Hi, all!
Today's focus was grasspipers (the report of Hudsonian Godwits at the Weaver
Road Sod Farms was timely), but we first stopped at Tiocano Lake in hopes of
bagging King Rail and Fulvous Whistling Duck. Heard plenty of the former,
but didn't see any (not that I expected to, but you never know), but what
DID come right out in the open was a Least Bittern! Bird numbers in general
were down, but had plenty of Black-necked Stilts (including some mating and
nesting), plus a target bird for Mike and Sally: several White-faced Ibis!
Both night herons flew overhead, and Sally caught sight of a Green Heron.
From there we went to the sod farms, entering from the north, where Mike
finally got a decent look (and photo) of a Horned Lark! Continuing down the
road we hit the jackpot: lots of Pectoral and Buff-breasted Sandpipers were
very close to the road, along with several American Golden Plovers! Some
Baird's Sandpipers were further out, along with some dowitchers we were
trying hard to turn into Hudwits. ;-) Ran into Michael Delasantro and his
friend, plus another carload of birders, so word had gotten out, but no
Hudwits were to be found. We headed straight on the dirt road to US 281,
picking up a few woodland birds going through the NWR tract, but in the
plowed field before the highway eagle-eyed Sally spotted several Upland
Sandpipers!
From there we swung up to the "Rangerville Resaca" where there were more
dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers, but Sally spotted some "lovely waders" she
didn't recognize - they were the coveted Wilson's Phalaropes! And what
views fairly close to the road! In the WMA Resaca we picked up Ruddy Duck
and Least Grebes for the day. On the way out we had three more Uppies right
by the road!
We hit the Subway again, then headed for Boca Chica, where we planned to go
straight to the beach but were waylaid by a couple of white morph Reddish
Egrets in the lagoon, along with tons of other shorebirds, including Avocet,
Dunlin, and Semipalmated Sandpiper for the day. On the beach Mike got great
photo ops of turnstones, Sanderlings, and Least Terns, but the real prize
was a "smart" (as the Brits would say :)) Piping Plover! On the way out we
had a nice Black-bellied as well.
Called it quits after that, with 89 species for the day. Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis
Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
Green Heron
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni
King Rail Rallus elegans
Sora Porzana carolina
Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
American Coot Fulica americana
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
American Avocet Recurvirostra americana
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
Piping Plover Charadrius melodus
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Willet Tringa semipalmata
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
Sanderling Calidris alba
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Least Tern Sternula antillarum
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Inca Dove Columbina inca
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Purple Martin Progne subis
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Dickcissel Spiza americana
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Hooded Oriole Icterus cucullatus
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
89 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
Alamo, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com <http://www.miriameaglemon.com>
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