[texbirds] Flycatcher/Honeycreeper Hunt (longish)
- From: "Mary Beth Stowe" <mbstowe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'texbirds'" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 15:01:43 -0600
Hi, all!
My original plan yesterday was to visit Adolph Thomae CP and surroundings,
but that morning I saw Ranger John's post about the Red-legged Honeycreeper
at Estero, so I changed plans and decided to chill a little before heading
out. Then I saw the EBird report about the Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Laguna
Atascosa and decided to do that first, but by that time it was too late to
get there by dawn, so not wanting to waste daybreak birding by driving, I
decided to start the morning at La Sal del Rey, and had just a marvelous
time: the weather was beautiful, and had a good selection of raptors. The
cranes and geese gave distant views in flight, and on GI Road (no longer
called that but I forget the new name) picked up an Ash-throated Flycatcher
(who also called quite nicely), a nice Cassin's Sparrow jumped up along with
some Savannah Sparrows, and finally was able to pick out a female Brewer's
Blackbird in with the cowbirds.
Headed over to Laguna Atascosa after that, picking up an in-flight Anhinga
on 77! I made the mistake of making several stops along General Brant Road
on the way in, and missed the Fork-tailed Flycatcher by ten minutes! L I
ran into Madeleine Sandefur and we commiserated (she was down the street
when the bird was seen and it had taken off by the time she got back), and
met a very nice couple from Houston who were also hoping for the bird! I
gave it an hour, during which time Father Tom (and some pretty White
Pelicans) also showed up, but the bird never came back; the consolation
prize was some Anis calling in the bush. I checked out the visitor center
area where I ran into Javier DeLeon and his friend Ben, and had a little
skipper that might have been a Pale-rayed (feedback welcome; picture is on
the website below). Osprey Overlook had a few ducks, but had a nice Merlin
power by at the resaca along to road out there. Finally picked up a
Roadrunner on the way out, but this one looked as though he had a narrow
escape from something as he had no tail and appeared to be hopping on one
leg!
Next stop was Estero Llano Grande where a crowd of people gave me hope that
the honeycreeper was about, but I missed that one by about ten minutes, too!
L The Sniders had a bunch of guest chairs lined up next to their RV, so
since the lighting was better from that angle I parked myself there and gave
it another hour, during which the couple from Houston showed up, along with
Erik Breden and a bunch of other people I didn't know (or recognize.). Ben
Basham was there, too, pointing out the male Black-chinned Hummingbird that
kept coming to the feeder as a consolation prize (the House Sparrows gave
everyone fits rummaging through the bushes.)! After my vigil I checked out
the deck and added their Canvasback to the day list, took a walk around the
boardwalk where another ranger pointed out a soaring Peregrine, and headed
for Santa Ana to pick up my CBC packet from Raul Garza before they closed
(and I just made it-they decided to close early that day!) A stroll around
the Chachalaca Trail only added White-tipped Dove and tons of Red Admirals
to the day list, but a flyover Gray Hawk on the levee delighted some
visiting birders!
Had just enough time to blast up to Wallace Road, where both wetlands now
have water (although the big northeast lake is still full of wetland
vegetation)! Had a pair of Fulvous Whistling Ducks here and the tittering
Tropical Kingbird, but an even bigger surprise was a pair of duetting Great
Horned Owls (with the sun still shining)! I thought the last bird of the
day would be the Horned Larks, but three Neotropical Cormorants flew past
just as I pulled into the Ranch! J
Pictures are posted here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2014%20Field%20Trips/November/Rarity
%20Hunt.html
.or here:
http://tinyurl.com/q6qbe2h
Bird List:
Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
Snow Goose Chen caerulescens
Gadwall Anas strepera
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Northern Pintail Anas acuta
Green-winged Teal Anas crecca
Canvasback Aythya valisineria
Redhead Aythya americana
Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis
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
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus
Gray Hawk Buteo plagiatus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
Sora Porzana carolina
Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
American Coot Fulica americana
Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Merlin Falco columbarius
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
91 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
miriameaglemon.com
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