[texbirds] Shorebirds at TX-48 boat launch area (Cameron Co.)
- From: "Rex Stanford" <calidris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TEXBIRDS" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 18:21:14 -0500
Yesterday, Monday (07/10/13), viewing from the TX-48 boat launch area
(located on the east side of the highway between Brownsville and Port
Isabel), we used our optics to bird the terrain northeast, east, and
southeast of the parking lot and adjacent watery areas with special emphasis
on finding shorebirds and in the hope that we would find some migratory
shorebirds. Our search was moderately successful. We found 10 species of
shorebirds: BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (2), SNOWY PLOVER (1); WILSON'S PLOVER
(widely dispersed, but est. 15-20); SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (5, flew in together
and foraged together); AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER (3, 2 adults and 1 sub-adult,
the same apparently family seen on many previous visits); WILLET (est. 20,
mainly snoozing, but occasionally walking about foraging); LONG-BILLED
CURLEW (1); SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER (2, very actively feeding, usually fairly
close together, possibly failed breeders, judged both by timing and
appearance); WESTERN SANDPIPER (2, feeding in the same general area,
exhibiting some subdued, but still attractive, color, especially in the
scapulars and on the crown, along with some streaking at the breast sides
and on the flanks ); and LEAST SANDPIPER (1). Both CASPIAN and ROYAL TERN
were present in very small numbers, along with what must have been many
dozens of BLACK SKIMMERS, mostly splayed out, taking it easy, on the sand,
often with that ultimately surrendered look at which this species can excel.
Surprises of this visit were, on the positive side, finding two of both
Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers, rather "early birds." On the negative
side, the surprise was not finding even one Sanderling, a species often
present at this site. We are sure that birding for migrant shorebirds will
be picking up substantially very soon.
Perhaps it is worth mentioning that shortly after we headed south on TX-48
from Port Isabel we had a low-level fly-over by a Chihuahuan Raven, a nice
close view of a species we often have seen from TX-48.
Wishing everyone the best of fall-migration birding,
Rex and Birgit Stanford
McAllen, TX
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