[texbirds] exciting shorebirding (Cameron Co., incl. SPI) Monday (07/23/12)
- From: "Rex Stanford" <calidris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TEXBIRDS" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 23:37:18 -0500
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Today (Monday 07/23/12) we birded three area in Cameron Co.: Resaca on south
side of Hwy. 510/Ted Hunt Rd intersection (henceforth, "RESACA on 510");
Port Isabel Reservoir (west side of Holly Beach Road immediately northwest
of Laguna Vista (henceforth "PI RESERVOIR"); and the bayside (i.e., Laguna
Madre) beach northwest of the South Padre Island Convention Center
(henceforth, "SPI BAYSIDE BEACH"). They were visited in that order today,
but we spent hours at the latter location. It today was teeming with
shorebirds, and they were easy to see because the sandy beach there was in
excellent condition for driving, which afforded satisfying scope views of
the birds at a respectable distance sufficient that no birds were flushed by
our presence on the beach. Viewing from north of the birds, we could study
them without the sun glaring to our eyes, which too often has been our fate
on afternoon visits during which we had to view from back of the Convention
Center due to tidal water on the beach. One of our primary objectives was to
find our first Red Knot(s) of the season and to follow up on Bob Becker's
recent exciting report on shorebirds at SPI. Our remarks will be confined
largely to just shorebird species, except at SPI, for which we will mention
the terns found there.
RESACA on 510: BLACK-NECKED STILT (1); GREATER YELLOWLEGS (1), LESSER
YELLOWLEGS (2), SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER (5), WESTERN SANDPIPER (3), and STILT
SANDPIPER (1). These all were on the south side of Hwy.510. The water there
was very limited due to the drought. (The north side portion of the resaca
was dry.)
PI RESERVOIR: SNOWY PLOVER (2), WILSON'S PLOVER (10-12, hard to count
precisely because this species very actively moves about), SEMIPALMATED
SANDPIPER (7), WESTERN SANDPIPER (2), and WILSON'S PHALAROPE (1, probably a
non-breeder male, due to its nearly non-chromatic plumage). These birds
around the effluent outlet into the reservoir were viewed only from the
northwest corner of the fence around the waste-water treatment facility, so
additional shorebirds might have been present but missed. We were eager to
head on to SPI.
SPI BAYSIDE BEACH: It did not take long, viewing from behind the Convention
Center, to realized that (a) the beach northwest of there was teeming with
shorebirds and (b) that the beach there was in superb condition for driving
onto it for a closer study of the birds without having to stare directly
into the afternoon sun. Here we found all the expected plovers for this
season, namely, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (1); SNOWY PLOVER (6-8, difficult to
count reliably because they were dashing about at ferocious speeds in
pursuit of prey); WILSON'S PLOVER (est .12, same problem as with Snowy
Plover relative to reliable count); SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (2, after a long
search for this species, which was hard to find); and PIPING PLOVER (est.
12-14, a plump, relatively rotund species, often easy to pick out by its
rounder shape relative to other ringed plovers, but always, today, confirmed
by additional features). It was fun to be able find all the ringed plovers
to be expected here at this season. The other shorebirds at this site were:
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER (1, toward the north end of this area of beach, a
location it often seems to favor); BLACK-NECKED STILT (1, listed here, but
actually seen in a pool east of the north end of the boardwalk from the
Convention Center); WILLET (est. 20-24, widespread; possibly more);
LONG-BILLED CURLEW (1); RUDDY TURNSTONE (est. 30-34, but difficult to count
due to constant activity and widely dispersed locations); RED KNOT (7,
usually in groups of 2-5, none in bright breeding plumage); SEMIPALMATED
SANDPIPER (5-6, at least, probably underestimate); WESTERN SANDPIPER (3, at
least ); LEAST SANDPIPER (est. 60, too many and widespread to count
precisely); SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER (25-30, at least, all appearing to be of
the hendersoni subspecies, as evidenced by some reddish color on the entire
underside, combined with other ID characteristics); LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER
(est. 12-15, probably conservative). As for birds in the tern grouping, we
found LEAST TERN (60-65, at the very least--no puns intended--there were
gobs, including many first-summer birds); ROYAL TERN (est. 45-50); SANDWICH
TERN (8, at least); and BLACK SKIMMER (1).
TOTAL SHOREBIRD SPECIES (for the day) = 20. Our personal "Bird of the Day"
citation goes to Red Knot.
Many Purple Martins graced the air at SPI.
Wishing everyone the very best of fall-migrating birding,
Rex and Birgit Stanford
McAllen, TX
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