Sal del Rey, 11/25/07

I headed up to Sal del Rey this cold, blustery morning. After a wet summer, the rainless fall has pretty much dried things up. Water evaporating from already hypersaline Sal del Rey is causing a salt precipitate to form along the shores and coating anything in the water.



There were not to many shorebirds and they were concentrated in the southwest corner. I was happy to see 15 Snowy plovers after missing them on my last visit.



Long-billed Dowitchers are supposed to prefer freshwater while we often find Short-bills in salt water along the coast. I tried to turn this into a Short-billed Dowitcher, but I thing it's just a salt loving Long-billed.



I was sad to see this dying Sand-hill Crane. I'm sure it won't go to waste as there are plenty of coyotes around.



Snow Goose 50
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 8
Turkey Vulture 10
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Harris's Hawk 3
White-tailed Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Crested Caracara 4
Sandhill Crane 1
Snowy Plover 15
Killdeer 8
American Avocet 1
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 20
Sanderling 10
Western Sandpiper 10
Least Sandpiper 175
Stilt Sandpiper 8
Long-billed Dowitcher 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Kiskadee 2
Green Jay 3
Cactus Wren 1
Bewick's Wren 1
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Northern Mockingbird 5
American Pipit 10
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Eastern Meadowlark 1

Frontera Audbon Thicket, 11/17/07

This morning Mary Gustafson found a Winter Wren along the trail on the south side of the pond at Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco. As I was already leaving I didn't have much time to look for it. Best bird I had was a Clay-colored Robin along the south fence and a female Painted Bunting along the boardwalk. There were a pair of Green Kingfishers in the narrow pool west of the pond and a pair (same?) along the east ditch. A Yellow-throated Warbler was at the water feature behind the visitor's center. Overall migrant and wintering passerines are still low in numbers.





I though this Soldier looked cool sitting on the reed.



Plain Chachalaca 25
Cooper's Hawk 1
Inca Dove 10
White-tipped Dove 8
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 2
Green Kingfisher 4
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
Great Kiskadee 5
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Black-crested Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Clay-colored Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 6
Long-billed Thrasher 3
Curve-billed Thrasher 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 3
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Wilson's Warbler 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Painted Bunting 1
Bronzed Cowbird 1
House Sparrow 3