Hello Texbirders,
Today was warm and windy and the birds made us work to see them. Three
things stand out: 1) the people... what a wonderful bunch of folks to spend
a morning with, 2) the Swainson's Hawk that flew over us at Willow Lakes
... special for here and beautiful, 3) the crazy mixed flock that was
screaming about something we couldn't see, right at the very end of our
walk.... Black-crested Titmice, Orange-crowned Warblers, Blue-Gray
Gnatcatchers, White-eyed Vireo, Nashville Warbler and a stunning male
Buff-bellied Hummingbird. They were in such a tight little group that
sometimes five or six would be in binoculars at once.
Bird walks leave from the Visitor Center every day at 8:30 am. Please join
us.
Steve and Laura Paulson
USFWS Volunteers
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
Alamo, Texas
Santa Ana NWR (LTC 059), Hidalgo, Texas, US
Feb 6, 2017 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Comments: Warm and windy. 70-78 degrees.
62 species
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 10
Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) 6
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) 30
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 1
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 20
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 20
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 6
Plain Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula) 2 more heard
Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus) 4
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 6
Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) 2
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) 2
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) 3
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) 1
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) 3
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 6
Harris's Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) 3
Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) 1 Wings distinctly longer and more
slender than White-tailed Hawk. Dark hood, light body, dark trailing edge
to wings, black terminal tail band.
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) 2
American Coot (Fulica americana) 25
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 6
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 3
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 12
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) 50
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 5
White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2
Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis) 1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis) 1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris) 3 only one seen, others
heard only
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (Camptostoma imberbe) 1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 2
Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) 1
Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) 4
Couch's Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii) 2
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) 5
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) 1
Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas) 3
Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus) 6
Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps) 2 one heard only, the second was heard
and briefly seen
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 4 heard only
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 3
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 8
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) 50 Possibly a Sprague's mixed in.
Photos taken. Found in the bare agricultural field adjacent to the refuge
entrance.
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) 1
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) 10
Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) 1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Olive Sparrow (Arremonops rufivirgatus) 3
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 60
Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis) 2 more heard
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 2
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/
checklist/S34204705
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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