Hi, all!
With the great report from South Padre this week I decided to head over
there today, but started first with Old Port Isabel Road; it was a beautiful
day and both Cassin's and Lark Sparrows posed nicely (the former were
skylarking right next to the road), and had my first American Golden Plovers
of the route. Also had a good selection of "desert" birds, several
Whimbrels, flyover Upland Sandpipers, a pair of Chihuahuan Ravens, plus four
raptors, but no Aplomados. A nice addition was a singing Sedge Wren in the
grassy stuff. At the end of the road a pair of Bobwhite communicated right
next to me, and my FOS Brown-crested Flycatcher competed with a White-eyed
Vireo.
Once on the Island I hit the Flats first, which were in great shape: had
the usual larids and shorebirds (see below), along with a Royal Tern who
seemed more interested in playing "piggyback" with his mate than getting
down to family business!
At the Convention Centre things were REEEELY slow, but with a lotta people
looking! Ran into Donna McCown who told me about a Catbird (which
eventually came out), and a lady out back pointed out a Summer Tanager, and
yet another Sedge Wren was calling from the grass! On the boardwalk I ran
into Brad McKinney and Mark Esparza, and that's where most of the action
actually was! Mark had reported a lot of migration early that morning, and
after enjoying the Clapper Rail out in the open (finally!) and a female
Least Bittern, we went past the mangroves and just watched as stuff came
into them: three Orchard Orioles, one Baltimore, a Black-and-white Warbler,
a couple of Indigo Buntings, and a waterthrush that Mark saw briefly
(probably the same one that's been "pinking" all along :))!
Mark had reported a Kentucky Warbler at Sheepshead, so I headed over there,
where Simon Kiacz was keeping watch over the empty south lot. After a bit
of chatting a Worm-eating Warbler suddenly showed up, and as more people
came a Kentucky Warbler popped up briefly, and on the north (sunny) side
there were several Indigo Buntings in the water feature! Scarlet showed up
about then to do some maintenance and schmooze a bit; I sure appreciate all
the work she and her crew put into these avian rest areas! :)
Called it a day after that with 90 species for the morning. A few pictures
(and a video of the Cassin's Sparrow; still waiting for the one of the terns
to upload.) are on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/marybeth.stowe
Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Redhead Aythya americana
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
Green Heron Butorides virescens
Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris
Sora Porzana carolina
Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
American Coot Fulica americana
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Willet Tringa semipalmata
Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
Sanderling Calidris alba
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
Least Tern Sternula antillarum
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Chihuahuan Raven Corvus cryptoleucus
Purple Martin Progne subis
Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
Worm-eating Warbler Helmitheros vermivorum
Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
Kentucky Warbler Geothlypis formosa
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
90 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
Alamo, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com <http://www.miriameaglemon.com>
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