Here comes the RGVBF! Wishing them a successful event starting next Wednesday! . * Texas * Lower Rio Grande Valley * October 30, 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: The Salineno feedingstation reopens to birders this Saturday November 1. Be sure to thank Lois and Merle (and Jake)when you see them for their hard work in preparing the site and settingup! Audubonâs and Altamira Orioles arealready coming in to the feeding station. . NOTE: A local researcher islooking for territorial Harrisâs Hawks. If you regularly see Harrisâs Hawks on territory or you locate a nest,please contact Bill Clark at raptours AT earthlink.net. . NOTE: Feeding has re-started forthe winter at Bentsen and Estero. Thebirds are starting to come in for the food, but natural food sources are stillgenerally plentiful. . NOTE: State Park are changingover to winter hours in October (Bentsen, Resaca) and November 1 (Estero). In summer hours, offices and shops closedearly in the week, though the parks are OPEN â please use the âiron rangerâ toself register each day (even if you have a state park pass). See specific listings below underBentsen-Rio Grande Valley, Estero Llano Grande, and Resaca de la Palma. ______________________________________________________________ Fall migration continues withhigh numbers of Turkey Vultures and winter arrivals. . Our rare bird alert this week includes: . +BROWN BOOBY +RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD Hook-billed Kite Sabineâs Gull Selasphorous hummingbird Tropical Parula Mangrove [Yellow] Warbler Painted Redstart . 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. . The October 25 pelagic had calm seas and excellentbirding including a +RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD and a +BROWN BOOBY welloffshore. An Audubonâs Shearwater wasdistant, but excellent views were had of Magnificent Frigatebird, Bridled Ternand Masked Booby. As the trip returnedto South Padre Island, an immature Sabineâs Gull (second county record) wasseen by a few leaders. Intrepidobservers were able to go out the jetty before dusk and relocate this stunninggull. On October 26 the Sabineâs Gulland a different +BROWN BOOBY from the one on the pelagic were seen from the BocaChica jetty (the south side of the inlet) but not relocated on October 27. . A Swainsonâs Warbler was photographed at the SPIConvention Center on 10/26 for the latest documented fall record. . 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. . A Tropical Parula continues at Quinta Mazatlan through10/28. The bird is singing heartily andhas been found mostly in the eastern portion of the property. . At Anzalduas County Park, both Hook-billed Kite (10/29)and Zone-tailed Hawk (10/27) were reported this week. Gray Hawk is a regularspecies at this location. . Nearby at Bentsen, perhaps the same Zone-tailed Hawk asat Anzalduas was photographed over the park on Sunday 10/26. . EXTRALIMITAL REPORTS . The Painted Redstart returned to the Brooks County RestArea on US 281 south of Falfurrias on Saturday 9/20 and continues to 10/30. A Painted Redstart wintered at this site lastyear. . 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, along with reliable Tropical Parulas(Norias Division only). This is the onlybreeding site for Tropical Parula in the LRGV most years. Contact 361-592-8055 or visit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx for moreinformation. Tours are over (with theexception of the RGVBF) until spring 2015. The only tours that have a chance to find the owl are birding tours tothe Norias Division. Historic tours andbirding tours to Santa Gertrudis Division will not be able to find the owl asit does not occur near Kingsville. . This spring and summer a pair of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl withchicks entertained birders at San Miguelito Ranch (fee site), contact Letty at956-369-3118 or Buny55@xxxxxxx. Otherprivate ranches are no longer open to birders or do not have accessiblepygmy-owls. This owl is very difficultto find at any other location at present and has not been seen or heard atBentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park since the summer of 2010, when the parkwas 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. UPDATE! Bentsen-RGV State Park, open daily, first tram at 8:30AM. Camp Thicket (formerly Methodist Camp Thicket), Weslaco,group reservations (fee) only. ContactEstero Llano Grande State Park. Edinburg Scenic Wetlands World Birding Center, buildingand grounds closed on Sundays. UPDATE! Estero Llano Grande State Park, open daily; building/storeopen daily. 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 Nature Center â OPEN Saturdays from 8-12 noon (andSunday?) Call 956-681-3333 forinformation. Camp Thicket, Weslaco, group reservations (fee) only. Contact Estero Llano Grande StatePark. Quinta Mazatlan, McAllen, closed Sundays and Mondays. Open on Thursdays to dark. Resaca de la Palma State Park, open daily; building/storeclosed/no trams Monday-Tuesday, grounds open (self-pay station). Salineno âfeeding station is CLOSED until November. Santa Ana NWR- closed to bicycles Valley Nature Center, Weslaco, closed Sunday mornings andMondays Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas 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