[texbirds] VNC Trip to Laguna Atascosa
- From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 21:25:41 -0400 (EDT)
Hi, all!
Not surprisingly, we had a small crowd for the VNC trip to Laguna Atascosa
today: we had folks from Mission, Alamo, and North McAllen all descending
upon Combes to meet, and we all had to "punch the core" of this surprise
system that came up out of nowhere! Lord knows we need the rain, but what a
deluge!! Joining myself, Pat, and Marie for the first time was Steve Davis
from Mission, so the four of us piled in Bippy and headed over to the
refuge.
It was still dripping a bit by the time we got to General Brandt Road, but
had let up enough to get Marie her life Botteri's Sparrow singing on a
wire! Other highlights along this stretch included a White-tailed Kite and a
Least Bittern at the canal that only Marie saw. We stopped at the resaca
and found a small group of White-rumped Sandpipers, so that was worthwhile!
Another bare patch had a mob of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Laughing
Gulls.
We saw the monster storm heading our way, and sure enough, we drove through
the rain for the most part along the wildlife drive, but it would let up
here and there enough for us to get out and listen; had more Botteri's
Sparrows in addition to a skylarking Cassin's, and a nice pair of Spoonbills
along the Laguna Madre. One patch of water had several Dunlin and a Wilson's
Plover. We also had two nighthawks that were feeding low over the road,
almost at eye level at times: the position of the white patch on one
definitely looked like Common, but the other one had a patch that was very
close
to the tip, suggesting Lesser (and was buffy to boot); anyone know anything
about both species feeding together?? A very wet Caracara provided comedy
relief at one point, and the usual Valley fare was back at the Visitor's
Center. I was surprised by a very large Alligator along the Kiskadee Trail,
and a couple of Anis showed off as well.
Ended the morning with 79 species for the day (and the rest of the gang had
some things I didn't log...)!Photos and one recording are here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2013%20Field%20Trips/May/Laguna%20At
ascosa.html
Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi
Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
American Coot Fulica americana
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Wilson's Plover Charadrius wilsonia
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Willet Tringa semipalmata
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Least Tern Sternula antillarum
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Black Tern Chlidonias niger
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
Lesser Nighthawk Chordeiles acutipennis
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Cave Swallow Petrochelidon fulva
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Botteri's Sparrow Peucaea botterii
Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerulea
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
79 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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