Sugar House Pond, 11/7/09

I've recently discovered the Sugar House Pond on FM 1425 a mile north of Hwy 107 has water once again. And when it has water with mudflats, it's the best place in Hidalgo county for shorebirds. I visited a couple of days ago and scored 15 shorebird species, the most I've ever seen at one site in Hidalgo County.

The Sugar House is a sugar refinery for sugar cane grown in the area. Looks like a smoke belching monstrosity from a Miyasaki movie.



Lots of birds.



Best birds were five Black-bellied Plovers, ten Semipalmated Plovers, a lone Snowy Plover and two Dunlin. These are all easy to see on the coast but are tough to get here in land-locked Hidalgo county. Here's some black-bellies.



Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Northern Shoveler 50
Green-winged Teal 120
Ruddy Duck 10
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Northern Harrier 1
Merlin 1
Black-bellied Plover 5
Snowy Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 10
Killdeer 1
Black-necked Stilt 1
American Avocet 46
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Long-billed Curlew 2
Western Sandpiper 200
Least Sandpiper 400
Dunlin 2
Stilt Sandpiper 250
Long-billed Dowitcher 250
Wilson's Phalarope 2
Horned Lark 2
American Pipit 2
Savannah Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 200
Great-tailed Grackle 100