South and West Texas Trip ~ April 28, 1991

We awoke very early in the morning in order for me to have a chance of finding Greater Prairie-Chicken on the Tivoli booming grounds. A stop along Route 239, west of Tivoli, produced Northern Bobwhite, Dickcissel, Savannah Sparrow, Crested Caracara, and my first look at an immature White-tailed Hawk perched on a snag in a brushy field. Along Highway 35, south of Tivoli, we discovered the Prairie-Chicken booming grounds---an unplowed area at the back end of a large field. There, along the edge of the grounds, was a single male Greater Prairie-Chicken of the "Attwater's" race still strutting around with its tail fanned and throat sacs inflated.

We continued on to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Although a few Whooping Cranes had stayed around later than usual, they were all gone by the time we arrived. We drove to the observation tower and found the bay socked in with fog. However, we did get Babe her 'life' Painted Bunting, a male that sang from a treetop right next to the tower. Other birds seen there included Pied-billed Grebe, Great and Snowy Egret, Ruddy Duck, Osprey, Willet, Royal and Forster's Tern, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Grosbeak, and Indigo Bunting. We also heard Clapper Rail.

Back on Highway 35, we headed south towards Corpus Christi. A stop north of Lamar produced another immature White-tailed Hawk, Cassin's Sparrow, and my first look at Golden-fronted Woodpecker.

White-tailed Hawk near Lamar, Texas.

We took the road along Fulton Beach and found the tides so high that the waves were almost up on the road, but we still managed to see Brown Pelican and Sandwich Tern. We picked up Highway 181 where, just before crossing the Nueces Bay Causeway, I found my first Reddish Egret. In Corpus Christi, we visited the apartment of Kay McCracken, the lady who wrote the book on the life of Connie Hagar. She gave us a few pointers on different birds and birding spots and we headed off towards Highway 77.

South of Sarita on Highway 77, we stopped at a bridge that had a large nesting colony of Cave Swallows. Some of the birds flew within inches of us, giving us excellent looks at their buffy throats. Our biggest 'miss' of the trip came farther south when we stopped at a rest area with Hooded Orioles and didn't know about the Tropical Parulas that were nesting nearby. Unfortunately, we found out about them five days later. Highway 77 birds included Tricolored Heron, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Black-necked Stilt, Swainson's Hawk, and our only look at an adult White-tailed Hawk.

We left Highway 77 and headed for Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Along the first half-mile of the Bayside Tour, we found Couch's Kingbird and Long-billed Thrasher among the noisy groups of Great-tailed Grackle. At Pelican Lake, we found Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Whimbrel, and my first Wilson's Plover.

Wilson's Plover at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.

A walk along Buena Vista Road, south of the headquarters, produced my first looks at Plain Chachalaca and Olive Sparrow, although the looks at the sparrow were poor. Additional birds seen at the refuge were American White Pelican, Northern Harrier, Common Moorhen, American Avocet, Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Curve-billed Thrasher, and a Harris's Hawk being attacked from behind by a Northern Mockingbird. On the way back towards Rio Hondo, a small impoundment along Route 106 held Mottled Duck.

We headed south towards Brownsville, hoping to reach the Red-crowned Parrot roost before dark, but we were running out of daylight. We got to the spot at dusk and did see one parrot fly out and back into the trees, but neither of us were satisfied with the look that we got. We left Brownsville and headed for the Motel 6 in McAllen.

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