Tuesday, January 18, 2005

South Texas Trip ~ January 12, 2005

On January 12th, 2005 my long-time birding friend, Babe Webster and I flew to south Texas for five days of birding to hopefully get a chance to see the numerous Mexican strays that were being reported in the area.

After getting our car in San Antonio and not being able to find the Masked Duck at a pond in Ingleside (it had not been seen for several weeks but was still worth a try), we headed on down to the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

South Texas Trip ~ January 13, 2005

On the 13th, we visited the Fontera Audubon Sanctuary in Weslaco where we saw the White-throated Robin, several Clay-colored Robins, one of the male Crimson-collared Grosbeaks, and a pair of Tropical Parulas that was with a small group of warblers.
Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Frontera Audubon Sanctuary in Weslaco, Texas. Note the crimson collar and breast on the otherwise all-black plumage. This male was eating the buds on the trees in the native thicket area.


Next, we headed for Bentsen State Park to look for the Social Flycatcher despite the high winds that were there.
Green Jay at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, Texas. Note the blue head with black markings, green back, yellow-green breast, and blue-green tail. The colors of the Green Jay have to be seen in person to be appreciated. This bird was photographed at (where else?) the Green Jay blind.


Altamira Oriole at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, Texas. Note the orange head, black throat, and orange 'shoulder patch'. Surprisingly, the smaller orioles were actually driving the larger Green Jays away from the feeder. This bird was photographed at the Green Jay blind.

After searching for a few hours with no luck, we headed to the Los Ebanos Preserve near Russelltown for the Golden-crowned Warbler. Luckily, a few other birders were watching it when we got there. The bird came to within three feet of us at one point!

South Texas Trip ~ January 14, 2005

On the very cold morning of the 14th, we went back to Bentsen at dawn and joined the other birders at Kingfisher Overlook looking for the Social Flycatcher. Over two hours later, I noticed a lemon-breasted bird come out of the brush between the bird blind and the boat ramp. Expecting it to be just another Kiskadee, I realized that the back and wings were dull green, not reddish brown. Then, the bird turned its head and I realized that it had a tiny bill---it was the Social Flycatcher! After pointing it out to Babe, I notified the rest of the surrounding birders. We all got excellent looks at it as it sunned itself before flying off towards the old trailer loop. As it turned out, that was the last day that it was seen.
Social Flycatcher at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, Texas. Note the dull green wings and back and small bill compared to the Great Kiskadee's below. This bird represents only the 2nd record for the United States!


Next, we headed to a McAllen backyard where we saw the Green-breasted Mango that was there among several Buff-bellied Hummingbirds.
Green-breasted Mango at a backyard in McAllen, Texas. Note the male's green color, white flanks, curved bill, and red-violet tail. This male was visiting the feeders at 500 Rose Ellen Boulevard. It vigorously defended 'its' feeder from several Buff-bellied Hummingbirds.


Buff-bellied Hummingbird at a backyard in McAllen, Texas. Note the bright green head, chestnut tail, and red bill with a black tip. The buff-colored belly is barely visible. This bird was one of several that were visiting the feeders at 500 Rose Ellen Boulevard.


It was there that a birder told us that the Blue Mockingbird had just been seen at Allen Williams' residence in nearby Pharr. We went there and although we didn't see this skulker, we did find a female Crimson-collared Grosbeak and an Olive Sparrow among the expected birds.
Great Kiskadee in Pharr, Texas. Note the black and white stripes on the head, the lemon yellow belly, and the rufous wings and tail. Also note the longer, thicker bill compared to the Social Flycatcher above. This bird was photographed in a Pharr resident's backyard.


Olive Sparrow in Pharr, Texas. Note the brown stripes on the head, the olive green wings and tail, and the unmarked gray breast. Also note the thin black line through the eye, which is bordered by white crescents. This bird was photographed in a Pharr resident's backyard.


From there, we headed up the valley and stopped at Salineno in the late afternoon. Although we didn't see Muscovy Duck, we did see Green Kingfisher and six Brown Jays.
Brown Jay at Salineno, Texas. Note the yellow bill, which designates this as a young bird. This was one of six Brown Jays that were there in addition to 3 Great Horned Owls, and Belted and Green Kingfisher. This bird was photographed near the boat ramp at the Rio Grande River.

South Texas Trip ~ January 15-16, 2005

January 15, 2005

On the 15th, another unseasonably cold day, we spent the entire day unsuccessfully looking for the Blue Bunting that was being seen along the Las Palmas Trail in Laredo.


January 16, 2005

On the 16th, we met Martin Reid who took us into a private ranch near Pearsall to look for the Rufous-capped Warbler. Thanks to his friends, Willie Sekula and Derrick Muschalek, we got to see the bird within minutes of getting out of the car. We then drove back down to Laredo to once again try for the bunting. Within an hour of sunset, we finally got to see the male Blue Bunting feeding on grass seeds.

South Texas Trip ~ January 17, 2005

We headed back to San Antonio and flew home on the 17th. Of the 113 species, the White-throated Robin, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Social Flycatcher, Rufous-capped Warbler, and Blue Bunting were 'lifers' for me and the Tropical Parula, Golden-crowned Warbler, and Green-breasted Mango were additional ones for Babe.


South Texas Trip - January 12-17, 2005

1) Least Grebe
2) Pied-billed Grebe
3) American White Pelican
4) Double-crested Cormorant
5) Neotropic Cormorant
6) Great Blue Heron
7) Great Egret
8) Snowy Egret
9) Tricolored Heron
10) Cattle Egret
11) Black-crowned Night-Heron
12) White-faced Ibis
13) Roseate Spoonbill
14) Fulvous Whistling-Duck
15) Greater White-fronted Goose
16) Green-winged Teal
17) Mottled Duck
18) Blue-winged Teal
19) Northern Shoveler
20) Gadwall
21) American Wigeon
22) Ring-necked Duck
23) Lesser Scaup
24) Bufflehead
25) Ruddy Duck
26) Black Vulture
27) Turkey Vulture
28) Osprey
29) Sharp-shinned Hawk
30) Cooper's Hawk
31) Harris's Hawk
32) Red-shouldered Hawk
33) Broad-winged Hawk
34) Zone-tailed Hawk
35) Red-tailed Hawk
36) Crested Caracara
37) American Kestrel
38) Peregrine Falcon
39) Plain Chachalaca
40) Sora
41) Common Moorhen
42) American Coot
43) Killdeer
44) Spotted Sandpiper
45) Short-billed Dowitcher
46) Laughing Gull
47) Ring-billed Gull
48) Herring Gull
49) Rock Dove
50) White-winged Dove
51) Mourning Dove
52) Inca Dove
53) White-tipped Dove
54) Greater Roadrunner
55) Great Horned Owl
56) Buff-bellied Hummingbird
57) Green-breasted Mango
58) Rufous Hummingbird
59) Ringed Kingfisher
60) Belted Kingfisher
61) Green Kingfisher
62) Golden-fronted Woodpecker
63) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
64) Ladder-backed Woodpecker
65) Social Flycatcher*
66) Cordilleran Flycatcher
67) Eastern Phoebe
68) Great Kiskadee
69) Tree Swallow
70) Cliff Swallow
71) Cave Swallow
72) Green Jay
73) Brown Jay
74) Chihuahuan Raven
75) Black-crested Titmouse
76) Carolina Wren
77) House Wren
78) Ruby-crowned Kinglet
79) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
80) Hermit Thrush
81) Clay-colored Robin
82) American Robin
83) White-throated Robin*
84) Northern Mockingbird
85) Long-billed Thrasher
86) Curve-billed Thrasher
87) Cedar Waxwing
88) Loggerhead Shrike
89) European Starling
90) White-eyed Vireo
91) Orange-crowned Warbler
92) Tropical Parula
93) Yellow-rumped Warbler
94) Black-throated Green Warbler
95) Pine Warbler
96) Black-and-white Warbler
97) Ovenbird
98) Wilson's Warbler
99) Golden-crowned Warbler
100) Rufous-capped Warbler*
101) Crimson-collared Grosbeak*
102) Northern Cardinal
103) Blue Bunting*
104) Olive Sparrow
105) White-collared Seedeater
106) Lincoln's Sparrow
107) Red-winged Blackbird
108) Eastern Meadowlark
109) Great-tailed Grackle
110) Altamira Oriole
111) Audubon's Oriole
112) American Goldfinch
113) House Sparrow