[texbirds] LANWR (Cameron Co.) 10/31/12 - Aplomados, Sandhills, and more! (long)
- From: "Rex Stanford" <calidris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TEXBIRDS" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2012 16:46:46 -0500
Yesterday (Wednesday, 10/31/12), having been away from birds, wildlife, and
wild places for too long at a time when the flux of nature is in full swing
and having been cooped up indoors working hard on some academic-type
headwork and writing, it seemed time, once again, to seek the mind- and
spirit-refreshing respite of Laguna Atascosa NWR (LANWR). Places to find
some "good birds" are one thing, but places that do so without human
accoutrements everywhere are far too rare nowadays. So, to LANWR we fled,
seeking the wilderness that it offers and hoping, especially, to find some
of the winter-visitor sparrow species that had been reported recently
upstate and even here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Given that we had made
a late-morning decision to head to LANWR from McAllen, we arrived there
later than we would have liked (about 2:30 PM), leaving only 3 hours and 45
minutes to cover both Lakeside Drive, with thousands of birds present at its
west end at Laguna Atascosa (the refuge's namesake lake), plus the 15-mile
Bayside Wildlife Drive (BWD). (All visitors are required to be off BWD a
half-hour prior to sunset, a standard requirement nowadays at LANWR, and
yesterday that meant by 6:15 PM. This restriction is of great importance to
the protection of wildlife.)
LAKESIDE DRIVE: Our only finds of interest while driving out Lakeside Drive
to Osprey Overlook were a gorgeous adult WHITE-TAILED HAWK seeming somehow
to interact, in circular flight, with an adult Harris's Hawk, both just west
of the now-dry bed of Resaca de los Cuates. Perhaps, though, they both
simply were just enjoying a ride on the same thermal. From the sun-sheltered
platform, known as Osprey Overlook, beside Laguna Atascosa thousands of
waterfowl could be seen, many too distant to be identified with our 30X
scope. But we were not the only observers, for two CRESTED CARACARAS sat
atop a mesquite, surveying the broad, shimmering lake spread before them.
The species in or on the shore of the lake included untold thousands of
AMERICAN COOT, NORTHERN SHOVELER (3, close at hand), and many hundreds more
far more distant ducks of additional species that we declined to turn into
guessed species. Relatively close to our vantage point were found
BLACK-NECKED STILT (1), AMERICAN AVOCET (1), ROSEATE SPOONBILL (6), and
LONG-BILLED CURLEW (4). Of the latter, two were very close to the overlook,
and one of them had flown in from northward, up the shoreline, uttering all
the time what appeared to be a stern territorial challenge to the other via
loud, strident, but still musical, whistles. The one being thus harassed
simply looked up and stood its ground with a tilt of its head that seemed to
say, "Whom do you think you are kidding? This is my spot." The other ceased
its vocal threats and began foraging where it stood about 20 feet away from
the other. By this time a quite local thunder cloud had appeared that
sported thunder that sounded like a jet roaring overhead, and as it came
closer we decided to depart for the BWD, considering that the edges of such
storm systems can produce deadly lightning and that by now we barely would
have time for our usual close check of the entirely of the BWD.
BAYSIDE WILDLIFE DRIVE: The highlights of BWD were plenteous common waders,
numerically dominated by GREAT BLUE HERON, followed closely by adult REDDISH
EGRET. There was one very handsome juvenile white morph of the latter
species that showed us several minutes of its leap and dance routine. We had
hoped for far more shorebird species than we found, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER
(3), WILLET (several, but especially at Bayside Lake), and RUDDY TURNSTONE
(tidal flat west the shoreline mangroves). OSPREY seemed to be visible
almost everywhere, resting, standing about looking, and in flight. A
somewhat comical scene ensued when the aforementioned Ruddy Turnstone
decided to feast upon the shreds of a fish-and sometimes the open portion of
the still intact body--being consumed by the very much larger Osprey. The
turnstone was persistent at gingerly picking the droppings from the ground
and occasionally grabbed a piece from the still-intact body. The Osprey
seemed hardly to notice or, at least, figured that this intruder surely
could not eat very much of its catch, for it never threatened the turnstone.
A Black-bellied Plover that stood initially at least 25 yards away spotted
the quite successful take-what-you-can-get routine of the turnstone, and
then moved in by seemingly studied dashes and stops, and sporadically
approaching the scene of the feast. Alas, it never got up the courage to
move in for the take but just stood there, obviously envious, seemingly
trying either to get up the courage or figuring how it might safely grab
some without becoming a relatively large and easy target for the wrath of
the Osprey. It stood for minutes thus looking on, skittering back and forth
around the turnstone/osprey feeding duet, but never had the nerve to make it
a trio. Suddenly it turned and dashed back toward its original locale.
Before our BWD transit had ended we wound up with eight raptor species (if
one treats Turkey Vulture as such as do various guides). Five of the seven
BWD "true raptor" species were the many OSPREY, WHITE-TAILED (1) and HARRIS'S
(1) hawks, CARACARA (1), and NORTHERN HARRIER (1), and I will reserve the
last two as part of the exciting grand finale of what otherwise was a
somewhat lackluster BWD trip. A bit crestfallen by the dearth of birds-no
sparrow species were found-we headed back north on the west leg of the BWD
unaware of the excitement that awaited us.
Driving the northern segment of the western leg of the loop portion of the
BWD, as we got within viewing distance of a distant wooded segment of the
drive, suddenly two APLOMADO FALCONS appeared to the left (west) of the
road, one a short distance behind the other and flying somewhat lower. No
sooner had they crossed the road than it was clear that these were that
species, for their side-on silhouettes could be viewed, disclosing clearly
the unmistakable, long slender falcons with remarkably long tails, and very
dark underwings. The two always kept the same spatial relationship in their
flight, so this apparently was not a chase engendered by territorial
dispute. They probably were a male/female pair, though sex of the
individuals could not be determined at this distance. Aplomado Falcon pairs
are known often to hunt together. As we talked excitingly about this find,
Birgit suddenly shouted, "SANDHILL CRANES! Maybe 40 or so!" After they
crossed the road and swung a bit southward in their mainly eastward flight,
their distinctive and beautiful "grrruuh, grrruuh, grrruuh . . ." voices
reached us as they began to land in a low, presumably wet/watery area well
to the east of the road. We jumped out, set up the scope, and enjoyed these
graceful, chatting creatures, some standing, some walking about, some
stretching their wings. We counted somewhat over 40, and their might have
been as many as 45. Then, with the 6:15 BWD-drive curfew time approaching,
we moved on. No sooner had we entered the wooded area in front of which the
Aplomados and Sandhills had flown, than a MERLIN took flight from a branch
of a mesquite adjacent to the road, and after having seen the two Aplomados,
its different shape, shorter tail, and coloration were very evident. We had
seen multiple WHITE-TAILED DEER along the BWD, but almost as soon as the
Merlin disappeared, two female NILGAI steeped onto the road and moved
northward along it, giving us extended views, their black/white
stocking-like lower-leg coloration immediately caught the eye. Their
relatively small size and more tan color signed females. The excitement was
not over. When we had driven into LANWR along Buena Vista Road a Chihuahuan
Raven had coursed overhead moving eastward toward Laguna Madre, and now as
we neared the end of our journey the same species crossed at a low altitude
from east to west. It might well have been the same individual. At any rate,
we enjoyed the close look for we do not see this species very often, and
yesterday's was the first we have found at LANWR. Besides, this large black
bird seemed somehow appropriate for Halloween!
We exited the BWD onto Buena Vista Road with seven minutes to spare before
the time-line for exiting. What had started off as a very lackluster day,
even around the viewing area opposite the Visitor Center, had turned into an
exciting one. LANWR, as we have learned, is a place of surprises. Yesterday
had its share. The downside surprise was that no migratory sparrows were
found. On the side of positive surprises, it is hard to beat a pair of
Aplomado Falcons cruising about in lovely, late-day sun-or just about any
kind of light, for that matter. The Sandhill Cranes were a special delight
to see cruising into a resting area, chatting with one another, and
displaying their grace and beauty of form at every moment.
We spoke of one disappointment, that we had not seen White-tailed Kite,
which we often have seen on BWD. Our disappointment did not last long, for
almost exactly 7 miles from the Visitor Center, as we headed west on TX-106,
a lovely WHITE-TAILED KITE sat looking at us from atop a utility pole, an
obliging finale for a rewarding day.
Wishing everyone the best of late fall birding,
Rex and Birgit Stanford
McAllen, TX
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
Other related posts:
- » [texbirds] LANWR (Cameron Co.) 10/31/12 - Aplomados, Sandhills, and more! (long) - Rex Stanford
