Hi, all!
Pat Heirs and I took our Danish group to Frontera first today, and we had
barely gotten out of the vehicles before the Crimson-collared Grosbeak
started calling from the thicket! By necessity we had to split up the
group, and unfortunately Pat's group missed the bird while our group got
brief but identifiable looks of the bird just short of the Payne property,
then again along the trail that's close to the new pond overlook. The Blue
Bunting never showed while we were there, but the lady Black-headed Grosbeak
dutifully came to the feeders, and the other feeder birds showed well
(except for Green Jay, which remained surprisingly shy during the course of
the day). The Green Kingfisher also gave fleeting looks as it shot across
the pond twice, and the Groove-billed Ani called and then showed itself for
a handful of folks. Several Red-crowned Parrots flew around the palm as
though they were thinking of lodging there, and an Olive Sparrow gave
crippling views near the Sabal Palm grove! A Blue-headed Vireo gave us fits
by singing but never coming out, while a Black-and-white Warbler was also
singing his heart out and being totally ignored! And sometimes the birds we
most take for granted are the highlights for visitors, as the male Lesser
Goldfinch in the citrus garden was the highlight for many!
Headed to Estero Llano Grande for lunch after that, enjoying a lingering
Cinnamon Teal off the deck. I got everyone on their feet when I saw a
kettle and thought they were Mississippi Kites at first, but they turned out
to be very pointy-looking Swainson's Hawks! :-P Mary G. came by about that
time and gave great directions on how to find the Pauraque, so we headed
straight for Alligator Lake to look, but not before stopping for
Yellow-crowned Night Herons at Grebe Marsh! I thought I heard a phoebe but
couldn't spot him; however, later I heard that one of our group had seen and
photographed a Black Phoebe there, so that's undoubtedly what I heard. At
the spot, Karen (one of our group) miraculously found the Pauraque, so
everyone had scope views of this great bird! At the overlook, a Ringed
Kingfisher put on a great show by catching a fish, then beating the snot out
of it before gagging it down! (Later he circled over Dowitcher Pond several
times, rattling away.) We then dragged ourselves back to the VC where the
gang finally got a great look at a Buff-bellied Hummingbird, but a visit to
the Tropical Zone bore no Green Jays or Altamira Orioles (we did spot the
butterfly walk people, though. J).
Some folks really wanted to try for Buff-breasted Sandpiper, so from there
we headed down to the Progresso Sod Farms where we hit the jackpot: tons of
Golden Plovers, Pectoral and Baird's Sandpipers, and a handful of Uplands
and Buff-breasted! We even found a couple of Sprague's Pipits! That
entrance onto Hwy 281 was dicey, however. L
From there we headed to Santa Ana for a last ditch effort for Altamira
Oriole, and just before we crossed the canal a Green Kingfisher was perched
up on the railing! Up on the levee we had lots of Broad-winged Hawks
circling, and even a Gray that chased a Broadie out of his air space! I
heard a Beardless Tyrannulet in the woods, so those who wanted to chase it
came with me, and in the process we got great looks at an immature Altamira
Oriole! After that the gang was willing to forego the tyrannulet in favor
of ice cream J, so we headed back, only to find four more Altamiras on the
levee!
Headed home with 90 species for the day! Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor
Gadwall Anas strepera
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera
Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula
Great Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Green Heron Butorides virescens
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
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
Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Inca Dove Columbina inca
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
Common Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
Ringed Kingfisher Megaceryle torquata
Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Green Parakeet Aratinga holochlora
Red-crowned Parrot Amazona viridigenalis
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet Camptostoma imberbe
Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans
Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Blue-headed Vireo Vireo solitarius
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Purple Martin Progne subis
Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Clay-colored Thrush Turdus grayi
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Sprague's Pipit Anthus spragueii
Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Crimson-collared Grosbeak Rhodothraupis celaeno
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Black-headed Grosbeak Pheucticus melanocephalus
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
90 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
Alamo, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com
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