Texas Trip ~ January 15-16, 1998

January 15, 1998

Jason Horn, Rick Wiltraut, Dick Colyer, and I headed to south Texas for chances at some life birds. Our 28-hour drive got us to the gate of the El Canelo Ranch in the early morning hours on the 16th. The four of us uncomfortably slept in the car until morning.

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January 16, 1998

We drove in to the ranch house and walked into the backyard where the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was perched in one of the trees.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl at the El Canelo Ranch near Raymondville, Texas.

As we walked beyond the backyard, I noticed a male Phainopepla, which turned out to be a very unusual find for that area of Texas.

A male Phainopepla at the El Canelo Ranch near Raymondville, Texas.

Other birds seen at the ranch included Northern Harrier, Harris's Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, Northern Bobwhite, Sandhill Crane, Inca Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Barn Owl, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Pyrrhuloxia, Vesper and Lark Sparrow, and Bronzed Cowbird.

We drove south to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary near Brownsville where we unsuccessfully looked for Tropical Parula. Birds we did see there were Mottled Duck, White-tipped Dove, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, White-eyed Vireo, and Orange-crowned, Black-and-white, and Black-throated Green Warbler.

The next stop was Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, which held Neotropic Cormorant, Tricolored Heron, White-faced Ibis, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, Peregrine Falcon, Plain Chachalaca, Sora, Black-necked Stilt, White-tipped Dove, Green Kingfisher, Couch's Kingbird, Green Jay, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Lincoln's Sparrow.

Green Kingfisher at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.

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Texas Trip ~ January 17, 1998

Our first stop was Bentsen - Rio Grande State Park. Birds found there included Hook-billed Kite, Harris's Hawk, Plain Chachalaca, White-winged, White-tipped, and Inca Dove, Common Pauraque, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, Long-billed Thrasher, Blue-headed Vireo, Orange-crowned and Black-throated Gray Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Olive and Lincoln's Sparrow, and Altamira Oriole.

We returned to Sabal Palm Sanctuary, which produced some new birds for the day. They were Least Grebe, Mottled Duck, White-tailed Kite, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Parula, and, on this visit, my 'life' Tropical Parula.

Farther up the coast, we checked out Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. New birds for the day included Eared Grebe, American White Pelican, Reddish Egret, White Ibis, Redhead, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Sandhill Crane, Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Gull-billed and Royal Tern, American Pipit, and, surprisingly, a Townsend's Warbler.

Townsend's Warbler at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.

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Texas Trip ~ January 18-19, 1998

January 18, 1998

A scan of the marsh from the large observation tower at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge revealed American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, King and Virginia Rail, Sora, Sandhill Crane, American Oystercatcher, American Avocet, Long-billed Curlew, and Forster's Tern, but I was happiest to see three adult Whooping Cranes, which was a new species for me.

On our way back home, we detoured to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Notables there were American Bittern, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, White-tailed Kite, Merlin, Common Moorhen, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, and Savannah, Le Conte's, Seaside, and Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

White-tailed Kite at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.

Back on the road, we wanted to get something to eat before it got too late. We remembered that there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant somewhere near the Texas-Louisiana border, so we were aiming for that, but it kept getting later and we were wondering if we were going to get there before it closed. Eventually, Rick and Jason fell asleep in the back seat while Dick was driving. I was barely awake when Dick saw a billboard for the upcoming KFC. He was so happy to see it that he yelled, "Kentucky Fried Chicken!" Jason and Rick jumped up, figuring that we were about to go into a bridge abutment or something worse. As it turned out, we made it to the restaurant with about a half-hour to spare and cleaned out what was left of their buffet.

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January 19, 1998

We took turns driving all through the night and the next day and finally got home late on the 19th. I got three life birds during another one of our "Red-eye Birding Tours".

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