Texas Days 5-6 (Nov 14-15th)

Ringed Kingfisher, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

Green Jay, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

Black and White Warbler, Estero Llano Grande SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

Spotted Towhee, Estero Llano Grande SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

Plain Chachalaca, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

On my final two days in Texas I decided to return to a few spots I had already visited to try and add a few new birds and get some better looks at ones I had already seen.  On Monday the 14th I started the morning at Santa Ana NWR beginning with a trip to the hawk watch tower and then a walk to Pintail Lakes and then back to the hawk watch tower with several others from back home when they arrived.  I had a very interesting morning there with several new species including a Merlin buzzing past the tower low and fast, a Peregrine Falcon moving south (an odd looking bird as it didn't seem quite right...I was thinking possibly Prairie Falcon but the light was terrible and the photos I got don't seem to help much) as well as a distantly perched raptor that may have been a Hook-billed Kite.  Again I cannot be sure and the photos are very distant and blurry.  Someone else did have a Hook-billed Kite there that morning but I just couldn't be sure.  Certainly wish I had a scope at that point.  Beyond the raptors here I had an impressive morning flight of  941 White Pelicans lifting off in groups in the morning and heading south toward Mexico over the course of 45 minutes first thing in the morning.  There was also an impressive morning flight of Red-winged Blackbirds numbering in the several thousand.  After leaving Santa Ana on yet another breezy but warm morning I headed just down the road a bit to Estero Llano Grande SP once again.  The best birds of the stop here were a Black and White Warbler and a Spotted Towhee.   Not too much else of note here beyond what I had seen before so I decided to head back to Bentsen SP midday.  I spent the rest of the afternoon around Bentsen with one noteworthy bird being a Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (the name is much more flashy than the rather nondescript flycatcher that it is).  Despite a lot of searching the Black-vented Oriole remained elusive. 

Green Kingfisher (one of the last birds of the trip), Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

My final morning in Texas I decided to stay around Bentsen SP before heading to the airport.  I started out at first light and walked throughout the park and also spent about 45 minutes out at the hawk tower during which time a front came through dropping the temperatures a bit, increasing the wind and threatening to rain.  Luckily the few sprinkles did not last but a couple minutes and then the clouds broke a bit more.  It was amazing to see how fast the weather can change down here when a front comes through.  On my walk back out of the park one of the final birds I had was a Green Kingfisher...a nice way to end my time down there.  With my flight quickly approaching I headed toward the airport in McAllen and stopped briefly at Quintan Mazatlan right next to the airport to get a final taste of birding before my flight back to reality.

The totals for the trip down to the lower Rio Grande valley from November 10-15 include the following:

-total species on trip-160
-new Texas species-13 (bringing my state total to 214)
-new Mexico species -9 (bringing my total to 37)
-new species for the year -28
(thank you eBird for making the tally of these numbers easy!)

Texas Days 3-4

Eastern Screech Owl (gray phase), Anzalduas County Park, Nov 13, 2011

Common Paraque roosting,  Estero Llano Grande SP, Nov 12, 2011

American Avocet, Santa Ana NWR, Nov 12, 2011

Bald Eagle, rare in lower RGV, Santa Ana NWR, Nov 12, 2011

Long-billed Curlew along wildlife drive, Laguna Atacosa NWR, Nov 12, 2011

Long-billed Thrasher, Laguna Atacosa NWR, Nov 12, 2011

My next two days in Texas featured increased heat and increased winds.  The temperatures quickly climbed well into the 80's.  I visited Santa Ana NWR, Estero Llano Grande SP and Laguna Atacosa NWR on the third day and Bentsen and  Anzalduas County Park on the fourth day.

I yet again ran into a rare bird in the valley and it was again a visitor from the north.  This time it was a juvenile Bald Eagle perched in a tree north of Cattail lakes in Santa Ana NWR.  Once I got to Cattail Lakes the damage left over from the floods from a few years ago was quite evident.  The lakes had been changed dramatically with little vegetation left around the lakes.  This did not mean the lakes were void of life.  On the contrary, the area was quite active with shorebirds, ducks, waders, raptors and assorted other birds in the general area. 

I next went to estero again to try to find that elusive becard but again had no luck.  The wind had picked up dramatically and I decided to next make a quick stop at the bird festival vendor area in Harlingen.  The festival was quite large and had many vendors.  After a short stop here I decided I was already half way to the coast so I headed out to Laguna Atacosa NWR.  Despite the late afternoon arrival I still managed to find some birds including yet another rare bird from up north making a visit down in Texas.  This time it was a male White-throated Sparrow near the park headquarters.  I then took a ride along the wildlife drive and added several species to the trip list such as White tailed Hawk, numerous shorebirds, a few waders, gulls and terns.  I also added Redheads that are exceptionally numerous here, especially first thing in the morning.  The area around the wildlife refuge holds a large segment of the Redhead population every winter.

White-throated Sparrow, Laguna Atacosa NWR, Nov 12, 2011

White-tailed Hawk, Laguna Atacosa NWR, Nov 12, 2011