[texbirds] VNC Trip up Wallace Road

From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:41:58 -0400 (EDT)
Hi, all!
 
This morning's trip up Wallace Road in western Hidalgo County was  
surprisingly productive; although I have no decent pictures to share, the big  
highlight was a wave of thousands of Turkey Vultures, hundreds of Broad-winged  
Hawks, and several Swainson's Hawks that washed overhead for close to a half  
hour!  Raptors were in good force, as we had a White-tailed Hawk pulling  
out of the Flying J and then later near an irrigation structure, and a 
Peregrine  catching a pigeon breakfast before our very eyes!  At the only place 
with  any water a couple of Merlins flew by, and one stopped long enough for 
us to get  the scope on him!  A Caracara was sitting in a field and we had a 
couple of  Redtails, but MJ took the cake by spotting a roosting Great 
Horned Owl!  A  Turkey crossed the road in front of us as well.  We hiked a 
little bit of  the trail within the actually NWR and had some titmice, Olive 
Sparrows,  gnatcatchers, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a small flock of Green Jays, 
and some  singing Cardinals.  At the Merlin pond we also had a few ducks, 
coots, a  gallinule, and a Least Grebe for sure, and possibly a Pied-billed as 
well (some  Chachalacas made a ruckus in the same area).  A Verdin gave good 
views  where we had the impromptu "hawk watch", and a Pyrrhuloxia chattered 
in the same  vicinity.
 
The Alamo Contingent went on to Laguna Seca Road, so maybe one of those  
gals will report on that portion (the Harlingen Branch decided to do a 
Grosbeak  Chase to Bentsen ;-))!  MJ and I went home via North Bryan, where we 
picked  up a hovering White-tailed Kite and a fly-by Barn Swallow for the 
morning.
 
Bird List:
 
  Mottled  Duck                           Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged  Teal                       Anas discors
Northern  Shoveler                      Anas clypeata
Plain  Chachalaca                       Ortalis vetula
Wild  Turkey                            Meleagris gallopavo
Least  Grebe                            Tachybaptus dominicus
  Pied-billed Grebe (Pat only)
Black  Vulture                          Coragyps atratus
Turkey  Vulture                         Cathartes aura
White-tailed  Kite                      Elanus leucurus
Northern  Harrier                       Circus cyaneus
White-tailed  Hawk                      Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Broad-winged  Hawk                      Buteo platypterus
Swainson's  Hawk                        Buteo swainsoni
Red-tailed  Hawk                        Buteo jamaicensis
Common  Gallinule                       Gallinula galeata
American  Coot                          Fulica americana
Killdeer                               Charadrius vociferus
Rock  Pigeon                            Columba livia
Mourning  Dove                          Zenaida macroura
Common  Ground-Dove                     Columbina passerina
White-tipped  Dove                      Leptotila verreauxi
Great Horned  Owl                       Bubo virginianus
Golden-fronted  Woodpecker              Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed  Woodpecker               Picoides scalaris
Crested  Caracara                       Caracara cheriway
Merlin                                 Falco columbarius
Peregrine  Falcon                       Falco peregrinus
Great  Kiskadee                         Pitangus sulphuratus
Couch's  Kingbird                       Tyrannus couchii
Scissor-tailed  Flycatcher              Tyrannus forficatus
White-eyed  Vireo                       Vireo griseus
Green  Jay                              Cyanocorax yncas
Horned  Lark                            Eremophila alpestris
Tree  Swallow                           Tachycineta bicolor
Barn  Swallow                           Hirundo rustica
Black-crested  Titmouse                 Baeolophus atricristatus
Verdin                                 Auriparus flaviceps
House  Wren                             Troglodytes aedon
Bewick's  Wren                          Thryomanes bewickii
Blue-gray  Gnatcatcher                  Polioptila caerulea
Ruby-crowned  Kinglet                   Regulus calendula
Northern  Mockingbird                   Mimus polyglottos
Long-billed  Thrasher                   Toxostoma longirostre
European  Starling                      Sturnus vulgaris
Orange-crowned  Warbler                 Oreothlypis celata
Common  Yellowthroat                    Geothlypis trichas
Olive  Sparrow                          Arremonops rufivirgatus
Lark  Sparrow                           Chondestes grammacus
Savannah  Sparrow                       Passerculus sandwichensis
Lincoln's  Sparrow                      Melospiza lincolnii
Northern  Cardinal                      Cardinalis cardinalis
Pyrrhuloxia                            Cardinalis sinuatus
Red-winged  Blackbird                   Agelaius phoeniceus
Great-tailed  Grackle                   Quiscalus mexicanus
Brown-headed  Cowbird                   Molothrus ater
  Lesser Goldfinch (MJ only)
House  Sparrow                          Passer domesticus
58 SPECIES

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 



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[texbirds] VNC Trip up Wallace Road

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