[texbirds] Sabal Palm and Brownsville

From: dbenn65010@xxxxxxx
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 11:39:29 -0400 (EDT)
Yesterday, Wed., was a pretty birdy morning at Sabal Palm Sanctuary.  With a 
couple of exceptions the numbers were low but the diversity was good.  It 
started out with Turkey Vultures and Broadwing Hawks lifting up out of the 
forest as the cool morning begin to warm.  This soon turned into hundreds of 
low flying Turkey Vultures and Broadwings streaming north with a handful of 
Swainson's Hawks and a few Black Vultures.  A high flying group of Long-billed 
Curlew wisked by followed by about 150 noisy Franklin's Gulls and a few very 
high Anhinga.  The feeding station at the old visitor's center was busy with 
all the usuals ....... Olive Sparrows, White-tipped Doves, a couple of 
spectacular Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, a pair of Catbirds, a Clay-colored 
Thrush posing in front of the streaming video camera, Green Jays, Black-crested 
Titmice and so on.  A pair of Hooded Orioles visited the orange halves (perhaps 
one of the same ones that was feeding off the hummingbird feeder hung of the 
corner of the Rabb House/new visitor's center) and were joined by a singing 
Altamira Oriole.  Buff-bellied Hummingbirds were also looking in on their 
feeders, too.  Least Grebes have a nest easily visible from the main resaca 
blind (look to the east -- it is attached to some protruding sticks out in the 
water) and the Great Horned Owl continues on her nest at the new visitor 
center.  There is a scope kept on the nest.  Just walk around to the back of 
the building to the north west corner and you can not miss it.  Please respect 
the roped off area.  A walk along the trails turned up a couple of Summer 
Tanagers, a single Baltimore Oriole, a single Indigo Bunting, a Rose-breasted 
Grosbeak, a couple of Common Yellowthroats, a dozen Snowy Egrets perched in a 
dead branch over the resaca, a few Northern Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks and 
Blue-wing Teal.  The wetland bridge area held a Yellow-breasted Chat and a 
Black-throated Gray Warbler and a Black and White Warbler.  Couch's Kingbirds 
were calling from this area as well as on the entrance road.  White-eyed Vireos 
were singing everywhere.  Other visitors reported numbers of Northern Parula 
but we managed to miss them all.  
Saturday's Groove-billed Ani was nowhere to be found.  
At home I had Hooded Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Black 
and White Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Northern Parula, and Scissor-tailed 
Flycatcher.  A Tropical Kingbird and a Couch's Kingbird were singing from 
adjacent trees.  A Green Kingfisher flew low over the resaca and a flock of 15 
or so Red-crowned Parrots circled the neighborhood.  
A clever semi-Muscovey Duck (it's provenance being mostly the feed and seed 
store, I bet) was jumbing into the air to grab low hanging mulberry branches to 
shake loose ripe fruit.  Interestingly, these feed store ducks have also eaten 
all the low hanging leaves off my avocado trees. 
David Benn
Brownsville


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[texbirds] Sabal Palm and Brownsville

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