The Salineno section of the Rio Grande River was our first stop. Although we never saw Muscovy Duck and Red-billed Pigeon, we did find eleven species of raptors that included both vultures, Osprey, Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, and Sharp-shinned, Harris’s, Gray, Red-shouldered, White-tailed, and Zone-tailed Hawks. Other birds seen along the river included American White Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, Greater White-fronted Goose, Mottled Duck, Canvasback, Bufflehead, Laughing Gull, Caspian Tern, Ringed and Green Kingfisher, Great Kiskadee, and Olive Sparrow. The nearby feeders at the top of the riverbank produced White-winged, White-tipped, and Inca Doves, Common Ground-Dove, Green Jay, Black-crested Titmouse, Bewick’s Wren, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Lesser and American Goldfinches, and Hooded, Altamira, and Audubon’s Orioles.
Audubon's Oriole at Salineno, Texas. Note the drab yellow body and the black hood and wings. This bird was photographed at the feeders near the Rio Grande River. Other birds seen here included White-tipped Dove, Green Jay, Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers, Lincoln's Sparrow, Hooded and Altamira Orioles, and American and Lesser Goldfinch.
We struck out again with Muscovy Duck at the Chapeno area of the river, but we got to see four Brown Jays in addition to American White Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, Green and Ringed Kingfisher, Black Phoebe, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, Verdin, Pyrrhuloxia, Lark Sparrow, and Altamira Oriole.
At the Falcon Dam spillway, we spotted Osprey, Harris’s Hawk, Crested Caracara, and saw a Peregrine Falcon and Chihuahuan Ravens on the way there.
Our next stop was the area next to the library in Zapata where, after some searching, we got fairly long and close looks at a White-collared Seedeater along the edge of the reeds.
We left Zapata and set our sights on Arizona. Along the road on the way up to I-10, we saw Crested Caracara, a few Great Horned Owls, Cave Swallows under a highway overpass, and six Harris’s Hawk on one telephone pole!
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