4/30/23
After being jolted awake at midnight by an Emergency Alert by the NWS warning of a severe thunderstorm on its way with 80 mph wind gusts, I didn’t get that planned extra two hours of sleep, especially when said storm hit with a vengeance! Except for a couple of short glitches, thankfully the power didn’t go out (my boss and other friends around the Valley didn’t fare so well on that account L), and headed out to Resaca de la Palma State Park at 5:00 to hopefully bag some night birds and sit in the dawn.
Had to park outside the park as the first gate was still closed (and the wind still howling to boot), but as I got settled, interestingly the first bird I heard was a migrant Dickcissel flying overhead in the dark! Because the wind was so bad I opted to sit in the car and listen, and it was awhile before things started tuning up; the first brave soul was a White-winged Dove (2), followed by a distant Cardinal (3). A Common Nighthawk (4) “beented” low overhead, and a Brown-crested Flycatcher (5) and Couch’s Kingbird (6) competed with their dawn songs. I was very gratified to hear a distant Chuck-will’s-widow (7) singing from the woods, but was surprised that he beat out the resident Pauraques, which were soon to follow (8). Soon more things joined the Dawn Chorus: the sad lilting of the Clay-colored Thrush (9), the familiar cooing of the Mourning Dove (10), a rollicking Carolina Wren (11), a tittering Tropical Kingbird (12), a bouncy Olive Sparrow (13), and a raucous Green Jay (14). As it got lighter a few Black Vultures (15) left their roost, and was very happy to log the distinctive “dear-dear-dear” of the Beardless Tyrannulet (16), a mid-Valley specialty making inroads into Cameron County! Soon the Kiskadees (17) woke up, and a Great-tailed Grackle (18) flew over. Some chattering from the trees betrayed the presence of several Baltimore Orioles (19 – these guys would be all over the county this day), and a Long-billed Thrasher (20) started his halting song. A Golden-fronted Woodpecker (21) called from somewhere, and a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds (22) sat on the wire. When the sunrise alarm went off and I prepared to leave, a singing Bronzed Cowbird (23) got in just under the wire!
Heading back up New Carmen Road to the freeway, a Turkey Vulture (24) sailed across the road, and several Eastern Meadowlarks (25) sang from the mesquite savannah on the west side of the road. A Red-winged Blackbird (26) sang on a wire along Olmito Road, while a Black-crested Titmouse (27) whistled from a tree somewhere. A couple of Starlings (28) flew across the freeway heading south, along with a few Rock Pigeons (29), and once off the freeway an onto the urban roads was able to hear House Sparrows (30) and log a Mockingbird (31) flying up to a snag. I pulled over to write down what I had seen/heard before I forgot them (easy to do the older I get L), and in the process logged a calling Rose-breasted Grosbeak (32) in someone’s yard!
Turning right on Southmost Road, then turning right on Sabal Palm Road, added a singing Blue Grosbeak (33) in the field. However, I was dismayed upon cresting the levee to discover that Sabal Palm Sanctuary was closed! L I assumed it was due to storm damage (normally Wednesday is the only day they’re closed), but still disappointed in that this is one of the few places in Cameron County to bag the specialty woodland birds that favor the riparian forest (at least those you didn’t get at the dawn watch at Resaca de la Palma)! So I turned around and at least stopped along the road for a couple of minutes to bag what I could, and added fly-by Barn Swallows (34), a flyover Laughing Gull (35), and singing Black-and-white Warblers (36). An Olive Sparrow popped up for a picture, while a Harris’ Hawk (37) soared overhead and an Eastern Wood Pewee (38) caught bugs and returned to his snag. A Chimney Swift (39) batted over, and about then another birder rolled by, saw the closed gate, turned around, and asked me about it – turned out he was doing a cross-country birding trip and was terribly disappointed that the place was closed! But he was headed to South Padre Island next, and I knew the show would be good there (as the trees along the road were filled with more orioles)! On the way out I bagged a Lark Sparrow (40) in the field.
A pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (41) flew
over the road on the way to Old Port Isabel Road (herein OPIR), and about that
time a report came over the LRGV Rare Bird What’s App group that the Sheepshead
Lots on the Island were just hopping with migrants, including some hard-to-get
warblers! I was sorely tempted to drop
the plan and run over there, but the Lord had to remind me that the point of a
Birdathon is to hit the key habitats, come what may, and that it was best to
stick with the plan. So stick with the
plan I did, and was rewarded at the first stop along OPIR (which can be a dicey
dirt road but is necessary to bag certain coastal prairie species) with a
singing Cassin’s Sparrow (42)! Further
down a Whimbrel (43) flew by, and the breeding Willets (44) were calling all
over. The only reason Cattle Egret was
#45 was because I forgot to write it down once I got to OPIR (I had seen one in
transit), but a Mottled Duck (46) and Snowy Egret (47) in the canal were technically
the next birds seen. Somewhere a
Killdeer (48) called, and a pair of Caracaras (49) flopped around in the
distance. What was even more shocking
was hearing the deep “double note” of a pair of King Rails (50) from a hidden
wetland; normally an inland fresh-water bird, any reports in Cameron County get
flagged, probably due to the similarity with the coastal Clapper Rail, and the
reviewers want to make sure the person submitting the report really did have a King
Rail! In another little pond a Coot (51)
and Northern Shoveler (52) got added, and finally logged a singing White-eyed
Vireo (53) in the thornscrub. Many
swallows were going through: mostly
Barnies, but I was able to get on one long enough to nail down as a Bank
Swallow (53). A Verdin (55) chinked from
the scrub, and at the pond past the “Creepy Chicken Coop” a Least Sandpiper
(56) poked along. A roadside bush had
more Baltimore Orioles, but in addition, a Hooded Oriole (57) “wheeped” and
then made a brief appearance!
Not too far past that is where “county maintenance ends” where, unless absolutely dry, you don’t dare go any further (which is too bad, because the habitat down there can be good for Aplomado Falcon, which I dipped on), but a two minute stop at least added singing Bobwhites (58)! I kept seeing these little birds zipping through and buzzing, and finally got a good enough look to safely count Indigo Bunting (59 – which I wasn’t really worried about as I knew there’d be droves of them on the Island), and a pale-rumped, dark-headed swallow proved to be a Cliff (60). A cute Lark Sparrow posed for pictures by the road, and another little pond on the way out thankfully had a Least Grebe (61, as I usually get that one at Sabal Palm). Past the railroad tracks in a flooded field a Lesser Yellowlegs (62) fed close to the road, and a whole flock of Franklin’s Gulls (63) lazed further out! Huge Loma Alta Lake is always right in the sun, so I usually don’t give that much of a look, but this time it was easy to pick out a Roseate Spoonbill (64)!
So because OPIR was impassable (I really didn’t
expect otherwise after the storm) I backtracked and headed up SR 48 to Port
Isabel. On the way I stopped at the boat
ramp for shorebirds, as I figured The Flats behind the Convention Centre would
probably be inaccessible as well, and it turned out to be very productive. Along the highway picked up a Chihuahuan
Raven (65) being chased by something (probably a Mockingbird), and at the boat
ramp itself added squeaky Least Terns (66), Black Skimmers hunkered down in the
vegetation (67), a Semipalmated Plover (68), and a single Neotropic Cormorant
(69) in with the group. A Royal Tern
(70) flew over, and both a Sanderling (71) and Ruddy Turnstone (72) fed close
to the parking lot. A couple of
Black-bellied Plovers (73) flew by, and heard the harsh calls of a Sandwich
Tern (74). Lastly, several Black-necked
Stilts (75) were against the bank.
Headed up to the Island after that, adding a Brown Pelican (76) hanging in mid-air as I went over the causeway. As expected, the parking lots closest to the Convention Centre were packed with the cars of birders looking to take advantage of the “fallout”, but I drove to the back of the building first to see if I could access The Flats via a little trail there (you can actually drive out there, but after being chastised by my mechanic for rusting out my car’s undercarriage, I try not to do that anymore), but the water was right up to the shore, so considering the probability that I wouldn’t be able to park any closer to the garden area, I just walked over from there.
During migration faithful volunteers will put out seed, oranges, and nectar for the tired birds, and the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (77) sure appreciated that! The wind was still howling, so it was tough to see migrants in the trees, but circling around the “back yard” managed to add Catbird (78), American Redstart (79), and Northern Waterthrush (80) to the list (Baltimore Orioles were still monopolizing the joint). Ran into a couple of beginning birders who were puzzling over a bird they had seen, and were doubly alarmed as the only match in the book they could find was an Evening Grosbeak, which would be unheard of here! I was puzzling myself, when I found a Dickcissel right where they said the bird had flown, so I got them on it, and that’s indeed what they had seen!
Heading out on the boardwalk a flock of Eastern
Kingbirds (81) posed, and managed to add Great Blue Heron (82) and an immature
Little Blue Heron (83) in the tidal area.
While others managed to get some good migrants in the mangroves, I
couldn’t find a thing (not even the Pied-billed Grebes that are usually out in
the bay), so I headed back and ran into Michael and Donna Marsden; Michael was a
birding buddy who would often do some guiding for my boss Keith! They had mentioned a Scarlet Tanager (which I
had missed), but it showed again at the foot of the boardwalk so I could count
it (84)! A nice male Common Yellowthroat
(85) popped up, while Michael had also reported seeing a Least Flycatcher and
another puzzling Empid; thankfully the Puzzle came in, which turned out to be
an Acadian Flycatcher (86)! (Dipped on
the Least, though… L).
I returned to the other boardwalk through the freshwater marsh and added Tricolored Heron (87), and at the blind at the end where I rested for five, logged a Common Gallinule (88), Green Heron (89), and a flyover Marbled Godwit (90)! This particular boardwalk passes a pond where, on the way back, I spooked a pair of Blue-winged Teal (91), but also some shorebirds close by that I hadn’t noticed on the first pass, and wouldn’t have noticed this time if the Pectoral Sandpiper (92) hadn’t yelled at the Western Sandpiper (93)! But in the mix was a larger sandpiper that I puzzled over, finally settling on Baird’s (94), because it can very similar to the White-rumped Sandpiper in some plumages. I ran into Michael and Donna again at the foot of the boardwalk and told him about the sandpiper, and he was very anxious to go check it out (not Donna – she was there for the warblers J)! He concurred that it was a Baird’s due to the all-dark bill (White-rumped has a chestnut base to the lower mandible which is diagnostic – if you can see it)! He also picked out a Stilt Sandpiper (95) that I had missed, and an overhead swallow that turned out to be a Rough-winged (96).
Back at the gardens, warblers were showing up at the water feature and thereabouts: was able to add Magnolia (97), Chestnut-sided (98), and an Ovenbird (99) almost at my feet that I couldn’t spot (my eyes are really getting bad L)! Donna had seen a Golden-winged Warbler (one of those hard-to-find migrants) while Michael and I were grueling over shorebirds, and I so wanted that to be Bird #100! So we waited patiently for it to show up (Donna spotted a Lincoln’s Sparrow, a common wintering bird, in the meantime and I refused to look at it J), but a Summer Tanager at the water feature ended up taking that honor! A Veery (101) also popped up in there, and when I finally declared for the umpteenth time that I had to get moving (every new report of the Goldenwing sent me back J) I was able to add a Yellow Warbler (102) and a female Painted Bunting (103) on the way to the car.
Even though the next-door Birding and Nature Center
boasts the same habitat at the Convention Centre (indeed, in the old days they
shared boardwalks), good migrants can still show up there, so I swung in and
spent five minutes at their “parking lot” water feature, where more Baltimores
and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks showed up (in addition to another waterthrush), but
nothing new for the list. While sitting at the Songbird Alley water feature a
pair of Clapper Rails (104) sounded off from the salt marsh, and a young
Orchard Oriole (105) came in to the drip.
I took a quick walk around their one-mile boardwalk loop and only added
Short-billed Dowitcher in the shorebird department (106), and at the very end
some flocking Purple Martins (107); the wind was just keeping everything down,
including the vagrant Hammond’s Flycatcher I was hoping to bag!
Next was the Valley Land Fund Lots on Sheepshead, where I was hoping the action would still be as good as it had been that morning, but alas, a lot of the goodies had moved on (including yet another Goldenwing, and a Cerulean Warbler that was so tired it was giving everyone there great photo ops). Again, faithful volunteers were putting out multiple oranges, and most of these were being claimed by Tennessee Warblers (108) in addition to the ubiquitous orioles. I ran into Michael and Donna again, who pointed out a White-crowned Sparrow (109), a wintering bird I had to document as they should have left a while ago! A Eurasian Collared Dove (110) made the list, as did an Inca Dove (111) that Donna found for me (I think she was amused by my getting excited about that, but for a Birdathon, every species counts)! They had just seen the reported Lazuli Bunting, so we staked out that corner of the observation area to no avail, then watched the berm where dozens of Indigo Buntings and a few Dickcissels were feeding, hoping he might go there! We got a Swainson’s Thrush (112) instead, and an Orange-crowned Warbler (113) came to a close orange. Michael had told me about a Hooded Warbler back where I had parked, so I went back there, hoping to add it, but could only kick up a nonetheless very cooperative Redstart! Another birder there said, “Did you find your Hooded Warbler?” No. “There it is right there!” Great bird, with chuckles all around (114)!
After checking out the whole area and not finding
anything new, decided to head across the causeway and over to the Laguna Vista
Nature Trail, another good migrant trap.
After parking and entering the trail, hit pay dirt with a Black-throated
Green Warbler (115) in the little grove of trees there (which can often be the
birdiest spot in the place, despite the three blinds with water features)! Heading to the first blind I ran into Michael
and Donna again, who reported a Blackburnian Warbler back at the entrance, so I
went running back to spend about five minutes looking. No Blackburnian, so I shuffled back to Blind
#1, where a gentleman had just finished putting out some food and had reported
a Kentucky Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat!
So I spent a little over five minutes there (I normally spend 15 but on
a Birdathon you gotta keep moving) and was able to pick up a Buff-bellied Hummingbird (116) at the feeder! Nothing came in to Blind #2, but on the way to
#3 a Common Ground Dove (117) flew out of the thornscrub and landed briefly on
the trail! In the blind, the
White-tipped Doves (118) were doing their coke-bottle coos, and one even flew
overhead in a display flight! Was happy
to pick up a Ladder-backed Woodpecker (119) calling, and mused about how all my
additions were not migrants, but local birds that I otherwise would have
probably picked up at Sabal Palm had they been open!
But things livened up back at that little grove: migrants were in and out, with yet another waterthrush in a puddle and Magnolia Warbler in the trees, but was thrilled to log a Yellow-throated Vireo (120) that gave great looks! A Nashville Warbler (121) peeked at me, and from another tree a lovely Northern Parula (122) made a pass! But even more exciting for me was a Philadelphia Vireo (123), not much to look at but a challenge to ID sometimes, and even easy to miss some years! Back at the car, I was chatting with Lizzie, another birding buddy, when I noticed a note on my car: it was from Donna, saying that the Blackburnian had come back! Well, I did spend another five minutes staring down the tree she had him in to no avail, so I sadly let that one go…
There were reports that Port Isabel Reservoir had some good shorebirds, but when I got there the trail I normally go on was impassable, and another entrance down the [dicey] road yielded nothing new (besides being blown off your feet and looking right in the sun), so I wrote that one off and took the back roads to the freeway, picking up White-tailed Hawk (124) on the way. The next destination was Hanka Sod Farms on Weaver Road, as some migrant shorebirds favor that habitat. But I first made a quick stop at the Ebony Unit of Longoria WMA where the resaca there yielded a Spotted Sandpiper (125) and several lovely Wilson’s Phalaropes (126), in addition to previously-logged ducks and coots. Back at the car a Lesser Goldfinch (127) “wheed”, and driving slowly through the NWR tract on the way to Weaver Road bagged a calling Great Crested Flycatcher (128). Sadly, there were no shorebirds at all on the sod fields (except for Killdeers), but did have several Lark Sparrows feeding close to the road! Said road past the admin building was too slick to drive on (lots more sod fields are down that road), so I backtracked and headed up to FM 800 where hopefully the La Feria Sod Farms (also owned by Hanka Sod, I noticed) would have something. Thankfully they did, and thankfully they showed up at a spot where I could safely get off the road: three American Golden Plovers (129), a shorebird that only comes through in spring, so I was very happy to bag them!
Last stop of the day was Tiocano Lake, another NWR tract on a narrow road heading to Santa Rosa. There are very few spots to safely pull over (and despite the 30 mph speed limit, locals fly down that road like nobody’s business), but right away I was treated to a mob of feeding shorebirds, most of which were Wilson’s Phalaropes and Stilt Sandpipers! Fulvous Whistling Ducks (130) were calling unseen (until a little later), and added Long-billed Dowitcher (131) and Semipalmated Sandpiper (132) to the day list. Crawling down to the intersection added a Loggerhead Shrike (133) on a wire before turning around, and then headed down to the one place you can get totally off the road, near a little fresh water opening where I parked and waited for sunset. This is always productive, as just sitting and listening added Sora (134) and yet another King Rail (this is actually the most reliable place in the Valley to get that bird)! Some White-faced Ibis (135) flew past, and as I got on a flock of egrets, I noticed a couple of young White Ibis (136) in with them! A Yellow-crowned Night Heron (137) called from the opposite shore, and to the east I could make out the sharp “kleeping” of some American Avocets (138) along with the barking of the stilts. The last bird of the day was a surprise flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds (139)!
At least I thought that was the final total: I
submit checklists to eBird for each place I visit, and while I might forget to
write something on the running list, I rarely forget to enter things in the
checklists as the pre-determined checklist itself reminds me of what I
saw/heard. Well, it turns out that I
forgot to write down four birds, all along OPIR: some
Gull-billed Terns (140) feeding in the field with the Franklin’s Gulls, a
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (141) on a wire, a Great Egret (142 – actually had
several that day), and an Upland Sandpiper (143) that took off and called
shortly after starting on the road!
Despite some serious misses, the Lord certainly blessed!
