This past weekend, we made a trip down to Brownsville. I already knew that this was going to be more of a family trip than a birding trip (especially since we're going down on 3/21 and 4/11 again), so I didn't plan on us getting to see too many species. Plus, once we got down to the valley, the weather was bunk and made me not feel too bad about missing out on some birding experiences.
The one concession to birding I wanted was a visit to Oliveira Park near sunset for a look at the Parrots and Parakeets. If you ever go down to Brownsville, you have to check out this park. It is such an experience to have hundreds of Parrots come flying in, making more noise than you can believe.
We were on the look out for Red-crowned Parrots, which are the most common species, but also anything else we could find. When we got there, it was cold and drizzling, but there were tons of birds lined up on the telephone lines surrounding the park. Scanning the line showed Red-crowned Parrots (as expected), along with a handful of Red-lored Parrots. These are not an accepted TBRC/ABA species, but they are an established population and seem to be holding their own amongst the Red-crowneds. I also managed to spy a Green Parakeet (a lifer...which I thought I had already seen before...whoops!).
On the way back to my sister-in-law's house, we decided to cruise Resaca de la Palma State Park. We knew the visitor's center would be closed, but we thought the gate might still be open. It wasn't, but that was totally ok since we had an awesome bird (or 12) right outside of the gate. Our headlights managed to illuminate at least 12 Common Pauraques working the fields at the entrance to the park. What a neat experience to see these birds we normally only hear at night while sitting on my sister-in-law's porch.
The next morning, we got up in the rain and made it over to Resaca de la Palma again. This time, we knew they'd be open. We were looking for a specific new bird that has been seen lately. We paid our fees and headed to the feeders, keeping our eyes peeled. An employee of the park said that the bird had been seen the previous day, so we had high hopes. About 10 minutes later, we were rewarded by a very brief appearance of a Black-headed Grosbeak (lifer). After that, we were so cold, we packed it up and headed back for breakfast.
The April trip is very exciting and I can't wait to bird until I drop!
Texas year list as of 03/09/14: 198
Friday, March 14, 2014
In the Mood for Migration
During my lunch break, I noticed that "Birders: The Central Park Effect" is on Netflix. I have been watching it during my lunch break and totally jonesing for the end of the month/beginning of April.
I highly recommend this flick. It's a cute look at a variety of birds and birders and explains our obsession just a bit. :)
I highly recommend this flick. It's a cute look at a variety of birds and birders and explains our obsession just a bit. :)
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Here a gull, there a gull, everywhere a gull (aka searching for Slaty-backed Gulls)
Early in February, the border town of Laredo held a birding festival. As these things usually start on Thursdays and I have a full-time job, birding festivals are hard for me to get to. However, I always try to keep up with what's being seen, because you never know what rarities will pop up with so many eyes in so many places. For example, during last year's Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, a gentleman (whose name escapes me) found the second ABA/Texas record Amazon Kingfisher. We were able to drive down the next weekend and get good looks through a scope (owned by Steve Gross, who sadly passed away a week or two later). Anyway, back to Laredo. I didn't see anything interesting until Sunday. That's when word of a Slaty-backed Gull at Lake Casa Blanca International State Park started to trickle out. Long story short, the bird had first been seen on Thursday (OF COURSE!), but not believed until Sunday, when pictures and other birders made it out there to see (just one reason I always carry my camera...regardless of judgement from other birders who say bins are good enough).
I had been trying to convince my partner in crime/birding that we should go down to Laredo to get a glimpse of this bird since it's really rare for our area and we probably won't be going to AK anytime soon. It's hard to convince someone who's not a hardcore birder that they really do want to go look at a seagull on the border. The bird was still being seen for weeks afterward and I finally was able to talk my way into a trip south.
We set out early Saturday (March 1) for Laredo. There weren't too many birds at all on the way down there because it was so foggy, but as we got closer to Laredo, the fog lifted and a nice Pyrrhuloxia was seen perched on a telephone line. I love these guys! Once we got to the park around 10:30 AM we didn't see any gulls at all, but we headed to the boat ramp area anyway since that's where the bird had generally been seen from. There were no other birders until we pulled out the scope and started scanning the lake. One couple drove by and asked if we'd seen the bird. We said no and they said to keep looking because they saw it there yesterday. I was relieved because there hadn't been any reported sightings on the sites I check since Thursday (what is it about Thursdays?), so I figured the bird had to be around somewhere.
After a little while scoping, I started to get frustrated at the general lack of gulls and we decided to drive around the park. Up near a house, we saw a medium-sized bird on a fence. Cactus Wren! Beautiful bird, gave great looks, sweet lifer, but not what we came for. We drove a bit more, saw a few more cool birds (none new for the year though) and decided to try scoping again. Another birder came up again with words of encouragement and a thought to try the other side of the park. We drove to the other side to try scoping from there, and of course I saw a huge raft of gulls...visible from the spot we just left. We drove back to the original side, set up the scope, and finally had success. Slaty-backed Gull (lifer!), hanging out with a number of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls (neither new), and a Lesser Black-backed Gull (new for the year).
With joy in our hearts and sunburn on my arms (it was 91 degrees), we departed from Laredo. On the way out of town, we got one last new year bird, Northern Rough-winged Swallows. I had been hoping to bird other locations in Laredo since it was our first time birding there, but it was so hot and we were so drained that we made a promise to ourselves to come back another day.
Texas year list as of 3/1/14: 193
I had been trying to convince my partner in crime/birding that we should go down to Laredo to get a glimpse of this bird since it's really rare for our area and we probably won't be going to AK anytime soon. It's hard to convince someone who's not a hardcore birder that they really do want to go look at a seagull on the border. The bird was still being seen for weeks afterward and I finally was able to talk my way into a trip south.
We set out early Saturday (March 1) for Laredo. There weren't too many birds at all on the way down there because it was so foggy, but as we got closer to Laredo, the fog lifted and a nice Pyrrhuloxia was seen perched on a telephone line. I love these guys! Once we got to the park around 10:30 AM we didn't see any gulls at all, but we headed to the boat ramp area anyway since that's where the bird had generally been seen from. There were no other birders until we pulled out the scope and started scanning the lake. One couple drove by and asked if we'd seen the bird. We said no and they said to keep looking because they saw it there yesterday. I was relieved because there hadn't been any reported sightings on the sites I check since Thursday (what is it about Thursdays?), so I figured the bird had to be around somewhere.
After a little while scoping, I started to get frustrated at the general lack of gulls and we decided to drive around the park. Up near a house, we saw a medium-sized bird on a fence. Cactus Wren! Beautiful bird, gave great looks, sweet lifer, but not what we came for. We drove a bit more, saw a few more cool birds (none new for the year though) and decided to try scoping again. Another birder came up again with words of encouragement and a thought to try the other side of the park. We drove to the other side to try scoping from there, and of course I saw a huge raft of gulls...visible from the spot we just left. We drove back to the original side, set up the scope, and finally had success. Slaty-backed Gull (lifer!), hanging out with a number of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls (neither new), and a Lesser Black-backed Gull (new for the year).
With joy in our hearts and sunburn on my arms (it was 91 degrees), we departed from Laredo. On the way out of town, we got one last new year bird, Northern Rough-winged Swallows. I had been hoping to bird other locations in Laredo since it was our first time birding there, but it was so hot and we were so drained that we made a promise to ourselves to come back another day.
Texas year list as of 3/1/14: 193
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