[texbirds] RBA - Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley - April 17, 2014

From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds@xxxxxxx>
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:17:36 -0400 (EDT)
. 
* Texas 
* Lower Rio Grande Valley
* April 17, 2014
.
To report rare birds, e-mail rgvbirds AT hotmail.com(preferred) or call 
(956)584-2731 option 3.
.
Updates can be seen on the web athttp://rgvbirds.blogspot.com
. 
Capitalized birds marked with a + are Review Species forTexas. Please send 
sightings/photographs to the Texas Bird Records Committee:ecarpeATgmail.com.  
_____________________________________________________________
NOTE: McAllen Botanical Gardensâ open Saturday mornings ONLY from 8-12. This 
site had been closed to the public for some time, letâs gobirding!  Find it 
on the south side ofBusiness 83 between Ware and Bentsen Rds. 
.
NOTE: The Bayside Drive at Laguna Atascosa is closed toprivate vehicles to 
protect ocelots.  This area is covered by refuge tours.  All other portions of 
Laguna are OPEN asnormal!  Private vehicles can driveto Osprey Overlook, and 
there are 50 miles of hiking and biking trails.  
______________________________________________________________
.
Franklinâs Gulls are movingnorth along the Laguna Madre, and raptors are 
streaming by across thevalley.  A nice variety of land birds andgrasspipers are 
still migrating as well. The first Cerulean Warbler arrived onSPI, along with 
the first Canada.  
.
Olive Sparrows and NorthernCardinals have fledged young; Elf Owls and Great 
Kiskadees are incubating, andAltamira Orioles are nest building.  
.
Our rare bird alert this week includes: 
.
Common Black-Hawk 
Red-headed Woodpecker 
Mangrove [Yellow] Warbler 
Townsendâs Warbler 
Lark Bunting
.
This is a general reminder that playing recordings is notallowed in Texas State 
Parks, federal properties, nor in many LRGV birdingsites. All State Park and 
National Wildlife Refuge visitors must stay ontrails. Thank you for not 
disturbing the wildlife or damaging the vegetation. 
.
The Valley from east to west.   
.
Warbler migration continues with small fall outs ofmigrants moving north into 
severe weather and grounding out on the coast.  Migrants arrive exhausted (if 
they arrive atall) and require water and rest to recover. If they have been 
burning fat reserves to reach shore on a north wind,fresh water can be more 
critical to their survival than food.  
. 
At South Padre Island, a Red-headed Woodpecker was agreat find on Sheepshead on 
4/15.  It hasbeen traveling around the island, arriving at the Convention 
Center today(4/17).   A Townsendâs Warbler has been present at theConvention 
Center since 4/11.  
.
Mangrove Warbler, a well-marked subspecies of YellowWarbler that may be 
distinct enough to warrant full species status, can be seenby contacting the 
Sealife Center at (956) 299-1957.  
.
Black Phoebes are at the UTB campus and Hugh RamseyNature Park. They are 
restricted in range in Cameron County.  
.
A Common Black-Hawk was well photographed at the SantaAna NWR Hawk Watch on 
4/3.  No additionalreports. 
.
PARROT REPORT
Red-crowned Parrots are sometimes seen in the areas ofQuinta Mazatlan in 
McAllen, Valley Nature Center in Weslaco in the evening,Calvary Baptist Church 
in Harlingen (1815 N 7th Street). Brownsvilleâs OliveiraPark (Los Ebanos 
Road/El Paso Road across from Pace High School) hasRed-crowned Parrots as well, 
mingling at dusk with escaped Yellow-headed,White-fronted, Lilac-crowned and 
Red-lored Parrots. Red-crowned Parrots andGreen Parakeets are seen in urban 
areas irregularly all over the Valley.
.
Green Parakeets can be seen staging in McAllen near 10thand Dove in the evening 
(at the Loewâs fountain on warm evenings), sometimeswinging a few blocks over 
to Nolana x McColl. Watch for a couple of MitredParakeets that sometimes mingle 
with them. There is another staging area in Mission on the north expressway.  
.
In Hidalgo, at 5th and Gardenia near the HidalgoPumphouse World Birding Center, 
a few Monk Parakeets have taken up residencebuilding nests on telephone poles, 
keeping company with an escaped Rose-ringedParakeet. These birds have been 
present since winter 2010.  
.
WHITE-COLLARED SEEDEATER INFORMATION - Most sites forWhite-collared Seedeaters 
are in Zapata and Webb counties. Information isprovided as a service to 
visiting birders. Sites to check include the SanYgnacio County Park/Seedeater 
Sanctuary at the foot of Washington Street in SanYgnacio, the Raptor Trail at 
the west end of San Ygnacio, the library pond inZapata, and Laredo's Las Palmas 
Trail, North Central and Father McNaboe Park.  Access to La Laja Ranch, also a 
Seedeatersite, is by advance reservations only. E-mail the owner at 
Edward.herbst ATatt.net. This is a fee site. White-collared Seedeaters are 
singing in mid-April to May, which makesthem muck easier to locate!  
. 
Updated FERRUGINOUS PYGMY-OWL INFORMATION - FerruginousPygmy-Owls are present 
on the King Ranch (Norias Division only).  Recent reports include a pair from 
SanMiguelito Ranch (fee site), contact Letty at 956-369-3118 or Buny55@xxxxxxx. 
 Other private ranches are no longer open tobirders or do not have accessible 
pygmy-owls. This owl is very difficult to find at any other location at present 
andhas not been seen or heard at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park since 
thesummer of 2010, when the park was inundated by the Rio Grande. 
.
Seehttp://rgvbirds.blogspot.com/p/ferruginous-pygmy-owl-sites.html for 
moreinformation. 
.
Directions are provided only for sites not included inthe ABA Birders' Guide to 
the Rio Grande Valley or the Birders' Guide to theTexas Coast. These guides are 
indispensable for visiting birders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Site Closures: 
 
Allen Williams Wildscape, Pharr, open by appointmentONLY; Call or text 
956-460-9864. 
 
Bentsen-RGV State Park, open 7 days until June; firsttram at 8:30 AM. 
 
Edinburg Scenic Wetlands World Birding Center, buildingand grounds closed on 
Sundays. 
 
Estero Llano Grande State Park, building/store open 7days.  
 
Frontera Audubon Thicket, Weslaco, closed Sunday morningsand all day Mondays 
except by appointment; open Tues-Sat. 
 
Laguna Atascosa NWR â Bayside Drive closed to privatevehicles to protect 
ocelots. 
 
Los Ebanos Preserve, San Benito, Appointment ONLY;956-241-2494. 
 
McAllen Botanical Garden â OPEN Saturdays from 8-12 noon.
 
Methodist Camp Thicket, Weslaco, group reservations (fee)only. Contact Estero 
LlanoGrande State Park. 
 
Quinta Mazatlan, McAllen, closed Sundays and Mondays. 
 
Resaca de la Palma State Park, building/store closed/notrams Monday-Wednesday 
starting June 1, grounds open (self-pay station).  
 
Salineno âfeeding station is open, porta-potty inplace!  CLOSING MARCH 23.  
 
Santa Ana NWR- closed to bicycles 
 
Valley Nature Center, Weslaco, closed Sunday mornings andMondays


Mary Gustafson
Mission, Texas

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[texbirds] RBA - Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley - April 17, 2014

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