Winter Texan roundup

Well, that's it folks. This is the last post about my trip to the Lower Rio Grand Valley of Texas back at the end of February/early March 2015. I want to write about the places visited and the birds seen during my 8 days in the valley. There are so many places to bird down there, that you could be busy for a week visiting different locations. That's why you need to make the most out of your trip, and try to get as many lifers as you can.

• Day Two -- Bensten State Park, Estero Llano Grande SP, county Rd 2221
  
  In the morning, we awoke to be at the levee for the 8:12am showing of the rare Hook-Billed Kite, then we visited the feeding stations.  After we picked up #T4P member at the airport, we went to Estero Llano for some day birding and sun. It was the nicest weather day. Afterwards, we finished off the day with a slow drive up county rd. 2221 for some dry habitat brush birding
                                                                                                                                                               
  

  

  Black Phoebe

  
  Can you name the 4 different species in the picture below?  
  
  
  

  

  4 species ????

  

  Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

  

  #T4P

  

  Alligator

  The four birds are Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, White-faced Ibis and a small Blue-winged Teal. Back left of spoonbill. Photo taken at Estero Llano SP.
  
  

  

  Black-chinned Hummingbird

  

  Pyrrhuloxia

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  2 Pyrrhuloxia's

  
  Pyrrhuloxia is a tough-as-nails songbird of baking hot deserts in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. They’re closely related to Northern Cardinals, but they are a crisp gray and red, with a longer, elegant crest and a stubby, parrotlike yellow bill.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • Day Three -- Estero Llano Grande SP, Resaca De La Palma SP, South Padre Island Convention Center, Laguna Atascosa NWR 
   

 The first full day of #T4P together, was an early morning awakening to get to Estero Llano early for the Gray-Crowned Yellowthroat, which would sing early and pop up for great views. Check, we saw him!! After that, on the way to South Padre, we made a stop at Resaca De La Palma for #T4P life bird Tropical Parula, check we saw him!!! Then we made it across the causeway over to South Padre for lunch and birding at the Convention Center. This place is a must visit for any birder in south Texas. Plus, you get a little coastal/beach time. To bad the water is still ice cold.

Black-thoated Gray warbler, female

Fulvous Whistling Duck, right

Long-billed Curlew

Clapper Rail

Reddish Egret

Cheryl, Brad and Don

SPI Convention Center, view from boardwalk

 

Black Skimmers

• Day Four -- Anzalduas SP, Hildago Pump house, Progresso grain fields 

After a very long day three, the next morning we tried for Hook-billed Kite again, no luck.  We drove through Anzalduas park, where Mexico is 50 yards across the Rio Grande River. Nothing much but a beautiful flycatcher & hawk. Then we stopped by Hildago Pump house for Lesser Goldfinch. Finally we went back towards the boarder crossing at Progresso to try for some blackbirds.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Bronzed Cowbird

RWBB & YHBB

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Gray Hawk

And with that, the trip was complete. There where some other days where we birded just to get some First of Year(FOYs) birds. Many that could be seen in Ohio, but not until later in the spring.






Next up:  Honoring Red & Louise Gambill's birding impact on the LRGV

LRGV Rarities

Alright, back with another post about how special it is to bird in south Texas. This trip highlighted why you want to visit the valley in the winter. A lot of species are within a good days trip. So you can make the most each day, and visit different habits to see different birds.

This post is about the amount of "rare birds" you can see when you visit the valley. Several birds are local species, but can only been seen with ease down here. Many of the state parks carry these.

Out of the 158 species that I saw, 22 where Code 2 or higher. That's 14%!! So one out of 14 birds where a birding highlight reel. Here's some good ones . . .

• Rarest bird: Gray-Crowned Yellow Throat--Code 4 ; originally seen by me 4/1/88  @ Sabel Palm San.

1/25/15 originally seen, still showing

 It was great to see this super rare bird again, I was only 10 years old when I first saw it. This time at Estero Llano Grande SP, early in the morning, a group of birders where there, waiting for it to sing. Then I heard it, and it popped up. The whole group was mystified.

  In far southern Texas, this warbler was once a regular resident; today it is only a very rare straggler there. Although its behavior is somewhat like that of the Common Yellowthroat, it is less of a marsh bird, often living in rank weedy or brushy fields.

Seen in 88', 04', 05', 06', 15' in ABA

Code 4: Casual.
Species not recorded annually in the ABA Checklist Area, but with six or more total records—including three or more in the past 30 years—reflecting some pattern of occurrence.

• 2nd rarest bird: Hook-Billed Kite--Code 3 ; originally seen by me 4/1/88 @ Santa Ann NWR 

Best shot of my only 3

Reported this winter, at the levee at the entrance to Benston SP, up to three different Kites have been reported. Dark morph, light morph/juvi phase birds. Early one morning, at 8:12 am cst on a dry sunny morning, a hush grew over the crowd, then cheering & excitement happened, as the group all got to experience a Hook-Billed Kite soar over. It was beautiful.


As a recent arrival in Texas, this kite seems to require nothing more than undisturbed nest sites and a good supply of tree snails. Probably has declined in many parts of tropical range with clearing of woods.

Flying away, quick 1 min look

Code 3: Rare
Species that occur in very low numbers, but annually, in the ABA Checklist Area. This includes visitors and rare breeding residents.








Total seen:  158
Code 2s:       17    
Code 3s:         4     Hook-bill kite, Apl. Falcon, Trop.Parula, Clay-colored Thrush(Robin)
Code 4:           1    Gray-crowned Yellowthroat

Code 2: species have a restricted North American range, are more widespread, but occur in lower densities, or are quite secretive making their detection often difficult. We readily acknowledge that some Code-2 species are harder to find than some species that have higher codes.

Altamira Orioles Code 2

Green Jay  Code 2

Groove-billed Ani  Code 2

Common Pauraque Code 2

Common Pauraque  #2

Great Kiskadee  Code 2

Green Parakeets  Code 2

White-tailed Hawk  Code 2

Next up:  Winter Texas Birding recap

I HEART TEXAS +3 Lifers

Welcome home Tex!!! That's right, back in good old cold Ohio, but its good to be back. I spent the end of February/early March in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, getting some winter birding in. It was a chance to start my year list off quickly and hopefully add some much needed #LifeBirds. And guess what? I did just that, with a total of 158 species and 3 lifers, plus one TBD; see below.

This first blog is a recap of my LRGV hit list birds needed to add to my ABA area life list. The next entries will be more winter LRGV rarities, FOY's, and place visited.

Lifers seen:

• Red-Crowned Parrot, code 2-- 2/24/15  1st lifer seen, 2 hours into the trip 

A "Company of Parrots"

ABA #562

Red-Crowned Parrots

Their appearance is generally green with the most notable features being a bright red forehead and crown, dark blue streak behind the eyes, and light green cheeks. Birds in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas may be either feral, descendants of natural vagrants from Mexico, or both. These are only considered ABA countable in south Texas. RC Parrots in Florida are not countable, either are Yellow-lored parrots, seen with the Red-Crowns here in Texas.

• Alpomado Falcon, code 3-- 3/4/15, seen at 8am day of departure, Port Isabel--sr100 east

Aplomado Falcon

Male(left), Female(right)

ABA #564

Spanish for lead-coloured, the Aplomado falcon’s common name is a reference to the adult’s blue-black upperparts ⁽²⁾. A slim-bodied raptor with longish wings and tail, the aplomado falcon has distinctive head markings, comprising a white band running above the eyes, meeting at the back of the head.

Among the 31 known breeding pairs, 26 are using the artificial structures in SE Texas. The pair that I had seen where at this nesting box early, at 8am.  We looked at this box around 12:30pm--days before, but the falcons where out hunting, so early morning is best!!
Even those these are introduced birds, they are considered countable by ABA standards when seen in the SE Texas area.  Big Year birds such as Neil Hayward, Sandy Komito and Dorian Anderson all saw Aplomado Falcons in Texas and counted them that year.  There have been few vargiants in SE New Mexcio that could be truly Mexico birds that fly up through the valleys into ABA areas.

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/aplomado_falcon_fact_sheet.pdf

• Tropical Parula, code 3-- 2/27/15, seen at Resca Del Palm parking lot

ABA #563

Tropical Parula

Within 10 mintues of checking in at the desk, we birding the parking lot. It's a well known best place there to bird. There a lot of trees, and it attracts warbles and finches. Sure enough, the reported bird was up in the tree tops with American Goldfinch.

• Snowy Plover, code 1, see pictures below, need help on ID of several birds

  

What am I?

Hmmm

Backside help?

At the South Padre Island, convention center back patio area, the team scoped out lots of shorebirds. Then we saw 6-10 of this extra white peeps. These are the best pictures I could post. So the question is what are they?



Itinial reports that day where Snowy Plovers!! But after researching winter plumage pictures, ebird reports for that area/month, and behavior I believe these are winter plumage Sanderlings.

So, I please need your shorebird ID birders to help me out some. Please answer in the comment box below. If you don't have a google ID, then use "anonymous".

Below is a picture of a Snowy Plover, taken February 2015 in southwest Florida coast.

Snowy Plover

         Missed lifers:

• Prairie falcon, code 1, spent 1 hour in midday looking, but dipped, to windy
• White-Throated Thrush, code 4, had not been seen in over a week, but tried anyway, would have been very hard, right timing was the prior week dipped
• Thayers/Slaty-Backed Gulls, not even a thought to chase them, dipped

With that, I'll take another successful trip to the Valley. Those three lifers where great, and I got the chance to "retrace the steps" of two other rarities seen on the trip, but fourtunely got to see them as lifers in 1988-89 in the valley.

Next up:  Retrace the steps . . . Gray-Crowned Yellowthroat & Hooked-bill Kite