Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Frontera Audubon Thicket, 12/29/08

Finally got some good looks at the Crimson-collared Grosbeak this morning at Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco. I head the Blue Bunting was being seen near the gate but I missed it again. It was very birdy this morning.



I returned in the afternoon and found this striking male Black-throated Gray Warbler.



Plain Chachalaca 12
Cattle Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Sandhill Crane 50 (overhead)
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 3
Inca Dove 7
White-tipped Dove 6
Green Parakeet 3
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 4
Belted Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Kiskadee 5
Couch's Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
Long-billed Thrasher 1
European Starling 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 6
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Ovenbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 4
Wilson's Warbler 4
Olive Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
Crimson-collared Grosbeak 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Great-tailed Grackle 1
Altamira Oriole 2

We did the Welaco CBC on the 27th. It was a hot windy day with the mercury rising to a record 90 degrees. We had 86 species on the day which is a little low for our area which include the Llano Grande flood channel but the whole count did well with about 170 species. Very good for an inland count. Didn't have anything great but nine Sprague's Pipits was pretty good .



This Paraque at the Mercedes cemetary was pretty cool.

Merry Christmas from Frontera Audubon Thicket

I made a late afternoon run over to Frontera Audubon Thicket. I couldn't find the Crimson-collared Grosbeak or the Blue Bunting. But I got my Christmas present in the form of a bunch warblers coming into the water feature to take an evening bath. Everyone was photogenic! Here's a White-eyed Vireo



Wilson's Warbler.



Black-throated Green Warbler



Orange-crowned Warbler and Wilson's Warbler having a few words.



Nashville Warbler



Common Yellowthroat



Mr. Northern Cardinal



There were four Clay-colored Thrushes. Here's one of 'em.



My day started on "Sparrow Road", Hwy 2221, north of La Joya where I went looking for sparrows and desert birds. Not a whole lot going on but this Sage Thrasher was nice. It's been a long day!



Northern Bobwhite 15
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 5
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Harris's Hawk 2
Crested Caracara 8
American Kestrel 2
Killdeer 3
Mourning Dove 30
Common Ground-Dove 15
Greater Roadrunner 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Kiskadee 2
Loggerhead Shrike 3
White-eyed Vireo 4
Verdin 2
Cactus Wren 2
House Wren 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 20
Sage Thrasher 1
Curve-billed Thrasher 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 6
Cassin's Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 5
Black-throated Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 80
Grasshopper Sparrow 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 30
White-crowned Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 5
Pyrrhuloxia 20
Red-winged Blackbird 100
Western Meadowlark 40
Great-tailed Grackle 20
House Sparrow 100

Long-tailed Duck in Kleberg County, 12/23/08

This morning I headed up to Kleberg County to see the Long-tailed Duck found yesterday by Glenn Perrigo at Kaufer-Hubert Park. When I got there Glenn pointed the bird out to me. She's a real cutie! #509 for my Texas list.



I headed up to Drum Point to look for the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow but didn't have any luck. But there were sure lots of birds around. Here's a Snowy Plover.



A flock of Black Skimmers were at the end of the road.



After leaving Drum Point I went looking for sparrows and was happy to find this Leconte's Sparrow.





And this Grasshopper Sparrow.



I was surprised to find I finished the day with 103 species.

Rio Grande Valley Rarities

This winter is shaping up to be another good one for vagrants here in the Rio Grande Valley. It remains to be seen if it can match the amazing winter of 2004-5. But it's off to a good start with female Crimson-collared Grosbeak and female Blue Bunting at Frontera. Rose-throated Becards have been found at Frontera(earlier in the fall), Llano Grande, Santa Ana and Salineno. Sabal Palm Sanctuary in Brownsville has a Dusky-capped Flycathcer of the bright eastern Mexico race (lawerenci). And last weekend five Masked Ducks were found east of La Sal Vieja on the CBC.

Today I went for the Masked Ducks and found them easily. Here's a couple of digiscoped shots. I only saw four of the five.





Having scored and it was only 8:15 and with a norther due to hit at 10AM, I raced back to Frontera to look for the Crimson-collared Grosbeak and Blue Bunting. I struck out on the bunting but got a brief look at the grosbeak after the front hit, dropping the temperature abour 20 degrees in a few minutes. This was all I could muster.



This wintering male Rose-breasted Gosbeak was more cooperative.

RGV Christmas Bird Counts

Yesterday Honey and I took part in the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge's annual Christmas Bird Count. We covered Pintail Lake and the area south of Donna including Donna Lakes and finished with 95 species on the day. Pintail Lake on the refuge was pretty slow. We did alot better in the Donna area. I had never visited Donna Lakes before and was surprised by the number of birds there. We got lots of gulls, terns, shorebirds and our only Roseate Spoonbills of the day. We had eight species of warblers on the day between the two areas including Black-and-white, Yellow, Pine and Black-throated Green, the best being this Palm Warbler south of Donna Lakes.



Last weekend we worked on the La Sal Vieja CBC north of Weslaco where we covered our usual area around Delta Lake. Very strong winds made for a long day and only 87 species. That may sound like a lot, but we usually get close to a hundred. Among our birds were a good number of shorebirds and eight species of Warblers. Untill a few years ago Yellow Warbler was considered a rare winter resident in the Valley. I've had them for five years in a row at Delta Lake and found nine of them this year. Here's a couple of them.





Our best birds were three Groove-billed Anis. This was the only shot I could get of these skulkers.

Purple Sandpiper at South Padre Island, 12/7/08

Well, today is Pearl Harbor Day and on this day twenty yers ago I found the first documented Pine Warbler for Arizona. I was teaching high school math in Benson, Arizona and was looking out the window between classes and there it was on the ground. Kenn Kaufman and others came out to photograph it a few days later. They've had several in Arizona since then so I guess I just got lucky to find the first.

Today I headed out to South Padre Island to look for the Purple Sandpiper discovered last weekend on the jetty. They're pretty rare in Texas or anywhere on the Gulf Coast and I had only seen one previously so I thought it was worth the effort. The long walk out to the end of the jetty was extremely slippery and I was having doubts as to whether I could make it to the end or get back afterwards. Luckily it was a beautiful day and the water was calm. It took over an hour of seaching but eventually I found the little guy and got some good pics. This is Cameron County bird #340.









The Purple Sandpiper is hanging out at the end of the jetties which takes over a quarter of a mile of slippery boulder hopping to reach.



A shrimp boat had run aground on the south jetties some time ago. Don't know how long they'll leave it there.

Sal del Rey, 11/30/08

Birding is going to be great this winter in eastern Hidalgo County with lots of water in the low spots. My first stop this morning was Delta Lake on Hwy 88 north of Elsa. The water is low on the west side creating perfect shorebird conditions. Best birds were a Black-bellied Plover and the usual late Yellow Warbler.

Lesser Scaup 100
White Pelican 35
Double-crested Cormorant 100
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 50
Black-bellied Plover 1
Killdeer 10
Black-necked Stilt 1
American Avocet 12
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Long-billed Curlew 35
Least Sandpiper 300
Stilt Sandpiper 8
Long-billed Dowitcher 400
Laughing Gull 40
Ring-billed Gull 25
Caspian Tern 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5

Just a half mile north a Delta Lake was a flock of 500+ Snow, Ross' and White-fronted Geese. Just across the line in Willacy County on Hwy 88 the usual wet area had lots of stuff including 12 Anhingas and two Vermillion flycatchers. Here I found another photogenic Wilson's Snipe.





I didn't stop at the numerous flooded areas on Hwy 186 and went straigt over to the parking area on Brushline Rd for Sal del Rey. Though I avoided stepping on rattlesnakes this time, the seed ticks were the worst I've ever seen. I brushed over 100 off my pants and my wife removed another 35 after I got home (God bless her!). I think I still have a few more. Anyway the birds were good as usual. A Sedge Wren was a nice surprise at the fresh water cienega. How's this for a bad pic?



The Wilson's Phalaropes are still here with about 100 scattered across the lake. This is about the only place in the USA where they regularly winter.



The large gull flock on the west end had 100 Ring-billed, 700 Laughing and at least three Franklin's Gulls. Notice the large white spots on the primary tips along with the blacker hood when compared to the nearby Laughing Gull.





Greater White-fronted Goose 12
Northern Shoveler 5
Northern Bobwhite 12
Eared Grebe 61
Neotropic Cormorant 3
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 10
Northern Harrier 1
Sandhill Crane 6
Snowy Plover 2
Killdeer 1
Western Sandpiper 50
Least Sandpiper 200
Dunlin 1
Wilson's Phalarope 100
Laughing Gull 700
Franklin's Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 100
Mourning Dove 7
Common Ground-Dove 10
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 3
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 5
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Green Jay 2
Cactus Wren 1
Bewick's Wren 1
House Wren 10
Sedge Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12
Northern Mockingbird 6
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Lark Sparrow 12
Savannah Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 10
Swamp Sparrow 1
Pyrrhuloxia 5
Indigo Bunting 1

Brushline Road south of Hwy 186 has a couple of good wet areas with lots of Least Grebes. The wet areas in Hargill on Hwy 490 are dry but there are a few wet spots to the east in Willacy County that held lots of birds. All of the above areas are in the La Sal Vieja CBC (two weeks from today!) which should be fantastic this year. Give Martin Hagne a call to partcipate on this fun CBC.

More Kleberg County, 11/27/08

Honey and I decided to skip all the work of making a Thanksgiving dinner and just decided to go birding and have a picnic instead. Since Kleberg County was so good last weekend and Honey had never birded up there before, we decided that would be our destination. No luck with the Brant reported last weekend or the Surf Scoters. However we still managed a very respectable 105 species for the day. This Wilson's Snipe was hunkered down in the mud.





This Sedge Wren was a thrill for me as I do not see them very often. They're actually fairly common but it takes a little effort to find them.





We had seven species of sparrows on the day. Here's a Grasshopper Sparrow on the fence.



There were plenty of shorebirds at the county park and up at Drum Point. Here are Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin and Least Sandpipers.



And another Dunlin.



I like this pic of the Dunlin plunging his head into the water.



A couple of Sanderlings.



An American Pipit was being very cooperative.



Sandhill Cranes finished off a beautiful Thanksgiving.