Sal del Rey, 4/5/07

Wow, what a great birding day! This morning I lay in bed trying to decide where to bird today on my first day of Easter break. With the stong north wind I decided to skip going to the hawk tower at Santa Ana and instead headed up to Sal del Rey to look for some county year birds. The wind had most of the shorebirds pushed into the southwest corner so I started the long slog along the muddy shore. The Eared Grebes are still there with the flock up to 700. I could see the Wilson's Phalaropes were still around so I moved in closer to get a good count and then I see this little white-crowned guy. My goodness, A Red-necked Phalarope amongst the 200 Wilson's. Four or five wintered here a few years ago.





Here's a couple of Wilson's Phalaropes.



Then I get a nice look at a two bull Nilgai (Wilson's Phalaropes in the foreground)





A White-tailed Deer splashed across the muddy shore. See the splash to the left. The animal was really flying!



Then 20 migrating American Golden Plovers flew low overhead. They had no interest in the hypersaline water and just kept on going. Also got my FOS Semi-palmated Sandpipers. On the way back to the car I saw a few Broad-winged Hawks starting to take to the sky. And then there was a big group of 200 high in the sky and headed north. Can someone tell me how the birds fly north with no flapping into a north headwind. I don't get it. Well, despite my success on the morning, the hawk flight got me to thinking I wish I had gone to the hawk tower. Maybe it would have been a good day for a Swallow-tailed Kite(I'm never satisfied.) I checked out Delta Lake on the way back to Weslaco. Nothing interesting. Then as I passed the baitshop-trailer park I saw some big fork-tailed something flying overhead. Holy-moly! I got my Swallow-tailed Kite. Gee, that's pretty weird.





I've been working hard lately. I think I deserve a day like this.

Northern Shoveler 1
Northern Bobwhite 1
Eared Grebe 700
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 10
Northern Harrier 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Broad-winged Hawk 220
Swainson's Hawk 1
White-tailed Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Crested Caracara 4
American Golden-Plover 20
Snowy Plover 10
Killdeer 2
Black-necked Stilt 2
Sanderling 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 8
Western Sandpiper 70
Least Sandpiper 150
Stilt Sandpiper 8
Wilson's Phalarope 200
Red-necked Phalarope 1
Mourning Dove 30
Common Ground-Dove 8
Great Horned Owl 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Great Kiskadee 2
Couch's Kingbird 10
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 12
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Green Jay 2
Purple Martin 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 10
Cliff Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 4
Verdin 2
Cactus Wren 3
Bewick's Wren 3
House Wren 2
Northern Mockingbird 5
Cassin's Sparrow 2
Lark Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Pyrrhuloxia 3
Great-tailed Grackle 5
Bronzed Cowbird 10

But then I get home and find this going on in the back yard. "Hey, What are you lookin' at?"