almost everyone else), but got waylaid by a chirping Verdin, which would have been another life bird! A young couple ahead of us had actually gotten a picture (not knowing what it was, of course), but darned if that little guy just refused to come out! We finally headed up to the tower where the kite was long gone, but Jen actually spotted a Northern Harrier flying low over the resaca! The resaca itself was often good for Green Kingfisher (they had had one earlier), but all we spotted were Coots, another Pied-billed Grebe, and a Common Gallinule (which sparked a conversation about lumping and splitting and confusing name changes…).
The Verdin was still chirping, so Jen opted to go back down and try for that, so Joe followed (and of course so did I J), pointing out one of the tree snails that the kites like on the way. Naturally the Verdin quit chirping by the time we got back there, but that same young couple had found a (the?) young Gray Hawk back in the foliage, apparently tearing apart a prey item! (I think it was finished by the time we saw it…) The Verdin was definitely quiet, so rather than wander down the Rio Grande Trail and risk missing the 11:00 tram we opted to wander the paved road, but about all we saw was a flyover Osprey and a Homeland Security helicopter! When the tram did show up, it was stuffed to the gills already, so they sent a backup to pick us up with a jolly driver who shared Roadrunner stories when he overheard that we were still on the lookout for them! We screeched to a halt when we encountered one of the Turkeys in full display at the Nature Center! Past the gate we saw the Blue Spiny Lizards sunning, despite the fact that it was still rather cool!
We were all pretty tired after that, but we managed
to find a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the headquarters area, along with
another Hooded Oriole wanting to come in to the hummer feeder! We ended the morning with 42 species – only three
more than yesterday, but the colors and cooperativeness of the birds today
couldn’t be beat!
Bird list:
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)
Plain Chachalaca
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground Dove
White-tipped Dove
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
Gray Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Great Kiskadee
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Olive Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
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