Spring Break 2K18

Well, it's that time of year. A long, cold, dark winter in Ohio, can only lead to one thing!! A trip to the Lower Rio Grand Valley in south Texas. This year we decided to do a double trip, so after LRGV, I flew to LasVegas for a try at life birds in Vegas that usually appear in March. This post will be about both places, birds seen, and fun had!!

HRL airport

 Guess what? No life birds this trip! Second year in a row. But I did get good pictures of rare birds, and got to experience them again, and with friends.

 Lifers missed:

• Mountain Plover, code 2, dipped again, third year in a row. No reports this winter in the valley like before. See ya next year?? 4th try
• Tamaulipas Crow, code 4, This was the winter. 4-6 birds reported all winter at the Brownsville Dump. But we did not try, none reported since 2/25. And guess what, after we left, reported back at the dump. So, see ya next winter crows?

Out of the 137 species that I saw/heard, 23 where Code 2 or higher. That's 16.7%!! So one out of 6 birds were a birding highlight reel. Here's some good ones . . .

Day 1:
Butterfly Museum--Grey Hawk, Audubon's Oriole, White-tipped Dove
South Padre Island--Harris Hawk, Tri-Color, Little Blue, Reddish Egrets, Willets

Build that WALL

Plain Chachalaca

Boardwalk at SPI

Convention center Shorebirds

Mr. 748 birds in 1998 Big Year

Day 2:
Quinta Mazatlan--Blue Bunting(code4), Louisiana WaterThrush
Estero Llano Grande SP--Long-billed Thrasher, Ruby-crown Kinglet, Common Pauraque, White-faced Ibis, White-tailed Kite, Green Kingfisher
Hildago--Monk Parakeet
McAllen--Green Parakeets

Common Pauraque

Green Kingfisher

Green Parakeets

Monk Parakeets

LRGV Birding

White-tailed Kite

Day 3: 
Salineo river front--Red-billed Pigeons, White-collared Seedeater(code3), Cassins Sparrow
David Win trailer--Olive Sparrow

Salineo Dump road--Lark Bunting, Lark Sparrow
Edinburg Park--Lesser Goldfinch

Birding the Rio Grande

White-collared Seedeater 3rd time ever for me

 

Male, WC Seedeater

Eating lunch in the Valley

 Day 4:
Bentsen SP--Eastern Screech Owl, Neotropic Cormorant
Progresso Fields--Yellow-headed Blackbird
HRL airport--Whimbrel

YHBB

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.

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/heard:  137
Code 2s:                  21    
Code 3s:                    1  White-collared Seedeater
Code 4:                      1  Blue Bunting

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.


Now Sunday night, flight off to Las Vegas, NV!! 2nd leg of the tour