Sunday, February 25, 2007

Sabal Palm Sanctuary, 2/25/07

Honey and I went to Sabal Palm Sanctuary south of Brownsville today looking for the Gray-crowned Yellowthroats and Zone-tailed Hawk. We struck out on both but still had a pleasant day.

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Gadwall 40
American Wigeon 2
Mottled Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 3
Ring-necked Duck 2
Lesser Scaup 2
Ruddy Duck 3
Plain Chachalaca 2
Least Grebe 6
Neotropic Cormorant 2
Great Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 5
White-faced Ibis 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Common Moorhen 2
American Coot 20
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Mourning Dove 1
Common Ground-Dove 10
White-tipped Dove 6
Groove-billed Ani 3
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 3
Great Kiskadee 6
Couch's Kingbird 4
White-eyed Vireo 6
Blue-headed Vireo 6
Green Jay 10
Chihuahuan Raven 1
Tree Swallow 9
Black-crested Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 1
Long-billed Thrasher 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Wilson's Warbler 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 6
Northern Cardinal 4
Lesser Goldfinch 1

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 2/24/07

Warm and windy at Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco this morning. I finally refound what I think is the same juvenile plumaged male American Redstart that I last saw in Dec. Two Ovenbirds were by the feeder and another was along the south fence by the redstart. The Northern Waterthrush was in the east ditch. There wasn't much to photgraph today.

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Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 15
Plain Chachalaca 10
Great Egret 1
White-winged Dove 1
Inca Dove 1
White-tipped Dove 5
Green Parakeet 3
Red-crowned Parrot 4
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 3
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Kiskadee 5
White-eyed Vireo 3
Black-crested Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 5
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Black-and-white Warbler 2
American Redstart 1
Ovenbird 3
Northern Waterthrush 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 200
Great-tailed Grackle 1
Lesser Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 10

Monday, February 19, 2007

Sal del Rey, 2/19/07

The only wintering population of Wilson's Phalaropes in the USA continues at Sal del Rey, Lower Rio Grande NWR. Sal del Rey is a salt pan that drains the surrounding south Texas brush country. Historically it was a source of salt for Native Americans and colonial Spaniards. Sal del Rey is our little seashore in land-locked Hidalgo County.

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Seventeen Snowy Plovers are about half as many as last month. I couldn't find any Sanderlings.

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How about a White-tailed Hawk?

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Six Nilgai give an exotic appearence to the brush country.

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Gadwall 2
Mottled Duck 2
Northern Shoveler 200
Eared Grebe 300
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 6
Northern Harrier 1
White-tailed Hawk 2
Crested Caracara 3
Snowy Plover 17
Killdeer 5
Black-necked Stilt 1
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 300
Western Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 100
Wilson's Snipe 1
Wilson's Phalarope 110
Laughing Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 1
Mourning Dove 50
Common Ground-Dove 10
Belted Kingfisher 1
Eastern Phoebe 5
Couch's Kingbird 1
Verdin 1
Cactus Wren 4
Bewick's Wren 4
House Wren 3
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
American Pipit 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Common Yellowthroat 1
Lark Bunting 2
Savannah Sparrow 13
Grasshopper Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 500
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Western Meadowlark 20
Great-tailed Grackle 14

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 2/17/07

Birded for two hours at Frontera on a beautiful spring morning. Willows are leafing out and huisaches are blooming. Nothing exciting but I found Tropical Kingbird there for the first time. Below are pics of the new boardwalk undersconstruction.

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Plain Chachalaca feasting on ash buds and dazzling Great Kiskadee.

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Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 1
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 1
Inca Dove 20
White-tipped Dove 8
Green Parakeet 45
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 6
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Great Kiskadee 8
Tropical Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 3
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Black-crested Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
American Robin 3
Northern Mockingbird 3
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Cedar Waxwing 50
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Ovenbird 2
Northern Waterthrush 2
Common Yellowthroat 3
Wilson's Warbler 2
Northern Cardinal 4
Altamira Oriole 2
Lesser Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 10


This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://www.ebird.org/tx)

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Santa Ana NWR, 2/11/07

Another cold, drizzly morning. El Nino is doing a good job pumping moisture to us this winter. Birding was pretty dull at Santa Ana NWR as I slogged around the muddy trails. It would be nice if the refuge would spend a few bucks and spread some caliche on the Pintail Lakes trail.

Location: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
Observation date: 2/11/07
Number of species: 58

Gadwall 80
American Wigeon 1
Mottled Duck 10
Blue-winged Teal 25
Cinnamon Teal 8
Northern Shoveler 30
Northern Pintail 10
Green-winged Teal 20
Ruddy Duck 2
Plain Chachalaca 12
Least Grebe 5
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Great Egret 8
Snowy Egret 3
Tricolored Heron 1
White-faced Ibis 15
Turkey Vulture 40
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Sora 2
American Coot 40
Killdeer 2
Black-necked Stilt 25
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Long-billed Dowitcher 30
Wilson's Snipe 1
White-tipped Dove 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Green Kingfisher 2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 4
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 6
Eastern Phoebe 3
Great Kiskadee 8
Couch's Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 3
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Green Jay 6
Cave Swallow 3
Black-crested Titmouse 6
Cactus Wren 1
Carolina Wren 5
House Wren 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12
Northern Mockingbird 2
Long-billed Thrasher 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 6
Olive Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 13
Swamp Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 40
Altamira Oriole 2
House Sparrow 5


This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://www.ebird.org/tx)

Laguna Atascosa NWR and South Padre Island, 2/10/07

Honey and I spent a cold, windy, drizzly day birding at Laguna Atascosa NWR and South Padre Island. Not too exciting. At the start of the day I told her our goal was to reach 110 species. After driving through the wind and rain I told her we needed to adjust our goal. She said we wouldn't get to fifty. I bet her five dollars we would. Well, after we got #50, I asked her if she wanted to go double or nothing on 75. She agreed. We did that a couple more times. Eventually I got her to to set the target at 90. If we reached it she would owe me 40 bucks and if we came up short then we were even. Well, we only reached 87. Maybe I shouldn't let her keep the list! Best birds were a Red-breasted Grosbeak, two Gray Catbirds and a Merlin at Laguna Atascosa and a dozen Northern Gannets at the beach at SPI. There were lots of shorebirds behind the convention center but nothing exciting.

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Check out the colors on this jay-walking Great Blue Heron. I think he was heading to one of the bars to pick up a babe.

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Sunday, February 4, 2007

Sage Thrashers on FM 2221

This morning I went out to the Sparrow Road, FM 2221 going north from the west side of La Joya. My target for the day was Sage Thrasher. Mary Gustafson had one out there a few weeks ago. I hit the jackpot seeing at least five of them. The spot is three miles north on FM 2221 and stop by the white gate. I found them scattered over the next 1.5 miles in the scrubby stuff with cenizo. They tend to not perch as highly as mockingbirds and spend a lot of time on the ground. Pishing helps. Sparrows continue to be hard to find this winter. But there's no shortage of Cedar Waxwings and American Robins. Still lots of fruit on the Coyotillos. Couldn't refind my Green-tailed Towhee from a few weeks ago. Dipped on Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Lark Buntings.


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Neotropic Cormorant 11
Northern Harrier 2
Harris's Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Crested Caracara 2
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 1
Mourning Dove 25
Common Ground-Dove 3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 3
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Kiskadee 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Horned Lark 3
Verdin 4
Bewick's Wren 3
House Wren 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
American Robin 40
Northern Mockingbird 50
Sage Thrasher 5
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Cedar Waxwing 600
Orange-crowned Warbler 12
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Cassin's Sparrow 3
Clay-colored Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 1
Lark Sparrow 25
Black-throated Sparrow 8
Savannah Sparrow 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 2
Pyrrhuloxia 8
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3000
Western Meadowlark 8

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://www.ebird.org/tx)

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Frontera Audubon Thicket

Cool, cloudy and breezy this morning At Frontera Audubon Thicket but still an enjoyable morning. Seems like warblers such as Ovenbird, Black-and-white and Wilson's just glow on overcast days like today. Best bird for me was a Hermit Thrush, year bird #165 for Hidago County. Got back home to find the male Rufous Hummingbird in the yard. He's a real cutie!

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Location: Frontera Audubon Center
Observation date: 2/3/07
Number of species: 34

Blue-winged Teal 2
Plain Chachalaca 20
Cooper's Hawk 1
Green Parakeet 1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 6
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Great Kiskadee 8
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Green Jay 2
Black-crested Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 4
House Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 6
Northern Mockingbird 6
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Curve-billed Thrasher 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 8
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Ovenbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Wilson's Warbler 3
Chipping Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 80
Lesser Goldfinch 2
American Goldfinch 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://www.ebird.org/tx)

Thursday, February 1, 2007

RGV Winter Warbler Wonderland

Winter in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas is usually know for the time to look for Mexican vagrants. This year is kind of slow for rarities from south of the Border. However wintering warblers that are usually few in numbers seem to be everywhere. Here's a list of 25 species found in Cameron and Hidalgo Counties this winter.

Blue-winged Warbler - One at Sable Palm
Orange-crowned Warbler - Commonest Valey Warbler
Nashville Warbler - Uncommon but annual
Northern Parula - Singles at Anzalduas and Sal del Rey
Tropical Parula - Two at Bentsen, one at Canon Road
Yellow Warbler - Five at Delta Lake, one at Anzalduas
Mangrove Warbler - Scarlet's flock in the mangroves at Port Isabel
Black-throated Blue Warbler - One wintering in Harlingen
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Common in Winter
Black-throated Gray Warbler - Singles at Anzalduas and Bentsen
Black-throated Green Warbler - Frontera. Anzalduas, Sabal Palm
Townsend's Warbler - Two at Anzalduas and one at Santa Ana NWR
Hermit Warbler - Brilliant male at Anzalduas
Yellow-throated Warbler - uncommon in palms
Pine Warbler - Anzalduas, Delta Lake
Black-and-white Warbler - uncommon throughout Valley
American Redstart - One at Frontera
Ovenbird - Two at Frontera
Northern Waterthrush- Two at Frontera, uncommon in mangroves
Mourning/MacGillivray's Warbler - One on Rio Grande near Progreso Lakes
Common Yellowthroat - Common in cattails
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat - One or two pairs at Sabal Palms
Hooded Warbler - One at Sabal Palm
Wilson's Warbler - Sabal Palms, Frontera, Delta Lake, Bentsen
Yellow-breasted Chat - Estero Llano Grande and near Progreso


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