[texbirds] Re: Rio Grande Valley Shorebirding - Sunday August 5th
- From: "Rex Stanford" <calidris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TexBirds" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2012 19:21:11 -0500
First, thanks very much to Erik Breden for his many contributions to our
joint shorebirding trip yesterday and for his early-morning synopsis for
TEXBIRDS of that trip. We here will provide additional details on the more
productive shorebird sites visited yesterday, details that may be of special
interest to those contemplating birding the sites mentioned.
ESTERO LLANO GRANDE STATE PARK: The 11 species of shorebirds found at this
very productive locale were: KILLDEER, BLACK-NECKED STILT, LESSER
YELLOWLEGS, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER,
LEAST SANDPIPER, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, STILT SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER,
and WILSON'S PHALAROPE. All but one of those species were on Dowitcher Pond.
(The Spotted Sandpiper was found on the boardwalk of the presently dry Ibis
Pond.) Some of those species were in small numbers and somewhat hidden
amidst more abundant species. Patient searching may be needed to locate all
the species in this potentially very productive pond.
PROGRESO SOD FIELDS: The 7 species of shorebirds found there were: KILLDEER,
LESSER YELLOWLEGS, UPLAND SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, WESTERN SANDPIPER,
LEAST SANDPIPER, and PECTORAL SANDPIPER. Upland Sandpiper had been one of
our special target birds for the day, and we were delighted at the presence
of 5 of them in one of the fields to the west of the north/south dirt
traversal road. The shorebirds at this site tended to be at or very close to
well-watered areas. CAUTIONARY NOTE: When traveling the north/south dirt
traversal road, it is a good idea to proceed with considerable caution in
areas where the road runs very close to the bank of the deep irrigation
canal to its immediate west. At the top of the canal bank there occasionally
can be substantial erosion that extends dangerously into the road itself. We
saw an example of this yesterday. These deep, narrow erosion clefts
sometimes are not easy to see as one is approached. Running a wheel of one's
vehicle into such a cleft conceivably could have very undesirable
consequences, including crumbling of the cleft area and one's vehicle
sliding toward or even falling into the wide, deep ditch. Vigilance, then,
is advisable whenever the road runs very close to the canal's edge, and not
driving any closer than necessary to that edge can be useful, combined,
still, with vigilance.
WEAVER ROAD SOD FARM: The 7 species of shorebirds found there were:
KILLDEER, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, UPLAND SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, LEAST
SANDPIPER, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, and BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. The predominant
species were Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, and Least Sandpiper.
Only 1 Upland Sandpiper but at least 14 Buff-breasted Sandpipers ("buffies")
provided the most exciting finds at this site, given that these two had been
on our special target list. The Buff-breasteds seemed uncharacteristically
restless, but their nervousness was not surprising because both a
White-tailed Hawk and a Peregrine Falcon appeared, at times, over the area.
Buff-breasted Sandpipers were seen to take flight three times and leave the
area, usually flying eastward. We sometimes then checked other areas but
returned and found that this species again present. The Buff-breasted
Sandpipers' stays were never lengthy while we were there, but we did have
good looks at them both on the ground and quite close during one of their
stays.
RESACA ON RANGERVILLE ROAD (west side, just south of Jimenez Road): This
site provided 8 shorebird species, 7 of which were redundant with species
already found yesterday, but GREATER YELLOWLEGS was a new find for the day.
(Present, also, was an attractive male Redhead, presumably the same duck
whose presence at this site we had noted on 07/31/12 and reported to
TEXBIRDS on 08/01/12.)
LAS PALOMAS WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA (Jimenez Road north of Rangerville
Road; vehicular gate locked at this time): This site provided 4 shorebird
species, 3 of which were redundant with species found earlier, but AMERICAN
AVOCETS were the final addition to our shorebird finds for the day. A
non-shorebird species that quickly garnered our attention was GROOVE-BILLED
ANI (see Erik's link, which includes photos of this alluring species at this
site), 3 of which were enjoying the late afternoon in trees at the roadside
immediately east of this WMA's gate. They were a delightful finale to a very
pleasant day of birding.
Wishing everyone the best of fall-migration birding,
Rex and Birgit Stanford
McAllen, TX
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Other related posts:
