TEXAS - 16th February

Went back to Laguna Atascosa first thing where there were the same range of species around the centre before I headed off to walk some of the Bayside Loop; perhaps the highlight came straight away as I had good views of a BOBCAT crossing the road in front of me!   It was a bit quieter for birds mainly due to the cloudy, overcast conditions with a strong SE wind blasting across the site, these conditions however produced some good raptors including several smart WHITE-TAILED HAWKS, a HARRIS HAWK, 2 COOPERS HAWKS, a WHITE-TAILED KITE, a Northern Harrier and plenty of American Kestrels, Crested Caracaras and Vultures.  

Landbirds were quieter although a pair of OLIVE SPARROWS were new along with several Verdins, Orange-crowned Warblers, Long-billed Thrashers, Blue-headed Vireo etc. while there were thousands of waterfowl on the lake and in the bay with a flock of 15 Snow Geese overhead, plenty of Eared Grebes on the lake and a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers new for the trip.   The few waders were represented by several Lesser Yellowlegs, a Greater Yellowlegs, a Long-billed Curlew, a smart flock of 45+ Killdeers and a brief WILSON’S SNIPE seen in flight.

I left around lunchtime and headed south and soon had good flight views and distant perched views of a cracking APLOMADO FALCON – part of the reintroduction scheme but still!   I then drove down to South Padre Island where a walk round the centres boardwalks in the now warm and sunny but still very windy conditions produced excellent views of many waterbirds at ridiculous close ranges including a couple of CLAPPER RAILS, a Sora, a Green Heron, a Spotted Sandpiper, a Reddish Egret and good numbers of Little Blue Herons, Marbled Godwits, Willets, Royal Terns, Caspian Terns, Black Skimmers and American Wigeon amongst others.

Bobcat

Eastern Meadowlark

Lesser Yellowlegs

Crested Caracara

Clapper Rail

Beast!

Royal Tern

Sora