Texas 17 - Day 8

The morning was spent checking out a few sites that had recently reported Wood Stork. No luck at any of them but the trip down Cannon Road was great. We saw around 50 soaring White Pelicans...

Awesome birds with a 9 foot wing span!!! Even they can look diminutive in a Texas sky. I managed a record shot of a superb White-tailed Kite through the windscreen before it flew...

We then headed for the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands for lunch and a relaxed afternoon. The main quarry here being...Kingfishers.

Belted is common but Green is only found in southern Texas and Arizona while Ringed is exclusive to Texas. I was hoping to see all three here. We made our way to the North pond overlook which gave us a great view over the water. I bumped into another birder who told me a bit about the reserve. Nice chap...spoke like James Stewart!

We then both heard a loud clicking noise. We looked up and there high n a dead tree was a Ringed Kingfisher!

We moved carefully along the track and obtained better views...

I thought Belted was big until I saw this (16in)! By far and away my best view of this species. It was present all afternoon giving great views perched...

Male

and in flight. There was a small pool behind the viewpoint and the chap said that the Green would almost certainly visit it at sometime. I decided to sit in the cover and wait. It paid off...

Female

Pleased how this came out as the bird was in deep shade. It was great to spend quality time with these two superb special species. I reckon I saw at least four Green.

As the afternoon wore on Snowy egrets began to appear in numbers to roost around the pond. One came over to see us...

I estimated c400 by the time we left...

However before they arrived we spotted a single bird which was obviously snagged in a tree...maybe fishing line. Not a nice sight. It was fighting to free itself but failing. It had probably been there since its last roost...at least!

Friends trying to help

We informed the staff and they went straight away to try and free it. Full marks. After around 20 minutes they succeeded in freeing the hapless bird...

Felt good.

Full roost...

A distant Osprey over a sports field was a nice finish...

Trip list 100

Stay tuned...

Texas 17 - Day 7

Wednesday started with a drive down to Brownsville dump! Another good time for the boss. She drove me (via Starbucks of course) to the entrance. A line of cars was present but it wasn’t clear if they were workers or birders vehicles. It was 85F and not a soul in sight. I’d decided to come here because a Wood Stork had been reported yesterday…as well as the TAMAULIPAS CROWS that had been present for a few days. Ironically I’ve seen this species many moons ago at the same location! So I was trying to see the “lesser” species.
 
While we were in Starbucks I’d checked the info’ sources on-line and discovered I’d missed a sighting of a Long-tailed Duck at Kaufer-Hubert Memorial Park east of Riviera, which was a couple of hours drive. I decided to abort the Brownsville twitch and head North. The 77 is yet another dead straight, open dual carriageway, so we made good time arriving at the park at 1 for our traditional Subway lunch. I watched the poles for a White-tailed Hawk…and found one...

Yet another beautiful Texas bird only found along the southern coastal strip in the US. Another stunner seen was the exquisite Scissor-tailed Flycatcher...

We arrived at the park on time and had lunch. I then walked to the pond and started to scan the wildfowl. An interesting mix of feral and wild. No joy after 15 minutes. LTD can be an obsessive diver so I wasn’t disheartened…yet. It was present yesterday? More searching. Bingo…
 

Distant at first through the heat haze



Then closer

A stretch

Close by

An excellent Texas tick (465) which could so easily have been overlooked.

On the way back we detoured via Delta Lake, another site were Wood Stork had been reported recently. I couldn’t dig one out but my scanning was brief as I was being eaten by mosquitoes! Thousands of Grackles and Turkey Vultures were present. Plenty of ducks as well!

Trip list 94

 

A relaxing day. Stay tuned…

Texas 17 -Day 5/6

Time to slooooooooooow down!

We're now settled in the Birding paradise that is the Rio Grande Valley. On reflection I bit off more than we could chew regarding distances. Louise did mention it!




Everything is on the up now...well nearly. I FINALLY managed to connect with my suitcase at McAllen airport. I like my orange Columbia shirt but this was pushing it a bit.

Anyway...the birds.

Sunday morning along the west side of the Davis Mnts has to be one of my best Birding experiences...period. Activity from dawn right through till 11am in golden grassland...

The boss having a stretch

I must have seen double figure Northern Harriers including at least 6 around the iconic rail crossing...

Things got even better when  spotted a raptor that looked different on a telegraph pole...

Prairie Falcon

My best view by a country mile. A stunning bird. We retraced our route a few times in the hope of another Golden Eagle sighting. I think I can safely say we were successful...

Unfortunately the bird was into the sun but the whole experience was magical. A Golden Eagle sat low in a bush some 50 yds away!!!

Then it was gone into the heat haze...

After lunch n Fort Davis we headed for the I10 via Lake Balmorhea. The Clarke's Grebes were there in force...

I also managed a couple of Western in a brief scan before dusk. It was then time for the long drive to Kerrville.

Monday was a travel day to Mission with no Birding done. I did see a few things on the way and a brief rest stop added Crested Caracara to the trip list...

Today (Tuesday) after hopefully ending the teething problems we spent the afternoon at Estero Llano Grande. An enjoyable and relaxing three hours were spent around the viewing platform and tropical zone were I managed to connect with the Tropical Parula...

I'd tried to get a view of an Altamira Oriole many times on my last visit and all I managed was a couple of distant brief views. Today one landed in a dead tree right above my head as I watched the TP...

Trip total...83

Brownsville dump tomorrow! Louise can't wait.

Stay tuned...

Texas 17 - Day 4

I'm writing this...the morning after our long drive back east from Van Horn. We arrived at Kerrville around 10pm last night (Sunday)...

Our day in the Davis Mountains started with a drive south down 90 after a 6am breakfast. Hundreds and I mean hundreds of "Ravens" were active enjoying the 40F in the half-light. The road was straight...as usual!

As we passed Valentine the sun was threatening to appear. A few Swainson's Hawks were surveying the scene from the telegraph posts. Not a car in sight for miles. Then another shape on a post. Looks "bigger"? U-turn!

I pulled over on the opposite side of the road.  had a good feeling about this one...especially when the bird took of revealing its enormous wing-span...a pre-dawn flight of a GOLDEN EAGLE...



TEXAS 464

ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS!!!!!!!!!!

Note:? This report will have to wait till later now as I'm still having issues with receiving my suitcase...after 6 days! Just found out it's not going to be delivered today!!

Who cares though. I'm birding TEXAS!

Stay tuned...

Texas 17 - Day 3

Today didn't go as planned so it will be a truncated report.

A late eBird report of Red Crossbills in Van Horn Cemetery (granted on Monday) had me there at dawn. No luck but it woke me up.

The idea after breakfast was to return to the Guadalupe Mnts to visit the beautiful McKittrick Canyon. The approach road is spectacular...

I hadn't keyed in the Saturday factor plus the high demand to see the fall colour. Hence the car park was full and we were refused entry by the park rangers!

Disappointing. Must have used up my luck yesterday. No complaints and very happy with my tally. We'll just have to return another time.

We returned the 60 miles to Van Horn for plan B. Trouble is I didn't really have one due to the distances involved. We had lunch in the park and I birded while Louise read. A Cooper's Hawk was my only bird of note. Gambel's Quail had been reported on eBird which would have been great...but it wasn't to be. It was 80 plus now so we headed back to the Mountains on 54 some 15 miles were I scanned for a Golden Eagle for the rest of the afternoon. Again no joy but I added a smart Black-throated Sparrow to my trip list.

Tomorrow we're heading for the wonderful Davis Mountains for a full day before heading east again to Kerrville on our way to the Rio Grande Valley.

Trip total 42

Apologies for the dodgy display yesterday. Think I cut instead of copied!?

Stay tuned...

Texas 17 - Day 2

The whole day was spent in the Guadalupe Mnts area. Very impressed...

 

 

I decided to start near Dell City for Sage birds, namely Sparrow and Thrasher in a truly amazing desert landscape. Unfortunately we couldn’t see much of it !

 

 

The temperature was 38F. We waited until 9am for it to clear. It didn’t, so we headed for the Park itself.

 

We pulled in at the Pine Springs visitor centre and collected the park map. As we were leaving Louise spotted a couple of Scaled Quail which quickly disappeared before I could take their picture. First stop was Frijole Ranch. A lovely spot with some impressive oaks which the Acorn Woodpeckers were loving…

 

 

Dexterity

What a great bird!

Also present were the Jays. The Steller’s is a dandy…

 

 

Two west Texas specialities. The rich blue is simply stunning…it was sunny here! The temperature climbed and the rest of the day was spent at a pleasant sunny 70F. Apologies to everyone back home!!

After a chat with two very friendly volunteers who gave me some great bird info’ we headed for Manzanita Spring in the hope that I would finally get my ABA RED  CROSSBILL. One of the volunteers had sneaked ahead and had his scope trained on some conifers. I reckon he’d gone ahead to try and help me. I like to find my own but in this case I couldn’t really refuse when he exclaimed I’ve got some Crossbills in the ‘scope!!! There you go…after 17 years I’d finally got my only remaining Code 1 bird and in Texas to boot (ABA 685, Texas 464).

We spent the next two hours in the immediate area before returning to the car park for lunch. I returned after we’d eaten, leaving Louise to read. I had great if brief views of Cassin’s Finches, (Texas 465) another Texas tick. I also saw two cracking Northern Harriers which came in the bathe at the spring...

 

 

as well as a Cedar Waxwing…

 

 

Other birds included Yellow-rumped Warbler, Hermit Thrush, Curve-billed Thrasher and Northern Flicker…

 

 

It was 3pm now and I decided to return to the Dell City area to try for the Sage birds. It took an hour to reach the area but we eventually found the road out onto the salt pan. The sage was well spread and viewing was good. Various groups of birds were seen perched at different distances. The Sagebrush Sparrow was my number 1 target…and eventually…I found it...Texas (466)...

REALLY chuffed to finally see this species in Texas. I've put a lot of time in over the years.

 

Then some 20 minutes later I had a brief but conclusive view of a Sage Thrasher (Texas 467) A very successful day.

The other highlight…for both of us, was a double figure count of Roadrunners…

We’ll be back again tomorrow…

Trip count - no idea. Too tired!

 

Stay tuned…

 

 

 

Texas 17 - Day 1

Well, we’ve arrived. 26 hours of travel from Manchester via Amsterdam to Houston. A hectic drive through the city down to New Braunfels on the outskirts of San Antonio. Phew! Oh and my case didn’t make it!!

ALWAYS worth it though.

We managed to get to Lorna’s house by 8pm. It was great to see her again. We sorted out the details for her place in the RGV that we’re renting. We convinced her to go out for a “cold one” as she put it. Clyde inevitably came up in conversation. I said I’d be struggling to make it for dawn after the journey. We said our goodbyes and headed for the Best Western. Lights out for 10.

I awoke at 4am! The joys of jet lag. I managed to doze till 6 then crept out to return to Lorna’s for 6.30. She’d kindly left the gate open for me and I joined her on the rear porch. She had to leave for work at 7 but said I could stay as long as I wanted. It was cool by Texas standards (50F) and there was very little avian activity. The first bird I noticed was a cracking Carolina Wren. A slightly larger bird than “ours”.

Four Egyptian Geese flew over heading towards the river. No sign of any Hummers although Lorna said she’d “heard him”! She wished us well for the trip and left for San Antonio. I’d decided to give it till 8 before returning the short distance back to the Motel for breakfast with Louise...

There were three feeders strategically placed around her garden, two near the porch and one by the shed. Still no show by 7.45. Then I caught sight of a Hummingbird. It looked quite “big”? It was the Rufous…high in the trees...

I moved over in stealth-like manner?...and managed an image...

Add caption

It looked like I was going to miss out on Clyde though. Oh no I wasn’t…7.58…out of nowhere…he was there on the feeder…

Clyde...male Calliope Hummingbird...through the twilight

A wonderfully nostalgic moment for me and a great start to the trip. It was great to see the little guy again...back for his FOURTH year! Really pleased for Lorna.

After breakfast we set off for a long drive to Van Horn...

...in preparation for a full day in the Guadalupe Mnts N.P. Targets being:-

Golden Eagle

Sage Thrasher

Sagebrush Sparrow

Cassin's Finch

RED CROSSBILL

Species count 12!

Stay tuned...

p.s. They've found my case!

TEXAS 17

Well, it's nearly time.

Last minute prep' today then over to the Mother's tomorrow afternoon. My eldest is coming to stay and look after the house. The plan, as usual, is fluid. The main objective...to have a great time...and maybe add a species or two to my lists. ABA and Texas...or both!

As I've said before...and will no doubt say again, personal accounts are just that, whether on Facebook, Twitter, Blogs or whatever. Some find them interesting...some don't!

I've found this Autumn boring frankly. Maybe a consequence of age and diminishing returns...and crap weather! I like to think I've tried hard (and will continue to do so) but the birds just haven't materialised. I add the caveat that I was VERY pleased to add AMUR FALCON and AMERICAN REDSTART to my British List. Two crackers there!!

My targets are difficult...that's why I haven't seen them...lol! They're also distributed far and wide throughout this vast State in a variety of habitats. So what are they?  know your dying to find out!

Tundra Swan
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Greater Prairie Chicken
Band-tailed Pigeon
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
American Woodcock
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope
Sabine's Gull
California Gull
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
Sooty Tern
Bridled Tern
Cory's Shearwater
Audubon's Shearwater
Wood Stork
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
NORTHERN PYGMY OWL
Short-eared Owl
Williamson's Sapsucker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN
VARIED THRUSH
Sage Thrasher
Cassin's Finch
RED CROSSBILL
Lapland Longspur
SMITH'S LONGSPUR
McCown's Longspur
Sagebrush Sparrow
Baird's Sparrow

ABA ticks in capitals.

Plenty to go at then? All have occurred in November...some more than others! Just for a bit of fun I've marked the birds I've got the best chance of seeing (with luck) in bold. Doesn't look as impressive now, does it! Time will tell.

The Seabirds and Gulls will be miracle sightings. The Wildfowl, Hummingbirds and Longspurs weather dependant. There's been an irruption of Cassin's Finches and Crossbills into the State. I may get my ABA Crossbill tick at long last in a place I wouldn't expect to!

I'll admit to and be grateful of help from eBird. Texas and Rio Grande Valley RBA's. The icing on the cake would be a MEGA appearing during the visit. It has 22 days to arrive. My choice would be either MASKED DUCK or NORTHERN JACANA. They owe me from previous visits. Any old first would do!!!

The wonderful thrushes have unfortunately disappeared (for the moment)...VARIED and RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN. As has the stunning Williamson's Sapsucker.

My Texas list stands at 463 species. Happy with that. Just nice to add a few each trip whilst we're on our travels. As it stands we'll be heading for the Panhandle first, way up North to Amarillo...cue song! Big distances in BIG country. Best to get the road trip in early before we settle in the RGV. We aim to finish off in our favourite spot...Galveston...for 4 nights.

I aim to write the usual diary of events. Maybe you'd like to follow? It'll be to have a break before I get my early Christmas present...a new knee!

Stay tuned...

Hawfinch flock!



Added Hawfinch to my York Area list this morning, it's only took me 31 years!  Birds had been recorded in good numbers nationally and Castle Howard Arboretum had to be a decent shout (Harry hindsight I know) to catch some of the unprecedented irruption, with its supply of Hornbeams.

I arrived around 10.30 and immediately saw a few familiar faces. I paid my £7 and asked the lady if  was guaranteed a sighting! I made the short walk and joined the modest admiring crowd. Most were grouped in an orderly manner BUT there were (as usual) a few commandos in the bushes. Fortunately the birds were high in the trees and distant. However, over the next 45 minutes I enjoyed stunning views of decent numbers of these superb birds though the 'scope. I shared the enjoyment with Craig Thomas, it was good to see him. We commented on the dire Autumn generally but this was a real bonus to be enjoyed. The sight of groups of this species bobbing around was something to behold. It was impossible to give an exact number but I would guess there were at least 50 birds present.

It was very dull but at least it had stopped raining.

For the record...

The trees along the road looked stunning...

A good decision...

Thrush rush

Always been one of my favourite families, ever since I used to watch male Blackbirds singing their heart out on my parents TV aerial. Great entertainment watching them bathing in the birdbath.

A constant stream inbound over the Village from the east. Nice to hear the clicking of the Fieldfares.

.............................................................................

Deep into trip planning now...

VARIED THRUSH

Look what's just landed in Texas!!!

Would be nice next week?