Black-billed Cuckoo at Progreso Lakes, 4/30/19

I got up late this morning and shelved plans to go to South Padre Island so I watched the yard.  I figured if it was too boring I could get some work done.  But dog gone it, birding is never boring.  There's always something to see.  My target today was to get my first of year Eastern Kingbird for the yard.  It took about an hour but one finally fluttered by, skimmed the resaca (that's how kingbirds bathe) and flew into the neighbor's yard.  I got up and walked over to the fence and pointed my camera at the first white-breasted bird I saw.  Woops.  It was a cuckoo.  And best I could tell through the camera there was no yellow on the bill.  Black-billed Cuckoo!  It may have been in the neighbor's yard but I saw it from my yard so it counts as a yard bird.  I had a poor view of an iffy one last year that I probably should not have counted.  Glad to get this one photographed.

I returned to my chair by the water and the Eastern Kingbird made another loop over the resaca.  It's missing a few rectrices but still good for yard year bird #149.

Otherwise it was kind of dull.  The Bronzed Cowbirds were hanging around a pair of Tropical Kingbirds.  I don't know if the females will use their nests or not.

Here's one of the Tropical Kingbirds.

Mourning Doves are pretty sharp in the right light.

Yesterday I spent some time with the hummingbirds.  It's been a while since I've seen a Black-chinned.

Still plenty of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds passing through.

I'm not sure which one this female is.  They like the coral bean.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird.

This female Hooded Oriole doesn't understand why this feeder is so popular.

Still have a few weeks of migration left.  Would sure like to get some warblers in the yard.

Varied Bunting at Progreso Lakes, 4/8/19

I slept in a little after getting home late from my Lubbock trip.  But decided I needed to accomplish something so I cleaned out my bird bath and pulled it out of the vegetation some.  It was getting hard to see the birds.

Then a little lunch and a nap.  After a while I got got up and looked out the window to check my  newly configured bird bath.  There was this little plum colored sparrow sized bird feeding in the flowers.  Holy smokes!  A plum colored bunting with a red yamaka........Varied Bunting!!!!!

I ran out of the bedroom, grabbed my camera, stealthily crossed the porch despite still being in my underwear and managed a few shots of this unexpected rarity.

I then got word out of the Group Me app Rare Bird Alert and about a dozen birders got to see this little guy.  It was a lifer for some.  Varied Buntings are pretty common at Big Bend and easy to see in SE Arizona, but we normally get very few in the mid and lower Valley.  They are a low density nester in extreme western Hidalgo County and also in Starr and Zapata Counties.  Yard bird #204 was not one I was expecting.  Now I'm ready for a Lazuli!