Anzalduas County Park, 10/27/07

I thought I would try something different this morning and headed over to Anzalduas County Park south of Mission. We finally had a cold front make it down and blow out the hummidity. The morning was crisp and clear and beautiful. And I had the place to myself. Almost. Except for a couple of hundred sceaming teenagers at a high school cross county meet. As the runners made their way around the roads in the park, the kids and coaches would go running through the trees and up over the levee to get better viewing points and to yell out encouragement. It was chaotic to say the least. Surprisingly it didn't hurt the birding too much. Nothing great. Just the usual good Anzalduas birds like Northern Beardless Tyrannult and Gray Hawk.





There were a few passerine migrants like this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Black-and-white Warbler.





This Mexican Bluewing is kind of dull with his wings closed.



But spectacular when he wants to show off.



Gadwall 1
Mottled Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 6
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 16
Anhinga 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Cooper's Hawk 1
Gray Hawk 1
American Kestrel 2
American Coot 30
Spotted Sandpiper 4
Least Sandpiper 30
Rock Pigeon 15
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1
Mourning Dove 3
Inca Dove 2
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 6
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Vermilion Flycatcher 2
Great Kiskadee 10
Couch's Kingbird 10
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 10
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Green Jay 15
Bank Swallow 1
Cave Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 50
Black-crested Titmouse 6
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 7
Summer Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Eastern Meadowlark 5
Great-tailed Grackle 5
Lesser Goldfinch 1

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 10/20/07

It was a delightful morning at Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco. Warblers are still low in numbers. We're waiting on our first cold front of the fall season which is supposed to blow into town on Monday. Best bird was this young male Vermillion Flycatcher. I think it's a first for the park. I need to update the park list. It's somewhere around 190 species. A flyover Northern Harrier was unusual also. Fifteen Scissor-tailed Flycatches were headed south.



Here's a Pale-banded Crescent (I think).



Plain Chachalaca 22
Northern Harrier 1
Killdeer 1
Rock Pigeon 3
White-winged Dove 50
Mourning Dove 2
Inca Dove 15
White-tipped Dove 8
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 4
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Vermilion Flycatcher 1
Couch's Kingbird 4
Eastern Kingbird 3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 15
White-eyed Vireo 5
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 85
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Clay-colored Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 6
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 3
European Starling 1
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 2
American Redstart 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Wilson's Warbler 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 150
Great-tailed Grackle 25
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
House Sparrow 3

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 10/13/07

Birding has been pretty boring in the Rio Grande Valley the past few weeks so it's been a while since the blog has been updated. We're still waiting on our first cool front of the fall. A little dry air drifted in from the west bringing the morning low down to the upper 60's. Coolest it's been since spring. Warblers have been low in numbers compared to the past few fall seasons. Best bird today was this Clay-colored Robin. They tend to spend more time at the neighbor's place to the south.



Here's a couple of bugs.





Plain Chachalaca 12
Cooper's Hawk 1
White-winged Dove 115
Inca Dove 10
White-tipped Dove 5
Green Parakeet 21
Red-crowned Parrot 5
Chimney Swift 10
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 6
Great Kiskadee 4
Couch's Kingbird 4
White-eyed Vireo 7
Green Jay 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 10
Cave Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 15
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Clay-colored Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 10
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 2
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Ovenbird 2
Wilson's Warbler 2
Olive Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Great-tailed Grackle 7
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Lesser Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 5