La Feria Nature Park, 7/22/15

I've been reading lately on Facebook about people seeing King Rails at the La Feria Nature Park.  Actually people have been seeing them there for several years so I figured today might be a good time to give it a try. It took a while but I eventually found them.  Or I should say they eventually came out when they felt like it. At least everyone is calling them King Rails but you couldn't prove it by me.  They could have easily been Clapper Rails but I guess since they're in fresh water we call them King Rails.  Or maybe there's stuff I don't know.  Ya think?

Honey and I are planning a trip to China in September and after researching for a good pocket point-and-shoot I settled on the Sony Cyber-shot DCS-RX100.  It's a new three year old model that costs half as much as the current model.  The camera came yesterday so I gave it a try on the Swarovski scope and it worked really well.  Much better than that piece of junk bulbous Swarovski  DSLR scope adapter.

When I first got there my camera settings were screwed up from yesterday's digiscoping of the Collared Plover so this young King Rail didn't come out so good.

Here's a shot of a Green Heron from the Sony handheld on the scope.

Here's one of a young Loggerhead Shrike from the Sony and scope followed by one with the Canon 7D Mark II with the Canon 100-400 IS II.  Colors are a little different and depth of field is different but the digiscoped image came out well.

I would have had some more photos but the photographer failed his equipment.  Anyway I really like the La Feria Nature Park and will have to check it out from time to time.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck40
Mottled Duck  5
Neotropic Cormorant  8
Great Egret  3
Snowy Egret 6
Green Heron  3
Roseate Spoonbill  6
King Rail  2
Black-necked Stilt  8
Killdeer  4
Lesser Yellowlegs  3
Stilt
Sandpiper  23
Least Sandpiper  8
Semipalmated Sandpiper  2
Laughing Gull 3
White-winged Dove  3
Mourning Dove  3
Chimney Swift  1
Tropical Kingbird 1
Loggerhead Shrike  2
Purple Martin  1
Bank Swallow  2
Cave Swallow 1
Great-tailed Grackle  5

Collared Plover at Hargill Playa.

This morning local birders, Mary Beth Stowe and Pat Heirs found a Collared Plover at the Hargill playa on 1st and Lincoln.  This is only twelve days earlier than when I found the one there last year on Aug. 2.  Pat and Mary Beth are members of the Birder Patrol who regularly check out less commonly birded areas across the Rio Grande Valley.  I knew they would find something good someday.  Congratulations to Pat and Mary Beth for finding this 3rd USA record.  I ran up right after I got the call from Mary Beth and was able to get a few photos.

Now the questions begin.  This is an adult bird.  Is it the same one as last year?  The playas has been covered many times since the last bird disappeared last August.  In fact I was out there just a few days ago and failed to see it.  Are they breeding somewhere in the area?   There's quite a few barren saline playas in the area.  There's lots of water in the playa so maybe this one will hang around a while.