A Push for the Plovers

9/7/19 

Since Joakim had reported Piping Plovers on the Flats (and eBird had reported Red Knots at the Birding Center), I set my sights on South Padre Island for Saturday’s outing!  It promised to be a gorgeous day, and as I arrived at the Flats around sunrise, the tide was in enough so that it prevented me from going “around the corner” (someone had already claimed that spot, anyway), but I could still drive up to some of the birds.  Besides hearing Dickcissels “bratting” overhead, the usual players were loafing, not in huge numbers, but a lot of juveniles made up the mix.  At least (no pun intended) a dozen Least Terns wheeled in that were all juvies, and several Black Skimmers and Royal Terns were youngsters as well.  Right at the get go was a large flock of White Ibis all preening away, plus a few Willets, Sanderlings, and Ruddy Turnstones running around.  Further out was a large flock of Short-billed Dowitchers with a few Marbled Godwits thrown in, and while I picked up both Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers right away, I couldn’t find the coveted Piping L.  While checking out the terns on the far north side I spotted some little bodies, but I had to get good close looks and scrutinize them well to convince me they weren’t odd-looking Semipals, as their plumage overall looked too dark for Piping, but they certainly had the plain face pattern (and a few tell-tale leg bands)!  Best I could figure was that the angle of the morning sun was playing tricks on their very worn plumage…  A Snowy Plover was in the mix as well, and his back color was about the same as the Pipings (as they should be), so I figured it was the sun…  I did hear one calling, so we’re safe… J

The Flats at dawn

White Ibis group

Close-up of one of the ibis

Willet

Black Skimmer

Royal Tern

Sandwich Tern

Black-bellied Plover

Immature Least Tern

Piping Plover (also below)

Snowy Plover

  

From there headed over to the Convention Centre, where I decided I liked the idea of parking on the far side of the Circular Area and working my way through to the Centre, even if things seemed slow (as “you never know”).  No birds graced my journey but a pair of Common Green Darners “in the wheel” and shining brightly in the sun was a treat!  A pewee was performing from the top of a tree near the sidewalk, and three Orchard Orioles landed briefly in the tree tops before moving on.  A five-minute vigil at the water feature yielded a cooperative Northern Waterthrush and a very uncooperative Kentucky Warbler, then ran into a couple of guys in the “back yard” who pointed out a female American Redstart, some Yellow Warblers, a female Baltimore Oriole, and an empid that struck me as an Alder (I had heard a pit earlier that I suspected might have been said bird).  The marsh lookout in the back had a Great Blue Heron and several Neotropic Cormorants lined up on the pilings, plus a good comparison of a Little Blue and Tricolored Heron.  Our piebald Reddish Egret was running around, showing even more white feathering on his neck, but a close look at the pictures led me to think he was just worn…  On the way back ran into Mark Esparza who had seen some frigatebirds fly over, but they eluded me…  

Common Green Darners

Eastern Wood Pewee (also below)

Great Blue Heron and Neotropic Cormorants (also below)

Little Blue (left) and Tricolored Herons

Reddish Egret (also below)

  

On the way to the boardwalk I heard a Groove-billed Ani, and a little Least Flycatcher showed off close on the boardwalk (but took off the minute I pulled out the camera L)!  Both Clapper Rails and Least Bitterns were calling but not showing themselves, Roseate Spoonbills were hanging out in the East Pond, and the friendly Common Gallinule was at his post.  Migrants had been reported in previous days but they weren’t showing themselves this day, except for a pair of Blue Grosbeaks.  These little crabs were running all over the “Mangrove Boardwalk”, looking like miniature tarantulas!  A Common Nighthawk fluttered way overhead, Green Herons flew and called, and a couple of Yellow-crowned Night Herons flew by at the end of the “Marsh Boardwalk”.  The Belted Kingfisher was back, and after using the restroom I was blasting past the water feature when a Red-eyed Vireo caught my eye, so I decided to spend another five minutes there, enjoying the vireo as he proceeded to take a dip!

Crab sp.  (Any guesses??)

Common Gallinule

Red-eyed Vireo (also below)

Brown Anole

  

The Birding and Nature Center was next, where the butterfly garden had a little action with another waterthrush, another Yellow Warbler, plus a Hooded Warbler and gobs of Eastern Kingbirds!  Many Mottled Ducks were out on the sandbar, and several larids and shorebirds were way out there but too far away to ID.  A Black Tern batted by at one of the blinds, and somewhere in there a Gull-billed also powered by.  A scan of Laguna Madre picked up a single Pied-billed Grebe, and Tropical Buckeyes were showing off along the spur boardwalk that used to connect with the CC boardwalk.  There were more White Ibis in that little open area that’s usually packed with birds (and sometimes even an alligator), but no shorebirds this time.  A baby gallinule was poking along the reeds parallel to the East Pond, but I couldn’t pick up anything interesting besides the spoonbills.

View from the Birding and Nature Center Deck

Eastern Kingbird

The Enforcer...

Mottled Duck

Tropical Buckeye

White Ibis

Common Gallinule

The "East Pond"

Roseate Spoonbills

  

Off to Sheepshead, where I ran into Mark again!  He had spotted a Worm-eating Warbler (gone at the moment), but another waterthrush came in while I was there in addition to more Yellow Warblers.  After checking out the “sunny side” I returned to the “dark side”, where Mark thought he had a Blackburnian Warbler!  Thankfully it came down to viewing distance and showed well (what looked like a first-year female), and as I was following some action in the back, his Worm-eating Warbler showed up!  That was very exciting (and sent us both wildly snapping pictures as that plus the Blackburnian were both flagged in eBird)!

Three shots of the immature Blackburnian Warbler

Worm-eating Warbler

Was time to eat lunch and then head home, where I added a pair of White-tailed Hawks on the toll road, bringing the list up to 81 species for the morning!  Bird list:

Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)

Mottled Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Groove-billed Ani
Common Nighthawk
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Clapper Rail
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
Black-bellied Plover
Snowy Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Laughing Gull
Least Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black Skimmer
Neotropic Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Great-tailed Grackle
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Blue Grosbeak
Dickcissel

Seeing Out the Summer with a Bang

8/31/19 

Joakim from Sweden had come to the States on business, so being an avid birder and photographer he would always take some time to go someplace new, so this time he chose South Texas!  Many of our specialties would have been new for him, but he was especially keen on kingfishers, so since my friend Dan Jones had seen them recently from his back yard in Progresso Lakes, we decided to spend the early morning there!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day: clear, calm, and with glorious cumulus clouds reflecting the sunrise over on the coast!  We started off with a bang when Joakim’s life Clay-colored Thrush landed in Dan’s front yard even before we got out of the car!  We quickly set up shop in the back yard, which overlooks Moon Lake, and started scanning (although Joakim was immediately distracted by the hummingbirds – both Buff-bellied and Ruby-throated – feeding in the bottlebrush):  Barn and Cave Swallows lined the wires across the way, and a Black Phoebe sang and flopped around.  Shrikes and Mockingbirds gave comparative views, and twice a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flew across the resaca and landed overhead, but never giving a better view…  Green and Black-crowned Night Herons showed, and the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks only flew overhead instead of carpeting the lawns across the way like they usually did!  At one point a raptor flew by that turned out to be a strongly-marked juvenile Mississippi Kite, while the fly-by Caspian Terns weren’t nearly as exciting!  Both Hooded and Altamira Orioles called but remained hidden (we saw a couple of possible Orchard Orioles zip by), and we were entertained by a family of Groove-billed Anis that flew right past us!  An Eastern Kingbird perched on the wire across the way, and at long last I heard a Green Kingfisher splat; thankfully Joakim spotted him as he darted down the resaca!  A feral Muscovy was good for the eBird list, and a calling Mourning Warbler that refused to come out of hiding in Dan’s butterfly garden was good for my year list!

Dawn at Dan's

Juvenile Mississippi Kite (© 2019 Joakim Ed)

After an hour we were ready to move on, and since Ringed Kingfishers had been reported at Estero Llano Grande State Park, we headed up there next.  Lo and behold, as we crossed the actual estero on FM 1015 Joakim spotted one on the wire, so I made a Uie and pulled over at the spot, although it was a horrible look against the sun (but he was still amazed at how big it was).  I decided to pull in the farm road next to the estero to see if we could see it from a better angle (which we couldn’t), but the estero itself was stuffed with stuff in perfect light:  lots of Black-bellied Whistling and Mottled Ducks (and even a couple of female-type Blue-winged Teal), Roseate Spoonbills, Tricolored and Little Blue Herons, and lots of Long-billed Dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers!  There was a handful of Least Sandpipers as well, plus a bigger peep that “felt” like a Western to me, and after scrutinizing my pictures later I felt comfortable calling it that, with the longer, more droopy bill that was hard to see while the thing was poking around so actively.  We also had both yellowlegs, a pair of Caracaras, and what was almost assuredly a Harris’ Hawk making off with a prey item (all Joakim saw was a “black” hawk with a white tail base shoot behind the hedge).  A Bank Swallow was a nice addition as well.

Roseate Spoonbill

Little Blue Heron

Western Sandpiper (also below)

The kingfisher was gone by the time we returned to the bridge, but Joakim was game to try for the Pauraque and Screech Owl, so we wheeled into the parking lot, and once headed towards the visitor’s center I was shocked to see water in Ibis Pond, as I had called earlier in the week and was told that everything was dry (except for Alligator Lake, which always has water)!  That was a very pleasant surprise, as the migrating shorebirds would certainly like that!  Despite the water about the only thing using it was a pair of whistling ducks, so we headed straight to Alligator Lake, pausing briefly at Dowitcher Pond long enough to log a Spotted Sandpiper.

Even Grebe Marsh had water, so we lingered to photograph some Yellow-crowned Night Herons and Least Grebes (plus this black-and-yellow barred thing gliding through the water that I finally figured was a Red-eared Slider…), and a pair of whistling ducks with a brood of adorable babies!  We then turned the corner to try for the Pauraques and ran into a couple of guys who knew exactly where they were, and they kindly took us right to the spot at the foot of the ramp to the deck where two of them were hanging close to the trail (I told Joakim that these were the “backup” birds in case the ones in the usual spot weren’t visible… J)  Needless to say Joakim got some marvelous pictures and was very pleased!  So since there was nothing on deck (except a flyover Avocet) we headed back, but not before checking the screech owl box, and miracle of miracles, there he was in the hole!  (Even though he had seen Eastern Screech Owl before, I advised him to put this one, the “McCall’s” Screech Owl, in the “bank” as they may split it down the road…)

Yellow-crowned Night Herons - adult (also below)

Immature (also below)

Reflective Least Grebe

Pauraque

Joachim gets his shot!

"McCall's" Screech Owl

  

Heading back we added a juvie Brown-crested Flycatcher to the list, and took the long way around Dowitcher Pond as we did see some stuff way down there…  There were tons of whistling ducks of all ages (no Fulvous, alas), plus some close-by Least Sandpipers and a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs, but another couple we ran into spotted a Sora down along the edge!  He actually came out in the open at one point; my pictures were halfway decent, so Joakim’s were probably stunning!  We continued to the boardwalk on the Spoonbill Trail and spooked both a Yellow Warbler and Northern Waterthrush, and paused to photograph a feisty Kiskadee and a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs (the Black-necked Stilts were a little too far away).  On the deck we ran into Ranger John and his bird walk (including the two guys who showed us the Pauraques) and enjoyed a Chachalaca at the feeder!  

Dowitcher Pond 

Sora (also below)

Joakim shooting a cooperative Kiskadee (below)

(My version...)

Lesser Yellowlegs

It was definitely getting warm by that time, so since we still had a little time before we had to head back, and Joakim had never seen a Bronzed Cowbird, we decided to swing by the silos to see if we could kick one up (which we did, but it was a juvie).  But I guess I had never been there this time of year before, as the place was devoid of blackbirds for once!  But we got the cowbird, so it wasn’t a total loss…

We headed back for siesta after that, and upon further discussion decided to adjust the itinerary a bit in order to try and hit the parakeet/parrot shows after La Sal!  But while showering I got to thinking that maybe Wallace and Laguna Seca Roads would be better than La Sal, being closer to Trenton with similar habitat, plus you had the wetlands along Wallace.  So that’s exactly what we did:  the initial fields along Wallace were pretty barren (didn’t even get a Horned Lark out of it), and even after driving up there Heppy’s thermometer said it was still 100 degrees out L!  Even so we managed to log a bunch of Lesser Goldfinches and some more anis, plus one set of bushes had three goodies that just didn’t wanna come out (the wind was starting up by then as well): a Pyrrhuloxia, a peeping Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and a “whitting” Willow Flycatcher!  A Verdin popped up for Joakim, which was another nice lifer, along with a buzzing Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  We had several more swallows, and in addition to the Barnies we were able to add Rough-winged to the list.  A bird I thought was a shrike at first and Joakim thought was a Mockingbird turned out to be a Lark Sparrow!

The real party was at the wetlands, where we found about 70 Wood Storks, a Roseate Spoonbill, some really nice-looking Neotropic Cormorants, and more Great Egrets than you could shake a stick at!  A pair of Common Gallinules was nice, but that was the extent of the waterbird show.  A pair of Caracaras posed for pictures, and just before the end of the road a White-tipped Dove blasted across (Common Grounds were all over), and a pair of Blue Grosbeaks popped up by the side!  We managed enough of Laguna Seca Road to get the “Fuertes’” Red-tailed Hawk and a couple of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, plus a calling Bobwhite out the window and a nice Harris’ Hawk on the way to the freeway.  While Joakim was shooting the hawk I heard an Upland Sandpiper calling in the distance, but of course there was no chance of seeing him…

Wood Stork (in flight below)

Neotropic Cormorant

Wallace Road Wetland

Part of the Egret Party

Crested Caracara

Harris' Hawk

From there we headed down to the HEB on Trenton and 10^th, and I was really beginning to sweat a little as we waited around for about 20 minutes before a small flock of Green Parakeets decided to screech past!  That was good enough for Joakim, so we blasted down Colonel Roe to Dallas to try for the parrots.  We parked, then saw two silent birds come in down the street, but we couldn’t see where they landed.  After checking the length of Cynthia (where we also witnessed a spectacular swirl of Purple Martins) we had three more silent parrots fly by, and that’s all we had by the time the sun set, so we headed home after that.  Joakim missed the Common Nighthawk I heard on Cynthia, but as we pulled into the Inn’s parking area, a Lesser Nighthawk batted by low, so that was one last lifer for Joakim for the day!  We ended up with a whopping 101 species!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)
Blue-winged Teal
Mottled Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Northern Bobwhite
Least Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Common Ground Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Groove-billed Ani
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Lesser Nighthawk
Common Pauraque
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Sora
Common Gallinule
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Killdeer
Upland Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Caspian Tern
Wood Stork
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Roseate Spoonbill
Turkey Vulture
Mississippi Kite
Harris's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Red-crowned Parrot
Green Parakeet
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cave Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
European Starling
Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Clay-colored Thrush
House Sparrow
Lesser Goldfinch
Lark Sparrow
Orchard Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Northern Waterthrush
Mourning Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Blue Grosbeak
Dickcissel