Texas Trip ~ January 8, 2022

I was a little bummed out as I drove through fog and drizzle on the way to Santa Ana before dawn. Once again, I walked to the entrance and waited to see if the bird would use its pole this morning. At around 7:30, I saw the bird drop out of its roost palm and head for the pole. It perched there for nearly a half-hour but, again, conditions were lousy for getting good photos. At one point, it lifted its leg, showing off its rusty leg feathering.

Bat Falcon

After scanning the area from the hawk tower and checking the snag near the Bobcat Trail, I decided to leave the refuge and make the drive over to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and see if I could find the Tropical Parula that had been there. I checked out the photo blind near the headquarters and saw White-tipped Dove, Long-billed Thrasher, and a few Green Jays.

Long-billed Thrasher

Green Jay

Because I only had one poor photo of a Clay-colored Thrush taken with a film camera back in the 1990's (it was known as Clay-colored Robin back then), I was very happy to get this nice photo of one as it came in to get a drink.

Clay-colored Thrush

Other birds seen there while walking the Kiskadee Trail and part of the Mesquite Trail included Eurasian Collared-Dove, Osprey, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and Black-crested Titmouse, but no warblers were found. The Wildlife Drive was closed, so I headed for the Aplomado Falcon viewing area instead. Along the road on the way out of the refuge, a Crested Caracara sat on a pole and a Harris's Hawk perched on a wire. At the viewing area, I saw American White Pelican, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Loggerhead Shrike, Eastern Meadowlark, a Harris's Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, and two White-tailed Hawks, but no Aplomado Falcons.

An adult White-tailed Hawk

The El Tular Ponds held Laughing Gulls, some Herring Gulls, American Coots, and an amazing number of Redheads that I estimated to be around a thousand. To give you an idea, this photo shows only the western portion of the pond area.

A large amount of Redheads

I headed back to Santa Ana. Just east of Progreso along Highway 281, I noticed a White-tailed Kite perched on a wire. I made a U-turn, worked my way very slowly down the shoulder of the road, and got some nice photos of this cool-looking bird.

White-tailed Kite

I spent the last two hours of the day at Santa Ana hoping to finally get some better photos of the Bat Falcon. As I got out of the car in the parking lot, I spotted a young Peregrine Falcon circling overhead.

Peregrine Falcon

Out at the entrance, numbers of raptors were passing by. They included 2 American Kestrels, a Merlin, 3 Crested Caracaras, 2 Harris's Hawks, a Red-tailed Hawk, and 5 White-tailed Hawks. A young White-tailed flew by to the east.

An immature White-tailed Hawk

An adult White-tailed was seen feeding on a snake in the middle of the field across the highway. After downing its meal, it flew by to the west.

An adult White-tailed Hawk

At 6:19 and very near dark, the Bat Falcon showed up on the pole very briefly before heading to roost, thwarting any photo opportunities. I left the bird for the last time and drove to Raymondville where I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

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