Estero Llano Grande, 10/1/10

It's been a good week of birding in the RGV. Yesterday another Scott's Oriole was found in the Valley, this time at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco. Mary Gustafson was kind enough to get the word to me and I rushed right over. When I got there, the park people were looking at it and I managed a brief glimpse before it disappeared for the day. Hidalgo County bird #351 for me. While searching for it I did manage to find the Townsend's Warbler that Mary had seen earlier in the week. This is a western warbler that we see maybe once or twice a year down here.



I returned to the park this morning for another shot at the Scott's Oriole. No one saw it today but I got a nice Tropical Parula in the Townsend's Warbler tree.



Wednesday I spent the morning at Fronter Audubon Thicket where there weren't too many miagrants but I did get this nice Bell's Vireo. Despite being an abundant bird in much of Texas we see few of them in migration.



There was also a nice lift off of Broad-winged Hawks.





Plain Chachalaca 10
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Broad-winged Hawk 85
Gray Hawk 1
Killdeer 1
Rock Pigeon 8
White-winged Dove 20
Inca Dove 1
White-tipped Dove 4
Common Pauraque 1
Chimney Swift 2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 12
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1
Least Flycatcher 2
Brown-crested Flycatcher 2
Great Kiskadee 3
Tropical Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 3
Bell's Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Barn Swallow 4
Black-crested Titmouse 4
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Clay-colored Thrush 4
Northern Mockingbird 5
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Indigo Bunting 1
Great-tailed Grackle 4
Baltimore Oriole 1
Lesser Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 1


On the bug front I'm still finding Three-striped Dashers at Estero Llano Grande.



Here's a pretty Desert Firetail.