I ran over to Anzalduas County Park south of Mission this drippy, windy morning in hopes of finally seeing the male Hooded Merganser that I have missed on several previous tries. Here he is!
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I also scored a number of of county year birds like this Zone-tailed hawk that made numerous passes over the treetops. The barred tail indicates it is a young bird.
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Most birders assume that all dark Mallard type birds are automatically Mottled Ducks. However Mexican Mallards also occur in the RGV. I think these birds below the dam are Mottleds based on the buffy face coloration and thin white line on the speculum.
![Image and video hosting by TinyPic](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sJ_FWRbPbKjq0PWk3IaXH0TseIz6XTpW1SgJsrFfuV2lH2dEi3UECQmWQK--mchHqRacwtJ8TAYQQjWgwqnbCqVqzaipA=s0-d)
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This Rock Wren has become the unofficial park sentry.
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Rose-breasted (and Black-headed) Grosbeak used to be considered as a rare bird during winter in the RGV but they now occur every winter and are expected.
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Gadwall 75
American Wigeon 75
Mottled Duck 10
Blue-winged Teal 25
Hooded Merganser 1
American White Pelican 3
Neotropic Cormorant 5
Double-crested Cormorant 35
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Little Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 10
Turkey Vulture 20
Zone-tailed Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 4
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Ring-billed Gull 2
Rock Pigeon 25
Mourning Dove 30
White-tipped Dove 1
Great Horned Owl 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 6
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 6
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 2
Great Kiskadee 3
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Green Jay 10
Purple Martin 1
Tree Swallow 15
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Black-crested Titmouse 3
Rock Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
Eastern Bluebird 2
Northern Mockingbird 6
European Starling 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Chipping Sparrow 15
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Pyrrhuloxia 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Great-tailed Grackle 10
Lesser Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 1