West Texas, 10/21-24/09

I had been thinking about making a run out to Big Bend to look for western Empids and maybe a late Lazuli Bunting along the river and then I heard about the Lewis's Woodpecker in Ozona so I packed up the car and took off on Wed. Well I struck out on all of them but still found some good stuff.

After missing the Lewis's Woodpecker (he may still be there as the town is full of loaded pecan's) I decided to rub salt in my wounds by starting a Lewis's Woodpeckerless Crockett County list. I wound up with 35 species in a couple of hours including a SAGE THRASHER on Hwy 290 west of Ozona. A half mile east of the Pecos on 290 I was surprised too find this cute little BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. And under the bridge over the Pecos on the Crocket County side was a GREEN KINGFISHER. Not sure how often they are seen out there.



Got back on I-10 at Sheffield as a cold front was passing through. I drove through a bit of rain and after a bit could see clear skies ahead. Then in my rearview mirrow I saw the most incredible rainbow. And ahead of me was the most incredible sunset. Certainly a good omen.





Spent the night in Fort Stockton and headed out early to Lake Balmorhea with visions of scoters, jaegers and rare gulls in my head. Well, I didn't find any of those either. But I was pleased to see this cool CRISSAL THRASHER near the wash on the west side of the dam. It's been many years since I've seen one.



The most unusual thing I found was two very late BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS. Excuse the pic as the birds were 100 yards away.



Ross's Goose 2
Gadwall 10
American Wigeon 10
Mallard (Mexican) 2
Northern Shoveler 10
Redhead 5
Ring-necked Duck 3
Lesser Scaup 10
Ruddy Duck 63
Scaled Quail 6
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Eared Grebe 2
Western Grebe 1
Clark's Grebe 1
Western/Clark's Grebe 110
Neotropic Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 12
Osprey 3
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
American Coot 250
Black-bellied Plover 2
Killdeer 24
Spotted Sandpiper 6
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Long-billed Curlew 5
Least Sandpiper 2
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
Ring-billed Gull 4
Greater Roadrunner 3
Belted Kingfisher 4
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 10
Say's Phoebe 1
Vermilion Flycatcher 3
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Chihuahuan Raven 3
Barn Swallow 400
Verdin 2
Bewick's Wren 3
Marsh Wren 13
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
Crissal Thrasher 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Common Yellowthroat 2
Green-tailed Towhee 1
Spotted Towhee 1
Canyon Towhee 2
Vesper Sparrow 1
Black-throated Sparrow 5
Lark Bunting 30
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 5
Pyrrhuloxia 5
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Eastern Meadowlark 12
Brewer's Blackbird 15
Great-tailed Grackle 30
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
House Sparrow 2

I raced through the Davis Mountains as I wanted to get to Big Bend before dark. East of Fort Davis on Hwy 118 I stopped to bird the long pond along the highway and was surprised to see two TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES pass overhead. I quickly let out a pish and one of them stopped briefly allowing me to see the eyering and wingpatches.

Spent the night in Cottonwood Campground in Big Bend Nation Park. I was awakened by a loud pair of GREAT HORNED-OWLS and the purring of an EASTERN SCREECH-OWL. The campground turned up a lot of good birds. Here's a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER.



In the tree tobacco was my mystery hummer that I originally thought might be a Costa's but has been called an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD by the two people who have responded to my ID request. I'm still open as to the ID. The very straight bill and pale eye-arc would point to Anna's, but at the time I thought it was too small.



Then by the campground registration board along the river was this unexpected BROWN THRASHER (or is it a Long-billed?) I thought it was too rusty and the "smack" call seemed thinner than what I am used to hearing from the Long-bills down here in Weslaco.



Then about 50 yards upstream I saw a GRAY CATBIRD. There were also several CAROLINA WRENS. Their song is a little different from what I am used to hearing in the RGV.



Driving up river to Santa Elena Canyon I stopped and pished a lot in the patches of tall Johnson-like grass and in the groves of salt cedars and mesquite. Here I found my second mystery bird which I think is a BAIRD'S SPARROW. I never saw it from the front and the habitat didnt' seem right but the back looks good. The broad pale edgings and rufous on the flight feathers and the two white lines in the back are significant. Looking through a lot of photos on the internet Baird's seems to fit best. It may have been a migrant passing through. A MERLIN passed overhead and gave good looks.



Then at the picnic area for Santa Elaena Canyon, behind the next to last picnic table as you loop counterclockwise around the bathrooms, was this sharp RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. He had some wells drilled and looked like he might be there for the winter.



As I headed back to park headquarters I was shocked to see the lonely female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. It was just a bit east of the turnoff to the Basin.



I decided I needed to head for home and thought I would make a quick run over to Fort Pena Colorado park (The Post). There was nothing unusual there but just south of Marathon at the turnoff to the cemetary were six more MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS. I had two more a bit down the road and two more on Hwy 90 just east of Marathon.



Here's my Cottonwood Campground list.

Mallard (Mexican) 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Cooper's Hawk 2
Sandhill Crane 2
Spotted Sandpiper 1
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 2
Inca Dove 4
Greater Roadrunner 3
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Great Horned Owl 2
Common Nighthawk 1
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 3
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Black Phoebe 1
Vermilion Flycatcher 2
Chihuahuan Raven 7
Barn Swallow 2
Verdin 1
Carolina Wren 3
Bewick's Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
House Finch

Here's my list from Cottonwood Campground to Santa Elena Canyon

Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 2
Merlin 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Mourning Dove 1
Greater Roadrunner 3
Red-naped Sapsucker 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 3
Black Phoebe 1
Say's Phoebe 3
Ash-throated Flycatcher 1
Loggerhead Shrike 2
Chihuahuan Raven 2
Rock Wren 2
Canyon Wren 1
Carolina Wren 2
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Green-tailed Towhee 3
Vesper Sparrow 1
Black-throated Sparrow 5
Baird's Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Northern Cardinal 8
Pyrrhuloxia 3

Here's my Crockett County list

Wild Turkey X
Turkey Vulture X
Cooper's Hawk X
Red-tailed Hawk X
American Kestrel X
Rock Pigeon X
Eurasian Collared-Dove X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher X
Green Kingfisher X
Golden-fronted Woodpecker X
Ladder-backed Woodpecker X
Northern Flicker X
Vermilion Flycatcher X
Loggerhead Shrike X
Verdin X
Bewick's Wren X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Northern Mockingbird X
Sage Thrasher X
European Starling X
Orange-crowned Warbler X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Blackburnian Warbler X
Spotted Towhee X
Canyon Towhee X
Chipping Sparrow X
Vesper Sparrow X
Lark Sparrow X
Black-throated Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Pyrrhuloxia X
Yellow-headed Blackbird X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Sparrow X

Looks like it may be an interesting winter in west Texas.

Bald Eagle at Anzalduas County Park, 10/18/09

Gee, that's a subject line I never thought I'd write! This morning while birding with a my friend Mike Wertz at Anzalduas County Park (in Hidalgo County south of Mission) I spotted a large dark raptor raise above the levee as I drove past the central restrooms. Quickly we got out of the car and the bird came up again. In my scope I saw a very large dark raptor with a huge bill, dark head, neck and breast and paler belly with whitish splotches. In flight, the wings were long and rectangular, dark underneath with irregular whitish splotches and projecting finger-like primaries and held horizontally (not like the V dihedral of a Turkey vulture). The long broad tail was dark underneath as best I could tell. Certaninly not white based as in a Golden Eagle. I immediately recognized it as a juvenile plumaged Bald Eagle. We lost it from view after a minute. We then raced up onto the levee where I was able to refind it in the scope as it lazily circled, fairly low, in the distance. After several minutes it drifted into Mexico and vanished. I guess it was a migrating bird headed south but it conceivably could be hanging around the river at the base of Anzalduas Dam. I saw an adult once years ago at a lake near Cerralvo in NE Nuevo Leon (coincidentally also with Mike) so they must occasionally pass through the Valley. Anyway it was quite a surprise. While I was initially studying the eagle through the scope I didn't think about trying to get a pic. By the time I thought about it , the bird was almost gone.



The park was fairly dead with two Yellow-throated Warblers as the only warblers we saw. Hundreds of swallows circled over the water and the open field. We did not check for pipits. Saw my first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the season and was pleased to find five House Finches near the first restrooms. Roy Rodriguez had reported them in the park last spring. The House Finches were my Hidalgo county bird #343 and the Bald Eagle was #344. It's hard to get two new county birds on the same day!





We finished the morning with a fine perched Merlin that gave great looks.



Mottled Duck 6
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Snowy Egret 2
Cattle Egret 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Roseate Spoonbill 2
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 20
Bald Eagle 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Broad-winged Hawk 15
Gray Hawk 1
Swainson's Hawk 3
Merlin 1
Common Moorhen 2
American Coot 15
Killdeer 6
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 6
Laughing Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 200
White-winged Dove 2
Mourning Dove 4
Common Ground-Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 4
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 1
Vermilion Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 2
Couch's Kingbird 20
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 2
White-eyed Vireo 1
Green Jay 10
Tree Swallow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 50
Bank Swallow 1
Cave Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 500
Black-crested Titmouse 3
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 1
Yellow-throated Warbler 2
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Great-tailed Grackle 25
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Altamira Oriole 1
House Finch 5
Lesser Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 5

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 10/17/09

Fall was finally in the air this morning at Frontera Audubon Thicket with a cool, fresh breeze blowing from the north. Turkey vultures and late Broad-winged Hawks were headed south. Saw my first Blue-headed Viero of the fall. There were lots fewer warblers than my last couple of visits. Here's an American Redstart.



Anhingas are unusual at Frontera but there's been a few hanging around lately.



There are tons of Queen butterflies at Frontera but not a lot else.



However I did managed to see this Malachite though it's not much of a picture.



Plain Chachalaca 10
Anhinga 3
Great Egret 3
Turkey Vulture 95
Broad-winged Hawk 84
Rock Pigeon 1
White-winged Dove 35
Mourning Dove 2
Inca Dove 11
Common Ground-Dove 1
White-tipped Dove 2
Green Parakeet 12
Common Pauraque 3
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 6
Belted Kingfisher 1
Green Kingfisher 2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 1
Great Kiskadee 1
Couch's Kingbird 2
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 3
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Barn Swallow 8
Black-crested Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
European Starling 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 2
Northern Parula 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 3
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Wilson's Warbler 6
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Great-tailed Grackle 10
Altamira Oriole 1

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 10/12/09

Frontera is closed on Mondays but I have Cindy's permission to let myself in. It was a little warmer this morning with no wind. The cool front of the weekend blew out a lot of the migrants but I still managed to find 13 species of warblers including this Canada and my first Orange-crowned of the season.



Black-and-white Warbler is present in the RGV for all of the year except a few weeks in June. I've seen them in July several times. I had four of them this morning.



My best birds of the day was a Whip-poor-will, at least that's what I'm calling it, and the first Yellow-throated Vireo I've seen in Hidalgo County in several years. I saw it briefly and then I did a crude imitation of its song and it zoomed right in for this poor pic.



This Red-shouldered Hawk has been hanging around, raising Hell, for the last couple of weeks.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 5
Plain Chachalaca 10
Anhinga 3
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Broad-winged Hawk 2
Rock Pigeon 4
White-winged Dove 40
Mourning Dove 3
Inca Dove 3
White-tipped Dove 5
Green Parakeet 1
Common Nighthawk 1
Common Pauraque 1
Whip-poor-will 1
Chimney Swift 20
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 1
Couch's Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 6
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Barn Swallow 5
Black-crested Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 6
Long-billed Thrasher 2
European Starling 3
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 6
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 5
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 4
American Redstart 4
Ovenbird 2
Common Yellowthroat 3
Wilson's Warbler 6
Canada Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 300
Great-tailed Grackle 100
Lesser Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 1

More warblers at Frontera, 9/7/09

The warm, humid, muggy, buggy, southeast winds continue at Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco. In the spring, migrants ride this wind to their summer homes up north. However in the fall, the same wind impedes their southerly migration so we currently have a lot of warblers backed up waiting for the next train. I found 16 warblers species this morning including a late Canada. Despite buckets of warblers, I couldn't get any pics. So here's a late Broad-winged Hawk that was hanging around.



Here's today's list.

Green Heron 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Broad-winged Hawk 2
Gray Hawk 1
Killdeer 1
White-winged Dove 60
Inca Dove 5
White-tipped Dove 5
Green Parakeet 6
Chimney Swift 40
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 3
Couch's Kingbird 3
White-eyed Vireo 8
Warbling Vireo 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 4
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 5
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 6
Northern Mockingbird 5
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 10
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 3
Magnolia Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 5
American Redstart 2
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Mourning Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Hooded Warbler 5
Wilson's Warbler 15
Canada Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Blue Grosbeak 2
Painted Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Great-tailed Grackle 1
Lesser Goldfinch 6


Yesterday, lister that I am, I decided to head up to Austin to tick the Calliope Hummingbird that has been hanging around for the past month at the Zilker botanical garden. I had not seen one since my Arizona days. He's a little cutie but didn't pose well for pics.

Frontera Audubon Thicket, 10/3/09 (The blog is alive!)

Gee, I haven't posted anything since last March. Well you haven't missed much. The spring migration was the worst in the history of the world and the summer averaged about 105 F with howling winds every day and no rain. However after a month in the Philippines with rain here while we were gone and fall migration getting on it's time to get the blog up and running. I'll post on the Philippines trip later.

Despite suffering from intense jetlag I still decided to run over to Frontera Audubon Thicket to check things out. I got to meet Cindy, the new director. She seems on top of things and is ready to do what it takes to keep the refuge going strong. It was hot, humid, muggy, muddy and buggy in the thicket. But it was also very birdy. I scored 14 species of warblers including my only Worm-eating of the year. I also found this very cooperative Northern Beardless Tyrannulet.





Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 13
Plain Chachalaca 15
Little Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Gray Hawk 1
White-winged Dove 85
Inca Dove 6
White-tipped Dove 4
Common Pauraque 1
Chimney Swift 1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 12
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5
Black-chinned Hummingbird 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 2
Least Flycatcher 1
Empidonax sp. 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Brown-crested Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 5
Couch's Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 8
Warbling Vireo 1
Barn Swallow 5
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 5
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 12
Northern Parula 1
Yellow Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 3
American Redstart 3
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 2
Mourning Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Hooded Warbler 4
Wilson's Warbler 10
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Painted Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Lesser Goldfinch 3