Sunday, February 28, 2010

South Padre Island, 2/28/10

With Honey at work today, my old teaching colleague Mike and I headed out to South Padre Island to see what was about. Still a bit early for spring migrants. We spent a few hours walking the boardwalks at the SPI Birding and Nature Center. Nothing unusual was going on but there's always interesting stuff to see. I enjoyed this Black Skimmer cruising by.

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Here's a frantically feeding bunch of Roseate Spoonbills.

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The Ardeids were looking sharp in their prenuptial finery. Normally I don't look twice at Great Blue Herons but I made an exception for this one.

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A very tame Reddish Egret.

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This Little Blue Heron dared me to get close.

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There was not a lot of shorebird diversity, mostly Dunlin, Willits and both Yellowlegs. This was the only Marbled Godwit.

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Yellow-rumped Warblers will be around a few more weeks before the main spring warbler invasion occurs.

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After the boardwalk we drove the beach looking for unusual gulls. I think this may be a first cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull but I'm open to suggestions. Looks a lot like 27.11 in Howell and Dunn.

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Here's some good looking Brown Pelicans.

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We finised the day with some good food and suds at the SPI Brewery and some more at the Wahoo Saloon. A nice day was had by all!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Bentsen State Park, 2/16/10

After returning from taking my dad up to see Sal del Rey I got the call from Mary Gustafson and also from David Dauphin that an Aztec Thrush had just been found at Bentsen State Park south of Mission. So I rushed right over and spent a couple of hours looking for it but was not able to refind it. I guess I'll give it another go tomorrow. But on the way in I was happy to tick my Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl for the year. It was just south of the maintenance building where it has been heard lately.

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Son of Smudge, the offspring of a supposed Altimira/Audubon's Oriole hybrid was hanging out at the feeding station.

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I tried to make this bunting into a Lazuli but the whitish throat and faint streaking on the sides point to Indigo.

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Here's a Snowy Plover from this morning's walk into Sal del Rey. My dad is 80 years old and made the 1.5 mile walk just fine. I hope I can do that when I'm that old.

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Monday, February 15, 2010

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 2/14/10

Last weekend witnessed the demise of our visiting Roadside Hawk. Feathers were found on the trail near the photo blind that fit those of a Roadside Hawk. Breast and fight feathers were collected to be sent of to Dr. Arnold at Texas A&M to be examined. Not much was left when I visited in the afternoon. My guess is it was nailed by one of the other local raptors, perhaps the Cooper's Hawk or Red-shouldered Hawk or maybe even Red-tailed Hawk. I don't think a Great Horned Owl would have plucked its prey. Sad, but this stuff happens in nature. But, luckily for birders, another Roadside hawk is being seen up at Falcon State Park.

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Yesterday I visited but didn't see anything too great. Here's a female Green Kingfisher.

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And a fat White-tipped Dove.

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Plain Chachalaca 6
Pied-billed Grebe 1
American White Pelican 18
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 150
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Gray Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 1
Inca Dove 5
White-tipped Dove 8
Red-crowned Parrot 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Great Kiskadee 2
Couch's Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Green Jay 2
Black-crested Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Northern Mockingbird 5
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 6
Tropical Parula 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Altamira Oriole 2

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Santa Ana NWR, 2/9/10

'Twas a cool, blustery morning at Santa Ana NWR. Not much going on. I really had to work to dig out a few warblers and kinglets. It's not too good when a Wilson's Warbler is the best bird of the morning. And a not too good picture either.

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Blue-headed Vireo.

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Gadwall 100
Mottled Duck 4
Blue-winged Teal 15
Northern Shoveler 100
Northern Pintail 4
Green-winged Teal 2
Green-winged Teal (American) 3
Ring-necked Duck 7
Ruddy Duck 3
Plain Chachalaca 2
Least Grebe 12
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Neotropic Cormorant 5
Great Egret 9
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 3
Harris's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Common Moorhen 12
American Coot 100
Black-necked Stilt 3
Mourning Dove 1
White-tipped Dove 2
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 3
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 9
Eastern Phoebe 4
Vermilion Flycatcher 2
Great Kiskadee 13
White-eyed Vireo 3
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Green Jay 10
Tree Swallow 4
Cave Swallow 2
Black-crested Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 14
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 7
Wilson's Warbler 1
Olive Sparrow 4
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Altamira Oriole 1
House Sparrow 1

On the way home I passed a recently mowed field with a dozen young White-tailed Hawks looking for mouse corpses.

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Sunday, February 7, 2010

Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, 2/7/10

I headed over to Edinburg Scenic Wetlands this morning to look for the Northern Flicker that has been present the past few weeks. I couldn't find it but was happy to find only my second-ever-for-Hidalgo County Field Sparrow.

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Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 45
Gadwall 25
Blue-winged Teal 120
Northern Shoveler 100
Green-winged Teal (American) 20
Lesser Scaup 10
Ruddy Duck 40
Least Grebe 7
Pied-billed Grebe 2
American White Pelican 3
Neotropic Cormorant 5
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 7
Snowy Egret 3
Cattle Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 13
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Common Moorhen 15
American Coot 65
Killdeer 5
Black-necked Stilt 13
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 7
Stilt Sandpiper 2
Long-billed Dowitcher 35
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 3
Inca Dove 4
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Great Kiskadee 2
Couch's Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
House Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Northern Mockingbird 6
Curve-billed Thrasher 4
American Pipit 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 13
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 50
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Field Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Great-tailed Grackle 20

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Quinta Mazatlan

The amazing onslaught of rarities continues in south Texas. A couple of days ago a male Crimson-collared Grosbeak was found in McAllen at the Quinta Mazatlan branch of the World Birding Center. This morning I was able to find the bird feeding on Coyotillo berries and get a couple of photos before it was chased away by a mockingbird.

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Quita Mazatlan also has its own Tropical Parula feeding on citrus, much like the one at Frontera.

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Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 8
Plain Chachalaca 25
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Long-billed Curlew 1
White-winged Dove 22
Mourning Dove 4
Inca Dove 2
Common Ground-Dove 2
White-tipped Dove 4
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 6
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Great Kiskadee 5
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Green Jay 5
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
Long-billed Thrasher 4
Curve-billed Thrasher 3
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 10
Nashville Warbler 1
Tropical Parula 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Summer Tanager 1
Crimson-collared Grosbeak 1
Northern Cardinal 3
House Sparrow 100

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Boca Chica Beach, 2/2/10

Lately there have been all these reports of great birds at Boca Chica Beach east of Brownsville. People have reported Brown and Masked Boobies, Great Black-backed Gull and Pomarine Jaegers. So I went to have a look for myself as these would all be great year birds. All I got were a bunch of gannets and some messed up gulls. These photos taken from the end of the south jetty show 1st year, 2nd year and adult Nortern Gannets. I tried to turn some of them into boobies but failed.

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This heavily streaked adult Ring-billed Gull made me want to turn it into a California but then I noticed the yellow eyes.

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These two first cycle American Herring Gulls show moderate and extensive post-juvenile scapular molt. At least that what I figured out from Howell and Dunn's "Gulls of the Americas."

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This trio of Eared Grebes were hanging out close to shore.

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A big bird went by.

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These Sanderlings were in a hurry to get to the party!

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This Reddish Egret begged to have its picture taken.

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