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After the large number of birds we saw at Estero llano, Bentsen Rio State Park was rather an anti-climax. However, we got some good views of birds that we had already seen, such as Green Jays, Great Kiskadees (below), Golden-fronted Woodpeckers (below), Orange-crowned Warblers and White-tipped Doves (below).
We saw several Eastern Phoebes.
Even better, we saw a couple of Black Phoebes, a bird we both used to love watching in California.
And, last but not least, we finally got a good look at an Altamira Oriole.
Here as at the other Valley sites, I had expected to see lots of Red-winged Blackbirds but only a single female appeared.
Well, that's almost the end of my report on our trip. I'll finish it up on Sunday with some photos from Edinburg Wetland Center, a site I paid several quick visits to while we were in the Valley.
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I rarely take part in guided birdwalks because I prefer to be free to wander where my fancy takes me. However, Dee and I headed back to Estero Llano on Saturday to participate in the morning birdwalk there. We thought this would be easier than trying to work out for ourselves which parts of the park to visit. Also, I was pretty sure that the guides would know the locations of two species I particularly wanted to see: Common Pauraque and Eastern Screech-Owl.
As it turned out, we both greatly enjoyed the walk. The guide, Huck, was excellent and he took us to several very productive parts of the park.
The first pond we visited had both Black-crowned and Yellow Crowned (below) Night Herons.
Then Huck pointed out two Common Pauraques resting right next to the path. They really are remarkably strange-looking birds!
Alligator Pond lived up to its name by having the only alligator that we saw in the Valley.
After that, Huck led the group to see an Eastern Screech-Owl.
We walked up onto the levee that borders the park and had good views of several shorebird species: American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted Sandpiper and Stilt Sandpiper. In the same area we had distant views of a Red-tailed Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon and a White-tailed Kite (below).
By the time we completed the walk, we had seen no fewer than 65 species. That's pretty good for a walk that lasted just over two hours.
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The feeders behind the Visitor Center were attracting a steady stream of birds: Orange-crowned Warblers, Black-crested Titmice, House Sparrows, Plain Chachalacas and Green Jays.
An Olive Sparrow made a very brief appearance.
A Curve-billed Thrasher flew onto a seed-table and posed.
A few minutes later a Long-billed Thrasher turned up.
It was a treat to see both Thrashers because we don't get either species around Houston. The closest we get to them is the Brown Thrasher, a bird with a much brighter, more rufous back.
The Tropical Area was busy with Green Jays (below) and Great Kiskadees.
We sat down for a while and watched as a succession of birds came to feeders and to some half-grapefruits nailed to tree trunks. Plain Chachalacas seemed to find the grapefruits irresistible.
Here, as everywhere on our trip, we saw both Ladder-backed and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers. The Ladder-backed is rather similar to the Downy Woodpecker, a species that we see in our area. The Golden-fronted (below) is a larger, bolder and more common bird and it strongly resembles the Red-bellied Woodpecker of southeast Texas.
Walking back to the exit, we came across a bird I'd been hoping for: Clay-colored Thrush, which is another Valley specialty bird. Unfortunately, it refused to come out of the undergrowth to let me get a photo.
As we had enjoyed our visit, we decided to return to Estero Llano at 8:30 the following morning to participate in a guided birdwalk. Among other things, I was hoping that the walk would turn up a Common Pauraque and an Eastern Screech-Owl.
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Before last week, our most recent trip to the Rio Grande Valley was in June 2012. On that trip I discovered what has come to be my favorite Valley birding site: Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco.
When I visited in 2012, I was amazed by the number of wading birds that could be seen from the observation deck outside the Visitor Center. There were probably 200-300 birds in view.
When Dee and I visited the park last Friday morning, there wasn't a wading bird in sight. However, as it was winter, the pond was busy with ducks and other waterbirds. We spent an hour walking around and watching the activity on the water.
American Coots were well represented and there were also a few Common Gallinules.
At first the only Grebes we could see were Pied-billed but it wasn't long before we were lucky enough to spot a Least Grebe (below).
Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal were present. In the photo below a Green-winged is hunkered down near an American Coot.
A solitary Lesser Scaup was pottering around among a dozen or so Ring-necked Ducks (below).
Northern Shovelers are big, brightly colored ducks. It is always fun to watch them as they reach down to feed on underwater vegetation or stand up to preen.
While a few Ruddy Ducks kept too far away for me to get photos, Northern Pintails were more cooperative. What beautiful birds they are!
This American Wigeon appeared to be the sole representative of its species on the pond.
A single Black-bellied Whistling Duck kept watch over the water.
Just as we were leaving the pond, two Turkey Vultures circled far overhead. I checked both of them out with binoculars in case one was really a Zone-tailed Hawk, a species I saw for the first time earlier this year near Junction. Sure enough, one of these two Vultures turned out to be a Zone-tailed Hawk.
After our hour around the pond, we decided to check out the feeders behind the Visitor Center and then to walk up to see which birds were hanging out in the Tropical Area.
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It's funny how things work out sometimes. After our first two days in the Rio Grande Valley, I had reasonable photos of most of my target birds. However, I hadn't managed to get a clear picture of a Green Jay, even though we had seen dozens of these large and colorful birds. Either they didn't stay in view long enough or they were partially hidden by branches or they were in very dark shade.
So, when we visited Bentsen Rio Grande State Park on Sunday, I was pleased to see that one of their observation blinds was called "Green Jay Blind". The site deserved its name because the feeders in front of the blind were busy with up to 7 or 8 Green Jays at a time. So I finally managed to get a couple of photos that I was happy with.
I also got a couple of shots of one of the Jays as it took a quick bath.
The real photographic highlight of Sunday was of a different bird, though. During a quick visit to Anzalduas Park, I spotted two more Green Kingfishers. One of them, a male, let me get close enough for me to take a photo that clearly shows what a remarkably long bill this little bird has.
BTW, earlier in the day I had seen the other Kingfisher species that I had previously missed: the Ringed Kingfisher. Unfortunately, this bird was perched in an inaccessible spot on the river bank and so this picture is the best I could manage.
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My first morning in the River Grande Valley didn't start well. I drove north from Pharr to visit the Sal del Rey lake. Someone had told me it was about 12 miles north of where we were staying but, after driving 18 miles, I still hadn't found the turn-off road leading to the lake. So I gave up and headed back south to visit the Edinburg Wetlands Center instead. (I discovered later that I would have found the road I wanted if I had just gone two more miles north.)
As it turned out, it was lucky that I didn't get to the Sal del Rey. Because at Edinburg, I got out of the car, walked a few yards to a water channel, looked down and saw a female Green Kingfisher. This was a bird I'd been searching for, in the Valley and near Uvalde, for some six years and one that I'd begun to think I'd never see.
I only saw the bird for a few seconds and managed to get just one very poor photo.
I wondered if I'd get a better look over the next three days. I wondered, too, if I'd get to see the second bird on my must-see list: the Common Pauraque.
A Second Look
On Saturday I went back to the wetlands in the afternoon. I looked out over the lake and there was a male Green Kingfisher. It was quite a distance away but my new superzoom camera let me get some reasonably clear pictures.
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