[texbirds] Santa Monica Wetlands (Willacy Co.)
- From: "Mary Beth Stowe" <mbstowe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 17:44:56 -0600
Hi, all!
Windy and somewhat overcast day today, but birded the route from Willamar
south to Zinnia, then over to Citation and the NWR tract, Old Alice Road,
the levee, and then over to Primrose. Nothing out of the ordinary, but
Caracaras were out the yin yang, with several giving good photo ops from the
levee. Had a few distant Sandhill Crane and a single flyover White-fronted
Goose, along with a couple of White Pelicans that were new for my route
list. (So was the Rock Pigeon that provided comedy relief by seemingly
enjoying a "ride" on one of those oil pumps. J) Up on the levee, "the"
wetlands actually had water in them (along with a few flooded fields here
and there) that had Avocets, Shovelers, Pintail, and Gadwall along with
Coots and Mottled Ducks. A young White-tailed Hawk tried to do a balancing
act on one of the telephone wires, and the Altamira Oriole came through with
a few whistles along Wildlife Drive. No falcons or Mountain Plovers along
Primrose and Mesquite (which was very drivable this time, unlike the last
time I was out there), but a pair of Sprague's Pipits "attacked" me before
dropping down into the grass, peeking up for a second, and then disappearing
forever!
Photos are here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2014%20Field%20Trips/December/Santa%
20Monica%20Wetlands.html
.or here:
http://tinyurl.com/lkkp8go
Bird List:
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
Gadwall Anas strepera
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Northern Pintail Anas acuta
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
American Coot Fulica americana
Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis
American Avocet Recurvirostra americana
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Cave Swallow Petrochelidon fulva
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Sprague's Pipit Anthus spragueii
Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
56 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
miriameaglemon.com
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