Miracle on Ringgold Street

2/17/22 

Kay was back for her second go at the Social Flycatcher, with a side run to Laguna Atascosa for the Black-throated Blue Warbler and Tropical Parula (although the latter hadn’t been reported in a while).  I met her at the Inn and she drove us down to UTRGV in Brownsville, where we pulled into the bookstore parking lot and fed the meter (there had been conflicting information about whether birders could park there, and when I checked with the university parking folks, they confirmed that the lot is open to all), then headed down the new bike path, as the last report I had seen of the bird mentioned that it had been at the foot of the resaca bridge (and indeed, that bird has been making the rounds all over that area). 

It was a beautiful, sunny day (and the wind hadn’t kicked up yet), so we paused on the bridge enjoying a male Anhinga, a distant Ringed Kingfisher that Kay spotted, several egrets of both sizes, and the “established feral” Muscovies.  I thought I heard one of the wintering Yellow Warblers, so we went back to look for him but couldn’t find him.  Back on the bridge, we ran into another birder from Seattle (also looking for the flycatcher but shooting the Ringed when we walked up), and while we were chatting about where to find parrots, a female Green Kingfisher started ticking and sat right out in the open for us!

Resaca from the bridge

Anhinga

Female Green Kingfisher (also below)

 

We were circling around towards the Land Bridge when my timer went off (the meters are limited to 30 minutes), so I blasted over said Land Bridge (LB), quickly checked the whistling duck flock in the other resaca, fed the meter, added a chirping Yellow-throated Warbler to the list, and headed back to meet Kay at the LB where a Red-crowned Parrot flew overhead.  Green Jays rattled, Carolina Wrens sang unseen, and a Cardinal said hello.  Kay had seen something yellow that sounded like a Lesser Goldfinch from her description (did hear one later) but we later narrowed it down to a Wilson’s Warbler we saw flitting through the trees.  People had also seen the Social on the other side of the habitat next to University, so after coming out of the LB we circled around that habitat with not much action.  My timer went off again, so I reversed course and hightailed it back to the lot, running into the young man from Seattle who sadly hadn’t seen the flyover parrot(s)… L

 

Northern Cardinal

Kay on the Land Bridge

Caught up with Kay again (logging a flyover Caspian Tern on the way) as we headed back to the LB (where several other birders had materialized); one lady had found a Ringed Kingfisher in the swampy side, and we actually saw a Social Suspect sitting across the way, but a blowup of the photo showed a big bill and too much rufous.  A Least Grebe and Common Gallinule showed well while an Osprey flew overhead, and we at least heard Gray and Red-shouldered Hawks.  Another “time up” sent me back over to Ringgold but not before shooting one of the brilliant red “Mexican” House Finches, plus a Snowy Egret in the resaca west of Ringgold. 

Kay on the back side of the resaca

Ringed Kingfisher

"Mexican" House Finch

Snowy Egret

Returning to the LB Kay and the other birding couple (Bill and Judy, who were also staying with us at the Inn) reported that they had gotten an adrenaline rush when what turned out to be a Tropical Kingbird flew up on a tree!  A nice Great Blue Heron posed and several cormorants of both flavors flew over, and Kay’s potential life House Wren briefly landed on the ground close to a thick band of trees, but never showed again.  While circling back towards Ringgold again a Couch’s Kingbird called (and then posed) closer to the road. 

After the next 20 minutes had gone by Kay’s patience had run out J, so we decided to head up to Laguna Atascosa, and return if the flycatcher showed up (and my friend Madeleine and her friend Judy were there looking for a parking spot, so the timing was perfect J).  Before leaving the campus Kay showed me a couple of mystery shadow birds she had photographed; the one looked good for a Clay-colored Thrush, and the other that I thought might have been a sapsucker from her description turned out to be a Ladder-backed Woodpecker.  

Siri sent us a back way to Laguna Atascosa that was new to me, so that was fun as we counted off Harris’ Hawks and Caracaras.  Once on the entrance road, a nice Long-billed Thrasher sat up as he sang, and plenty of White-eyed Vireos sang unseen.  Tons of Red-winged Blackbirds were calling as we pulled into the parking lot, but except for a lone Orange-crowned Warbler the feeding area was empty (and the blackbirds had fled), so we headed straight back to Kiskadee Trail.  

Orange-crowned Warbler

The overlook was the area I had seen the warbler previously, so we spent about 15 minutes just standing and waiting.  It was actually quite birdy:  an Olive Sparrow came to the little water puddle below us, and another Wilson’s Warbler bounced around across the way, getting our juices going.  A Pied-billed Grebe hooted from an unseen wetland, a Golden-fronted Woodpecker showed well, delighting a couple of visitors next to us, and Green Jays rattled unseen while another House Wren actually gave Kay a countable look!

Golden-fronted Woodpecker 

Southern Dogface

After giving up on the Black-throated Blue we continued on, enjoying a Southern Dogface instead.  While resting for five on the bench a report from Madeleine came through on the LRGV Rare Bird Whats App Group that the Social Flycatcher had shown up!  (I told her to tie it down… J)  Kay was dubious that it would still be around after a 50 minute drive back down there (plus we were both pretty beat after all that walking), but we decided to give it a go, especially after sharing stories about how God had brought by special birds at the last minute!  On the way out we logged at least one flyover White-tailed Hawk.

Resting on the Kiskadee Trail 

So after making the right onto Ringgold and discussing parking strategy, there was a mob of birders to our right, all looking across the street towards the other resaca!  I saw fellow guide Tiffany Kersten and asked her if they had the bird, and everyone responded in the positive – it was in the dead tree right there!  So we pulled past the group (so we wouldn’t block their view) and got stunning looks in wonderful light, right from the car! 

 

Social Flycatcher

Showing how the white stripes don't meet on the back of the head, unlike the Kiskadee.

With that, Kay was happy to go pack her bags and head back to San Antonio, so we headed back to Alamo with some celebratory sweets J with a modest but high-quality 54 species for the day!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Least Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Common Gallinule

Caspian Tern

Anhinga

Double-crested Cormorant

Neotropic Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Cooper's Hawk

Harris's Hawk

White-tailed Hawk

Gray Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Ringed Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Crested Caracara

American Kestrel

Red-crowned Parrot

Eastern Phoebe

Great Kiskadee

Social Flycatcher

Tropical Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird

White-eyed Vireo

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

House Wren

Carolina Wren

Bewick's Wren

European Starling

Clay-colored Thrush

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

House Sparrow

House Finch

Lesser Goldfinch

Olive Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow-throated Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Northern Cardinal

The Crew from Cook County, Day 3

 1/15/22 

The original plan was to hit South Padre Island today, but with a Gale Warning out for that area, Michael Marsden was very happy to take them out there on his guiding day tomorrow, and we would make today the “chase day”, even though I warned the crew first thing – don’t expect anything in this wind! L

Between missed birds from the first two days and additional “want” birds that I was able to weasel out of them, I whipped up a tentative itinerary starting at UTRGV Brownsville for the Social Flycatcher.  Once piled out of the van, we zeroed in on the resaca next to the bookstore; the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were all huddled on a concrete “island” across the way (along with a token White Ibis), and of course there were plenty of feral Muscovies around, most of which actually had “wild” plumage, so that was fun to study.  One Neotropic Cormorant conveniently posed next to two Double-crested, but the star of that stop was the Black Phoebe that peeped and flopped in, posing very nicely on a stalk near the water!

Perusing one of the resacas at the UTRGV Brownsville campus 

Black Phoebe

From there we walked over to the land bridge, and thankfully there were a few other people already there, but the bad news was that they had just seen the Social, and it flew across the resaca! L  Rather than go running around to the other side, we opted to stay put and see if it would come back, as that apparently was a common pattern.  In the meantime we enjoyed a male Anhinga, a stately Great Blue Heron, and a White Pelican in the main resaca.  After about 15 minutes we also walked the edge of the resaca habitat (the original group came back and hadn’t seen it), hoping to at least hear the thing.  I thought I was hearing a Wilson’s Warbler, but the wind was so bad it was hard to make out much of anything.  From the bridge we had another Great Blue and a Great Egret, and way on the east end was a diving duck that looked like a female Ring-necked Duck, at least as best as I could make out (my scope took a nasty spill there as well, knocked over by the wind).  Kerry spotted a Belted Kingfisher, so I got my scope on him to make sure it still worked… L  We swung back around to the land bridge, where a couple of guys had at least heard the Social, so we gave it five more minutes, but all we heard were chattering Green Jays.

Hunt for the Social Flycatcher 

Great Blue Heron

Anhinga

From there we headed to the Progresso area, as Long-billed Curlews, Sprague’s Pipit, and Burrowing Owl were on the wish list.  The water had dried up at the Rio Rico Sod Farms, so we headed on in to the new development along Esperanza (still known as the Progresso Sod Farms in eBird), where we ran into fellow guide Jim Danzenbaker coming out!  He had seen a Say’s Phoebe near the end of the road, but also the curlews along the last connector road, so we thanked him profusely and Carrie proceeded to crawl along the road while we scoured the fencelines and open areas.  A couple of Western Meadowlarks flew along (with a Starling right behind them, giving a great comparison of their similar wingbeats), but that was about all the birdlife we had along that stretch.  At the end of the road a shrike posed, and an Eastern Meadowlark exploded from the grass, showing the quail-like wingbeat pattern.  A flopping Mockingbird got everyone excited for a minute J, but then on the connector road we found the curlews, all huddled down – they would have been very easy to miss if you hadn’t been looking for them!  We headed out on Hernandez, hoping the phoebe maybe headed over that direction, but got a couple of Cattle Egrets instead (there was white garbage in the yard they were in, and one of us almost wrote them off as just another piece of garbage J)!  We took a quick look at the standpipe where the Burrowing Owl was wintering, but he was apparently hunkered down (don’t blame him in that wind), so we headed on to Weslaco. 

Long-billed Curlews

After a great lunch at Nana’s, we tootled over to Valley Nature Center in hopes of bagging the Golden-crowned Warbler!  We headed in, bypassing the family that was enthralled with the turtles on the bridge J, and headed straight to the Butterfly Trail, treading quietly and listening for its distinctive tick.  When we got to the paved walkway we encountered three other guys also looking for the bird, but they had heard it (right around the same area I had it last time), so we all surrounded the area.  Eventually I heard the thing like two feet in front of me, deep in this thick bush, and some of the guys literally got on the ground to try and see it!  Suddenly he really started ticking, then hopped up into the open, right in front of Kerry and those who happened to be next to him!  He told Diane that she’d probably have the best shot of it based on where she was sitting, and sure enough, she got the documentation photo! J

The gang on the bridge at Valley Nature Center

Zeroing in on the Golden-crowned Warbler (below)

(Photo ©2022 by Diane Hansen)

Most everyone at least got a “naked eye” view, so we continued on as we still needed to nail down that pesky White-tipped Dove for those who hadn’t seen the one blasting through at Rancho Lomitas!  Chachalacas fooled us a couple of times, and some Inca Doves startled some of the folks, but finally Diane spotted one crossing the road, and when it took off and flew back across the road, everyone but John saw it, so we pushed him to the front while we tried to refind it.  It did do its coke-bottle coo for us, so we zigzagged trying to track down the thing until we finally flushed one for John! 

Chachalaca

Sleepy Inca Dove

We didn’t have time to go to either Anzalduas (which was thankfully open again) or Laguna Seca Road, so we opted for a return trip to Estero to try for the Hooded Oriole, since some had missed the female at the blind on our first trip.  John had a distant falcon in the parking lot that none of us could get on that he assumed was a Merlin (hold that thought).  At the VC I padded the list with the whistler mob off the deck, along with a female Blue-winged Teal, before heading back to the camp host area.  I had sent the crew back there while Carrie and I got everyone checked in, but when I showed up at the park host feeders, Park Host Susan, volunteer Huck, and another gentlemen were there, but no crew!  Come to find out one of the group had convinced the others to go back to the Indigo Blind where we had the bird two days ago, but when I told Kerry over the phone that Huck had the bird here five minutes ago, he wasn’t too happy! L So they schlepped back over, and we took up watch for about a half hour, enjoying several Clay-colored Thrushes, Orange-crowned Warblers, a Kiskadee, a Long-billed Thrasher, and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker that came in.  Huck and the guys erupted behind us, so we followed suit thinking they had the oriole, but they had actually spotted a Peregrine going over!  None of us saw it, but I suggested to John that maybe that’s what he saw, as his bird was so distant he really couldn’t pin down the ID for sure!  Some of the crew decided to go to the deck and shoot the ducks (with the camera J), but they weren’t gone too long before Susan saw the oriole out her camper window at the other feeders and alerted us, so I called Kerry who got the wanderers back post haste, only the bird was gone even before we scrambled over there!  L  The Altamira Oriole was a nice consolation prize, however!  As Susan and I chatted an Olive Sparrow lisped from the foliage. 

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Clay-colored Thrush

We really had to get home after that, so we dragged ourselves back to the van and headed towards Alamo, but not before taking a detour to marvel at the Bronzed Cowbird flock that carpeted the lawn off Tower Road!

On the way back to Alamo, we stop to enjoy a carpet of Bronzed Cowbirds (below)!

Good-bye shot (with Carrie and Kerry in the middle)

We had a meager 45 species for the day, but with that horrendous wind, I’m amazed we saw what we did!  [Oh, and as a happy ending update, Kerry reported that they returned to Brownsville on their South Padre Island day with Michael, and bagged the Social Flycatcher!]

Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

Plain Chachalaca

Rock Pigeon

Inca Dove

White-tipped Dove

Mourning Dove

Long-billed Curlew

Anhinga

Double-crested Cormorant

Neotropic Cormorant

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Cattle Egret

White Ibis

Turkey Vulture

Belted Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

American Kestrel

Peregrine Falcon

Black Phoebe

Great Kiskadee

Loggerhead Shrike

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

European Starling

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Olive Sparrow

Western Meadowlark

Eastern Meadowlark

Altamira Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Bronzed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Golden-crowned Warbler

Northern Cardinal

The Crew from Cook County, Part 2

1/14/22 

Today was the big excursion to Salineno, so we left early and decided to take the long way around in order to avoid all that construction work on I-2 (including coming in to La Joya)!  Carrie’s plan was to go up to Trenton and over, which I realized was a great idea as I would often get the Green Parakeets that hung around the HEB there in the morning!  Not today, though, so I suggested we take 10^th up to SR 107 as they sometimes staged along that area as well.  This time we hit pay dirt, as we first heard a flock screeching by, then found a mass of them on the wires!  We found a parking spot so that people could get pictures; that was definitely an unexpected blessing!

Enjoying the Green Parakeets (below) along 10th Street

 

We made it up to Salineno without incident (Carrie, John, and Elizabeth entertained those within earshot with a “pun-off” that lasted all day on and off J), where Carrie parked the van in the Valley Land Fund parking lot, and with scopes in hand we trucked down to the Rio Grande.  Right away a Ringed Kingfisher flew overhead, making his cracking flight call, and on the river we had good comparative views of a Neotropic Cormorant next to two Doublecrests.  Someone spotted a Spotted Sandpiper on the bar, and at some point the Least Sandpiper flock went wheeling past. 

There were some ducks way upriver (Pintail were the only identifiable ones at that distance), so we headed up the rather quiet (except for a calling Greater Yellowlegs) trail to the cul-de-sac, where the ducks spooked, but we were at least able to nail down Blue-winged Teal and Mottled Ducks.  The Osprey pair was chasing each other, and the Vermilion Flycatcher was still performing from his tree across the way!  The dead snag hosted a Merlin, but I had just gotten the scope on it when I heard a suspicious and somewhat Song Sparrow-like bark, and a little pishing betrayed the presence of the coveted Morelet’s Seedeater!  She miraculously came right to the top of a stalk next to us (eating seeds, someone pointed out J), and actually stayed put for a while, giving everyone great views!  By the time she decided she had had enough attention and said her farewells, the snag had become host to a pair of rattling Caracaras along with a Black Vulture companion.  On the way back someone near the end of the line spotted some flying ducks that had the tell-tale white borders to the speculums, nailing them as Mexicans (or at least something with Mallard blood in them…).

Checking out the Rio Grande at the end of the "Seedeater Trail"

Female Morelet's Seedeater

Vermilion Flycatcher

Crested Caracaras (before the Black Vulture showed up) 

Sadly, we didn’t even hear any Audubon’s Orioles along the trail, and Merle reported that they hadn’t been coming to the feeders, but we at least enjoyed the regulars, with the highlights being the Green Jays, Kiskadees, sunning Chachalacas, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Long-billed Thrasher, a shy Clay-colored Thrush, knock-out Altamira Orioles, and a female Ladder-backed Woodpecker that stayed put even when the Sharp-shinned Hawk came blasting through!  (The Bewick’s Wren was content to sing but didn’t come in…)  From there we made a stop at Subway in Roma and took our sandwiches to Bicentennial Plaza, then headed over to Rancho Lomitas in Rio Grande City.

Feeding stations 

Long-billed Thrasher

Great Kiskadee

Clay-colored Thrush

Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Altamira Oriole

Sunning Chachalaca

Orange-crowned Warbler

Green Jay

Young Sharp-shinned Hawk that broke up the party...

Gulf Fritillary (token butter)

Lunch break at Bicentennial Plaza in Roma

This is the place to get Scaled Quail in the Valley, but one must make prior arrangement with Toni Trevino so she can prepare the feeders!  It was also our last best chance at getting the Audubon’s Oriole, as they were a no-show at Salineno.  L  Today Anna greeted us and encouraged us to split up between the casita feeders and the feeders at Jim’s (the resident naturalist) trailer; I stayed at the casitas with Kerry and a handful of others, where once the humans got settled J the Scaled Quail eventually came in to our feet at Anna’s prompting!  Other expected suspects showed up (including a titmouse that grabbed a peanut almost as big as he was), but before long Kerry spotted the Audubon’s, which eventually came down to the feeders!  What a look!  A White-tipped Dove gave a fleeting but identifiable glimpse as he blasted across the courtyard. 

A Red Admiral poses on one of the inspirational signs

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

A Black-crested Titmouse makes off with a peanut

Audubon's Oriole

The Scaled Quail start off hiding in the bushes...

...then end up literally at our feet!

Why some people call them "coneheads"...

Before long we really had to get going, but just as we were pulling out to pick up the gang that had gone to Jim’s, Anna called us back – the Roadrunner came out!  So we all piled out and got great looks and pictures; even Carrie was able to walk right up to him for an iPhone video! 

Their resident Roadrunner hides in the shadows..

...then creeps out into the open! 

After that we picked up the rest of the gang (who thankfully had also seen the Audubon’s)  and came home by way of FM 490 and McCook, where we were able to pick up a Krider’s Red-tailed Hawk and a better look at a White-tailed Hawk!  We ended the day with 59 species (and one subspecies counting the Krider’s), which is about right for the deserts of Starr County!  Bird list:

Blue-winged Teal

Mexican Duck

Mottled Duck

Northern Pintail

Plain Chachalaca

Scaled Quail

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Inca Dove

White-tipped Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Greater Roadrunner

Least Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Double-crested Cormorant

Neotropic Cormorant

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Cattle Egret

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Harris's Hawk

White-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Ringed Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Crested Caracara

American Kestrel

Merlin

Green Parakeet

Vermilion Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Loggerhead Shrike

Green Jay

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Bewick's Wren

European Starling

Long-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Clay-colored Thrush

House Sparrow

Altamira Oriole

Audubon's Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler

Northern Cardinal

Morelet's Seedeater