Category: Ed’s Birding Notes

This is where I post my personal birding notes.

Continuing to Explore the Lower RGV

Over the last few days I’ve continued to explore the area. On Friday Jan 31 I headed first to the National Butterfly Center where I met with Mary Gustafson to meet here and to record a podcast episode. This should be published on Thursday Feb 6th if all goes as expected. Mary is a top valley birder, a long-time ABA and Mexico birder who is the eBird reviewer for this area, a guide for birders in the valley and elsewhere, and just a really enjoyable person to talk with. She has been very active in recruiting more diverse trip leaders for the Lower Rio Grande Bird Festival each fall, and we finished our recording she showed me the McCall’s race of Eastern Screech Owl roosting in the picnic pilapa cover rafters.

From there I headed north and west to Mile 7 Road, and area Mary suggested as good for sparrows and dry land birds. It was fairly quiet there, but I got to see some new life roads.
The next day I headed early to Santa Ana NWR, where I walked around a bit before joining the bird-walk leaders for their 4-hour tour. My primary goal was to get them to show me the Eastern Screech Owl roost holes, and that was good to know, along with the exact location of the Paraque day roost near the tower. This info should help with the ABC birders coming down Wednesday.
After that I went to Estero Llano Grande primarily to study hummingbirds for a while. I learned just enough to realize it is really difficult to tell Ruby-throated from Black-chinned non-male birds apart. It prompted me to buy the Peterson Hummingbird guide at the office there to study more.
I took a break in late afternoon to get my phone battery changed.
Yesterday Ryan Rodriguez, from Episode #47, joined me on a chase to Reseca de las Palmas in Brownsville where a Rose-throated Becard had been seen, and a Dusky-capped Flycatcher seen and heard the two days prior. No luck there, but nice to get to bird with Ryan. We followed that with a dash to Boca Chica to look for seabirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, etc. Really much less birdy than when Ken, Bruce and I were there last week.
Then I live-streamed the Superbowl and took a break late in the day.
Today an easy day. I slept in, stopped by a couple of local spots including the Roselawn Cemetery, Tom’s Pond, and the McAllen Nature Center. Audubon’s Oriole at the nature center was nice, though the look again brief and no photo. This oriole seems to be a skulker, hiding a lot in dense brush.
Tonight Marian flys back down after attending to family issues, and the group may show up a day early due to expected flight delays from weather in Dallas on the 5th. We will see.
I’m excited for everyone to get here and do the group trip.
Good birding. Good day!

Birding the Valley without my Birding Buddies

Ken and Bruce headed home after a great visit, and since then the pace of birding has definitely slowed, though I am getting out every day. Marian came down to visit arriving the evening after the boys left, but her visit was cut short by a family emergency, and she had to head home after just a couple of days.
She did manage to get out with me to Anzalduas County Park on the first AM after her arrival. We headed to the dam, hoping for the Rock Wren, with no luck. After a nice time birding the park, having lunch, and walking around we dropped back by the dam area. Marian asked me what the Rock Wren would look like, and I told her a small grayish-brown bird probably perched on one of the rocks. She looked up and asked, “Like that one?”, pointing to the highest rock nearest the dam. I looked, seeing a Rock Wren, and said, “Yes, exactly like that!” Tick. Texas live bird #299. What is going to be #300? My hope is either Northern Beardless Tyrannulet or Common Black Hawk, though Solitary Sandpiper is in the running. I really hope it is a vagrant ABA lifer!
Well, after the day at Anzalduas she got the call from her family, and we got her on an AM flight the next day.
That day, yesterday, I headed for S. Padre Island, where I scouted the area to see if it is worth a trip with the group, and enjoyed studying winter terns. It is amazing the differences in the many plumages of Forester’s Terns, some seem to have dark above outer wing tips, many very white like I’m used to at home.
Today John Heaney reached out and I joined him at Laguna Point in Willacy County, and added two trip birds to the list, American Pipit and later at the San Juan Wetlands, Indigo Bunting.
I continue to study Spanish as much as I can tolerate, though progress is painfully slow.
Me gusta ir a buscar los pájaros todos dias. Mi favorito pájaro en Texas esta mes es el Fork-tailed Flycatcher, pero el Falcón Aplomado es mucho buenos también.

Altamira Oriole

Last Full Day with the Boys in the Valley

A great tail shot of a Yellow-rumped Warbler at the Westlaco Wetlands. Note both the yellow rump and the white outer tail feather tips.

Today Ken, Bruce and I went exploring. We headed north on Hwy 281 to see what we could find on Brushline Road and at La Sal del Rey (translates The Salt of the King) NWR. We got to Brushline Road about 7:50 AM and the birds were just getting active. It was pretty much as billed, with lots of Sparrows, mostly Lark and Savannah, with a few Vesper, along with Common Ground Dove, and scads of Red-winged Blackbirds, and a nice variety of dry land species.
Loggerhead Shrike

La Sal Del Rey, a hypersaline pond which has been used for millennia as a source of salt for aboriginal peoples, the Confederate Army, and who knows who else. It was not terribly birdy, with 3 Snowy Plover, about 28 Least Sandpipers, 4 Ring-billed Gulls, and a few birds on the walk in and out.
A stop at Delta Lake was good for all 3 species of Kingfisher, ducks and a soaring flock of vultures. I think, but am not sure, that I picked a Zone-tailed Kite out of the flock, but no one else could get onto is, so it goes unidentified.
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk that fearlessly posed right outside the car window.

Our afternoon was spent at one of my favorites spots of the trip. The Westlaco Scenic Wetlands is one of 9 WBC sites, and was very birdy, with about 50 species, including several warbler species and a very black-backed Lesser Goldfinch.
A massive flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. We conservatively listed 10K on ebird.
h=”960″] Northern Parula[/caption]
Black-and-white Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

A great dinner at the Palenque Grill, home to clean up, and I twisted arms into a brief Bird Banter podcast episode recording. Stay tuned to hear from tres amigos about the trip.

Winding Down Birding-with-Buddies Time in the Valley

Ken, Bruce and I had another good day today, taking it a bit easier, with a lot less driving than most prior days. We started at Anzalduas County Park again, trying without luck for the Rock Wren that has been seen there, but finding a Merlin in the farmland just outside the park.

Female Northern Cardinal

We next went to the National Butterfly Center. I have heard that half of the butterflies seen in the U.S. can be seen in the lower Rio Grande Valley, and this place is set up for attracting them, with gardens and feeding areas. It is good for birding too, and we looked for, and only Ken saw, a Field Sparrow. We did see a nice Gray Hawk, and enjoyed the place.
An art piece called the Welcome Wall at the National Butterfly Museum. Much controversy has surrounded plans to build “the wall”right through this reserve.

To read more about this issue and the fight the National Butterfly Center is putting up, check out this article.
Next was the Hidalgo Pump House Park, the location of the steam powered pumping station that helped irrigate the entire county in years past. It is now a museum, and has good birding habitat. We saw Anhinga, Tropical Kingbird, Eastern Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, and more.
Next it was time for a sit, so we went to the feeders at Santa Ana NWR, where after an hour or so of looking I finally spotted a Hooded Oriole high in a snag, to add to our trip list. This is usually a spring and summer visitor here.
Exotic escaped Mandarin Duck. YOu may have seen the national news when one of these was in Central Park NYC.

We finished trying to get the Egyptian Goose that has been hanging out at a local city park, as Bruce needs this for his ABA list (probably not listable here though) but were surprised it was not there. NEarly every imaginable exotic waterfowl was there though, and we got our first trip Ferruginous Whistling Ducks.
A pair of Fulvous Whistling Ducks, common summer visitors, but usually gone from the valley in winter.

Grocery shopping, and early quitting time, and now about to head out for dinner.
One more full day tomorrow then the boys head home Saturday.
Good birding.

Aplomado Falcon Today and More

Aplomado Falcon
Today Ken, Bruce and I headed east, to try again for Aplomado Falcon which Ken needed for his ABA list. We missed this bird on the Old Port Isabella Road two days ago, so today tried for the place on Hwy 100 near Laguna Atascosa where they have been seen. Weather was our biggest obstacle as it rained steadily as we approached the area. Still after looking carefully all the way as we approached, we easily located one falcon on the nest/hacking platform, and for about 15 minutes two Aplomado Falcons went through a wonderful courtship and copulation display maybe 100 yards from us, though rain and fog made viewing suboptimal.
Here are the best I could do for photos.




The rest of the day was leisurely, as we went up to the Laguna Atascosa NWR, and worked our way home looking for seawatch sites in Port Isabella, then the blackbird spectacle at the Granary and the Llano River overlook in Westlaco, and finally at a nature center in McAllen.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. These are tree ducks, that nest in cavities.

Best birds of the day after the falcon were Redhead and Canvasback ducks, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Bufflehead, white-form Little Blue Heron, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Clay-colored Thrush and Gray Hawk.
Tomorrow a local day near McAllen.

Day 4 LRGV The Brownsville Area

Lesser Black-backed Gull at the Brownsville Dump.

For a day when we missed the primary targeted bird, Aplomado Falcon, we had a great day. We began at the Sable Palm Grove, the lone remnant of an original estimated 40,000 acres of Sabal Palm in the lower RGV. It was really dry, the palms look in poor shape, but we did find a few new species for the trip, including Black-throated Green Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, and enjoyed the area.
Brownsville Dump. A place every avid ABA lister aspired to visit. Check!

Next off to a place every ABA birder has heard of, and now I have finally visited,the Brownsville Dump. It is famous as the only place in the ABA to get Tamuopalis Crow, not there this year, but it is an old fashioned open dump, with the attendant thousands of gulls, Turkey and Black Vultures, Crested Caracara, various blackbirds, and today the hoped for Lesser Black-backed Gull, an uncommon European vagrant.
A Lower RGV specialty, seen all over, heard nearly constantly calling its name.

Next off to the Old Port Isabelle Road, where Aplomado Falcons are often seen, without luck.
We finished the day at the Boca Chica NWR. The shore, where we had hoped to drive to both the jetty and the mouth of the Rio Grande was washed out, but the backwaters were great, with lots of shorebirds, Reddish Egrets of both the red and white morphs, terns, gulls, pelicans, and plenty to keep us scoping for the rest of the day. There may have been 80 Snowy Plovers there, along with a nice flock of Stilt Sandpipers, >140 Reddish Egrets, and lots more.
A local Mexican joint for dinner on the way home, and now to sleep well for all.
Good birding. Tomorrow likely Bentsen Rio State Park, and Anzalduas SP.
Black-throated Green Warbler

Lower Rio Grande Valley Day 2 with Ken and Bruce

Bad Picture. Great bird. Hook-billed Kite.

Today the primary objective was to find a Hook Billed Kite at Santa Ana NWR. Two birds have been seen there many days recently from the observation tower, so we opened the park, being the second car in the lot, and by far the first to the tower, a half mile hike. We got to the top of the tower, and immediately began identifying Harris’s Hawks, a total of 8, most at long distance. About 9:10 Ken spotted a raptor, not crazy far away, and his words went something ling this. “This is interesting. This could be. Maybe. I’ve got it! …” He had spotted a female Hook-billed Kite perched in a snag at maybe a half mile away. We all got good looks, barely passable photos, and it was an ABA lifer for Bruce, and a lifer for Ken.
PARA_4047 Quinta Mazatlan McAllen

We spent maybe 25 minutes congratulating ourselves, and showing the bird on the first step off the tower stairs to the next 6-8 birders to show up. All were pretty excited.
Yellow-throated Warbler

The rest of the day we spent birding Santa Ana, then the Frontera Audubon Society property, and finally the relatively new Quinta Mazatlan WBC, a place very near where we are staying and a pretty cool spot. Yellow-throated Warbler and Black-throated Green Warblers were trip firsts there. Another big day for all. Can’t wait for tomorrow!
Northern Pintail

Lower Rio Grande Valley Trip Day 3, The Boys are Here

Fork-tailed Flycatcher.
I picked up Ken Brown and Bruce LaBar at the airport last night, and we got off this AM to try for the Fork-tailed Flycatcher at the same place I got it 2 days ago. This time it took longer, about 3.25 hours, but patience paid off, as Ken spotted it fly right over his head to the same wire I saw it on before. Lifer for both Ken and Bruce. No Groove-billed Ani despite good efforts. Lost of fun stuff to watch while we waited, Tropical Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Laughing Gulls, LB Curlew, etc. etc.

Next off to Estero Llano Grande, where we spent the afternoon puzzling over flitting passerines, watching water birds, and generally getting acquainted with the area.

We finished strong visiting a private residence in McAllen, to see Ruth and Bert Wessling’s back yard sanctuary. It is incredible, with feeders, water elements, brambles for cover, and LOTS of birds. Ken and I quickly got a brief look at the Audubon’s Oriole, but Bruce, the only one of us who needed it for a lifer missed it. Not to fear we all got better looks a few minutes later. Lots of photo ops, comfortable back–porch chairs, and incredible hospitality for unknown vagrant birders who just showed up and got the dogs to bark enough that Ruth came to investigate, and graciously ushered us in to watch.
Long-billed Thrasher

We ended up at the Green Parakeet roost and Chipotle’s for dinner in McAllen.
A great day with Ken and Bruce each getting 2 ABA lifers.
Tomorrow off to Santa Ana NWR to hope for Hook-billed Kite.

Lower Rio Grande Valley Day 2

White Ibis at Estero Llano Grande.

Just a quick post about today. This was my solo birding day before picking up Ken and Bruce at the McAllen Airport in the evening.
First stop was Santa Ana to hope for Hook-billed Kite and the Crimson-collared Grosbeak, both without any luck. Great looks at Altamira Oriole, and lots of waterfowl. After there I went to Estero Llano Grande, cool translation Big flat estuary. A great story of rehab of an old cotton plantation into a wetland using mostly Ducks Unlimited dollars.
Mottled Duck, a south TX specialty.

Also stopped at the nearby granary to see the blackbird spectacle there, and a try at the Audubon Oriole spot, scouting as Bruce needs this for his life list.

Good day and got the guys home after.

Lower RGV Birding Day 1

I flew to McAllen, TX yesterday, got settled into my Airbnb after dark, and this AM headed straight to the Fork-tailed Flycatcher stakeout. This vagrant had been seen for the last 3 days running on some agricultural land near a sugar factory, and I had high hopes. After getting there at the crack of dawn, to find my binos were left behind, taking a quick scope and camera scan, returning for binos, and getting back just as some other birders were getting there, I commenced to look. And look. And look. Just after one Canadian couple gave up and drove away, I spotted a ridiculously long-tailed bird fight across the road into the wind and land on a wire. Sure enough, ABA lifer #722 (old ABA area) in the books.

Crappy photo of a great bird. Fork-tailed Flycatcher.


This species usually lives south of the border, but has a notoriety for vagrancy, showing up really anywhere anytime. It is also often tough to chase, as it can be a one day and done vagrant, but this one stuck. Hoping it stays until Friday when Ken and Bruce get here. I got just brief looks before it was blown/flew back into the reservoir area, to be seen briefly in flight at distance twice more before I left.
Next on to Santa Ana, where a female Crimson-collared Grosbeak was relocated 2 days ago after being absent for a while. It was hot and quiet at the feeders by noon when I got there, and I decided not to spend the afternoon watching the feeders. I hiked the refuge for about 3 hours, seeing some cool birds, but nothing really unusual.

Lincoln’s Sparrow, a TX first for me.

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Harris’s Hawk

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After the drive back and dinner I went to the long-standing Green Parakeet Roost here in McAllen. It was as remembered, innumerable Great-tailed Grackles and a nice flock of Green Parakeets on the wires.

Green Parakeets

Tomorrow I’m off to Estero Llano Grande SP, Frotera Audubon Center and The National Butterfly Center. Hope these bring great birds and more fun. Until then, good birding and good day!