[texbirds] Puerto Rico Route & Hargill Playa (longish)
- From: "" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2014 19:31:46 -0400 (EDT)
Hi, all!
I wanted to try out a new road-birding route in northern Hidalgo County
that runs west along FM 1017 and then loops through the little area of Puerto
Rico before dumping out at 1017 again; starting at the intersection of 1017
and FM 3250, it made for a nice 22 mile route, although you had to beware
of the big rigs barreling down the main road occasionally. The habitat is
primarily thornscrub with some open grassy areas (mesquite savannah?) and
had the birds to match (lots of Caracaras, Verdins, Bewick's Wrens,
Bobwhite, Pyrrhuloxias, etc.), but the highlight was a singing Audubon's
Oriole!
In a way I wasn't too surprised because I regularly encounter them when I
take the back way to Laredo (Ramirez is the first 100-mile stop going that
way, and they're almost always a given there), and since the song sounded
kinda weak to my ears, I wondered if it could have been a dispersing youngster
just learning to sing. Had one male Painted Bunting hop up along the
road, which was very nice, and the "nyehs" of the Orchard Orioles were
occasionally audible.
The loop around Puerto Rico is a dirt road, and in many ways was the
birdiest area of the loop: if anyone had to see a Roadrunner or they were
gonna
die, I'd send them here, as they were out the yin yang! Several
Groove-billed Anis made a showing, Upland Sandpipers flew overhead, and a young
White-tailed Hawk was nice. A herd of five Turkeys leisurely crossed the
road,
and I ran into at least two big families of Bobwhites! Three Bullock's
Orioles were a treat, and at one stop several birds were mobbing something
(probably a snake, but I couldn't find it): several Curve-billed Thrashers,
a couple of Mockingbirds, at least one Bewick's Wren, and some Green Jays
were part of the fray.
Took about three and a half hours to do that, so I headed over to Hargill
after that, where several other birders had set up shop and announced that
the Collared Plover was there earlier but they hadn't been able to refind
it. But as if on cue the little bugger came in and started chasing a Snowy
Plover, putting on a great show, and next to a Wilson's to boot for a good
comparison! I didn't know any of the other birders, but Byron Stone and
Randy Pinkerston (hope I spelled that right, Randy! :-P) introduced
themselves, and Byron was kind enough to let me see the bird through his
scope, which
showed every detail, including the kiss of cinnamon on the head! What a
look! There were plenty of other birds there, including the white morph
Reddish Egret, but I'm sure I missed some stuff (the guys saw at least one
dowitcher and some other terns and shorebirds that I never got on); the heat
waves were terrible, and I think most everyone was starting to melt despite
the endorphin rush, so I called it quits right around noon. Ended up with
65 species for the morning.
Pictures and recordings (including of the Audubon's Oriole) are posted
here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2014%20Field%20Trips/August/Puerto%2
0Rico%20Route.html
Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
Great Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
Cattle Egret
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
Collared Plover Charadrius collaris
Snowy Plover Charadrius nivosus
Wilson's Plover Charadrius wilsonia
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Inca Dove Columbina inca
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Purple Martin Progne subis
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerulea
Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
Dickcissel Spiza americana
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
Hooded Oriole Icterus cucullatus
Bullock's Oriole Icterus bullockii
Audubon's Oriole Icterus graduacauda
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
64 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
Other related posts:
- » [texbirds] Puerto Rico Route & Hargill Playa (longish)
