[texbirds] Old Port Isabel Rd, Hwy 48, & South Padre
- From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2014 19:18:42 -0500 (EST)
Hi, all!
Mary Jane and I made an attempt to survey Old Port Isabel Road on the way
to SPI, but we didn't even get a mile before we had to turn back--that was
the worst I've ever seen it! But we did manage to add a few nice things to
the day list, including a pair of White-tailed Hawks and a Cassin's Sparrow.
So up Hwy 48 we went, stopping at the boat ramp, where the best show was
put on by two pairs of Oystercatchers that were chasing each other and
yelling! Both species of night heron were new for my "Hwy 48" list, and we
also
enjoyed a couple of spoonbills and the regular assortment of gulls and
shorebirds, including a mob of Skimmers and a single Lesser Yellowlegs amongst
the Willets, BB Plovers, and BN Stilts. One white morph Reddish Egret flew
by as well. A stop at the viewing area on the west side added lots of
Redheads and White Pelicans.
Once on South Padre we headed straight for the Bay Access, and after having
to have my engine mounts replaced because they had gotten corroded from
the sea salt, we decided not to venture out there (pockets of water were
covering the entire area) and just scoped the shore from just beyond the
entrance road. A Sedge Wren calling from the grass near the Convention Centre
was nice, and was pleased to add (in addition to the regulars) both
Semipalmated and Piping Plovers, Western Sandpipers, and tons of Dunlin to the
list.
Another car came up the drive but stopped at the stop sign, and when I
turned to look what I thought was his lady friend leaning in the window was
actually his dog!! The thing was huge!! He told us on the way out that it
was a wolfhound/poodle mix...
Over at the Convention Centre the best bird was a female American Redstart,
but we also had the regular wintering stuff. The boardwalk was pretty
quiet except for lots of Redheads and American Wigeon in the bay (the Marsh
Wrens were still playing games with MJ--she has yet to actually SEE one), and
on the way back a Yellow Warbler chirped from the mangroves, and since
I've been waiting for one of those Mangrove Warblers to show up in this stuff,
my blood was racing! The two brief looks we saw showed no chestnut on the
head, however, and a quick call to George Colley confirmed that lots of
"standard" Yellow Warblers were hanging out there this winter... Oh, well!
I was pretty shot after that (we DID pick up the requisite Peregrine on the
water tower), so since it was close to eleven we decided to call it a day.
Wound up with 70 species, which isn't bad for a half day! Not a whole
lot of pictures today, but the recording of the oystercatchers came out
pretty good...
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2014%20Field%20Trips/January/South%2
0Padre%20Island.html
Bird List:
American Wigeon Anas americana
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Redhead Aythya americana
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris
Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
American Coot Fulica americana
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
Piping Plover Charadrius melodus
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Willet Tringa semipalmata
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
Sanderling Calidris alba
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
Herring Gull Larus argentatus
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis
Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla
Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia
Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
70 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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