Backyard Beauties

The past few mornings a dozen or more Green Parakeets have been feeding on the bottlebrush blooms in our back yard in Weslaco. It is debated as to whether these are wild birds or not, but with over a thousand of them across the RGV they do appear to be breeding and increasing in numbers.



Despite their gorgeous coloration and colorful antics Green Parakeets are not popular as pets. They have the most incredible loud, screeching voices and would drive a person nuts if one was kept in the confines of a house.

Santa Ana NWR, 3/30/10

I spent a couple more mornigs at the hawk tower at Santa Ana NWR hoping to get some new year birds and maybe some pics. Neither morning produced Hook-billed Kite but I did see Mississippi (no pic) and Swallow-tailed Kites.





This morning there were probably over 1000 Broad-winged Hawks coming up on the morning thermals.



And quite a few Swainson's Hawks.



Sunday had a couple of hundred Anhingas.



I checked out Pintail Lake and had these side by side Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 70
Mottled Duck 12
Blue-winged Teal 60
Northern Shoveler 40
Green-winged Teal 3
Ring-necked Duck 1
Ruddy Duck 4
Plain Chachalaca 2
Least Grebe 10
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Neotropic Cormorant 5
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Anhinga 200
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 4
Little Blue Heron 2
Cattle Egret 4
Black-crowned Night-Heron 6
White-faced Ibis 4
Roseate Spoonbill 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 12
Osprey 1
Swallow-tailed Kite 1
White-tailed Kite 2
Mississippi Kite 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Harris's Hawk 1
Broad-winged Hawk 300
Gray Hawk 1
Swainson's Hawk 10
Common Moorhen 3
American Coot 25
Killdeer 2
Black-necked Stilt 55
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 60
Stilt Sandpiper 6
Long-billed Dowitcher 150
Mourning Dove 10
White-tipped Dove 2
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 3
Great Kiskadee 10
Couch's Kingbird 10
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 6
White-eyed Vireo 1
Tree Swallow 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 10
Cliff Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 1
Black-crested Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
Long-billed Thrasher 6
European Starling 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3
Common Yellowthroat 8
Olive Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Great-tailed Grackle 15
Bronzed Cowbird 6
Hooded Oriole 1
Altamira Oriole 3

Hook-billed Kites at Santa Ana NWR, 3/25/10

It was a clear, beautiful, still morning at Sant Ana NWR....perfect for Hook-billed Kites from the hawk tower. Actually I was hoping for Mississippi and Swallow-tailed but no doing on them. The north winds of yesterday did not allow for a big landing last night so there was no great hawk passage. Might be good tomorrow.

The first to show were a distant two Hook-billed Kites to the south that we could just make out in the scope. Later two appeared over Willow Lake and seemed to be a pair.



Later the scruffy youngster from earlier in the week appeared.



Then at about 10:30 AM three Hook-bills came up and did not include the scruffy one so there were a total of at least four Hook-billed Kites ranging across the refuge. Here's the male.





Other raptors included one Cooper's Hawk, one Zone-tailed Hawk, two Gray Hawks, a Red-shouldered Hawk, one Swainson's Hawk and about 60 Broad-winged Hawks.

More SPI, 3/25/10

Another cold front blew ino the Rio Grande Valley this morning so I headed out to South Padre Island to see what was about. Most of the Spring Break debauchery is over so its rather peaceful out there now. Nothing too exciting but I did see ten species of warblers and several new birds for the year. This is my FOS Tennessee warbler.



Most of the birds were either at the Valley Land Fund's Sheepshead lot or at the Convention Center where I saw this plucky little Hooded Warbler.



Several Northern Parulas were feeding on something in the dandelions.



I really had a difficult time getting good photos though many of the birds were rather close. This Black-throated Greenwarbler refused to come out into the open.



This female Black-and-White Warbler was more cooperative.



This Grasshopper Sparrow was a real surprise. Many of them winter in Mexico so we do see some each spring but I wasn't expecting one today.



This Ruby-throated Hummingbird was attracted to the bottlebrush.



Brown Pelican X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Tricolored Heron X
American Kestrel 1
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Caspian Tern X
Royal Tern X
Sandwich Tern 3
Black Skimmer X
Rock Pigeon X
Eurasian Collared-Dove X
Mourning Dove X
Inca Dove X
Common Ground-Dove 1
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 10
White-eyed Vireo 5
Purple Martin 1
Tree Swallow 25
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Bank Swallow 3
Cliff Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 100
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 4
Tennessee Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 5
Northern Parula 7
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 8
Black-throated Green Warbler 4
Black-and-white Warbler 6
Common Yellowthroat 1
Hooded Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
Clay-colored Sparrow 3
Lark Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 4
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Great-tailed Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Orchard Oriole 1
House Sparrow X

South Padre Island, 3/21/10

With the cold front coming through yesterday, Honey and I headed out to South Padre Island this morning to see what migrants might be about. We were greeted with a Swallow-tailed Kite lazily looping its way northward at the entrance to the island. Unfortunately my camera settings were screwed up and I missed the pic. Also at the entrance to the island were a couple of Yellow-throated Vireos.



Other early spring migrants included Yellow-throated and black-and-white Warblers. We found them at the Sheepshead lot.









Another early spring migrant is Lousiana Waterthrush.



Hooded Warbler



I got within about six feet of this Cliff Swallow.



Red-breasted Merganser 50
Brown Pelican X
Great Blue Heron X
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Little Blue Heron X
Tricolored Heron X
Reddish Egret X
White Ibis X
Swallow-tailed Kite 1
Cooper's Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Great Kiskadee X
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
White-eyed Vireo 13
Yellow-throated Vireo 3
Tree Swallow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Cliff Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 10
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 1
Northern Parula 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Yellow-throated Warbler 5
Black-and-white Warbler 7
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Hooded Warbler 8
Clay-colored Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 10
Red-winged Blackbird X
Great-tailed Grackle X
Hooded Oriole 1
House Sparrow X

On the way home we checked out the La Feria sod farm and found 320 American Golden-Plovers.





One of the ways to separate American Golden from Black-bellied Plover is to look at the axilary feathers. Black-bellies have black armpits and American Golden-Plover doesn't.

King Rail at Estero Llano Grande, 3/15/10

This morning I headed over to Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco to look for the Virginia Rail seen yesterday under the boardwalk. While looking along the boardwalk I finally managed a decent pic of a Swamp Sparrow.



Later I saw a little dark rail run out from under the boardwalk but it turned out to be a Sora. I saw five of them this morning but no Virginia's Rail.



Then as I was scoping the island of rushes on the south end of Ibis Pond I was surprised to see this guy. I've only seen a few King Rails in Hidalgo county.



Later he walked out into the open on the south west side of the rushes.





Later I found three Solitary Sandpipers in Grebe Marsh.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 1
Blue-winged Teal X
Cinnamon Teal 7
Northern Shoveler X
Green-winged Teal X
Ring-necked Duck 5
Ruddy Duck 6
Plain Chachalaca 2
Least Grebe X
Pied-billed Grebe X
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 2
Little Blue Heron 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Turkey Vulture X
Northern Harrier X
King Rail 1
Sora 5
Common Moorhen X
American Coot X
Killdeer 2
Black-necked Stilt 20
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Solitary Sandpiper 3
Least Sandpiper 11
Long-billed Dowitcher 2
Common Ground-Dove 2
Red-crowned Parrot 2
Great Kiskadee 1
Purple Martin 5
Tree Swallow 1
Marsh Wren 1
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 100
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Great-tailed Grackle 5
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 3/14/10

The Rio Grande Valley is still in the doldrums of March. Visiting birders can find plenty of cool things to tick. But for the rest of us locals, we're waiting for spring migration. Not much to see this morning at Frontera. Thirteen Cedar Waxwings were the first I've seen there in a long time. Butterflies are slowly starting to pick up. This is my first Dusky-blue Groundstreak.



Here's a Mournful Duskywing. Some of these butterfly names seem a bit arbitrary.



All of us here in the Lone Star State take pride in the Texan Crescent. It kicks the Oklahoman Crescent's ass!



This hoverfly has a territory set up over the trail.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 40
Plain Chachalaca 8
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 200
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 4
Inca Dove 10
White-tipped Dove 8
Green Parakeet 8
Red-crowned Parrot 2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 2
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 6
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Great Kiskadee 4
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Black-crested Titmouse 3
House Wren 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Cedar Waxwing 13
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 40
Great-tailed Grackle 8
Lesser Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 1

Hook-billed Kites at Santa Ana NWR, 3/9/10

I spent a couple of hours this calm, balmy morning on the hawk tower at Santa Ana NWR and was rewarded with a pair of Hook-billed Kites. They came up distantly at about 9:40 over the Cattail Lake area and moved to the southeast gaining altitude and interacting with another pair of birds that may also have been Hook-bills. They were too high to find in my scope. When the kites first came up, a couple of birders popped up on the tower(at least they had binoculars) and I told the lady I thought I had a Hook-billed Kite. Her response was "Oh. Is it kiting?" Ugh!



The Hook-billed Kites then reappeared coming from the Pintail Lake area and did a few laps over Willow Lake. The male then perched about 100 yards west of the tower for ten minutes. Later the female appeared over Pintail Lake. I then left the tower and on my way out met the morning bird walk group. I asked them if they had seen the kite and one guy said "No. But we got great looks at the Red-shouldered Hawk right over our heads." I showed them my pics and then they realized they had misidentified the kite.

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 3/7/10

Not too much going on at Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco. This time of year our winter birds are starting to leave while spring migrants aren't quite here yet. So there's just fewer birds around. This Wilson's Warbler posed before jumping into the water feature for a bath.



Blue-headed Vireo.



Things are boring when I'm photographing Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. But I don't always see them in the thicket.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 12
Plain Chachalaca 4
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Neotropic Cormorant 2
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 50
Cooper's Hawk 1
White-winged Dove 1
Inca Dove 4
White-tipped Dove 5
Red-crowned Parrot 2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1
Black-chinned Hummingbird 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Great Kiskadee 4
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Purple Martin 1
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 6
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Wilson's Warbler 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Great-tailed Grackle 3
American Goldfinch 2

Knox County, 3/4/10

Wednesday morning there was a report on Texbirds of Pinyon Jays being seen around Truscott Brine Lake in Knox County which is about a hundred miles north of Abilene. Needing this bird for my Texas list I packed up the car and took off. Well I put in about six hours looking through the area junipers to no avail. The problem is, though the area superfically looks like a good place for Pinyon Jays, it lacks the all important Pinyon Pines the jays feed on. I expect the Pinyon Jays checked it out and moved on. They are known for roving long distances when local food supplies are short. They could have been anywhere in the thousands of acres of cedar breaks.



But there were plenty of other cool birds to look at. The junipers attracted hundreds of Montain Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwings though I'm not sure if there were any fruit on them. They seemed to be mainly hanging out around the ephemeral puddles on the adjacent cattle pastures.













Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
Northern Shoveler X
Redhead X
Ring-necked Duck X
Lesser Scaup X
Bufflehead X
Common Goldeneye X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Ruddy Duck X
Horned Grebe X
Eared Grebe X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron X
Bald Eagle X
Northern Harrier X
Cooper's Hawk X
Red-tailed Hawk X
American Kestrel X
American Coot X
Sandhill Crane X
Killdeer X
Rock Pigeon X
Eurasian Collared-Dove X
White-winged Dove X
Mourning Dove X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker X
Ladder-backed Woodpecker X
Northern Flicker X
Eastern Phoebe X
Loggerhead Shrike X
American Crow X
Black-crested Titmouse X
Bewick's Wren X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Eastern Bluebird X
Mountain Bluebird X
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird X
Curve-billed Thrasher X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing X
Spotted Towhee X
Rufous-crowned Sparrow X
Chipping Sparrow X
Field Sparrow X
Vesper Sparrow X
Savannah Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
Lincoln's Sparrow X
Harris's Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark X
Western Meadowlark X
Great-tailed Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
Pine Siskin X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X