[texbirds] Birder Patrol Trip to Sacahuistale Flats/Port Mansfield
- From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 18:09:31 -0400 (EDT)
Hi, all!
Five carloads had a great time birding Willacy County this morning; Norma
first took us to a former Brown Bin spot just east of Raymondville and
across the street from a cemetery, where thankfully it was still overcast so
we
could make out Gadwall and Mottled Duck in the water. Lots of
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers showed up, and a real treat was a hen Turkey in a
field (one
car managed to see a displaying male)! Several stops in the thornscrub
bagged several folks a great look at their life Cassin's Sparrrow, plus a
Hooded Oriole put in an appearance along with a Green Jay, Cactus Wren, and
Long-billed Thrasher, while a Lark Sparrow landed on the wire and gave its
pretty snort-filled song! Raptor-wise had several Harris' Hawks and a couple
of Caracaras, and a stop at the canal yielded a couple of Yellowthroats, a
Black-crested Titmouse, a singing Roadrunner, and a Swamp Sparrow!
Norma then took us to the big canal in Port Mansfield where (along with
tons of Laughing Gulls) we had a single Redhead, plus Brown Pelicans and
Double-crested Cormorants in breeding plumage (we even saw the double crests)!
She then took us to a new parking area that this day had too many people
to yield many birds (the first time they had gone had tons of birds and no
people, but that was due to lousy weather...), but over by the private docks
we picked up Lesser Scaup and Royal and Forster's Terns. In the songbird
department we added Savannah Sparrow, Verdin, and White-eyed Vireo.
On to Fred Stone County Park, where the highlight was several nesting
Wilson's Plovers in the flats beyond the fence! Other goodies included a
Little Blue Heron, several Gull-billed Terns keeping company with a Caspian,
and
a handful of other shorebirds, including a bathing Ruddy Turnstone. On the
way out Norma spotted some Purple Martins (MJ spotted the house). One
gentleman knew where there were a couple of Great Horned Owl nests, so that
was our final destination where the fuzzy babies were cute as buttons!
(Please don't ask for directions--we don't want them disturbed!)
Pictures are posted here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2014%20Field%20Trips/March/Sacahuist
ale%20Flats.html
Bird List:
Gadwall Anas strepera
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Redhead Aythya americana
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Wilson's Plover Charadrius wilsonia
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Willet Tringa semipalmata
Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
Herring Gull Larus argentatus
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Purple Martin Progne subis
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
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
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Hooded Oriole Icterus cucullatus
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
70 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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