Texas

What a trip! Twelve of us, Eleanor Campbell, Marshall Esty, Dwayne Fink, Doris Hill, Maryann Hovan, Chuck Kangas, Gisela Kluwin, Tom Lazzelle, Jane McNeill, Betty Roberts and George & Maria Wall, traveled to the Texas Rio Grande Valley for an eight day birding trip. It was led by one of the state’s leading birders, Brush Freeman, who did a fantastic job.

We traveled to South Padre Island twice because there were migration “fallouts” after some storms. Brush Freeman told us that when there is a north wind during the migration season the birds tire from their flight over the gulf, fly down and rest in the near by tracts that had vegetation resulting in a “fallout”. Fortunately, we had those conditions for our trip along the coastal areas.

As a result, we saw 30 species of warblers as well as other birds. The other major areas we went to were the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Sabal Palm Audubon Center, Bentsen – Rio Grande Valley State Park, Laguna Atascosa, Valley Nature Center, Hugh Ramsey Nature Park, Mont Meta Cemetery, Anzalduas County Park, Boca Chica Tract and the Harlingen Thicket. All of these sites were listed on the Texas Birding Map. We stopped three times at the Mont Meta Cemetery because we found so many birds there. There are many mature ebony and mesquite trees in the cemetery resulting in a large migrant trap. At the entrance to the Boca Chica Tract there was a small housing development that Brush Freeman told us had been hit by a hurricane twelve years ago. We stopped at a home site that had been completely destroyed, leaving only the ruins of a swimming pool. Next to the pool was a small clump of scrub which was full of birds. We had a hard time leaving the area.

One spot not on the birding map, but a real pleasure to stop at, was at Barbara Kennett’s house on South Padre Island. She had a house with huge windows looking out onto bird feeders and fruit attached to different spots. We were able to sit, relax and eat some snacks while watching warblers and orioles flit about. We also stopped many times on back roads looking at the birds that seemed to be perched everywhere. Besides the birds, we saw Red-eared Slider Turtles basking in the sun, an alligator lying on the bank, deer crossing the road, Anole Lizards everywhere, and a Coral Snake.

Here is the list of 225 species we saw or heard: Common Loon, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Least Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, White-faced Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Harris’s Hawk, Gray Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, Aplomado Falcon, Plain Chachalaca, Northern Bobwhite, Clapper Rail, Sora (H), Purple Gallinule, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Wilson’s Plover, Killdeer, American Oystercatcher, Blacknecked Stilt, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Willet, Spotted Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Wilson’s Phalarope, Laughing Gull, Franklin’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Forster’s Tern, Least Tern, Black Tern, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Common Ground-Dove, White-tipped Dove, Eurasian- collared Dove, Green Parakeet, Red-crowned Parrot, Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Groove-billed Ani, Common Nighthawk, Common Pauraque, Chimney Swift, Buffbellied Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Ringed Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Couch’s Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow-green Vireo, Green Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Horned Lark, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Cave Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black-crested Titmouse, Verdin (H), Cactus Wren (H), Carolina Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Marsh Wren (H), Veery, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush, Clay-colored Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Long-billed Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, European Starling, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Tropical Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Canada Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat (H), Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Olive Sparrow, Botteri’s Sparrow, Cassin’s Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Varied Bunting, Painted Bunting, Dickcissel, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed Cowbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Altamira Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.