[texbirds] South Padre Island, 1/10/13

From: antshrike1@xxxxxxx
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:21:14 -0500 (EST)
Finally a nice day, so I headed out to South Padre Island to work on my year 
list.  There were dozens of birders at the convention center enjoying a 
beautiful sunny day and hoping for a Flammulated Owl.  I don't think anyone saw 
it.  Several American Bitterns were on the boardwalk along with the usual 
Clapper Rails.  Piping Plovers were among the many shorebirds behind the 
convention center and two Common Loons were in the Laguna Madre.  A Sedge Wren 
called and popped up a few times in the grass behind the convention center.  
Sheepshead was pretty dead but there were lots of waterfowl just a block to the 
west including many Bufflehead and three Common Loons.  

The day was still young so I ran over to the beach and drove the 25 or miles up 
to the Port Mansfield channel.  Gulls were way down in numbers compared to my 
last visit a few weeks ago.  But this time Northern Gannets were pretty east to 
find.  I saw 14 total in plumages ranging from first winter to adult.  A 
Bonapartes Gull, a couple of miles south of the channel, and a Common Loon at 
the Port Mansfield jetty were new for my Willacy County list.



South Padre Island, Cameron County, Cameron, US-TX
Jan 10, 2013 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
24.0 mile(s)
Comments:     Sheepshead, Convention Center, beach to Willacy line
65 species (+1 other taxa)

American Wigeon  20
Mottled Duck  6
Blue-winged Teal  2
Northern Pintail  1
Redhead  2000
Lesser Scaup  1
Bufflehead  25
Red-breasted Merganser  50
Common Loon  5
Pied-billed Grebe  10
Eared Grebe  5
Northern Gannet  7
Double-crested Cormorant  5
American White Pelican  250
Brown Pelican  25
American Bittern  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Great Egret  2
Snowy Egret  1
Little Blue Heron  1
Tricolored Heron  2
White Ibis  20
Osprey  1
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Clapper Rail  1
Sora  2
Common Gallinule  1
American Coot  2
Black-bellied Plover  20
Snowy Plover  5
Semipalmated Plover  30
Piping Plover  8
Black-necked Stilt  2
Willet  1
Long-billed Curlew  1
Ruddy Turnstone  20
Sanderling  300
Western Sandpiper  10
Least Sandpiper  8
Dunlin  20
Short-billed Dowitcher  5
Laughing Gull  10
Ring-billed Gull  50
Herring Gull  5
Caspian Tern  1
Forster's Tern  50
Royal Tern  20
Black Skimmer  2
Eurasian Collared-Dove  10
White-winged Dove  1
Mourning Dove  22
Inca Dove  4
Belted Kingfisher  2
American Kestrel  7
Peregrine Falcon  1
Eastern Phoebe  3
Tropical/Couch's Kingbird  1
House Wren  1
Northern Mockingbird  2
Orange-crowned Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler  5
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Great-tailed Grackle  2
House Sparrow  10


South Padre Island, Willacy County, Willacy, US-TX
Jan 10, 2013 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
10.0 mile(s)
27 species

Northern Shoveler  1
Greater Scaup  3     scaup with round heads and big bills
Red-breasted Merganser  15
Common Loon  1
Eared Grebe  25
Northern Gannet  7
Double-crested Cormorant  75
Brown Pelican  50
Great Blue Heron  3
Northern Harrier  1
Black-bellied Plover  40
Snowy Plover  10
Piping Plover  2
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Willet  25
Whimbrel  1
Ruddy Turnstone  40
Sanderling  400
Western Sandpiper  10
Least Sandpiper  5
Dunlin  20
Bonaparte's Gull  1
Laughing Gull  8
Ring-billed Gull  60
Herring Gull  10
Forster's Tern  200
Royal Tern  10


Dan Jones, Weslaco







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[texbirds] South Padre Island, 1/10/13

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