Hi, all!
Indulged in one of those famous Holiday Inn cinnamon rolls this morning :-)
then headed east. Made good time to Junction, and spent a lovely hour at
South Llano River SP. Going in to get the pass, I was surprised to see Cave
Swallows nesting under the eaves - that was a first! Archilochus hummers
were fighting over the feeders, of course; I have no idea if Rubythroats are
supposed to be showing up yet, but I heard wing-ringing, which is indicative
of Blackchin, so I know I at least had them!
Headed over to the Fawn Trail for the "exercise walk", adding trip birds
such as Black-crested Titmouse, "nyep"ing Orchard Orioles, a Field Sparrow
trying to sing, and several White-eyed Vireos. There were lots of
Black-throated Sparrow families around; in fact, most of what I saw were
juvies! I pondered whether the Black-capped Vireos were still around (I
knew the warblers were long gone), and I indeed thought I heard one in the
distance, but with all these young'uns learning to sing, who knows what I
heard!
Spent 15 minutes in the blind, where several beat-up Cardinals came in,
along with more juvie Black-throated Sparrows, a titmouse without his crest,
and a lovely "Black-backed" Goldfinch! A Lark Sparrow joined the crowd
shortly before I left. I made a run to the day use area to use the
composting toilet they have there, and aside from it being a beautiful
little area, managed to bag a handful of new trip birds there as well,
including Carolina Wren, Eastern Wood Pewee, and Red-eyed Vireo! But the
star was the little Carolina Chickadee, which made it a three-chickadee
trip! :-) (For those who didn't see the Arizona trip reports, I logged
Mexican Chickadee in the Chiricahuas and Mountain Chickadees along the Swift
Trail...) The resident Vermilion Flycatcher was anticlimactic!
Made it home without incident, ironically bagging Cattle Egret for the trip
making the turn onto Ware Road! Finished the trip with 189 species, and
like I had on so many other trips, I asked, "Where was that one that woulda
made it an even 190???" :-) It was a glorious trip, but now I've got a lot
of work to do!!
Bird list (including those seen on the drive from Ozona to McAllen):
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens
Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus
Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Bell's Vireo Vireo bellii
Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
Common Raven Corvus corax
Cave Swallow Petrochelidon fulva
Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Black-throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata
Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
39 SPECIES
Total for the trip: 189 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com
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