HMANA Raptors of the Rio Grande Valley Tour 2016

Great Kiskadee - Luke Tiller

Monday, November 9^th 2015

Meeting at our hotel in Harlingen, TX the obvious and planned first stop for our tour was out east towards the coastal plain that held one of our key target species: Aplomado Falcon. Counting against heading towards the proposed Aplomado site was the fact that multiple birders had found their cars recently stranded in the once dirt, now Battle of the Somme-esque mud, road that had been created by Hurricane Patricia as she’d passed through. There was also the allure of a Hook-billed Kite sighting a few days previously to our west in McAllen. I had warned participants that they key to a successful trip would be a little flexibility and the morning therefore started with plans thrown out the window and the group racing towards Anzalduas Park. 

Right on the border, the park provides both a great view of the river and thanks to the dam road levy a great site to look for raptors. As we arrived at the park we were soon stumbling upon the first specialties of the region with Cackling Great Kiskadees and garrulous Green Jays. As we approached the levy I noticed a new bunch of signage warning people not to go up on it. Assuming they just meant cars I breezed past only to get stopped by the passing border patrol. Apparently the new rules meant no foot traffic either. I asked the officer if we stayed off the road itself whether we could stand right at the very top of the entrance ramp to the levy. Thankfully the officer said yes as our new view was affording us some nice looks at some highly prized species including stunning Summer Tanagers and Altamira Orioles. Not long after our run in with border patrol, out towards Mexico we spotted what must be the holy grail for raptor fans in Southern Texas: the oddly paddle-winged, long-tailed shape and strangely acrobatic flight of a brilliant Hook-billed Kite! This was the bird we had come for. Found all the way south to Northern Argentina, the range of the species barely touches the tip of this little tropical part of Texas and is even here rarely seen. It is possible to come here for many years and not see one, so this was an incredible start to the trip!

Green Jay - Luke Tiller

After all enjoying scope views of the flying kite we decided to see whether we could see the bird from closer to the river and scout out what else was in the park. Beyond the kites there was much else here to enjoy including a couple of locally rare birds that seemed to have been swept in by Hurricane Patricia: Greater Pewee and Dusky-capped Flycatcher. Both species are also pretty limited in their US range to Arizona and New Mexico so were not birds we had anticipated on the tour. After these exciting out-of-place finds we stumbled on another couple of unlikely birds: first up were two Audubon’s Orioles. Though they are a specialty of the area, Audubon's Oriole are rarely found this far east and were in fact were just the second sighting of this species at this famous and incredibly heavily birded park. The second rarity was something more prosaic: a little flock of four American Robins. There are a number of species that though common almost everywhere else on the continent that do not often reach this little tip of the USA and American Robin is one of them (ditto House Finch, Mallard, Common Grackle, American Crow….). While not that exciting to most birders, the robins were rare enough to trip the eBird filters locally. We were able to share the sightings with a couple of other birders too, which is part of the fun and community that is birding in the Rio Grande Valley. 

After an incredible start to the trip we switched back to our itinerary. First was a stop at a secondary site that I had seen Aplomado Falcon at a few times before, but unfortunately this time we had no luck. From there we headed on to South Padre Island. Unfortunately the most interesting bird there (a Swainson’s Warbler) had perished at the hands (or hooked bill) of a Loggerhead Shrike the day before, but a couple of quick stops had soon brought us nice looks at some local beauties including Scissor-tailed Flycatchers galore. Our main quarry though was a few shoreline dwelling species and we were not to be disappointed as we picked up a bevy of stunning herons and egrets including Least Bittern, Roseate Spoonbill and Reddish Egret.

Other highlights included a couple of passing Merlins and a rather nice stop for lunch at a somewhat upscale burger bar! Our day ended with us stopping to check for Aplomados on the way back to our hotel, but again we had no luck, leaving us with both an amazing day but a change of plans required for the following morning.

Common Pauraque - Luke Tiller

Tuesday November 10^th 2015

With Aplomado Falcon distinctly not on our trip list thus far we again switched up our itinerary and started our morning at a site that had earlier in the week been devouring birders cars: Old Port Isabel Rd. Little more than a dirt track, this site is renowned for Aplomado Falcon but also for a wealth of great sparrows, shorebirds and other things. We were met on site by a drier than expected road and a beautiful sunny sunrise: stunning. Almost immediately we had another much desired species under out belt: the terrifyingly ancient looking Wood Stork – all bald head and scimitar like bill. As we worked away along the road we were almost always entertained: a flock of feeding Long-billed Curlews, a drab but prized Cassin’s Sparrow and an oddly out of place Pine Warbler. We also had a wealth of raptors to accompany us including beautiful White-tailed Hawks (a local specialty), coursing harriers and of course an abundance of Osprey. After much searching and scanning of every fencepost we finally had our quarry: Aplomado Falcon. Though it was great to see them they were somewhat distant and though we were happy to see them we could have been happier with the views.

As we were leaving the site I spotted a stunning (and close) adult White-tailed Hawk and pulled over so that the group could get photographs. It sat accommodatingly for a minute or so before it dropped off of its telephone pylon perch and dive bombed a passing Aplomado Falcon! The falcon buzzed past us and headed away before circling a few times to put on something of a show! A brilliant end to the visit to this magnificent spot. Like the Hook-billed Kite, the falcon can be found all the way down to the pampas of Argentina, but again it ranges just into the tip of the US mainly in this Texas stronghold. Extirpated from the US in the early 1950’s the reintroduction of the bird has been successful in this part of Texas and the American Birding Association recently changed their rules so that you can now officially count these birds on your North American list.

White-tailed Hawk - Steve Hendricks

Our next stop of the day was at Estero Llano. Usually a reliable spot for a number of interesting species, we caught it at hot high noon. We managed however to dig up what was probably our main target species here a roosting Common Pauraque. A member of the nightjar family this cryptically colored but beautifully patterned bird is a real prize. Other highlights included a mixed roaming flock of warblers and an absolute abundance of vivacious Vermilion Flycatchers.

After a nice taqueria lunch stop we were on to our afternoon adventures. This involved taking in a few of the little parks around Weslaco and McAllen as we worked our way west. Here we were greeted by more warbler flocks as well as a number of other local specialties including cheerful Black-crested Titmouse, skulky thrashers of both Curve-billed and Long-billed flavors as well as our first Clay-colored Thrushes and Plain Chachalacas. Chachalacas are a large and somewhat comical chicken-like bird related to guans and curassows and their raucous calls are an integral part of the sounds of the Rio Grande Valley.

We ended our evening with a few celebratory margaritas just a stones throw from the hotel in McAllen.

Harris's Hawk - Steve Hendricks

Wednesday, November 11^th 2015

We started our morning at the famed Santa Ana NWR. Here we were looking for raptors as well as a couple of wetland specialties. Overhead we soon had the usual throngs of Turkey Vultures, but they were rapidly joined by a couple White-tailed Hawks including one of those neat second year birds which allowed us the ability to study it intently. There were also a couple of Crested Caracaras around as well and a bunch of dueling Harris’s hawks.

On the pond we soon had a couple more target species, including Least Grebe and a trifecta of regularly occurring North American kingfishers with both Ringed and Green Kingfisher putting on a fine show. These two stunning species are real crowd pleasers and are a highlights of any visit. We also picked up a rather accommodating Olive Sparrow or two on our way back to the vehicle. Great birds at one of the Rio Grande Valley’s real gems.

We continued our day with a lunch stop at Anzalduas Park. This time it wasn’t quite as productive though we did find three highly prized Sprague’s Pipits. Unfortunately we didn’t find a Zone-tailed Hawk and to rub salt into the wound about one million Texas Mosquitoes found us (everything is bigger in Texas!).

Yellow-tipped Flasher - Steve Hendricks

With the day becoming almost unbearably hot and humid I suggested a trip to the National Butterfly Center. Though by no means an expert on Texas butterflies, the grounds of the National Butterfly center are beautiful and worth a trip any time you are in the valley. As we pulled up to the center, I wondered aloud to participants whether the strong southerly winds we were experiencing that day might have brought something interesting up from Mexico. Sure enough we arrived to butterfly insanity as at least two genuine rarities had been found on site: a subtly beautiful Yellow-tipped Flasher and a preposterously flashy Red Rim. There were plenty of other good butterflies being turned up by the enthusiastic hordes including a White Scrub-hairstreak and Lantana Scrub-hairstreak. Other beautiful species included Silver-banded Hairstreak and the stunning Malachite. There was even a few nice birds around, including a mixed warbler flock that contained a Tropical Parula! Hot and exhausted we called it a day early and headed back for a welcome shower and some air conditioning before heading out for Green Parakeets, some dinner and a craft beer or two in McAllen.

Pyrrhuloxia - Luke Tiller

Thursday, November 12^th 2015

Our day started pretty early as we searched for somewhere to pick up an early morning coffee and then headed northwest to a wonderful feeder setup along the river: Salineno. Among the now usual feeder suspects Green Jay, White-tipped Dove and Golden-fronted Woodpecker we enjoyed stellar views of a number of great birds including Long-billed Thrasher (which performed it’s thrashing behavior perfectly), Altamira and (had it not been for an amazing find earlier in the trip) our target bird Audubon’s Oriole. We also checked along the river here which proved productive for a mixed flock or two that produced cheeky little Verdin as well as Clay-colored Thrush in their natural environment. Also along the river we garnered beautiful views of elegant Gray Hawks as well as a soaring adult Peregrine Falcon – which spooked the abundant White-winged Doves.

Next stop was a little spot I’d discovered during me couple of days scouting the area. Though it wasn’t quite as productive as it had been during scouting (of course) it did allow us to pick up Neotropic Cormorant, Cactus Wren and perhaps North America’s most stunning sparrow: Black-throated Sparrow.

Long-billed Thrasher

The habitat dries as you head west out of the valley and so the birds there change with it: Greater Roadrunner, Pyrrhuloxia and Verdin. Our destination for the afternoon was the Max A Mandel golfcourse. Here we added to our mode of birding transport for the trip: Golfcart. Whizzing around the course in Laredo was almost as much fun as the birding itself. We worked hard for White-collared Seedeater and were rewarded for our tenacity. A covey of well seen Northern Bobwhite were new for the trip, as was a Say’s Phoebe. Highlights though were of an owl kind when, one of our participants, Steve spotted a likely looking crevice and eventually found two Barn Owls inside. We ended our day being serenaded by two Great Horned Owls as they duetted on the Mexican side of the river. They even appeared for photographs - simply magical.

Friday November 13^th 2015

Our next stop was Falcon State Park. Here we searched the scrub for sparrows and whatever else we might discover. Though Scaled Quail vocalized they never showed and the one that got away was a large falcon which was distant in poor lighting but gave more of a Prairie feel than a Peregrine one. Down on the deck there were plenty of nice sparrows to sort through including a bunch of Vesper Sparrows, one Grasshopper Sparrow and even better an uncommon Lark Bunting.

Greater Roadrunner - Luke Tiller

This was essentially our last day birding in the valley, so we were keen to make the most of it. We briefly stopped just to look at Roma Bluffs but were keen to get on the road to Bentsen and other sites just to see what we could dig up. Bentsen proved somewhat productive as we turned up roving flocks of warblers that included a nice Black-throated Gray and a Parula which was sadly Northern rather than Tropical. After doing a fair amount of walking we also got to ride their rather comfortable tram back to the center.

Our day ended back at the place the tour had started Anzalduas Park, where we picked up our first Eastern Bluebirds and had another visit with the continuing Greater Pewee. More importantly as the light began to fade I picked up the up slurred call of a Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet. With a little fussing the group were finally on the bird. This was the perfect way to end our Rio Grande Valley portion of the trip with a specialist bird of the region.

Whooping Cranes photobombed - Steve Hendricks

Saturday November 14^th 2015

The final full day of our trip saw us winging our way north to Rockport, Texas and a trip out on a boat with Rockport Birding and Kayak Adventures. Whooping Cranes are one of the rarest birds in North America (even though they have bounced back to about 600 individuals from an all-time low of about 20 in the 1940’s!!!!) and one of the most compelling too. Standing at about five feet and with a wingspan of seven feet they are impressive birds. Though sometimes visible on land the most intimate way to see them is on a boat out on Aransas NWR.

The boat also provides the opportunity to see a bunch of other cool birds including a couple of Sandwich Terns that paralleled the boat as we headed out to Aransas. Our first stop included a sheltered shorebird spot that the Army Core of Engineers created with dredge spoils and we had soon picked up a few nice ones including Marbled Godwit and American Oystercatcher. As well as the Sandwich Terns their were a few other gull and tern species loafing on the islands including Forster’s Terns and the odd but splendid looking Black Skimmers.

As we got out to Aransas the neat sightings came thick and fast: our first distant cranes, a rather healthy looking coyote and a White-tailed Hawk that was eating lunch on the wing! Eventually we tracked down a close family group of spectacular Whooping Cranes. A moment that made the whole drive north worth it. Even better we got shots of the group being photobombed by one of the islands wintering harriers: very cool!

Hazel Bazemore Hawkwatch - Luke Tiller

As we worked our way back we picked up a few more birds for our ever growing trip list before heading for lunch. With just a few hours of the tour left we decided that there could be no more perfect way to end a HMANA Tour than to head over to the Hazel Bazemore Hawkwatch. We were met by the friendly faces of Kevin, Erik and Dane and happily whiled away the next couple of hours in their company talking about hawks and hawkwatching across the county. A fine end to a fun trip and not without a few more avian rewards. First our smallest bird of the trip, a Rufous Hummingbird and our nineteenth and final raptor of the tour a late Broad-winged Hawk. A nice relaxing end to a good trip spent in fine company including the cute little Javelina family that came to hang out at the hawkwatch feeders.

Aplomado Falcon - Steve Hendricks

That evening we headed out for our final meal at the area’s best BBQ joint. We reflected on a fun and action packed week and reminisced about cool birds and exciting sightings. In all we had managed an impressive 187 bird species over the week that included the two rarest raptors in the United States: Hook-billed Kite and Aplomado Falcon. We had also birded by boat, by car, by tram and by golf cart: next time we need to jump on a train just to round out the experience.

You can find out about upcoming HMANA Tours on our website (here)

Hawkwatching Across The Globe - Belize Raptor Research Institute

Though our focus at HMANA is mainly on North America, there are hawkwatches happening across the globe. Between September 19-27 we will be celebrating hawk migration both in our region and beyond with our second annual International Hawk Migration Week (info here). During this period we will be sharing information about hawkwatches from around the world both here and on our Facebook page (link here). Time to get your bucket list out, you may want to start adding to it! 

First up let's hear from Belize Raptor Research Institute, and their relatively recently formed watch in, you've guessed it, Belize. For those that don't know Belize is often a big draw for British and American birders, not just for their incredible birds, but also because it's the only country in Central America that has English as its official language.

The Count Team - Belize Raptor Research Institute

1/ Tell us a little about the Belize Raptor Research Institute Watch!

Imagine being on the Caribbean Sea coastline with the humid ocean breeze on your face as you stand vigilantly under a coconut palm gazing into the hot sky at one of nature’s greatest spectacles, raptor migration. This may feel like a vacation, but this is our (Belize Raptor Research Institute) hawk watch site located in the southern extent of Belize in the Toledo District at a place called Cattle Landing, just north of Punta Gorda Town. This site is truly a special place for migration, as birds, specifically here raptors, get funneled by the geography as they make their migration south to their wintering grounds using the coastline as their leading line via island hopping from Cuba through the Yucatán, passing through Veracruz before making their way through Belize, or through a feat that was thought not to occur in raptors many years ago: crossing the Gulf of Mexico. Our count-site is directly on the coastline on the Cattle Landing community soccer field. This gives us a full 360 degree vantage to view raptors as they pass over the site. It is also located on the main road into Punta Gorda, so all passersby are exposed to the count and it raises attention to the public and Belize about raptors.

Dark Hook-billed Kite - BRRI

This site was first discovered as a key migration site by Dr. Lee Jones, Author of ‘Birds of Belize,’ when he witnessed kettles of Hook-billed Kites migrating south, a species that was thought to be sedentary. To better understand migrating raptors in Belize and to fill that information gap in Central America we started the first fall Hawk Watch Program in Belize in 2013 and will start our third consecutive year on October 15. In 2013 our count was from September 15 to December 7 and 2014 was from October 1 to December 15. This year we will be counting from October 15 through December 15. We are counting raptors at the site seven days a week from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Our watch team consists of a variety of people from all walks of life. We have two paid positions, Project Coordinator and Count Leader. To build capacity for raptor research, conservation, and education in Belize we only hire Belizeans for these two positions. The Project Coordinator is a Toledo District native and bird expert, Victor Bonilla. He has been the Coordinator for the first two years and will continue this year. Our current Count Leader is Isael Mai from San Antonio Village in the Cayo District who works on various bird-related projects and was a volunteer in 2013 on the entire count and last year moved up to Count Leader. The remaining team members are volunteer count technicians who are from all over the world, including Belize, but are primarily recent graduates from the United States gaining experience in research and conservation before pursuing a career in a wildlife related field or entering into graduate school. We have a diverse team that all bring various attributes to the count.

Counters - BRRI

2/ What is the most numerous raptor species seen at your count?

Our first two year results were much different from one another. In 2013, we counted 8,457 raptors, of which 2,858 (33.8%) were migrants. In 2014, we counted 21,077, of which 8,770 (41.6%) were migrants. Based on Dr. Jones’ observations we believe that 2013 was an anomaly year and 2014 is more of the norm. However, this year’s count will tell us a lot. The five most common migrant species at this site are Hook-billed Kites (744 in 2013 and 5,086 in 2014), Mississippi Kites (817 in 2013 and 1,705 in 2014), Broad-winged Hawks (348 in 2013 and 1081 in 2014), Peregrine Falcons (434 in 2013 and 418 in 2014), and Osprey (376 in 2013 and 269 in 2014). We have recorded 32 species of raptor at the site in the 2 years, including rare resident species such as Orange-breasted Falcon, Crested Caracara, and Aplomado Falcon. The most common non-migrants at the site (in order of most common) are Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Short-tailed Hawk, and Common Black-Hawk. 

3/ What are the most sought after?

By far, the focus of this count has been the Hook-billed Kite migration since this is a recently discovered phenomenon and other than Veracruz, Mexico (on average 120 HBKI per year, respectively) is the only known location with a migration of this species. Where these birds are migrating to and coming from is still a mystery. Last year we documented a good size movement of Double-toothed Kites, which are considered resident only, so we are interested in this movement, which has not yet been documented anywhere else. Also, this is a great site for Peregrine Falcons, which our one day high count was 85 individuals. If we counted in August this site has potential to produce one of the highest counts of Swallow-tailed Kites.  

Hook-billed Kite Kettle - BRRI

4/ Do you band/ring raptors too?

We currently do not band raptors, but we are collaborating with folks from the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory to possibly start a banding station in Belize. The goal is to have a banding station by 2017. 

5/ Do you just count raptors or are you counting other bird species as well?

We only formally and systematically count raptors, but we do document non-raptor species. This site is good for passerines as well, but if we counted them it would take away our focus on raptors and would bias our data.

Raptor School - BRRI

6/ What are the goals of your count (outreach, conservation issues, population monitoring all of the above)?

This project is multifaceted to better understand raptors migrating through Belize and fill that gap in Mesoamerica, while informing the public about the importance of raptors and showing them first-hand how amazing nature is. The target species is the enigmatic Hook-billed Kite, a potentially key indicator species of climate change. The data obtained from this site will assist in the conservation of raptors from the Neotropical and temperate zones by informing the scientific community and management agencies of changes in raptor populations. Our specific objectives are as follows:

• Better understand and quantify the raptor migration through Belize.
• Learn if species that were thought to be sedentary are truly migratory (e.g. Hook-billed Kite) and quantify their migration.
• Understand the seasonality of little known migratory species.
• Fill a void of knowledge in raptor migration in Mesoamerica.
• Establish a long-term Raptor Watch.
• Participate in multinational conservation by monitoring migratory raptors that pass through multiple countries and two continents.
• Raise research and conservation awareness of raptors and migratory birds to the region to ultimately help protect both migratory and resident raptor populations.
• Build local capacity in conservation through this community based project.
• Train future biologists and conservationists in research and conservation.
• Build a community bird observation platform to benefit ecotourism and education of biodiversity in the region.

7/ What is the best time to visit your watch?

Belize is a very unique place for raptor migration and probably one of the longest migration seasons. Swallow-tailed Kite southbound migration peaks in mid-August in Belize while Hook-billed Kite migration continues through early December. The best time to visit all depends on what species is your target. If you want to see Plumbeous Kites and Swallow-tailed Kites August is the best time. If you would like to see Mississippi Kites then September is the best time. However, we count from October to December as our target species is Hook-billed Kites. If you would like to see temperate species, such as Peregrine Falcons, Ospreys, and Broad-winged Hawks then October is ideal. The great Peregrine migration through Belize peaks October 9-18. Most likely the target is to witness migrating Hook-billed Kites, in which case, any time from the October 22 through mid-December, but it appears that there are multiple peaks around October 26, November 9, and December 1. However, more count years are needed to determine if these peaks are consistent from year to year. We rarely get rained out, but on average get 4 days with no count due to rain. So take your pick of what species you would like to see and come down to count with our team.   

Mississippi Kite Kettle - BRRI

8/ Can your data be viewed online, if so where?

Yes, the first 2 years we posted our daily findings on our website at: http://www.belizeraptorresearch.com/news-2/2769/

This year (2015), we will continue to post on our website with photos, as well as uploading our data to the HMANA Hawkcount database. We will also upload our first 2 years to Hawkcount. We are currently working on a manuscript to publish our first 3 years of results and establish this site as a critical raptor migration location.

9/ If visitors from the US wanted to visit your site where should they go to find out more?

You can get more information about our count at www.belizeraptorresearch.org or email myself, Project Director, at belizeraptorresearch@gmail.com. Visitors from outside of Belize visiting the site will need to fly into Belize City (BZE) and then to get to the count-site you have a few different options: take another 1 hour flight to Punta Gorda via Maya Island Air or TropicAir; take a 6 hour bus ride from Belize City to Punta Gorda; or rent a vehicle and drive down to Punta Gorda. Once in the Punta Gorda area the nearest accommodation is Beya Suites, which is within walking distance to the site. 

Victor with the kids - BRRI

Thanks to Ryan Phillips, Project Director at Belize Raptor Research for supplying answer to our questions! We are looking forward to following their season on HMANA's Hawkcount! You can also keep up with goings on through their Facebook page (here).