Frontera Audubon, 7/25/16

It may have felt like summer this morning at Frontera Audubon in Welsaco but fall migration is underway.  I got poor looks at a Louisiana Waterthrush from the blind on the big pond.  Later I scared it up from the other side and finally found it a third time where I was able to get some photos.  In fact I stood still and just let it walk up to me as it bobbed along and fed by the pond.

On a couple of the shots above the waterthrush is looking upward.  It was checking out a noisy Black-necked Stilt that landed not far away.

I left the Louisiana Waterthrush on the big pond and soon found a second from the boardwalk.

Just feet away from the waterthrush was my first Solitary Sandpiper for the fall.

Also unusual for Frontera were three Killdeers taking advantage of the mudflats along the boardwalk.

Back in the woods I found my second Black-and-white warbler of the month.  Seems like most summers I see a few in July and then they're gone for a few weeks before the big fall push southward.

My first fall empids were three Least Flycatchers.

Back along the east fence line I found this Green Kingfisher who refused to give up a good shot.

There were plenty of gangly youngsters around like this Clay-colored Thrush, White-eyed Vireo and Brown-crested Flycatcher whose parents are not going to be happy about his new mohawk,

I was on my way out when I came across three Orchard Orioles.

All in all a pretty good day for late July at Frontera.

Frontera Audubon Center, Hidalgo, Texas, US
Jul 25, 2016 8:05 AM - 12:05 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
40 species

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (fulgens) 15
Plain Chachalaca 10
Neotropic Cormorant 1
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Black Vulture 2
Gray Hawk 1
Black-necked Stilt 1
Killdeer 2
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Inca Dove 12
White-tipped Dove 6
White-winged Dove 30
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 10
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Northern) 4
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Green Parakeet 1
Least Flycatcher 3
Brown-crested Flycatcher 4
Great Kiskadee 2
Tropical Kingbird 1
Couch's Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 3
Green Jay (Green) 2
Black-crested Titmouse 4
Carolina Wren 3
Clay-colored Thrush 4
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
Louisiana Waterthrush 2
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Olive Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Dickcissel 1
Great-tailed Grackle 8
Orchard Oriole 3
Lesser Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 2