Zapata County Kites, 8/25/23

On Aug 22 Tropical Storm Harold crossed into Texas at about Kingsville and proceeded west till it got to the Rio Grande and then went up river all the way to New Mexico.  I was hoping it would come to the Rio Grande Valley and bring us some much needed rain and maybe some good seabirds.  I was right about the seabirds.  A flock of seventy Magnificent Frigatebirds were photographed on power lines west of Freer by a Cesar Keberg Institute biologist.  I learned about them yesterday and surmised they must be around somewhere, maybe Lake Amistad or Falcon Reservoir.  So I made the run up to Falcon State Park this morning.

I spent four hours on the lakeshore and failed to find any frigatebirds.  But it was a good morning.  I was on the Zapata County side of the park when migrant Mississippi Kites started to lift.  And lifting up with them was this stonking Swallow-tailed Kite.  There are few records for the county.

The Mississippi Kites were also a real treat.  I counted about forty of them catching insects above the lake shore.

Reddish Egrets have been reported at Falcon lately.  Normally only present along the coast, I found a white morph individual on the Starr County side and a dark morph on the Zapata County side.  Juveniles can wander great distances.

I would guess that Snowy Plovers nest somewhere on Falcon Reservoir.

Several hundred Laughing Gulls were present.

A young Gull-billed Tern passed by.

The TOS Handbook states that Caspian Terns away from the coast are migrants but I would not be surprised if they nest at Falcon.  The bird on the left looks recently fledged.

I called it quits when the temp hit 95.  That's actually a pretty nice summer day at Falcon.

Swallow-tailed Kite Photobomb! 8/19/23

Today we tied a weather record for Weslaco, Texas.  It was the 62nd day of 2023 with temperatures reaching 100F or above.  So this summer when I get up in the morning it's hard to get motivated to go anywhere or do any yard work.  I usually just start birding from the porch, have some breakfast and then set the scope up in the back yard.  More of the same today.  But what can I say.  It's all right.

As lunch time approached today I had compiled a long list of birds for the morning and was feeling like I was doing pretty good when I spied a small flock of White Ibises in the distance.  As I raised the camera and fired a couple of documentary shots I noticed a dark shape flash across my view.  What was that?  I picked up the binocs and soon found a migrating Swallow-tailed Kite doing lazy loops.  I got a couple of shots and was happy to finally get one for this year's yard list.  It is the eighth I've seen in our seven years at Progreso Lakes.  Later in the evening as I edited photos I discovered I had actually gotten images of the kite as it passed behind the ibis flock.  Pretty cool!

The morning started with hummingbirds.  I had a Black-chinned, three Buff-bellieds and ten migrant Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

A couple of Painted Buntings failed to cooperate.

But our first Cooper's Hawk of the fall posed for photos.

Back by the water a migrat Black Tern passed by.  It's been a good fall for them.

A couple of times each year I will have a Long-billed Curlew fly over.

A Yellow Warbler posed overhead.  Several have been hanging around this week.

A young Tricolored Heron daily fishes just a few feet from our shoreline.

Here's today's list.

Jones yard, Progreso Lakes, Hidalgo, Texas, US

Aug 19, 2023 7:15 AM - 12:13 PM

Protocol: Stationary

53 species (+1 other taxa)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  1

Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)  2

Muscovy Duck x Mallard (hybrid)  5    Including four young

Plain Chachalaca  2

Eurasian Collared-Dove  1

Inca Dove  2

White-tipped Dove  1

White-winged Dove  150

Mourning Dove  50

Groove-billed Ani  1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  10

Black-chinned Hummingbird  1

Buff-bellied Hummingbird  2

Common Gallinule  2

Black-necked Stilt  1

Killdeer  1

Upland Sandpiper  2

Long-billed Curlew  1

Spotted Sandpiper  1

Black Tern  1

Neotropic Cormorant  3

Great Blue Heron  1

Snowy Egret  2

Tricolored Heron  1

Cattle Egret  3

Green Heron  7

Black-crowned Night-Heron  7

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  2

White Ibis  6

Turkey Vulture  1

Swallow-tailed Kite  1

Cooper's Hawk  1

Golden-fronted Woodpecker  2

Ladder-backed Woodpecker  1

Alder Flycatcher  1    Calling "pep" repeatedly

Black Phoebe  1

Great Kiskadee  2

Tropical Kingbird  2

Couch's Kingbird  1

Black-crested Titmouse  1

Verdin  1

Purple Martin  1

Bank Swallow  1

Barn Swallow  2

European Starling  15

Northern Mockingbird  2

House Sparrow  10

Lesser Goldfinch  1

Hooded Oriole  2

Red-winged Blackbird  3

Bronzed Cowbird  40

Great-tailed Grackle  8

Yellow Warbler  2

Painted Bunting  2

Backyard Visitor at Progreso Lakes, 8/16/23

Fall migration has been really great over the past week.  I spent five hours in our back yard at Progreso Lakes today and recorded 60 species.  But I found the bird of the day while I was watching the evening news on TV.  I looked out the window and saw what appeared to be a tall, long necked dove.  I knew what it was and couldn't believe it.  An Upland Sandpiper was foraging in our yard.

Upland Sandpipers nest is open grassy fields from the midwest up to Alaska.  They winter in Argentina.  During fall and spring migration they are often found at area turf farms and are referred to as grasspipers along with American Golden Plovers and Buff-breasted Sandpipers which also prefer similar habitat.

Anyway here's the list for the day.

Jones yard, Progreso Lakes, Hidalgo, Texas, US

Aug 16, 2023 7:00 AM - 11:48 AM

Protocol: Stationary

60 species (+3 other taxa)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  15

Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)  1

Mallard x Mottled Duck (hybrid)  6    Continuing adult male and five offspring

Plain Chachalaca  2

Eurasian Collared-Dove  2

Inca Dove  2

White-tipped Dove  1

White-winged Dove  150

Mourning Dove  50

Groove-billed Ani  1

Chimney Swift  1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  2

Black-chinned Hummingbird  1

Buff-bellied Hummingbird  3

Common Gallinule  1

Black-necked Stilt  1

Killdeer  1

Upland Sandpiper  3

Stilt Sandpiper  1

peep sp.  2

Spotted Sandpiper  2

Neotropic Cormorant  5

Great Blue Heron  1

Snowy Egret  4

Tricolored Heron  1

Cattle Egret  6

Green Heron  8

Black-crowned Night-Heron  7

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1

Turkey Vulture  1

Osprey  1

Green Kingfisher  1

Golden-fronted Woodpecker  3

Ladder-backed Woodpecker  1

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher  1

Great Kiskadee  2

Couch's Kingbird  1

Tropical/Couch's Kingbird  3

Eastern Kingbird  1    Dark grey medium sized passerine with white tip of tail flying south across water

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher  1

White-eyed Vireo  1

Green Jay  1

Verdin  1

Purple Martin  40

Barn Swallow  6

Cliff Swallow  2

Cave Swallow  2

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1

Carolina Wren  1

European Starling  40

Northern Mockingbird  4

Clay-colored Thrush  1

House Sparrow  40

Lesser Goldfinch  3

Hooded Oriole  2

Altamira Oriole  1

Red-winged Blackbird  8

Bronzed Cowbird  100

Great-tailed Grackle  10

Yellow Warbler  3

Painted Bunting  4

Dickcissel  1

Progreso Lakes, 8/15/23

My goal today was to replace the float valve in the guest toilet but it didn't happen.  Instead I spent the morning in our Progreso Lakes yard playing with birds.  We don't get  a lot of Tricolored Herons so this tame immature bird feeding on Gambusia close to our shore was a treat.  Normally the water is a couple of feet deeper and this bird would not be feeding here.

This Great Blue Heron would not normally be able to stand in this water either.

A flock of fifty White Ibis were acting like they were migrating south.

Five Black Terns were nice.

I think this is a second fall Laughing Gull followed by two hatch year birds.

I've been hearing Dickcissels lately and one finally landed in the yard.

Jones yard, Progreso Lakes, Hidalgo, Texas, US

Aug 15, 2023 6:40 AM - 10:33 AM

Protocol: Stationary

53 species (+3 other taxa)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  10

Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)  2

Muscovy Duck x Mallard (hybrid)  5    Adult male and four young

Mottled Duck (Gulf Coast)  18    Flock did a couple of laps.  No doubt stressed by drought.

Plain Chachalaca  4

Eurasian Collared-Dove  2

Inca Dove  1

White-tipped Dove  1

White-winged Dove  200

Mourning Dove  25

Groove-billed Ani  1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1

Buff-bellied Hummingbird  2

Common Gallinule  2

American Coot  1

Killdeer  1

Spotted Sandpiper  1

shorebird sp.  8

Laughing Gull  3

Black Tern  5

Neotropic Cormorant  13

Great Blue Heron  1

Snowy Egret  2

Tricolored Heron  2

Cattle Egret  1

Green Heron  8

Black-crowned Night-Heron  3

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1

White Ibis  50

Turkey Vulture  1

Eastern Screech-Owl (McCall's)  2

Golden-fronted Woodpecker  2

Ladder-backed Woodpecker  1

Great Kiskadee  2

Tropical Kingbird  2

Couch's Kingbird  5

Black-crested Titmouse  1

Verdin  1

Purple Martin  5

Tree Swallow  1    Scope views of immature perched with Barn Swallows, greenish back, whitish below from throat to vent

Barn Swallow  5

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1

European Starling  12

Northern Mockingbird  5

Clay-colored Thrush  3

House Sparrow  8

Lesser Goldfinch  1

Lark Sparrow  1

Hooded Oriole  1

Orchard/Hooded Oriole  2

Altamira Oriole  1

Red-winged Blackbird  6

Bronzed Cowbird (Bronzed)  10

Great-tailed Grackle  10

Northern Cardinal  1

Dickcissel  1

Progreso Lakes, 8/10/23

I got up early this morning and looked out the window and there was a Painted Bunting by our bird bath.  So I decided with another 103F high forecast for the day (we've already had 51 days at 100 or above this summer) it just migh be a good idea to just stay in our Progreso Lakes yard.  With the scope set up under the bottlebrush, I watched the morning go by.  Bird of the day was this small flock of Wood Storks.  Are they wandering up from Mexico?  TOS Handbook of Birds of Texas only says they are post breeding visitors and that they no longer breed in the state.

Not many Black-bellied Whistling Ducks around this summer but we finally got a small family hanging out.  I would think those babies make a nice meal for the aligator gars.

And Osprey has been hanging out lately and one of the local Swainson's Hawks passed over.

A couple of Neotropic Cormorants cruised by.

A young Great Kiskadee squabbled with a young Couch's Kingbird over Anacua berries.  Everyone is molting this time of year.

Meanwhile back on the porch, I watched hummers a bit.  This young male Ruby-throated was our first of the fall.  There was also a couple of Buff-bellies and a female plumaged Black-chinned.

Jones yard, Progreso Lakes, Hidalgo, Texas, US

Aug 10, 2023 6:50 AM - 11:03 AM

Protocol: Stationary

44 species

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  17

Eurasian Collared-Dove  3

White-tipped Dove  1

White-winged Dove  200

Mourning Dove  20

Groove-billed Ani  1

Chimney Swift  5

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1

Black-chinned Hummingbird  1

Buff-bellied Hummingbird  2

Common Gallinule  2

Spotted Sandpiper  2

Wood Stork  3

Neotropic Cormorant  5

Great Egret  1

Snowy Egret  4

Cattle Egret  2

Green Heron  15

Black-crowned Night-Heron  2

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1

Turkey Vulture  1

Osprey  1

Swainson's Hawk  1

Golden-fronted Woodpecker  2

Crested Caracara  2

Black Phoebe  1

Great Kiskadee  3

Tropical Kingbird  1

Couch's Kingbird  2

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher  1

Loggerhead Shrike  1

Purple Martin  75

Bank Swallow  1

Barn Swallow  5

European Starling  40

Northern Mockingbird  3

House Sparrow  6

Lesser Goldfinch  2

Lark Sparrow  1

Hooded Oriole  2

Red-winged Blackbird  2

Bronzed Cowbird  1

Great-tailed Grackle  10

Painted Bunting  1