Rio Grande Valley Trip: Salineno

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Thursday was a clear, sunny day and we took advantage of it to drive west along the Rio Grande Valley. Our first stop was at Salineno. We scanned the river but saw only a Spotted Sandpiper and an Osprey.

Our main reason for visiting Salineno was to check out the feeder station that is maintained there by volunteers and that attracts lots of birds, including many Orioles.

The whole area was busy with Red-winged Blackbirds, while Orange-crowned Warblers (below) and other common birds flew in and out to the feeders.

The oranges were popular with Green Jays.

Black-crested Titmice came in for the scratch that was smeared on branches.

Great Kiskadees liked the scratch too.

Golden-fronted Woodpeckers seemed to prefer the oranges.

However, they were also willing to sample the scratch.

The most common birds at the feeders, though, were Altamira Orioles. At times five or six of these beautiful birds were in view at once.

As we watched, we were hoping that two other Oriole species would show up: Audubon's and Hooded. Sure enough, after a while a female Hooded Oriole came in for a drink.

Then a male made an appearance.

We could have stayed at Salineno for much longer but we really wanted to visit Falcon State Park, partly in hopes of seeing Greater Roadrunners and other desert species. So we left the Orioles behind and got back into the car.
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