Sal del Rey, 11/30/08

Birding is going to be great this winter in eastern Hidalgo County with lots of water in the low spots. My first stop this morning was Delta Lake on Hwy 88 north of Elsa. The water is low on the west side creating perfect shorebird conditions. Best birds were a Black-bellied Plover and the usual late Yellow Warbler.

Lesser Scaup 100
White Pelican 35
Double-crested Cormorant 100
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 50
Black-bellied Plover 1
Killdeer 10
Black-necked Stilt 1
American Avocet 12
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Long-billed Curlew 35
Least Sandpiper 300
Stilt Sandpiper 8
Long-billed Dowitcher 400
Laughing Gull 40
Ring-billed Gull 25
Caspian Tern 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5

Just a half mile north a Delta Lake was a flock of 500+ Snow, Ross' and White-fronted Geese. Just across the line in Willacy County on Hwy 88 the usual wet area had lots of stuff including 12 Anhingas and two Vermillion flycatchers. Here I found another photogenic Wilson's Snipe.





I didn't stop at the numerous flooded areas on Hwy 186 and went straigt over to the parking area on Brushline Rd for Sal del Rey. Though I avoided stepping on rattlesnakes this time, the seed ticks were the worst I've ever seen. I brushed over 100 off my pants and my wife removed another 35 after I got home (God bless her!). I think I still have a few more. Anyway the birds were good as usual. A Sedge Wren was a nice surprise at the fresh water cienega. How's this for a bad pic?



The Wilson's Phalaropes are still here with about 100 scattered across the lake. This is about the only place in the USA where they regularly winter.



The large gull flock on the west end had 100 Ring-billed, 700 Laughing and at least three Franklin's Gulls. Notice the large white spots on the primary tips along with the blacker hood when compared to the nearby Laughing Gull.





Greater White-fronted Goose 12
Northern Shoveler 5
Northern Bobwhite 12
Eared Grebe 61
Neotropic Cormorant 3
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 10
Northern Harrier 1
Sandhill Crane 6
Snowy Plover 2
Killdeer 1
Western Sandpiper 50
Least Sandpiper 200
Dunlin 1
Wilson's Phalarope 100
Laughing Gull 700
Franklin's Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 100
Mourning Dove 7
Common Ground-Dove 10
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 3
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 5
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Green Jay 2
Cactus Wren 1
Bewick's Wren 1
House Wren 10
Sedge Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12
Northern Mockingbird 6
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Lark Sparrow 12
Savannah Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 10
Swamp Sparrow 1
Pyrrhuloxia 5
Indigo Bunting 1

Brushline Road south of Hwy 186 has a couple of good wet areas with lots of Least Grebes. The wet areas in Hargill on Hwy 490 are dry but there are a few wet spots to the east in Willacy County that held lots of birds. All of the above areas are in the La Sal Vieja CBC (two weeks from today!) which should be fantastic this year. Give Martin Hagne a call to partcipate on this fun CBC.