[texbirds] FM490 Birds, Hidalgo County.
- From: Javier Gonzalez <javsterkayak7@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2015 15:36:58 -0600
Hello Texbirders,
Woke up an hour later than I intended to this morning and headed north to
look for sparrows and some reported rarities along FM490 in Hidalgo county.
My first stop was east of US281,"Brush Line Sparrow Nook", a spot that I've
been enjoying birding at recently and suggested as an ebird Hotspot. It was
just recently approved and you can find it on ebird "Hotspot Explorer"!
It's just about a mile or so north of FM490 off of Brush Line road.
The sun was really bright by the time I got there at 8am, making it painful
to look east at all. As I walked down the N-S road, I came up to a big
flock of *Pyrrhuloxias* feeding on the ground with some *Clay-colored
Sparrows* mixed in, looking a bit closer I noticed a couple of
immature *White-crowned
Sparrows* in the shrubs next to the feeding flock. A bit further up, the
road takes a left and a *Cassin's Sparrow *and a *Grasshopper Sparrow* were
perched on the fence wire that runs up the left side of the road. A couple
of *Chipping Sparrows* were also out there looking very much like
Clay-coloreds, but with a reddish crown. On the right is a shrubby field
with some prickly pear cacti mixed in, Pyrrhuloxias galore! A bit farther
ahead, the field then turns into a sedge/grass field that I thought could
be good for Sedge Wrens, but I didn't see any, I did see a flock of *Savannah
Sparrows* and a couple of *Lincoln's Sparrows* in there. Walking back
towards my truck i spotted a few *Lark Sparrows *on a wire for a total of *8
sparrow species* at my first stop.
Next, I backtracked and headed west on FM490 to just a couple of miles west
of McCook to look for the reported Mountain Plovers, Ferruginous Hawks,
Prairie Falcon, and immature Golden Eagle!!
There's lots of vast fields out there, but the ones with the reported
Mountain Plovers are just inside the Hidalgo County line. If you hit Starr
County, you've gone just a bit too far.
By the time i got out there the Sun was brilliant and the heat glare was
rising from the fields. My eyes burned, but i still scanned as best as i
could for the plovers. I drove around the field a little bit, but i was
unable to find any, dipped!
While driving around I tried my best to also keep an eye on the sky for the
hawks and falcon who by now were surely soaring. I finally found a fast,
pointed wing raptor flying over a field to the south of the plover field. I
raced over and was happy to see it was the *Prairie Falcon*! LIFER!! I
watched if for a while as it swooped down over the field after Mourning
Doves. As I drove back towards FM490 I saw the gorgeous *Ferruginous Hawk*
soaring right for me! It came close and took a slight turn away from me
giving me some great looks! LIFER #2!! I also saw a couple of *Vesper
Sparrows* in the trees around the fields for sparrow species #9 for the day!
I was a very enjoyable and productive morning!
Great birding to all,
Javi Gonzalez
San Juan, TX
Full ebird list for "Brush Line Sparrow Nook" below.
Brush Line Sparrow Nook, Hidalgo, US-TX
Feb 8, 2015 8:13 AM - 9:46 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
Comments: <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.8
39 species
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
White-tailed Hawk 1
Sandhill Crane 3
Killdeer 4
Greater Yellowlegs 1 On wet spot
Common Ground-Dove 4
Mourning Dove 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Crested Caracara 2
Eastern Phoebe 3
Great Kiskadee 1
Couch's Kingbird 2
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Black-crested Titmouse 1
Verdin 1
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
Cassin's Sparrow 2
Chipping Sparrow 2
Clay-colored Sparrow 15
Lark Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 8
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 3
Pyrrhuloxia 45 Galore!
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Eastern Meadowlark 4
Great-tailed Grackle 5
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Lesser Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 1
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