Tuesday 17 February 2015

TEXAS - 15th February


Bit of a lost day as I was meandering around not really knowing where I was going!   I had a couple of hours walk around the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge in the morning where the Mesquite scrub was pretty quiet with a couple of singing BEWICK’S WRENS and a single cracking BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER the highlights along with a Couch’s Kingbird, a Ladder-backed Woodpecker and several Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Black-crested Titmouse, White-eyed Vireos and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.  

                There was a good selection of waders on the large salt lake (La Sal del Rey) including a brilliant flock of 224 WILSON’S PHALAROPES, 3 STILT SANDPIPERS, c35 LEAST SANDPIPERS, good numbers of Lesser Yellowlegs, a Long-billed Curlew and 20+ American Avocets.   I could constantly hear Sandhill Cranes calling somewhere to the east but I couldn’t see them.

                I then drove around aimlessly for a bit before deciding to head to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge for a couple of hours in the afternoon; it was overcast and pretty breezy so it wasn’t brilliant although birds round the centre and at the feeding stations included 4 PLAIN CHACHALACA, a couple of WHITE-TIPPED DOVES, a GREAT KISKADEE, a few Green Jays, a Blue-headed Vireo, a singing LONG-BILLED THRASHER and a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers.   A look at the lagoon added CANVASBACK, Ruddy Duck and Shoveler to the trip list but the highlight was brilliant views of a male VERDIN by the overlook while on the drive back there was the usual farmland birds on the wires including a nice flock of Lark Sparrows, a couple of Couch’s Kingbirds and Loggerhead Shrikes, many American Kestrels and a Red-tailed Hawk.
 
Bewick's Wren

Northern Mockingbird

Green Jay

Golden-fronted Woodpecker eating Peanut Butter

Plain Chachalaca

Long-billed Thrasher
 

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