Blue throated Hummingbird at Estero Llano Grande

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything. School seems to take so much of my time and energy. That combined with about the slowest fall migration ever. We really haven't had a good puch of cold weather to bring things down. Also we've had a very wet summer and fall, so there's plenty of food out there and birds are not piling up at the usual hot spots. They're spread out all over the place.

But there was a good find at Estero Lllano Grande State Park last week. This either female or young male Blue-throated Hummingbird is very rare in the Rio Grande Valley. They occur in small numbers in the mountains of west Texas and are common to the south of us in the Sierra Madre Oriental. It's the first I've heard of in my 16 years in the Valley. County bird #335!





This young Reddish Egret up at the Hargill feedlot pond is a rare sight in Hidalgo County away from the coast. It was banded by researchers from Texas State University in San Marcos. The bird came from coastal Willacy County.