Mexican Violetear on South Padre Island, 4/8/24

Yesterday was the much anticipated occurrence of a total eclipse of the sun across much of the United States.  Here in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas we were to get only about 90% coverage.  I could have gone a bit north near San Antonio for the complete spectacle but I saw the last total eclipse back 2017 and thousands of people were predicted to be out on the roadways and most of all it was forecast to be cloudy so I just stayed down here.  Anyway I had bigger fish to fry.

Sunday afternoon a Mexican Violetear was found on South Padre Island.  I got the report mid afternoon and decided I would take the chance it would stay overnight and try in the morning.  I've been burned before by not immediately making the run to charse a rarity.  But as I get older, I get more patient and try to keep things in perspective.  Turns out I was successful this time and got the hummer with little effort.  

This is my third Mexican Violetear for Texas.  I got my lifer back in the 90's near Austin back when occasional summer strays to the Hill Country was the only way to see this otherwise Mexican species.  But with more birders afield in recent years, more are being found though I don't know of any breeding records.  I saw my first in the Valley at Quinta Mazatland a few years ago.  This one at a vacant lot on SPI would be my first for Cameron County, species #434.  These poor photos were the best I cound muster but are better than nothing.

Well that was easy.  So I ran over to the nearby Convention Center.  I wanted that reported Townsend's Warbler.  We get a couple of these western wood warblers each year.  They normally pass through the western US on the way to their breeding gounds in the northern Rockies.  What a stunner!

 

Keeping with the western flavor, this breeding plumaged "Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler was a nice surprise.  Normally I only see this plumage in the high country of the Davis Mountains.

Otherwise not a lot was going on.  A couple of Northern Parulas and Nashville Warblers were in a scaggily bottlebrush.

And a Summer Tanager at the water feature.

There's usually a few sparrows behind the Convention Center during migration.  Here's a sharp Lark Sparrow.

And a Clay-colored Sparrow.

Time to run over to the flats to check out shorebirds and eat lunch.  Nothing fantastic was going one.  A visiting birder reproted a Red Knot but I couldn't find it.  Did get my first Franklin's Gull of the season.  It's the little pink guy right of the Laughing Gulls.

Sorry but I don't identify Willets to subspecies.  If they split em someday then I'll worry about it.  Photo is a little dark as it was eclipse time.

Best find on the flats was this flock of a dozen migrant Fulvous Whistling-Ducks where they looked much out of place.

The Fulvous Whistling-Ducks disappeared to the south.  A couple of German birds tald me they had seen them earlier off the boardwalk where I later found a few with the regular crowd.

Still time to check out Sheepshead.  I saw this early Magnolia warbler before I even got out of the jeep.

Then my first Blue-wined Warbler for the year.  Always a treat!

A few Indigo Buntings were starting to "color up".

Finally I found this kingbird that looked mych more gray to me in life than it did on the camera.  I chased after it a couple of blockes hoping it was a rare Cassin's Kingbird but consensus is it's just a Western Kingbird with a worn tail giving it a pale tipped appearance.  The lack of white outer rectrices didn't help.

I've been doing a lot of butterfly and iNaturalist stuff lately so it was nice to make a successful bird chase.  Turns out viewing conditions were better than predicted and lots of happy people enjoyed a total eclipse in Texas.