What does a birding volunteer do on their day off? Go birding, of course! I
headed out to Pintail Lakes this morning to check out a report of a
possible second NORTHERN JACANA. It took me awhile to get out there because
I kept seeing great birds along the way, including a PRAIRIE FALCON that
flew right over my head while I was trying to take a photo of a LEAST
FLYCATCHER.
As it turns out, my timing was perfect. When I got out to Pintail 2, I put
my bins up to look more closely at a SNOWY EGRET (there's been an immature
Little Blue Heron out there so you have to look closely) and, lo and
behold, a Jacana was standing in front of the Snowy! A while later I caught
sight of a Jacana on the far side of the resaca and while I watched it in
the scope, a Jacana (the first one we saw, I think) flew right up close to
where we were all standing, and then flew into Pintail 3, where it still
was when I finally tore myself away.
Other refuge volunteers, Carolyn and Charlie, hustled on over to Willow
Lakes to see if they could find our "regular" jacana in its usual spot and,
yep, there he was. So, we have 3 Northern Jacanas at Santa Ana today!
Every day is different but if you want to see what there is to see, come on
over. Guided bird walks are Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Meet at
the Visitor Center at 8:30 am.
Laura Paulson
USFWS Volunteer
Santa Ana NWR (LTC 059), Hidalgo, Texas, US
Feb 10, 2016 8:10 AM - 12:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Comments: <br />Submitted from eBird Android 1.0.2
70 species (+2 other taxa)
Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) 3
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 22
American Wigeon (Anas americana) 1
Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) 9
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) 89
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 4
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 38
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 12
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 90
Green-winged Teal (American) (Anas crecca carolinensis) 2
Redhead (Aythya americana) 4
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 11
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 44
Plain Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula) 5
Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus) 6
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 12
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) 1
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) 3
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 1
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) 19
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 46
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Harris's Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) 1
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 3 screaming and interacting with
each other in the air
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) 1 heard only
Sora (Porzana carolina) 9
American Coot (Fulica americana) 91
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 56
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 1
Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa) 2 Seen at Pintail 2 simultaneously
but not together. Both were subadult but one was scoped in bad light. The
other one has splotchy red back but is almost all white underneath still,
different than the continuing bird at Willow Lakes (which was account for
by others this morning so there are 3!)
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 1
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 3
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 8
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) 44
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) 1
White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi) 2
Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis) 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) 1 Young male at my
feeder, just starting to show pink gorget feathers. Some tail feathers
appear to be coming in and overall, he looks pretty scruffy.
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris) 2
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) 1 Peregrine-sized falcon with a
long-tailed appearance and definite dark axillaries.
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (Camptostoma imberbe) 2
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) 1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 3
Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) 2
Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) 12
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) 3
Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas) 6
Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus) 2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 1
Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) 1
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 1
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) 1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) (Setophaga coronata coronata) 2
Olive Sparrow (Arremonops rufivirgatus) 2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 4
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) 3
Western/Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta/magna) 2
Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) 12
Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis) 2
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27412314
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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