TEXAS - Last few photos, maybe!

Record shot over an overwintering Summer Tanager at Estero Grande

Ruby-throated Hummingbird trying to be inconspicuous

Dozing Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilts, Greater Yellowlegs and a single Lesser Yellowlegs

Inca Dove

Pelicans trying to be symmetric

Lincoln's Sparrow

Meep Meep

Bewick's Wren

House Finch

Green Darner, probably

Black Swallowtail, probably

TEXAS - 22nd February

It clouded over during the night so the morning was pretty dark and breezy so a walk round the loop in Falcon State Park was fairly quiet with the highlight being a covey of 3 SCALED QUAIL flushed from one of the tracks; otherwise it was similar to yesterday with several Black-throated Sparrows showing well, singing Bewick’s Wrens and a couple of Vermillion Flycatchers.   I then drove back to Salineno but it was much quieter here than yesterday (admittedly it was late morning at this stage!) but I did get much better views of an Audubon’s Oriole coming down to the feeders.

                At lunchtime I drove north to Zapata where birds around the Library Pool in town (a nice little oasis in the now very hot afternoon) included two pairs of HOUSE FINCHES, a Common Yellowthroat, both Myrtle and Audubon’s Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, a female Summer Tanager, a single Scaled Quail, a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, a full adult male Vermillion Flycatcher, Long-billed Thrashers, a Pyrrhuloxia, a Blue-headed Vireo and a single female Ring-necked Duck.

                Also in Zapata there was an impressive gathering of waterbirds in one of the arms of Falcon Lake including 600+ Neotropic Cormorants, 80+ White Pelicans and a nice array of Egrets and Ducks with the pick being a pair of Cinnamon Teal with Shoveler and Blue-winged Teal.

Turkey Vulture

Black-throated Sparrow

Great Kiskadee

Long-billed Thrasher 

Audubon's Oriole

Pelicans

Crested Caracara

1st winter Crested Caracara

Northern Mockingbird hanging himself out to dry after a bath

Blue-headed Vireo

Vermillion Flycatcher

TEXAS - 21st February

Left the Lower Valley and arrived at Salineno at first light and had a very productive few hours at the river overlook and at the very busy feeders; new birds comprised at least 5 RED-BILLED PIGEONS flying around with White-winged Doves, a couple of NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS which flew over early on, 6+ CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS which flew north over the river from Mexico, a distant hovering RINGED KINGFISHER, a singing AUDUBON’S ORIOLE and good views of a ZONE-TAILED HAWK which circled over the river with a big flock of Turkey Vultures as they left their roost.  

Other birds here included a couple of White pelicans which flew downstream, quite a few Neotropic Cormorants, many Ospreys flying around carrying fish, a displaying Coopers Hawk, nice views of a perched Red-shouldered Hawk, several Spotted Sandpipers on the river, a Green Kingfisher, a Black Phoebe and nice views of Common Yellowthroat coming to drink at the feeding station where there was also Olive Sparrows and lots of Altamira Orioles.

I then drive slowly along some back roads through the dry bush where birds included good views of a PYRRHULOXIA, several parties of BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, awesome views of several Roadrunners as they fed alongside the car in the grass verges, a couple of Verdins, literally hundreds of Northern Mockingbirds, a Northern Harrier and several Loggerhead Shrikes.

             The rest of the day was spent at Falcon State Park where despite the now very hot conditions new birds included a party of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS at the campsite, excellent views of smart CACTUS WRENS, an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (a large Myiarchus Flycatcher anyway – this is my best guess!) and a couple of CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS also around the campsite.   The scrub in the park was pretty good as well with birds including an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk over with a bulging crop, a Harris Hawk, several smart Vermillion Flycatchers (including a displaying male – a little red puffball high in the air!), Loggerhead Shrike, a Blue-headed Vireo, several Bewick’s Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Long-billed Thrashers, a single Audubon’s Warbler with many Myrtle Warblers, some more Black-throated Sparrows and Pyrrhuloxias and a few Vesper Sparrows.

Osprey

White Pelican

Altamira Oriole

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Cardinal

Roadrunner

Roadrunner

Pyrrhuloxia