Hi, all!
Saturday was my first opportunity to do a Hidalgo County Big Day since 2013,
when I logged 138 species for the day. Yesterday (Saturday) I had to work
pretty hard to finish up with 119!! Comparing the two, maybe the fact that
this one was five days earlier had something to do with it, but migrants
this year were few and far between compared to 2013's outing. I changed the
route a little as well as I was now living in Alamo as opposed to North
McAllen, but the destinations stayed pretty much the same. Without giving a
species-by-species blow-by-blow I'll just cover the highlights, as I haven't
even had time to look at the pictures yet.
Started pre-dawn at Bentsen with "unique" birds including Pauraque, the
three expected owls (including at least four Elf Owls scattered around the
route), a cackling Least Bittern at the Resaca, a wailing Gray Hawk, and the
normal Valley woodland birds. Dipped on the migrant nightjars and a
reported Poorwill, along with the reported Red-billed Pigeons.
The drive along Old Military Highway had my only Blue Grosbeak near the
Butterfly Center, plus Bank Swallows chattering along the levee.
Anzalduas had my only Black Phoebe and Cliff Swallows, along with a nice
liftoff of Broad-winged Hawks on the way out.
Quinta Mazatlan again had a big event going on, so I skipped that and headed
north to Edinburg Wetlands, where I had my only Forster's Terns, Anhinga,
and Green Kingfisher of the day (the latter at the South Pond).
The La Sal del Rey Route was next, logging a bunch of unique "open country"
things like Caracara, Cassin's and Lark Sparrows, Horned Lark, Pyrrhuloxia,
Bobwhite, Roadrunner, Common Ground Dove, Black Vulture, White-tailed Hawk,
and the best bird - a male Bullock's Oriole!
Delta Lake Park was good only for a potty stop as I added nothing unique
there and the water was too high for shorebirds. Frontera was next, with
highlights including the three sole migrants there: Great Crested
Flycatcher, Summer Tanager, and the best - a singing Philadelphia Vireo!
That brought me up to 90 and I was sweating it, as even Estero couldn't get
me over 100, but with Huck's help added several shorebirds, ducks, and a
Ruby-throated Hummingbird; a report of Swainson's Warbler sent me back to
the water feature in the Tropical Zone, but all I added was a calling
Eastern Wood Pewee.
Progresso Sod Farms saved the day, with #100 being several Upland Sandpipers
that another birder cottoned me onto WAY out there! Up the road (and much
closer) were all the other expected "grasspipers", including two lovely
Buff-bellies! Added bonuses included a flyover Common Nighthawk, a rapidly
retreating Groove-billed Ani, and a last-minute White-tailed Kite on the
levee! (The levee gate at 88 is closed, I discovered the hard way.)
Last stop was Santa Ana, and added Marsh Wren, White Ibis, and Little Blue
Heron as the last birds of the day. It wasn't until I input the birds into
BirdBase that I realized that I had mislabeled my paper list (I thought I'd
be smart and pre-number the notepad.), and what I though was bird #100 was
actually #110! :-/ (The REAL #100 was the Summer Tanager.) Pictures will
be up on Facebook when I can get to it. :) Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
Anhinga Anhinga anhinga
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Green Heron Butorides virescens
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus
Gray Hawk Buteo plagiatus
Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni
Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
American Coot Fulica americana
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
American Avocet Recurvirostra americana
American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Inca Dove Columbina inca
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
Eastern Screech-Owl Megascops asio
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
Elf Owl Micrathene whitneyi
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
Common Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet Camptostoma imberbe
Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens
Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans
Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus
Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Philadelphia Vireo Vireo philadelphicus
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis
Purple Martin Progne subis
Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Cave Swallow Petrochelidon fulva
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Clay-colored Thrush Turdus grayi
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerulea
Dickcissel Spiza americana
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Bullock's Oriole Icterus bullockii
Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
119 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
Alamo, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com <http://www.miriameaglemon.com>
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