Sugar House Pond, 10/25/08

This morning I made a run up to the Sugar House north of Mercedes on Hwy 1425. The Sugar House is a sugar mill that processes the area's sugar cane. Just north of the Sugar House is a pond that has been great for shorebirds lately. The Sugar House looks like a smoke-belching monstrosity in the background.



But the birds don't seem to mind.



Best bird for me was this Dunlin which was new for my Hidalgo County list, #336. Dunlin are a common wintering species 40 miles away on the coast but are hard to find in here in Hidalgo County. I took this photo with my new Canon A590 hand held through my Kowa 824. Came out pretty good.



Here's a Stilt Sandpiper.



And American Avocet.



There wasn't much diversity but there were lots of birds.

Gadwall 6
Blue-winged Teal 1
Northern Shoveler 200
Green-winged Teal 100
Cattle Egret 12
Killdeer 3
American Avocet 300
Western Sandpiper 1200
Least Sandpiper 300
Dunlin 1
Stilt Sandpiper 2500
Long-billed Dowitcher 150
Wilson's Phalarope 11
Rock Pigeon 12
Horned Lark 3
Cave Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 200
Savannah Sparrow 2
Great-tailed Grackle 1