Yellow-green Vireos at Sabal Palm, 7/16/11

This morning I headed down to Brownsville's Sabal Palm Sanctuary to tick Yellow-green Vireo for my year list and maybe get some photos. There was no sign of the Masked Ducks but a little effort got me some fair pics of the vireos. The male was singing his head off.





Not too much else going on. I think this is a Common Mellana. Things are slow when I'm taking pictures of skippers!



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 2
Ruddy Duck 1
Plain Chachalaca 1
Least Grebe 6
Neotropic Cormorant 3
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 3
White Ibis 3
Common Moorhen 11
American Coot 39
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull 1
Mourning Dove 6
Common Ground-Dove 2
White-tipped Dove 6
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Groove-billed Ani 1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 5
Brown-crested Flycatcher 6
Great Kiskadee 3
Couch's Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 2
Yellow-green Vireo 2
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Olive Sparrow 6
Northern Cardinal 3
Great-tailed Grackle 3
Bronzed Cowbird 1
Lesser Goldfinch 2

A week ago I checked out Sal del Rey to see what the recent rains had done. Looks like they had less rain to the north of us. I like this pic of the Snowy Plover on the ice. Ice in July in south Texas? No, that's not ice. It's salt precipitate along hypersaline Sal del Rey.



I found this probable Rambur's Forktail at the freshwater cienega. It looks too blue to me.



But segments 8-10 look right.

Missouri Odes

I spent a few weeks this summer in Fair Grove, Missouri to be with my father during his passing. After the memorial service I was able to get out and look at a few odes. A nearby gravelly, dolomite bottomed stream gave up some new bugs for me. Here's the magnificent Dragonhunter.





Another new Gomphid for me was the exquisite, diminutive Interior Least Clubtail.





This Cyrano Darner eating an American Rubyspot was also new for me.



Widow Skimmers were common.



A few miles away at the old Iron Bridge crossing of the Pom de Terre River I found my first Slaty Skimmer.



Stream Bluet was another new one.



As was Spring-water Dancer.



Lots of American Rubyspots around.



And everyone's favorite, the Ebony Jewelwing.