[texbirds] Laguna Atascosa NWR
- From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 17:47:40 -0400 (EDT)
Hi, all!
Was pleasantly surprised that, despite the threat of major rain today, the
birding at Laguna Atascosa was relatively dry! Was very happy to bag Barn
Owl for the year on the way out there, and picked up some unique things for
the day along General Brant Road, such as a calling Great Crested
Flycatcher, several Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flying over, a cackling
Least
Bittern, and a Roseate Spoonbill. Someone had asked me if I knew the
condition of the road (they had heard rumors that they had paved over the
thing):
well, I can now give a qualified answer: AWFUL! They HAVE posted a 30 mph
speed limit all along that stretch, however, and you can hone your driving
skills by playing Dodge the Pothole both coming and going... A lot of
stuff was singing along the entrance road, and I was very happy to hear a
definitive Alder Flycatcher calling for the year! A female/young Blue
Grosbeak
was at the same stop, and a young Harris' Hawk was at the Visitor's Center.
The rains brought some good water to the seasonal wetlands, but there
weren't a whole lot of shorebirds; had the usual Willets, Black-bellied and
Semipal Plovers, peeps (some were too distant to discern Western or
Semipalmated), a Greater Yellowlegs, and a handful of Ruddy Turnstones. A
flock of
Groove-billed Anis flew across the road early on, and was pleased to hear a
Cassin's Sparrow still singing (Olive Sparrows were out the yin yang,
including one that decided to sit up)! Along the bay side of the loop a white
morph Reddish Egret danced around, and the standard raptors (Caracara,
White-tailed Hawk, and Osprey) all made appearances. A climb up Redhead Ridge
added song-battling White-eyed Vireos and a couple of migrating Eastern
Kingbirds.
Ran into a couple of deluges along the route, but they didn't last long;
the minute the rain let up the Bewick's Wrens and Verdins were in full
voice! Back at the VC enjoyed the jays and White-tipped Doves at the feeders
(along with a couple of Mexican Ground Squirrels) and a Ladder-backed
Woodpecker showed off well along the Kiskadee Trail. Not many migrants except
for
the Alder, Great Crested, kingbirds, and a couple of Yellow Warblers,
though. Oh, had a couple of flyover Dickcissels...
Barely made it back to the car before the next deluge hit! Got to drive
home in a bunch of it... :-P Was surprised I got any pictures at all
considering the weather: those and some recordings are here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2013%20Field%20Trips/September/Lagun
a%20Atascosa%20NWR.html
Bird List (not included are the Barn Owl, Pauraque, and Swainson's Hawk I
had in transit):
Laguna Atascosa NWR (LTC 024), Cameron, US-TX
Sep 14, 2013 7:07 AM - 11:40 AM
Protocol: Traveling
21.6 mile(s)
Comments: 75 degrees; route starts along General Brant Road and
includes Bayside Drive; mostly cloudy with scattered showers, some heavy.
70 species (+1 other taxa)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 30
Mottled Duck 4
Blue-winged Teal 8
Plain Chachalaca 1
Brown Pelican 4
Least Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 8
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Reddish Egret 2
Cattle Egret 2
White Ibis 30
Roseate Spoonbill 1
Turkey Vulture 7
Osprey 3
Harris's Hawk 1
White-tailed Hawk 2
Black-bellied Plover 10
Semipalmated Plover 4
Killdeer 9
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Willet 20
Long-billed Curlew 2
Ruddy Turnstone 3
Sanderling 1
Least Sandpiper 20
peep sp. 8
Laughing Gull 8
Caspian Tern 6
Black Tern 1
Forster's Tern 1
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 100
Common Ground-Dove 12
White-tipped Dove 7
Groove-billed Ani 5
Common Nighthawk 4
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 10
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 12
Crested Caracara 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Brown-crested Flycatcher 2
Great Kiskadee 1
Couch's Kingbird 4
Eastern Kingbird 4
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
Loggerhead Shrike 5
White-eyed Vireo 15
Green Jay 12
Purple Martin 1
Bank Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 9
Black-crested Titmouse 1
Verdin 4
Carolina Wren 2
Bewick's Wren 6
Cactus Wren 1
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Long-billed Thrasher 20
Northern Mockingbird 30
Yellow Warbler 2
Olive Sparrow 20
Cassin's Sparrow 2
Lark Sparrow 6
Northern Cardinal 10
Blue Grosbeak 1
Dickcissel 2
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Eastern Meadowlark 15
Great-tailed Grackle 100
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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