Sabine's Gull at Port Mansfield, 11/18/24

Saturday Evan Farese found an immature Sabine's Gull at the Fred Stone County Park in Port Mansfield.  I've seen a few through the years with my lifers being a flock of seven on the Western Field Ornithologist pelagic trip out of San Diego back in September of 1981.  What a fun trip from Las Cruces, NM with the then young Zimmer brothers, Kevin and Barry.  We also nabbed a fantastic South Polar Skua and a montrous Blue Whale.  Since then I've seen a Sabine's Gull in Arizona and a couple in Texas.  

I needed this one for a Willacy County bird, but I didn't want to do the 90 mile drive and deal with the usual weekend crowd at the fishing pier.  However it was seen again on Sunday afternoon so I got up early and made the drive Monday morning.  It took an hour and a half for the Sabine's Gull to show but clouds made for not so great photos.  I ran over to Laguna Point for a bit where not much was happening and then returned to the fishing pier where light conditions had improved.  What a striking gull!

At one point I was tracking the gull through the camera when it just disappeared.  Did it land?  I ran off the pier and sure enough there was the Sabine's Gull sitting on a rock preening.

I had the #1 life list for Willacy County for many years.  At that time it took little effort.  But since then Evan Farese and Ron Weeks have turned up the heat and surpassed 300.  This was my 296th species for Willacy County with some still not too hard ones to get.

Some Sweet Starr County Stuff, 11-11-24

I ran up river this morning with the plan being to check out bugs and birds at Salineno and then check the same at Falcon State Park.  Three Dunlins had been report along the lake shore.  When I arrived at Salineno a birder was posted by the boat launch area, camera in hand, and hoping for Muscovies.  We talked a bit.  He had scored the Morelet's Seeteaters earlier and had glimsped what he thought were Muscovies.  He was from Duluth and turns out we both knew butterfly and bird watcher Nate Popkin.  I suggested we walk up river for better views and maybe get lucky with a becard.  He said he was hoping to photograph a Zone-tailed Hawk.   A few minutes later one flew close overhead and proceeded to soar a while.

We hiked up to the sabino grove and spent quite a while hoping for something good.  We got a Black-and-white Warbler and glimpsed a Gray Hawk but nothing exciting happened.  He took off and I spent some time with the odes.  Just a few days ago Peta Hockey had found the first Starr County record for Caribbean Yellowface.  I saw several of this tropical damselfly.

Then I ran up to Falcon State Park and poked around the butterfly garden a bit.  Saw a few interesting butterflies and bees and as I wandered up by the bird drip, something orange caught my attention.  Female Cardinal?  No it was a freakin' Wood Thrush.  And a Starr County lifer.

I put it out on the WhatsApp and in a few minutes Simon and Zach showed up to get it on their Starr County list.  They had been birding over at the Santa Margarita Ranch where they do a lot of guiding.  Well they told me a Red-breasted Nuthatch was over at the Salineno feeding station.  I was there just a couple of hours earlier and no one had said anything about it.  So I raced over and after a few minutes of sitting at the bird feeding station, in pops the Red-breasted Nuthatch for a drink.  A second Starr County lifer!

It was getting late so I called it quits.  I never got to the lake to look for the Dunlins so it looks like another trip is in order.