Valley Trip: Day 2 contd.

.Our two hours at Frontera Audubon started well with an Olive Sparrow and a Golden-fronted Woodpecker in the parking lot. From the sightings board at the visitor center we saw that a Green Kingfisher had been spotted just the previous day, so off we went to check out the pond where it had been seen. We didn't spot the Kingfisher there or at any of the site's other ponds. I'm beginning to think that this is one bird I'll never get to watch!

In place of the Kingfisher, a pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks posed by one of the ponds.

We got good looks at some Buff-bellied Hummingbirds.

Several Long-billed and Curve-billed Thrashers were foraging in the undergrowth.

Great Kiskadees appeared in several places. This one flew right down to the boardwalk in front of us.

As we walked the trails, we disturbed half-a-dozen Black-tailed Jackrabbits, as well as numerous lizards.

Our final sighting was of Plain Chachalacas in the bushes around the parking lot.

Hugh Ramsey Park

Later in the afternoon we spent a very pleasant 90 minutes walking the various trails in the Hugh Ramsey / Arroyo Canyon Park in Harlingen. I enjoyed it so much that I returned early the next morning for another stroll.

If you like cactus and other plants of semi-arid areas, this is the park for you.

There were a couple of wet areas, though.

One pond had a Great Kiskadee.

In a few places various flowering plants and trees were attracting butterflies, including a Mexican Bluewing.

As none of the feeding stations were stocked, we had to work hard to find birds. Northern Mockingbirds were plentiful, as were Curve-billed Thrashers.

We disturbed a Thrasher who had been sitting on a nest.

While the parent was away, I had a quick look into the nest.

Two other Thrashers were mating.

Long-billed Thrashers were present, too.

We again saw Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers (below).

Bewick's Wrens were fussing about near one of the paths.

Nearby there were Couch's Kingbirds.

An Olive Sparrow visiting a water feature stopped just long enough for me to get a photo.

The Trip So Far

Although we had enjoyed the sites we had visited to this point and had seen some good birds, we had not yet spotted most of the species that I was hoping to see. So we were really looking forward to our planned Saturday visit to Laguna Atascosa NWR. Surely that site would produce several south Texas specialties, such as Harris's Hawk, Greater Roadrunner and Green Jay. And perhaps a town on the way - Rio Hondo - would finally produce the Green Kingfisher that I have desperately wanted to see for several years!
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Valley Trip: Day 2

.As planned, I went back to the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands on Friday morning for a quick spell of birding before Dee and I moved on to some other sites. The main pond was quiet in the early morning.

However, the main observation deck at the south pond looked out on a lot of bird activity. Several Black-necked Stilts were busy looking for breakfast.

Snowy (below) and Great Egrets were busy, too.

One Great Egret looked majestic as it flew across towards the morning sun.

Neotropic Cormorants were drying their wings on snags protruding from the water.

I was surprised to see that there were no adults with some young Black-bellied Whistling Ducks that were washing and grooming in preparation for another exciting day.

A few minutes later, their parents returned and immediately put the ducklings down for an early morning nap.

Two Green Herons were fishing near the observation decks.

A Forster's Tern was fishing further out in the pond, while a Couch's Kingbird was flycatching from the trees along the side of the water.

Quinta Mazatlan

When Dee was ready, we packed and drove over to McAllen to visit Quinta Mazatlan, a lovely Mexican ranch house surrounded by beautiful gardens.

As we got out of the car, we were greeted by the sight of two Curve-billed Thrashers just outside the entrance to the site.

No sooner had we entered the grounds than we ran into our first Plain Chachalacas.

Then we had a quick look at a Brown-crested Flycatcher.

Great-tailed Grackles were as evident here as they were at every site we visited.

There were surprisingly few other birds in the gardens and so we spent most of our time there admiring the plants and some attractive bronze sculptures of local wildlife.

Our final sighting was of two Red-crowned Parrots making out near the entrance.

After this it was back in the car for the short drive to Frontera Audubon, a Weslaco birding site that we had enjoyed visiting some years ago on a previous trip to the Valley. We intended to spend the rest of the morning there before checking in to our motel in Harlingen and then going to the nearby Hugh Ramsey Park for a little late afternoon birding.
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Valley Trip: Part 1

.Our drive down to the Lower Rio Grande Valley went smoothly and we arrived at our motel in Edinburg in the late afternoon. Dee decided she wanted to have a rest before dinner but I headed over to the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands to do 90 minutes of birding around the ponds there.

The gardens around the visitor center had a Green Heron.

The plants were attracting several Buff-bellied Hummingbirds.

I checked out the main pond for a Green Kingfisher that had been seen recently but I didn't see anything except two adult Black-bellied Whistling Ducks escorting over 50 ducklings around on the far side of the water.

The trees nearby had several Golden-fronted Woodpeckers.

Crossing the parking lot to walk over to the second pond, I came across a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher having an early evening snack.

The first observation deck at the south pond overlooked a small inlet where a family of Whistling Ducks was resting. They zoomed away as soon as I approached.

The water had Great and Snowy Egrets, Neotropic Cormorants, American Coots, Black-necked Stilts and a Least Grebe but all were too distant for photos, as was a Couch's or Tropical Kingbird. A Great Kiskadee was much nearer.

Loudly protesting my presence, a Killdeer flew over my head.

My time for birding the site almost up, I did a quick walk around the pond, turning up a White-eyed Vireo, some House Sparrows and this Inca Dove.

The plan for Friday was to spend the morning at Quinta Mazatlan and Frontera Audubon. However, if I got up early, I could squeeze in another hour of birding at the Scenic Wetlands while Dee was getting ready for the day. So that was my plan.
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