[texbirds] La Sal del Rey
- From: "" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2014 16:49:23 -0400 (EDT)
Hi, all!
Had a lovely morning doing the La Sal del Rey route; started at the foot of
Brushline and SR 186 with several beenting Common Nighthawks, along with a
cacophony of song that included Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Olive Sparrow,
Bobwhite, Bewick's Wren, and even Roadrunner! Lots of our summer visitors
were
in good numbers, including Painted Bunting and Brown-crested Flycatcher,
and even Pyrrhuloxias went over the top eventually. Once the sun broke over
the scrub a Verdin posed in a mesquite.
A walk down the trail to the lake from Brushline added the only White-eyed
Vireo for the day, and three Turkeys hidden in the brush gobbling and
clucking. A White-tailed Hawk flew across the trail, and had a female
Bullock's Oriole near the potty, but nothing was at the lake itself--just a
lovely
view!
Continuing up Brushline I started to get Cassin's Sparrows and Blue
Grosbeak in the more open stuff, plus Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, and
an
Ani where the desert vegetation showed up. No Botteri's Sparrows yet. A
Summer Tanager sang where Brushline turns north for the last time, and the
ranch pond had a nice selection of single waterbird species including Great
Egret, Killdeer, Blue-winged Teal (okay, a pair of those...) and a
Long-billed Dowitcher. I was pishing at the end of the road when a juvenile
Mockingbird popped up, and you never saw the adult move so fast in your
life--he
chased that youngun' back in with a scold as if to say, "Get back!! Don't
you know that's a dangerous animal??" ;-) At the same stop a Bobcat
scooted across the road, and later on a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher buzzed in here;
eBird flagged it, and consulting the TOS Handbook I see where they're expected
closer to the Rio Grande as a breeder but not way up here almost at the
county line!
Returning to GI Road (which they've renamed Capt. Ken Baker Road) was
entertained by a Couch's Kingbird driving a Caracara off his telephone pole!
The fields are so lush after the recent rains, and there's even a little bog
that hasn't had water since Hurricane Dolly! This spot had a couple of
Stilts, a Snowy Egret, and several whistling ducks of both flavors, along
with lots of grackles. An ear-splitting grackle colony was down just past Rio
Beef Road, and a nice adult Swainson's Hawk sailed by at this point as
well.
Finished up GI and then headed down Rio Beef where it was really warming up
but lots of stuff was still singing; a stop at the marsh near the highway
yielded another Summer Tanager and a hidden Common Gallinule or two, plus
the only Yellowthroat of the day.
Ended up with 57 species for the morning. Pictures and recordings are
here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2014%20Field%20Trips/June/La%20Sal%2
0del%20Rey.html
Bird List:
LRGV NWR Driving Route, Hidalgo, US-TX
Jun 1, 2014 6:44 AM - 11:04 AM
Protocol: Traveling
24.0 mile(s)
Comments: Mostly sunny, calm - slight breeze; 73-87 degrees; route
Brushline, GI, and Rio Beef Roads
57 species
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 10
Fulvous Whistling-Duck 6
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Bobwhite 12
Wild Turkey 3 At least one male gobbling with at least two females
vocalizing the "cuk cuk cuk" call along trail to the lake from Brushline;
this bird is not unexpected along this route.
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 1
Cattle Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 10
Harris's Hawk 1
White-tailed Hawk 2
Swainson's Hawk 1
Common Gallinule 2
Black-necked Stilt 2
Killdeer 2
Long-billed Dowitcher 2
Eurasian Collared-Dove 7
Mourning Dove 200
Inca Dove 4
Common Ground-Dove 12
White-tipped Dove 8
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 11
Greater Roadrunner 4
Groove-billed Ani 1
Common Nighthawk 5
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 12
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 12
Crested Caracara 7
Brown-crested Flycatcher 15
Great Kiskadee 9
Couch's Kingbird 6
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 7
White-eyed Vireo 1
Green Jay 4
Black-crested Titmouse 9
Verdin 12
Bewick's Wren 20
Cactus Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Diagnostic two-toned buzz (recording made);
known to breed in the Valley, but maybe not this far north.
Curve-billed Thrasher 3
Long-billed Thrasher 6
Northern Mockingbird 70
Common Yellowthroat 1
Olive Sparrow 15
Cassin's Sparrow 5
Lark Sparrow 10
Summer Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 15
Pyrrhuloxia 12
Blue Grosbeak 4
Painted Bunting 15
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Great-tailed Grackle 100
Bronzed Cowbird 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 8
Bullock's Oriole 2
House Sparrow 15
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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