Frontera Audubon Thicket, 10/4/10

Beautiful day at Frontera but not too much going on. Hard work produced seven species of warblers. A Cooper's Hawk took a dive at this Green Kingfisher.



Here's a Great Pondhawk munching on a Hackberry Emperor.



Red-bordered Pixie has been easy to see lately.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 3
Mottled Duck 1
Plain Chachalaca 8
Great Blue Heron 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Gray Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 1
Rock Pigeon 8
White-winged Dove 60
Inca Dove 1
White-tipped Dove 6
Common Pauraque 1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 10
Belted Kingfisher 2
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Great Kiskadee 4
Couch's Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 3
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 4
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 5
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 5
Ovenbird 3
Common Yellowthroat 1
Hooded Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Great-tailed Grackle 6
Altamira Oriole 1
Lesser Goldfinch 3

Salineno, 10/2/10

Birding was very slow at Salineno today. Got two Gray Hawks, Audubon's Oriole, Black Phoebe and a Black-and-white Warbler but nothing noteworthy. They're releasing lots of water from Falcon Dam so the river was up nearly to the trail. But odes were another story. Straw-colored Sylphs were all along the river and easy to study.







I saw a number of Variegated Meadowhawks last summer in west Texas but this was my first for the RGV.



Gomphids seen were Flag-tailed Spinyleg, Broad-striped Forceptail and this Eastern Ringtail.



There were at least half a dozen Needham's Skimmers. I didn't see any my last two visits here.



Anax junius, Common Green Darner
Aphylla angustifolia, Broadstriped Forceptail
Argia moesta, Powdered Dancer
Argia sedula, Blue-ringed Dancer
Brachymesia furcata, Red-tailed Pennant
Brachymesia gravida, Four-spotted Pennant
Dromogomphus spoliaatus, Flag-tailed Spinyleg
Dythemis fugax, Checkered Setwing
Dythemis nigrescens, Black Setwing
Erpetogomphus designatus, Eastern Ringtail
Erythemis simplicicollis, Common Pondhawk
Hetaerina titia, Smokey Rubyspot
Ischnura ramburii, Rambur's Forktail
Libellula needhami, Needham's Skimmer
Macrothemis inacuta, Straw-colored Sylph
Orthemis ferruginea, Roseate Skimmer
Pachydiplax longipennis, Blue Dasher
Pantala flavescens, Wandering Glider
Sympetrum corruptum, Variegated Meadowhawk
Tramea lacerata, Black Saddlebags
Tramea onusta, Red Saddlebags