Yturria Brush, 11/26/14

It was an absolutely perfect morning at the Yturria Brush unit of the Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR.  My goal was to try to pick up some Hidalgo County year birds and I was successful with five Green-tailed Towhees among the ten species of sparrows.  The first was just north of where the gas well road turns to the left.  The other four were beyond the solar powered well.  Unfortunately they were not very photogenic.

On the other hand, Black-throated Sparrows are always available for photo opps.

Another bird I have difficulty trying to photograph is Verdin.  They are hard to get close to.

This Northern Cardinal flew right up in my face.  My camera always has trouble with the bright red on cardinals and Vermillion Flycatchers.

The white breast patch on a black body is the best field mark for a young White-tailed Hawk.

After walking 2.5 miles in, birding all the way, the return trip was spend looking for butterflies.  Here's a knockout Great Purple Hairstreak.

Greater White-fronted Goose  15
Black Vulture  2
Turkey Vulture  2
Northern Harrier  1
White-tailed Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Common Ground-Dove  3
Mourning Dove  8
Greater Roadrunner  3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker  1
American Kestrel  2
Eastern Phoebe  2
Loggerhead Shrike  2
White-eyed Vireo  5
Verdin  10
House Wren  12
Bewick's Wren  2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  5
Curve-billed Thrasher  2
Long-billed Thrasher  2
Northern Mockingbird  45
Orange-crowned Warbler  25
Olive Sparrow  2
Green-tailed Towhee  5
Cassin's Sparrow  2
Clay-colored Sparrow  1
Lark Sparrow  5
Black-throated Sparrow  9
Savannah Sparrow  1
Grasshopper Sparrow  1
Lincoln's Sparrow  20
White-crowned Sparrow  5
Northern Cardinal  7
Pyrrhuloxia  3
Great-tailed Grackle  1