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| Great Kiskadee - Luke Tiller |
Monday, November 9th 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!
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| 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.
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| Common Pauraque - Luke Tiller |
Tuesday November 10th 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.
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| 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.
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| Harris's Hawk - Steve Hendricks |
Wednesday, November 11th 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!).
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| 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.
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| Pyrrhuloxia - Luke Tiller |
Thursday, November 12th 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.
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| 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 13th 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.
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| 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.
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| Whooping Cranes photobombed - Steve Hendricks |
Saturday November 14th 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!
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| 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.
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| 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)
