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Updated on Friday, May 9 at 05:54 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.


Araripe Manakin,©BirdQuest

9 May Anzalduas & NABA [Mary Beth Stowe ]
8 May Estero Llano Grande [Mary Beth Stowe ]
6 May Bell's Vireo @ Falcon State Park [MiriamEagl ]
5 May Harlingen Area [Mary Beth Stowe ]
1 May do not open "Contract Award Details" - pure spam [Barbara Passmore ]
1 May Sacahuistale Flats & Port Mansfield [Mary Beth Stowe ]
30 Apr River Roads [Mary Beth Stowe ]
29 Apr Laguna Atascosa 4/28 [Mary Beth Stowe ]
29 Apr Red-billed Pigeon @ Bentsen [Mary Beth Stowe ]
25 Apr Sabal Palms [Mary Beth Stowe ]
24 Apr Santa Ana & Frontera [Mary Beth Stowe ]
23 Apr Anzalduas, McAllen Sewer, Edinburg, & Estero Llano [Mary Beth Stowe ]
22 Apr South Padre Island [Mary Beth Stowe ]
21 Apr Anacua Levee, Zacatal, & McAllen Sewer Ponds [Mary Beth Stowe ]
18 Apr Edinburg Wetlands & Monte Cristo [Mary Beth Stowe ]
17 Apr Prairie Warbler @ Quinta Mazatlan [Mary Beth Stowe ]
16 Apr Santa Ana NWR [Mary Beth Stowe ]
15 Apr Anzalduas & NABA [Mary Beth Stowe ]
15 Apr Nine counties, 4 days, and lots of birds in Florida [Bob Carroll ]
14 Apr Estero Llano Grande SP [Mary Beth Stowe ]
12 Apr Falcon Parks [Mary Beth Stowe ]
10 Apr Harlingen [Mary Beth Stowe ]
9 Apr Cannon Loop [Mary Beth Stowe ]
8 Apr Old Port Isabel, Palo Alto, & Los Ebanos Preserve [Mary Beth Stowe ]
7 Apr Boca Chica & WT Robin [Mary Beth Stowe ]
4 Apr Santa Monica Wetlands/Longoria Unit [Mary Beth Stowe ]
3 Apr LRGV NWR - El Sal Del Ray [Mary Beth Stowe ]
1 Apr Wild Turkey @ Sacahuistale Flats [Mary Beth Stowe ]
31 Mar Laguna Atascosa [Mary Beth Stowe ]
28 Mar Brownsville Area [Mary Beth Stowe ]
27 Mar Monte Cristo Tract/Edinburg Wetlands [Mary Beth Stowe ]
26 Mar Surf Scoter @ Adams Gardens Reservoir [Mary Beth Stowe ]
25 Mar Fork-tailed Fly & Sabal Palms [Mary Beth Stowe ]
24 Mar River Roads [Mary Beth Stowe ]
22 Mar Bentsen Bird Walk [Mary Beth Stowe ]
21 Mar South Padre Island [Mary Beth Stowe ]
20 Mar Anacua Levee [Mary Beth Stowe ]
18 Mar McAllen/Weslaco [Mary Beth Stowe ]
17 Mar LRGV NWR La Sal Tracts [Mary Beth Stowe ]
14 Mar Old Isabel Road/Palo Alto [Mary Beth Stowe ]
13 Mar Harlingen Area [Mary Beth Stowe ]
12 Mar Santa Ana NWR [Mary Beth Stowe ]
11 Mar Boca Chica Tract [Mary Beth Stowe ]
10 Mar Sacahuistale & Port Mansfield [Mary Beth Stowe ]
7 Mar Falcon Parks [Mary Beth Stowe ]
5 Mar Anzalduas & NABA [Mary Beth Stowe ]
4 Mar Short-eared Owl @ Llano Grande [Mary Beth Stowe ]
29 Feb Laguna Atascosa NWR [Mary Beth Stowe ]
28 Feb Bentsen SP [Mary Beth Stowe ]
27 Feb Dusky-capped Flycatcher [Mary Beth Stowe ]
25 Feb Rio Bravo/Zapata Loops [Mary Beth Stowe ]
22 Feb Los Ebanos Loop [Mary Beth Stowe ]

Subject: Anzalduas & NABA
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 18:45:54 EDT
 
Hi, all!

Made the rounds at  Anzalduas CP this morning; highlights include a Ringed 
Kingfisher, a family of  Rough-winged Swallows in the middle of the road, both 
Cliff and Cave Swallows on  the wires on the opposite side of the park, and a 
Groove-billed Ani in the back  section.  Also had a very noisy Great Crested 
Flycatcher, making me feel  like I was back in Michigan! J  The resident Black 
Phoebe called while I  was shooting a teeny tiny little moth that was quite 
elegant!  Here's the  pic if you want to take a stab at the ID:

_http://www.miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Anzalduas.htm_ 
(http://www.miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Anzalduas.htm) 

...and  some photos of the swallow family:

_http://www.miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm_
 
(http://www.miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm) 

Since  I was short on time I didn't stop along Old Military Highway like I 
normally do, but the corn field just east of NABA was loaded with Dickcissels! 

NABA  itself was quite birdy, with not one but TWO singing Clay-colored 
Robins, and a  few leftover migrant warblers including a knockout Blackburnian 
(they seem to like that set of trees along Military Highway at the end of the 

"walking  trail")!  Also enjoyed a pair of anis loping along the trail before 
taking  flight.  The lep highlight was two Zebra Heliconians, one near his  
"plaque", and the other along the Walking Trail very near where the Erato 
showed 

up a few months ago.  For those masochists I had another mystery geometer  for 
your enjoyment:

_http://www.miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20NABA.htm_ 
(http://www.miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20NABA.htm) 

Two  separate bird lists follow: 
Location:     Anzalduas County Pk  (LTC 068)
Observation date:     5/9/08
Number of  species:     46

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   3
Plain Chachalaca     3
Pied-billed  Grebe     5
Neotropic Cormorant     1
Great  Blue Heron     1
Great Egret     2
Snowy  Egret     1
Tricolored Heron     2
Turkey  Vulture     3
American Coot     2
Rock  Pigeon     8
White-winged Dove      6
Mourning Dove     4
Inca Dove      1
White-tipped Dove     4
Greater Roadrunner   1
Groove-billed Ani     1
Ringed  Kingfisher     1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      12
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     2
Northern  Beardless-Tyrannulet     2
Black Phoebe      1
Great Crested Flycatcher     1
Brown-crested  Flycatcher     4
Great Kiskadee      9
Couch's Kingbird     7
Western Kingbird   2
Green Jay     3
Northern Rough-winged  Swallow     17
Bank Swallow     2
Cliff  Swallow     90
Cave Swallow      8
Black-crested Titmouse     3
Verdin      2
Northern Mockingbird     9
European Starling   10
Olive Sparrow     1
Lark Sparrow   1
Northern Cardinal     2
Painted  Bunting     1
Red-winged Blackbird      20
Great-tailed Grackle     17
Bronzed Cowbird   19
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
Lesser  Goldfinch     3
House Sparrow      12
Location:      NABA International Butterfly Park
Observation date:      5/9/08
Notes:     This route also covered the Old Military  Highway for 2.5 miles 
east of NABA
Number of species:      34

Plain Chachalaca     3
Turkey Vulture   1
Laughing Gull     3
Mourning Dove   6
Common Ground-Dove     1
White-tipped  Dove     2
Groove-billed Ani      2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird     1
Golden-fronted  Woodpecker     1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker      1
Eastern Wood-Pewee     1
Empidonax sp.      1
Brown-crested Flycatcher     3
Couch's Kingbird   4
Western Kingbird     2
White-eyed  Vireo     1
Green Jay     1
Cliff  Swallow     10
Black-crested Titmouse      1
Clay-colored Robin     2
Northern Mockingbird   7
Long-billed Thrasher     4
Curve-billed  Thrasher     1
Magnolia Warbler      1
Black-throated Green Warbler     2
Blackburnian  Warbler     1
Olive Sparrow     1
Northern  Cardinal     2
Dickcissel     9
Red-winged  Blackbird     8
Eastern Meadowlark      1
Great-tailed Grackle     7
Bronzed Cowbird   3
Altamira Oriole     1
Mary Beth Stowe 
McAllen,  TX 
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)  




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Subject: Estero Llano Grande
From: Mary Beth Stowe <miriameagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 16:30:07 -0400
Hi, all!

Had a terrific morning at Estero Llano, beginning as always along the dirt road 
south of the river, where a young Roseate Spoonbill was the first highlight of 
the day!? Other regulars included Blue-winged Teal, Avocets, BN Stilts, both 
whistling ducks, and Great Egrets.? Up on the levee had several singing 
Dickcissels down near the eastern gate along with some Western Kingbirds, but 
there were plenty of wetlands up there with plenty of waders: one spot was 
stuffed with Snowy Egrets and a handful of Little Blues and a token 
Tricolored.? Green Herons occupied some of the other areas, and a couple of 
Horned Larks tuned up along here as well.? There were several Common Nighthawks 
calling, and one came by close at eye level!? Swallows were well represented 
all morning, and an ani flew across the levee at one point. 


At the park birded the Green Jay Trail first, where a Wilson's Warbler was 
still hanging around.? Also had a mystery geometer moth; those of you who like 
a challenge can take a look at this little guy here: 



http://www.miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Estero%20Llano.htm 


Ran into Jim Booker and another ranger at the observation deck, and 
unfortunately the Hudsonian Godwit had left, but there was still a mob of Stilt 
Sandpipers with about a dozen dowitchers!? While Jim was gone I heard what I 
assumed was a Beardless Tyrannulet (several times), but later when I mentioned 
it to Huck, he said they had heard the bird as well but weren't convinced it 
wasn't the local very talented Mockingbird, so I let that one slide.? A Least 
Bittern called, and Huck told me later that two had been visible.? Viewing the 
pond from the boardwalk I was able to add a Semipalmated Sandpiper along with 
several Leasts.? Near the gazebo a Cassin's Sparrow popped up, giving great 
looks at its scaly back, and up on the Levee Trail I had another ani, plus a 
young Swainson's Hawk that appeared to come straight at me before pulling up! 


Enjoyed the crowd of whistling ducks, Least Grebes, and Neotropic Cormorants at 
Dowitcher Pond for awhile (missed the Least Terns that Huck said hung out 
there), then headed for Alligator Lake, where there appeared to be a colony of 
both Neotropic Cormorants and Snowy Egrets (and the former were making rude 
noises as well)!? Dipped on the kingfishers, but on the way out I flushed a fat 
brown body that, after noticing the screech owl box over my shoulder, was 
probably said screech owl, and after talking to Huck about it, I feel 
comfortable calling it that (they had been hanging out in that area, but he 
hadn't seen them for several weeks). 


Hiked the Camino de las Aves after that, picking up Bewick's Wren and tons of 
Common Ground Doves.? The connector trail had both an Eastern Wood Pewee and a 
Great Crested Flycatcher; lots of Brown-cresteds were around as well, along 
with Couch's Kingbirds.? I decided to try that new trail to Kiskadee Pond, 
which was quite lovely, but didn't pick up anything new (great look at a pair 
of Long-billed Thrashers, tho...) 


I was pretty shot after that, so headed back to the building, where I ran into 
Huck.? On the way out I heard a Mourning Warbler sing and call from the bushes 
near the hummingbird feeders, but unfortunately he only sang once; I was 
initially going to let that one go, but the more I thought about it, I couldn't 
think of anything else it could have possibly been with that burry song (unless 
it was a Mac ;-)). 


Bird list:

Location: ? ? Estero Llano Grande SP WBC (Weslaco)(LTC 054) 
Observation date: ? ? 5/8/08 
Notes: ? ? Also had 3 Archilochus sp. and a possible Northern Beardless 
Tyrannulet--some thought it could have been a Mockingbird. 

Number of species: ? ? 84 

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck ? ? 67 
Fulvous Whistling-Duck ? ? 12 
Mottled Duck ? ? 6 
Blue-winged Teal ? ? 14 
Plain Chachalaca ? ? 21 
Northern Bobwhite ? ? 5 
Least Grebe ? ? 9 
Pied-billed Grebe ? ? 1 
Neotropic Cormorant ? ? 45 
Least Bittern ? ? 1 
Great Egret ? ? 6 
Snowy Egret ? ? 59 
Little Blue Heron ? ? 8 
Tricolored Heron ? ? 1 
Cattle Egret ? ? 3 
Green Heron ? ? 4 
White Ibis ? ? 1 
Roseate Spoonbill ? ? 1 
Turkey Vulture ? ? 2 
Swainson's Hawk ? ? 2 
Common Moorhen ? ? 10 
American Coot ? ? 26 
Killdeer ? ? 5 
Black-necked Stilt ? ? 13 
American Avocet ? ? 2 
Spotted Sandpiper ? ? 3 
Lesser Yellowlegs ? ? 2 
Semipalmated Sandpiper ? ? 1 
Least Sandpiper ? ? 7 
Pectoral Sandpiper ? ? 1 
Stilt Sandpiper ? ? 73 
Long-billed Dowitcher ? ? 16 
Laughing Gull ? ? 1 
Gull-billed Tern ? ? 6 
Rock Pigeon ? ? 3 
White-winged Dove ? ? 28 
Mourning Dove ? ? 44 
Inca Dove ? ? 4 
Common Ground-Dove ? ? 20 
White-tipped Dove ? ? 9 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo ? ? 2 
Groove-billed Ani ? ? 3 
Eastern Screech-Owl ? ? 1 
Common Nighthawk ? ? 7 
Buff-bellied Hummingbird ? ? 1 
Golden-fronted Woodpecker ? ? 18 
Ladder-backed Woodpecker ? ? 1 
Eastern Wood-Pewee ? ? 1 
Great Crested Flycatcher ? ? 1 
Brown-crested Flycatcher ? ? 7 
Great Kiskadee ? ? 11 
Couch's Kingbird ? ? 6 
Western Kingbird ? ? 3 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher ? ? 1 
White-eyed Vireo ? ? 7 
Horned Lark ? ? 2 
Purple Martin ? ? 3 
Bank Swallow ? ? 9 
Cliff Swallow ? ? 5 
Cave Swallow ? ? 7 
Barn Swallow ? ? 25 
Black-crested Titmouse ? ? 2 
Bewick's Wren ? ? 3 
Northern Mockingbird ? ? 10 
Long-billed Thrasher ? ? 8 
Curve-billed Thrasher ? ? 1 
Yellow Warbler ? ? 1 
Mourning Warbler ? ? 1 
Common Yellowthroat ? ? 4 
Wilson's Warbler ? ? 1 
Olive Sparrow ? ? 7 
Cassin's Sparrow ? ? 1 
Lark Sparrow ? ? 1 
Northern Cardinal ? ? 3 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak ? ? 1 
Dickcissel ? ? 6 
Red-winged Blackbird ? ? 118 
Eastern Meadowlark ? ? 5 
Great-tailed Grackle ? ? 76 
Bronzed Cowbird ? ? 2 
Brown-headed Cowbird ? ? 4 
Hooded Oriole ? ? 1 
Lesser Goldfinch ? ? 4 
House Sparrow ? ? 12 

Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com
Subject: Bell's Vireo @ Falcon State Park
From: MiriamEagl <miriameagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 15:32:47 -0500
Hi, all!

Birded Falcon State and County Parks this morning, and just after chatting with 
Fran and heading down to the picnic area, had a singing Bell's Vireo just as 
you enter the area! Boy, that brought back memories of the riparian woodlands 
in San Diego! After I ran back to tell Fran about that, the summering 
Groove-billed Ani literally flew in to say hello, and a breeding-plumaged 
Chipping Sparrow landed on the fence, which I guess is rather late for this 
species. Over at the county park, a female Vermilion Flycatcher was bullying 
both Mockingbirds and Curve-billed Thrashers with a vengeance, so perhaps she 
had a nest nearby (the male was singing several yards away). 


The sky looked pretty mean, but for the most part I avoided rain (Fran told me 
that it could be pouring in Roma and dry as a bone at Falcon, and that's 
exactly what happened--I got to Roma and the sky opened!!). Other highlights 
included a Caracara that came sailing in along the entrance road and went right 
for a fairly fresh dead thing, LOTS of Curve-billed Thrashers (eBird flagged my 
count of 11, so I brought it down to ten and it liked that better ;-)), and a 
couple of pairs of Bobwhite in the camping area. We had been talking about the 
lack of White-eyed Vireos that day, but I just happened to get one at the 11th 
hour in the campground! Least Terns were calling down by the lake, and 
Bullock's Orioles were all over. 


Bird List:

 Location:     Falcon SP (Starr Co.)(LTC 084) 
Observation date:     5/6/08 
Number of species:     59 

Northern Bobwhite     4 
Great Blue Heron     1 
Great Egret     4 
Snowy Egret     3 
Turkey Vulture     8 
Osprey     1 
Harris's Hawk     1 
Crested Caracara     3 
American Coot     17 
Killdeer     5 
Spotted Sandpiper     1 
Greater Yellowlegs     1 
Least Sandpiper     3 
Laughing Gull     5 
Least Tern     2 
White-winged Dove     9 
Mourning Dove     16 
Common Ground-Dove     1 
Greater Roadrunner     3 
Groove-billed Ani     1 
Chimney Swift     2 
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     6 
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     5 
Vermilion Flycatcher     2 
Ash-throated Flycatcher     1 
Brown-crested Flycatcher     7 
Great Kiskadee     7 
Couch's Kingbird     3 
Western Kingbird     1 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher     8 
White-eyed Vireo     1 
Bell's Vireo     1 
Green Jay     1 
Bank Swallow     2 
Cliff Swallow     3 
Barn Swallow     4 
Black-crested Titmouse     1 
Verdin     6 
Cactus Wren     10 
Bewick's Wren     8 
Northern Mockingbird     29 
Long-billed Thrasher     2 
Curve-billed Thrasher     10 
Olive Sparrow     7 
Cassin's Sparrow     4 
Chipping Sparrow     1 
Lark Sparrow     3 
Black-throated Sparrow     5 
Northern Cardinal     8 
Pyrrhuloxia     11 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak     1 
Red-winged Blackbird     8 
Great-tailed Grackle     44 
Bronzed Cowbird     5 
Brown-headed Cowbird     10 
Hooded Oriole     3 
Bullock's Oriole     10 
House Sparrow     9 


Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com
Subject: Harlingen Area
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 18:06:18 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Birded Hugh Ramsey and City Lake Parks in Harlingen this morning;  highlights 
at Hugh Ramsey include a couple of Groove-billed Anis, a Green Heron  along 
the arroyo, what sounded like a Bullock's Oriole in the same area, both  
specialty kingfishers, a single Mississippi Kite flying low, and two lovely  
Magnolia Warblers. Also had a first-year Tennessee Warbler that wasn't as white 

towards the vent as I would have liked it to have been, but after reading up on 

it I learned they can still look pretty yellowish back there.   Curve-billed 
Thrashers and Buff-bellied Hummers were pretty friendly at the  feeders.  The 
City Lake had its usual mob of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks  and Laughing 
Gulls, with token cormorants of both species and a couple of  coots.  
 
Had a couple of strange moths in the ladies' room at High Ramsey which I'll  
post to the butterfly group, but if anyone's curious they can be viewed  here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Harlingen.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Harlingen.htm) 
 
Bird Lists follow:
 
Location:     Harlingen Arroyo Colorado (Ramsey Park) WBC  (LTC 026)
Observation date:     5/5/08
Notes:   Also had one female Archilochus hummingbird
Number of  species:     43

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   9
Plain Chachalaca     9
Green Heron   2
Mississippi Kite     1
Laughing Gull   16
Eurasian Collared-Dove     1
White-winged  Dove     25
Mourning Dove     14
Inca  Dove     3
Common Ground-Dove      1
White-tipped Dove     3
Groove-billed Ani   2
Chimney Swift     8
Buff-bellied  Hummingbird     8
Ringed Kingfisher      1
Green Kingfisher     2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker   15
Ladder-backed Woodpecker      2
Brown-crested Flycatcher     7
Great Kiskadee   6
Couch's Kingbird     1
White-eyed  Vireo     3
Purple Martin     3
Barn  Swallow     10
Black-crested Titmouse      1
Verdin     2
Carolina Wren      7
Bewick's Wren     4
Northern Mockingbird   7
Long-billed Thrasher     4
Curve-billed  Thrasher     3
Tennessee Warbler      1
Magnolia Warbler     2
Olive Sparrow      14
Northern Cardinal     5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak   1
Painted Bunting     2
Red-winged  Blackbird     1
Great-tailed Grackle      35
Brown-headed Cowbird     3
Bullock's Oriole   1
Lesser Goldfinch     3
House Sparrow   20

Location:     Harlingen City Lake (LTC 025)
Observation  date:     5/5/08
Notes:     Windy  conditions
Number of species:     19

Black-bellied  Whistling-Duck     45
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)   1
Neotropic Cormorant     1
Double-crested  Cormorant     1
Snowy Egret     5
American  Coot     2
Laughing Gull     80
Rock  Pigeon     2
White-winged Dove      10
Mourning Dove     1
Chimney Swift      1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     2
Great Kiskadee   1
Tropical Kingbird     1
Purple Martin   1
Northern Mockingbird     9
European  Starling     3
Great-tailed Grackle      20
House Sparrow     9

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





**************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family 
favorites at AOL Food.      
(http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)
Subject: do not open "Contract Award Details" - pure spam
From: Barbara Passmore <bkpass AT BELLSOUTH.NET>
Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 11:49:29 -0400
Although we get worlds of spam, I delete it and add the senders to the
blocked list. 

If possible, do not open the message entitled "Contract Award Details."

Barbara Passmore, Listowner

 
Subject: Sacahuistale Flats & Port Mansfield
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 15:52:56 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Birded Sacahuistale Flats and Port Mansfield this morning under mostly  
cloudy and very windy conditions; highlights along the road route include lots 
of 

beenting Common Nighthawks well into the morning, gobbling Turkeys, singing  
Botteri's Sparrows (along with the ubiquitous Cassin's), and a "Northern" 
Oriole that sounded more like a Bullock's to me, but I couldn't get a visual. 
I'm 

 positive I heard the "whipple-a whip" call of an Upland Sandpiper in one of 
the  ag areas, but noticed that eBird has taken it off the list already, so 
since the  field was close to some scrub forest where it COULD have been a 
Brown-crested Flycatcher (I've noticed they can make a very similar sound), I 
let 

that one  go.  Other highlights included two "tornadoes" of Franklin's Gulls, 
each  one having around 100 birds each, and a flyover Roseate Spoonbill.  A 
stop  at a little canal yielded a Green Kingfisher and immature Black-crowned 
NIght  Heron, as well as some Cliff Swallows possibly utilizing the overpass 
(although the checklist implies that they don't nest near the coast). There was 

also  a pair of the wild feral antelope that occurs in the area (Nigali?   
something like that...).
 
Pulled up to the nature trail in Port Mansfield and was greeted by a herd  of 
White-tailed Deer!  Despite the south winds, a few migrants were still  
hanging around, including a Bay-breasted and Hooded Warbler. I was surprised 
that 

eBird flagged the latter (had to go into the "rare birds" page to  find it, 
then confirm it), as the checklist considers them "common" on the  coast.  But 
I might have had a real rarity: a very rufous thrasher went  zipping into the 
scrub, then gave me a very brief look before taking off again  (not enough to 
get a good look at the face).  But the bird was  Veery-rufous, and overall 
seemed paler than the Longbills I've seen, so it MAY  have been a Brown.  But 
without a better look I didn't want to say  definitively.
 
Fred Stone CP had some cooperative shorebirds, including breeding-plumaged  
Ruddy Turnstones and a Black-bellied Plover.  Both Least and a single  
Semipalmated Sandpiper were at my feet, and out in the "dunes" area had a 
couple of 

Gull-billed Terns and three Wilson's Plovers, along with the reliable Cassin's 

Sparrow.
 
Both bird lists follow:
 
Location:     Sacahuistale Flats (LTC 013)
Observation  date:     5/1/08
Number of species:      58

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     25
Mottled  Duck     4
Wild Turkey     2
Northern  Bobwhite     12
Great Egret     3
Tricolored  Heron     1
Black-crowned Night-Heron      1
Roseate Spoonbill     1
Black Vulture      2
Turkey Vulture     11
Harris's Hawk      5
Crested Caracara     6
Willet      1
Laughing Gull     79
Franklin's Gull      200
Least Tern     1
Eurasian Collared-Dove   1
Mourning Dove     21
Inca Dove   2
Common Ground-Dove     1
Greater  Roadrunner     3
Common Nighthawk      12
Green Kingfisher     1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker   13
Ladder-backed Woodpecker      8
Brown-crested Flycatcher     13
Great Kiskadee   8
Couch's Kingbird     2
Scissor-tailed  Flycatcher     3
White-eyed Vireo      4
Green Jay     1
Horned Lark     2
Cliff  Swallow     3
Barn Swallow      10
Verdin     2
Cactus Wren      3
Bewick's Wren     4
Northern Mockingbird   16
Long-billed Thrasher     5
Curve-billed  Thrasher     2
European Starling     8
Olive  Sparrow     10
Cassin's Sparrow      14
Botteri's Sparrow     7
Lark Sparrow      17
Northern Cardinal     12
Pyrrhuloxia      1
Painted Bunting     1
Red-winged Blackbird   32
Eastern Meadowlark     18
Great-tailed  Grackle     55
Bronzed Cowbird      5
Brown-headed Cowbird     24
Hooded Oriole   6
Bullock's Oriole     1
Altamira Oriole   2
Lesser Goldfinch     1
House Sparrow   20

Location:     Port Mansfield
Observation date:   5/1/08
Notes:     Also had an Archilochus  hummingbird of unknown species
Number of species:      47

Brown Pelican     1
Great Blue Heron   4
Tricolored Heron     2
Turkey Vulture   6
Black-bellied Plover     2
Wilson's  Plover     3
Killdeer     1
Spotted  Sandpiper     2
Willet     9
Lesser  Yellowlegs     5
Whimbrel     2
Long-billed  Curlew     4
Ruddy Turnstone      8
Semipalmated Sandpiper     1
Least Sandpiper   3
Dunlin     3
Laughing Gull   52
Franklin's Gull     30
Gull-billed  Tern     2
Caspian Tern     1
Royal  Tern     5
Eurasian Collared-Dove      1
Mourning Dove     12
Buff-bellied Hummingbird   4
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     2
Brown-crested  Flycatcher     2
Loggerhead Shrike      1
Purple Martin     2
Barn Swallow      7
Bewick's Wren     1
Gray Catbird      1
Northern Mockingbird     1
European Starling   2
Bay-breasted Warbler     1
Hooded  Warbler     1
Olive Sparrow     1
Cassin's  Sparrow     1
Lark Sparrow     1
Northern  Cardinal     1
Pyrrhuloxia     1
Painted  Bunting     1
Red-winged Blackbird      1
Eastern Meadowlark     2
Great-tailed Grackle   39
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
Baltimore  Oriole     1
House Sparrow     6

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: River Roads
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:19:33 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Birded the River Roads this morning (basically from Roma west to Falcon  
Heights) and had a very productive time: the road to Fronton had several  
"western" specialties, including Scaled Quail, Black-throated Sparrow, and a 
pair of 

Lesser Nighthawks batting in the distance.  At the end of River  Road a 
Clay-colored Robin popped up, plus a nice Ringed Kingfisher seemingly battling 
with 

a Great-tailed Grackle over tree space!  Salieno was perhaps  the highlight, 
however: as I shared the bank for 15 minutes with a couple of  young 
fishermen, a large flock of Double-crested Cormorants flew by, and with them 
were 

three large white-winged ducks that I just wrote off as Black-bellied Whistlers 

(I was busy counting the corms), but then realized after the fact that  I 
should have taken that "second look", as they're not the only large 
white-winged 

dark ducks in this neck of the woods!  Thankfully an  individual Muscovy went 
powering upriver about ten minutes later!  Another  birder had been hiking the 
trail and thought he had a Red-billed Pigeon, so he  had returned to his car 
to retrieve his scope; the duck came by after he left,  so I'm hoping he 
spotted it!  
 
On the way to Chapeno another couple from New York stopped who were trying  
to find the old RV Park, so I had them follow me over, as unless you know  
exactly where this place is, you're apt to get lost! We crawled past the 
barking 

dogs and parked by the office, stuffed some money in the "Iron Ranger",  and 
headed down to the picnic tables, where we were immediately attacked by  these 
little micro moths (they calmed down after awhile, though...)!  It  was 
rather quiet while we were there, except for an Osprey that tried to catch 
lunch 

but failed, and a pair of dark ducks that sparked the Mottled vs. Mexican  
discussion; these birds looked pretty uniform above, so I called them Mottled. 

Just before I left I heard another Clay-colored Robin call;  unfortunately it 
took off before we could locate it. They were going to hang around for a few, 

but on my way back up the hill I kicked up a Savannah  Sparrow on the ground 
and a Chipping Sparrow in a tree, along with another upset  titmouse couple 
with food!  Back at the top I got distracted by two  female-type Yellow-headed 
Blackbirds in a tree with two Bronzed Cowbirds!
 
Headed back to Roma Bluffs, and was shocked to see the place closed when I  
thought the only day it was closed was on Mondays!  I found out that it's a  
one-woman office, and if she has to go to a meeting or something, that's all 
she 

 wrote.  So the lady next door very kindly gave me her number so that next  
time I could call the day before and make sure the doors would be open before  
coming out!  I was really looking forward to exploring that butterfly  garden, 
but the consolation prize was my life Olive-clouded Skipper in the  parking 
lot!  The only pic I got is here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Roma.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Roma.htm) 
 
Bird List:
 
Location:     River Roads Driving Route
Observation  date:     4/30/08
Number of species:      65

Muscovy Duck     1
Mottled Duck      2
Plain Chachalaca     3
Scaled Quail      1
Double-crested Cormorant     31
Great Egret   1
Snowy Egret     11
Green Heron   1
Black Vulture     4
Turkey Vulture   7
Osprey     1
Harris's Hawk   1
Crested Caracara     5
Spotted  Sandpiper     2
Rock Pigeon     4
Eurasian  Collared-Dove     2
White-winged Dove      18
Mourning Dove     8
Inca Dove      1
Common Ground-Dove     2
White-tipped Dove   2
Greater Roadrunner     1
Lesser  Nighthawk     2
Chimney Swift     2
Ringed  Kingfisher     1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      12
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     4
Ash-throated  Flycatcher     1
Brown-crested Flycatcher      7
Great Kiskadee     8
Couch's Kingbird      16
Western Kingbird     3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher   7
White-eyed Vireo     2
Green Jay   4
Purple Martin     2
Northern Rough-winged  Swallow     3
Bank Swallow     3
Cliff  Swallow     10
Barn Swallow      4
Black-crested Titmouse     4
Verdin      2
Cactus Wren     10
Bewick's Wren      9
Clay-colored Robin     2
Northern Mockingbird   19
Long-billed Thrasher     5
Curve-billed  Thrasher     2
European Starling     2
Olive  Sparrow     4
Chipping Sparrow      1
Black-throated Sparrow     2
Savannah Sparrow   1
Northern Cardinal     9
Pyrrhuloxia   8
Painted Bunting     3
Red-winged  Blackbird     40
Yellow-headed Blackbird      2
Great-tailed Grackle     36
Bronzed Cowbird   6
Brown-headed Cowbird     40
Hooded  Oriole     4
Bullock's Oriole     2
Altamira  Oriole     3
House Sparrow     33

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Laguna Atascosa 4/28
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:17:27 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Sorry for the late report, but ran out of time...  The weather was  cold and 
windy along General Brant Road (and the road itself was a  challenge--Jip was 
covered by the end of it...), but the front brought (or kept  down) lots of 
wonderful migrants! Had Grasshopper Sparrows and a Sedge Wren singing near the 

Big Refuge Sign along with a single Dickcissel, but at the  canal about a 
mile or so down from that had a rail "clapping" that didn't seem  to be 
accelerating enough to be Clapper, yet didn't seem steady enough to be King; 
being a 

fresh-water marsh I would assume King, but I'd love some feedback  from those 
who know better than I do!
 
Another puzzle was a group of ten largish shorebirds that went batting by,  
but with the wind at gale force all I could make out was a slender jizz (long  
legs and bills, and rather pointy wings), pale white wing stripes (not nearly 
as  bold as a Willet's), and white tail bases; my gut reaction was Hudsonian 
Godwit,  but my understanding is that even ONE bird would be rather rare here, 
much less  a flock of ten!  But I wasn't willing to say definitively with that 
shaky  look. A small flock of Indigo Buntings was more expected!
 
While on the loop the volunteer rangers (Bob and Carol, I believe their  
names were) caught up with me and said there was a tremendous fallout at the  
visitor's center, so I thanked them and hurried on along!  Had a few  
mini-fallouts even along the tour road, with a flock of 15 Baltimore Orioles 
near Redhead 

Ridge, and at one "corner" where there's a gate before the final  leg had an 
American Redstart, Northern Parula, and Red-eyed Vireo in a little  group.  In 
the bay were several spoonbills, White Ibis, Reddish Egrets of  both flavors, 
and plenty of shorebirds, most of which looked to be dowitchers  and Dunlin.  
Had a couple of peeps that if you held a gun to my head I'd  call Westerns, 
but I wasn't sure... Osprey numbers were way down from other times, with only 

two birds that I found, but one was RIGHT by the road,  with his attendant 
Laughing Gull, of course!  Also had a flock of  Franklin's sail by, and a 
Clapper Rail for sure grunted out in the  "stuff".  The seasonal wetlands were 
indeed wet after the rains, and in one spot found three Wilson's Plovers along 

with Willets and Blackbellies.  A  single Marbled Godwit reminded me of my 
previous home! :-)
 
I had been trying to link up with a local birding couple named Rex and  
Brigit, and we finally did back at the visitor's center, where they were 
already 

enjoying the show!  Before we actually ran into each other (phones weren't  
working there) a Wood Thrush bounced by near the photo blind, and a very  
cooperative Empid that even after studying Sibley I have no clue what it is;  
pictures are posted here (along with a few of the other goodies):
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm) 
 
Over by the main office a group of about ten Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were  
pigging out, and along Kiskadee Trail I had two each of Black-and-white and  
Magnolia Warbler, plus a Northern Waterthrush and a couple of Swainson's  
Thrushes. This is where we finally touched base, and these two are superb 
spotters: 

they found a Veery hiding away in some roots that I NEVER would have  seen!  
We also kicked up a Pewee, Chestnut-sided and Tennessee Warblers,  and another 
Red-eyed Vireo.  Brigit was delighted with the songs of the  Roadrunners 
nearby!  Over at the Pavillion they found another waterthrush  (I only heard 
it--thought it was a Blue Grosbeak at first...)
 
Unfortunately we didn't have much time to chat as I had to run back for a  
doctor's appointment, but it was a terrific morning out with great company at  
the end!  Bird List:
 
Location:     Laguna Atascosa NWR (LTC 024)
Observation  date:     4/28/08
Number of species:      95

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     4
Mottled  Duck     1
Plain Chachalaca     11
Northern  Bobwhite     4
Great Blue Heron     2
Great  Egret     5
Little Blue Heron      1
Tricolored Heron     2
Reddish Egret      9
White Ibis     11
White-faced Ibis      10
Roseate Spoonbill     20
Black Vulture   3
Turkey Vulture     7
Osprey   2
White-tailed Kite     1
White-tailed  Hawk     1
Crested Caracara     2
Clapper  Rail     1
King Rail     1
Black-bellied  Plover     12
Wilson's Plover      3
Semipalmated Plover     2
Spotted Sandpiper   3
Solitary Sandpiper     1
Willet   31
Upland Sandpiper     1
Long-billed  Curlew     3
Marbled Godwit     1
Ruddy  Turnstone     3
Western Sandpiper      3
Least Sandpiper     2
Dunlin      70
Long-billed Dowitcher     160
Laughing Gull   42
Franklin's Gull     9
Least Tern   1
Gull-billed Tern     11
Royal Tern   4
Mourning Dove     40
Common  Ground-Dove     1
White-tipped Dove      11
Greater Roadrunner     6
Common Nighthawk   1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird      2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     24
Ladder-backed  Woodpecker     5
Eastern Wood-Pewee      3
Empidonax sp.     2
Brown-crested Flycatcher   1
Great Kiskadee     1
Couch's Kingbird   2
Eastern Kingbird     1
Scissor-tailed  Flycatcher     1
Loggerhead Shrike      1
White-eyed Vireo     16
Red-eyed Vireo      3
Green Jay     15
Horned Lark      1
Purple Martin     2
Barn Swallow      1
Black-crested Titmouse     3
Verdin      8
Carolina Wren     2
Sedge Wren      1
Veery     1
Swainson's Thrush      2
Wood Thrush     1
Gray Catbird      2
Northern Mockingbird     23
Long-billed Thrasher   26
Curve-billed Thrasher     1
Tennessee  Warbler     1
Northern Parula      1
Chestnut-sided Warbler     1
Magnolia Warbler   2
Black-and-white Warbler     2
American  Redstart     1
Northern Waterthrush      2
Common Yellowthroat     7
Summer Tanager   1
Olive Sparrow     16
Cassin's Sparrow   4
Lark Sparrow     3
Grasshopper Sparrow   3
Northern Cardinal     23
Rose-breasted  Grosbeak     15
Indigo Bunting      12
Dickcissel     1
Red-winged Blackbird      411
Eastern Meadowlark     51
Great-tailed Grackle   29
Bronzed Cowbird     10
Brown-headed  Cowbird     8
Baltimore Oriole     20

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Red-billed Pigeon @ Bentsen
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:23:52 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Although not nearly as exciting as the Lucifer Hummer, I had a singing  
Red-billed Pigeon along the Kiskadee Trail this morning, heard best just south 
of 

the blind, and also by the restrooms at the east(?) end of Acacia Loop (the  
end closest to the park exit).  John Yochum and Jose Urita (did I get your  
last name right?? :-P) came out as soon as they could and both heard it well;  
unfortunately we couldn't spot the thing.
 
Other non-avian highlights include one of the Giant Toads out on the  road:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Reptiles%20Etc
.htm_ (http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/
Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Reptiles%20Etc.htm) 
 
and a gorgeous Roseate Skimmer also along Acacia Loop:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Bentsen.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Bentsen.htm) 
 
Gotta run, so here's the full bird list (from walking the whole loop, plus  
the Hawk Tower):
 
Location:     Bentsen-Rio Grande Val. SP WBC (Mission)(LTC  069)
Observation date:     4/29/08
Notes:   Red-billed Pigeon rather rare at this location; was confirmed by  
two additional birders.
Number of species:      54

Mottled Duck     2
Plain Chachalaca   31
Pied-billed Grebe     6
Neotropic  Cormorant     1
Least Bittern     2
Great  Egret     1
Little Blue Heron      3
White-faced Ibis     4
Turkey Vulture      5
Gray Hawk     1
Sora     1
Common  Moorhen     2
American Coot      40
Black-necked Stilt     2
Laughing Gull   2
Red-billed Pigeon     1
White-winged  Dove     73
Mourning Dove     9
Inca  Dove     1
Common Ground-Dove      3
White-tipped Dove     26
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   3
Groove-billed Ani     1
Buff-bellied  Hummingbird     2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird      8
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     35
Ladder-backed  Woodpecker     9
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet   3
Brown-crested Flycatcher     7
Great  Kiskadee     6
Couch's Kingbird      26
White-eyed Vireo     4
Green Jay      15
Bank Swallow     4
Cliff Swallow      5
Cave Swallow     6
Barn Swallow      5
Black-crested Titmouse     4
House Wren   1
Clay-colored Robin     2
Northern  Mockingbird     20
Long-billed Thrasher      6
Yellow Warbler     1
Olive Sparrow      12
Northern Cardinal     15
Painted Bunting   1
Red-winged Blackbird     24
Great-tailed  Grackle     51
Bronzed Cowbird      10
Brown-headed Cowbird     12
Hooded Oriole   1
Bullock's Oriole     2
Altamira Oriole   5
House Sparrow     4

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Sabal Palms
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:43:12 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Had a wonderful last morning with my San Diego friends; while they started  
the day in Brownsville looking for parrots, I had a repeat of Santa Ana in that 

 I got to Sabal Palm before the gate opened! :-P  But managed another Common  
Nighthawk that way, plus cracking views of a Bobcat!  (The others evidently  
saw the kitten later!)  Once in, my plan was to bird the Native Trail, then  
join the gang for the rest when they got there.  I forgot to ask the gal at  
the visitor's center (I think it was Janice), but almost the whole Native Trail 

area was burned, yet I wondered if that was the controlled backfire the  
firefighters set to combat the wildfire, as none of the benches or signage was 

destroyed, and while there was some scorching, it didn't look like the whole  
forest was cremated as in the recent fires in San Diego. Even so had some nice 

birds: lots of the usuals, but also a singing Blue Grosbeak, distant  
Bobwhites, and a flyover Ringed Kingfisher with food in its beak! At the 
resting 

spot at the far end Momma Titmouse came in to her nest with a nose full  of 
food, quivering her wings!  On the way back three gulls flew over that  looked 
like Herrings to me (as opposed to Ringbills), as they lacked a clear tail 
band. 

 
I managed to make it to the resaca before the gang showed up, picking up a  
singing Least Flycatcher on the way.  Another couple had spooked a Green  
Kingfisher at the pond that DID have water in it (caught the tail end heading  
away), and they had seen both Painted and Indigo Buntings further on, so when 
the 

gang arrived, we kept an eye out.  Some of us did indeed get a glimpse  of a 
Painted shooting into the "stuff", but it never came back out.  A  Long-billed 
Thrasher was more cooperative, however, and entertained everyone by  using a 
branch as a "teeter-totter"!  Phil spotted a Catbird, but I missed  that one...
 
We swung around to the Vireo Trail where it was pretty quiet, but when we  
cut down the Oriole Trail a beautiful Magnolia Warbler gave the group fleeting 

glimpses!  A few minutes at the Oriole Blind yielded a pair of Solitary  
Sandpipers and two Lark Sparrows that came in for a drink. From there we made 
our 

way to the Big Blind which was much more productive: aside from the  tons of 
Coots and lesser number of Moorhens, Gadwall, and Least Grebes, we had a  
really beat-up Mottled Duck that sparked some discussion of Mottled vs. 
Mexican, 

and in doing some research John Top discovered the "black mark on the gape"  
field mark for Mottled, which this one had, and was a new clue for me!  A  
single Ruddy Duck snoozed in the center of the pond, and a pair of Blue-winged 

Teal showed off every feather very nicely.  Comedy relief was provided by  the 
Red-eared Slider that crawled out of the water onto a log already occupied  by 
another turtle, who got pushed out of the way by the newcomer!  We were  
quietly joined by Wayne from Frontera, and was delighted to finally meet Dan 
Jones 

and JD Cortez!  (Hope it won't be the last time! :-))
 
After that Phil was just gonna "loop the loop" for awhile looking for  
migrants, so I finished up my survey and others went their own way. I ran into 

Jeannie Anderson from the SD group over along the Vireo Trail cutoff, and  she 
showed me a photo of an Indigo Bunting she had just seen (but didn't come  out 
for me, naturally)!  Another Green Kingfisher whizzed in while we sat  there, 
but unfortunately landed on the back side of the stump!  Jeannie had  
discovered their "new" trail, so since I had never taken it, we did so, and 
discovered 

a new little pond where I sat for five while Jeannie continued  on.  Didn't 
kick up anything out of the ordinary along the Forest Trail except something I 

swore was some kind of exotic bug on a tree trunk by the way  it was moving, 
but turned out to be a leaf...
 
Back at the visitor's center we hung around the feeders where chachalacas,  
Green Jays, White-tipped Doves, Bronzed Cowbirds, and the occasional  
Buff-bellied Hummingbird kept everyone glued! I wandered over to the butterfly 
garden 

after awhile where the only things I could kick up were a  Tropical Checkered 
Skipper and a Reakirt's Blue, but just before we left a  Black-necked Stilt 
flew over for the morning!  Topped off our time together  with a marvelous 
Mexican lunch in Brownsville!  Thanks again to Phil for  the meals :-D and the 
great company had by all!!  Bird List:
 
Location:     Sabal Palm Sanctuary (LTC 042)
Observation  date:     4/25/08
Notes:     In addition, one  Gray Catbird and one Indigo Bunting was observed 
by other members of the  group.
Number of species:     60

Black-bellied  Whistling-Duck     17
Gadwall     8
Mottled  Duck     3
Blue-winged Teal     6
Northern  Shoveler     1
Ruddy Duck     1
Plain  Chachalaca     14
Northern Bobwhite      2
Least Grebe     14
Great Egret      1
Snowy Egret     1
Cattle Egret      1
Green Heron     1
Black-crowned Night-Heron   1
Turkey Vulture     2
Osprey   1
White-tailed Kite     1
Swainson's  Hawk     1
Common Moorhen     5
American  Coot     40
Killdeer     1
Black-necked  Stilt     1
Solitary Sandpiper      2
Laughing Gull     7
Herring Gull      3
Rock Pigeon     6
White-winged Dove      4
Mourning Dove     27
Common Ground-Dove   1
White-tipped Dove     9
Common  Nighthawk     1
Buff-bellied Hummingbird      4
Ringed Kingfisher     2
Green Kingfisher   2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      24
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     7
Least Flycatcher   1
Brown-crested Flycatcher     11
Great  Kiskadee     9
Couch's Kingbird      18
White-eyed Vireo     4
Green Jay      8
Barn Swallow     1
Black-crested Titmouse   12
Carolina Wren     11
Northern  Mockingbird     7
Long-billed Thrasher      8
Magnolia Warbler     1
Common Yellowthroat   6
Olive Sparrow     16
Lark Sparrow   4
Northern Cardinal     9
Rose-breasted  Grosbeak     2
Blue Grosbeak     1
Painted  Bunting     1
Red-winged Blackbird      5
Great-tailed Grackle     7
Bronzed Cowbird   4
Brown-headed Cowbird     5
Baltimore  Oriole     1

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car 
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Subject: Santa Ana & Frontera
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:00:59 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Joined up with the San Diego gang again, starting at Santa Ana.  I got  there 
pre-dawn with the bright idea of listening for night birds, but forgot  that 
the gate doesn't open till dawn...  Did get a silent nighthawk batting  over 
that I'm presuming Common at this point.  Heard a Gray Hawk in the  parking 
lot, and hung around the feeder area until the rest showed up.   Once all 
reunited, I wanted to take them on the Willow Lake Trail but we got sidetracked 
onto 

the Chachalaca Trail by a Black-crested Titmouse!  While  we were there we 
checked out the lake, which was pretty quiet, but we did have a Least Grebe and 

a couple of Gadwall for the day (some whistling ducks fled, but  we saw 
plenty later). In the area where I've found Clay-colored Robin in the past we 

happened upon an Altamira Oriole nest in the making, so that was a hit! Over at 

the hawk tower a pair of Harris' posed nicely, and a  Beardless Tyrannulet 
called "right there", but we never could get on the thing  before it flew to 
places unknown.  
 
We eventually made it over to Pintail Lakes, where we ran into Carolyn, the  
Santa Ana volunteer, taking a couple of our group around (they had gotten  
separated so just decided to take the docent-led walk and learn about more than 

just the birds), and they had found an ani!  Thankfully the rest of us got  
good looks at another pair on the way back (had this other couple not been  
shooting them we probably would have passed right by them). Back at the lakes 
we 

had a nice show of Little Blue Herons, both ibis, an Anhinga, and a  couple 
of Neotropic Cormorants.  Unfortunately the Ringed Kingfisher was a  no-show, 
but we enjoyed chatting with "Salieno Cheryl" who was doing a waterfowl  count 
with her hubby!  A threatening thunderstorm sent us back to the  visitor's 
center; once back there I saw the flash of lightning and said, "Boy,  THAT was 
close!"  Everyone else said, "WHAT was close?"  BANG!!!   The reaction was 
better than that "face in the boat" scene from "Jaws"!  :-D
 
Once recovered the group delighted in a pair of Olive Sparrows singing at  
our feet, and some of us went up on the levee to look for raptors, where we  
indeed spotted Swainson's, Broad-winged, and Sharp-shinned Hawks. We spent the 

rest of the morning hanging around the feeders where the Redwings had moved  
in, but we also enjoyed Buffbellies and a single male Indigo Bunting.  One  of 
our party had stayed behind to shoot, and she was the only one that got the  
Clay-colored Robin hanging around the picnic area!
 
We went our separate ways for lunch and then reconvened at Frontera  Audubon; 
I beat them there by about a half hour so just slowly made my way down  the 
trail, sitting for five at each bench.  Had a handsome "Black-backed"  
Goldfinch at the water feature, Tennessee and Yellow Warblers near the citrus 
grove, 

and a Yellow-breasted Chat near the stagnant pond.  Kicked up a male  Painted 
Bunting on the trail, which I unfortunately was not able to relocate for  the 
crew when they showed up.  It was getting pretty warm, so we spent a  goodly 
amount of time at the feeding station where the Chachalacas and House Sparrows 

entertained us, but got good looks at Inca and White-tipped Doves, plus  a 
pair of Cardinals and a Black-crested Titmouse.  We checked the lake, but  no 
night herons, and checked the dead palm, but no parakeets, so we just dragged  
ourselves around the trails, missing both the anis and Clay-colored Robin that 

another couple had just seen.  The consolation prizes were two Catbirds, a  
Baltimore Oriole, and more chats (I had had a female Hooded earlier).   Karen 
had again hung out at the water feature while the rest of us knocked ourselves 

silly in the heat, and was able to shoot what looked like a  Philadelphia 
Vireo! From there we crashed on the benches or on the deck; some folks found a 

female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, while others of us pointed out  the Chimney 
Swifts flying by, in between trying to rescue a female  Archilochus hummer who 
had flown into the visitor's center...
 
Both bird lists follow:
 
Location:     Santa Ana NWR (LTC 059)
Observation  date:     4/24/08
Number of species:      59

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     10
Gadwall   2
Blue-winged Teal     2
Northern  Shoveler     1
Plain Chachalaca     10
Least  Grebe     1
Pied-billed Grebe      1
Neotropic Cormorant     2
Anhinga      2
Great Egret     2
Snowy Egret      2
Little Blue Heron     5
Tricolored Heron   1
Cattle Egret     10
White Ibis   5
White-faced Ibis     1
Sharp-shinned  Hawk     1
Harris's Hawk     2
Broad-winged  Hawk     4
Gray Hawk     1
Swainson's  Hawk     1
American Coot      1
Killdeer     1
Black-necked Stilt      4
Laughing Gull     1
White-winged Dove      10
Mourning Dove     5
Inca Dove      2
White-tipped Dove     2
Groove-billed Ani   2
Common Nighthawk     1
Buff-bellied  Hummingbird     3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      20
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     4
Northern  Beardless-Tyrannulet     1
Brown-crested Flycatcher   8
Great Kiskadee     5
Couch's Kingbird   10
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher     3
White-eyed  Vireo     5
Green Jay     3
Bank  Swallow     2
Barn Swallow      1
Black-crested Titmouse     3
Marsh Wren   1
Northern Mockingbird     2
Long-billed  Thrasher     5
European Starling      1
Common Yellowthroat     5
Olive Sparrow   10
Northern Cardinal     3
Indigo  Bunting     1
Red-winged Blackbird      15
Great-tailed Grackle     20
Bronzed Cowbird   5
Brown-headed Cowbird     2
Altamira  Oriole     2
Baltimore Oriole     1
House  Sparrow     8

Location:     Frontera Audubon Ctr (LTC 058)
Observation  date:     4/24/08
Number of species:      36

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     17
Plain  Chachalaca     20
Snowy Egret      1
White-winged Dove     30
Inca Dove      10
White-tipped Dove     5
Chimney Swift      5
Buff-bellied Hummingbird     7
Ruby-throated  Hummingbird     3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      7
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     2
Brown-crested  Flycatcher     2
Great Kiskadee      8
Couch's Kingbird     3
White-eyed Vireo   3
Black-crested Titmouse     3
Carolina  Wren     6
Gray Catbird     2
Northern  Mockingbird     2
Long-billed Thrasher      3
Tennessee Warbler     1
Yellow Warbler      1
Black-and-white Warbler     1
Yellow-breasted Chat   4
Olive Sparrow     3
Northern Cardinal   4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak     1
Painted  Bunting     4
Red-winged Blackbird      1
Great-tailed Grackle     10
Bronzed Cowbird   1
Hooded Oriole     1
Altamira Oriole   1
Baltimore Oriole     1
Lesser  Goldfinch     5
House Sparrow     15

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car 
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Subject: Anzalduas, McAllen Sewer, Edinburg, & Estero Llano
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:24:33 EDT
Hi, all!
 
This was the first full day of the San Diego Audubon trip to the Rio Grande  
Valley, so we covered a lot of territory today!  Met at Anzalduas first,  
where we heard the Beardless Tyrannulet but couldn't pin him down. Everyone's 

first Green Jay posed nicely on a pipe, and everyone was duly  impressed that 
the Rio Grande (and Mexico) was "right there"!  We spent  most of our time in 
the back section where we got good views of Couch's Kingbirds and Brown-crested 

Flycatcher together, chorusing Chachalacas,  Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, and 
for most of us a heard-only Groove-billed Ani  (one participant got a fleeting 
look).
 
A quick stop at the sewer ponds yielded many of the same birds I had  Monday, 
plus the tour's first Cave Swallows, and the three young Swainson's  Hawks 
right where I left them! From there we zipped over to Edinburg Wetlands (after 

getting turned around; I was leading the pack but I had never  come up from 
the south before...), where the crew had stunning looks at a  cooperative 
Buff-bellied Hummingbird and Curve-billed Thrasher. Javier came by while we 
were 

checking out the North Lake (the Audubon's Oriole had been  seen that morning 
but he aluded us once again); there we had Least Grebe and the  usual crowd of 
egrets and teal and "swimming rails".  On the way to the  South Pond Phil 
Pryde (our leader) found us a couple of Diamondback Water Snakes! The regular 

crowd of Neotropic Cormorants was hanging around the  South Lake, along with 
four Black-crowned Night Herons and a pair of Fulvous Whistling Ducks, and the 

Gull-billed Terns put in an appearance on the way back  to the visitor's 
center, as well as a showy Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. The token mammal was a 
very 

cooperative Mexican Ground Squirrel!  Pictures of  the snake and the squirrel 
(you have to scroll down to the mammal section for  that one) are posted here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Reptiles%20Etc
.htm_ 

(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Reptiles%20Etc.htm) 

 
I did a butterfly snoop while the others wandered until the prescribed  
leaving time, and besides a Fatal Metalmark, discovered after looking at the  
pictures that I had a Horace's Duskywing, a life lep! Those pics are posted 
here: 

 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Edinburg.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Edinburg.htm) 
 
From there we raided the Subway on University, then headed over to Estero  
Llano, checking out the river first. The Avocets were still there, along with 

four distant White Pelicans, but the prize for many was the snoozing Black  
Skimmer! Had additional Stilt Sands there as well. In the park a Lark Sparrow 

posed on the fence near the entrance, and a couple of Savannah  Sparrows hid 
in the shade on the other side of Ibis Pond.  At the feeders  everyone was 
thrilled with the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird that came in to spar with the 

Buff-bellied, and in Dowitcher Pond we added Black-bellied  Whistling Ducks to 
the list.  Alligator Lake wasn't as productive as it  apparently was that 
morning: we added White Ibis and Cattle Egret, and got a better look at a Green 

Heron, but nothing more exotic except a Long-billed  Thrasher that gave a very 
brief view.  I needed to vamoose after that, but  on the way to the car I 
heard a Green Kingfisher ticking from the foliage!
 
The four bird lists follow (numbers are approximate as I was concentrating  
more on showing people birds than keeping an accurate count...)
 
Location:     Anzalduas County Pk (LTC 068)
Observation  date:     4/23/08
Number of species:      26

Plain Chachalaca     6
Great Egret   1
Turkey Vulture     3
Osprey   1
Killdeer     1
White-winged Dove   5
Mourning Dove     2
Groove-billed Ani   1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      10
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     2
Northern  Beardless-Tyrannulet     1
Brown-crested Flycatcher   1
Great Kiskadee     2
Couch's Kingbird   5
Green Jay     2
Purple Martin   1
Barn Swallow     1
Black-crested  Titmouse     1
Marsh Wren     1
Northern  Mockingbird     5
Common Yellowthroat      1
Olive Sparrow     2
Northern Cardinal      1
Red-winged Blackbird     3
Great-tailed Grackle   30
Bronzed Cowbird     3

Location:     McAllen Sewage Ponds (LTC 066)
Observation  date:     4/23/08
Number of species:      19

Blue-winged Teal     10
Great Egret   1
Swainson's Hawk     3
Black-necked  Stilt     5
Spotted Sandpiper     1
Least  Sandpiper     5
Stilt Sandpiper      10
Long-billed Dowitcher     2
Rock Pigeon   1
White-winged Dove     5
Mourning Dove   5
Great Kiskadee     1
Purple Martin   3
Cave Swallow     5
Northern  Mockingbird     3
Northern Cardinal      1
Great-tailed Grackle     10
Brown-headed Cowbird   1
House Sparrow     5

Location:     Edinburg Scenic Wetlands WBC (LTC  061)
Observation date:     4/23/08
Number of species:   28

Fulvous Whistling-Duck      2
Gadwall     2
Blue-winged Teal      10
Northern Shoveler     1
Ruddy Duck      1
Least Grebe     5
Neotropic Cormorant      30
Great Blue Heron     1
Great Egret      1
Snowy Egret     2
Green Heron      1
Black-crowned Night-Heron     4
Common Moorhen   5
American Coot     30
Spotted Sandpiper   1
Gull-billed Tern     4
Rock Pigeon   3
Mourning Dove     5
Buff-bellied  Hummingbird     3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      2
Great Kiskadee     1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher   1
Northern Mockingbird     5
Curve-billed  Thrasher     1
Yellow Warbler     1
Common  Yellowthroat     1
Great-tailed Grackle      20
House Sparrow     3

Location:     Estero Llano Grande SP WBC (Weslaco)(LTC  054)
Observation date:     4/23/08
Number of species:   34

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck      10
Blue-winged Teal     5
Least Grebe      1
American White Pelican     4
Neotropic Cormorant   2
Great Egret     1
Snowy Egret   5
Cattle Egret     1
Green Heron   1
White Ibis     1
Common Moorhen   6
American Coot     5
Killdeer   1
American Avocet     2
Spotted  Sandpiper     2
Stilt Sandpiper      5
Long-billed Dowitcher     1
Black Skimmer   1
White-winged Dove     10
Common  Ground-Dove     3
Buff-bellied Hummingbird      1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird     1
Green Kingfisher   1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     5
Great  Kiskadee     5
Purple Martin     5
Cave  Swallow     5
Northern Mockingbird      5
Long-billed Thrasher     1
Common Yellowthroat   1
Lark Sparrow     1
Savannah Sparrow   2
Northern Cardinal     1
Great-tailed  Grackle     20

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car 
listings at AOL Autos.      
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Subject: South Padre Island
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:35:43 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Had a wonderful morning with San Diego buddy Alice Debolt out at SPI,  
starting at the Sheepshead Lot, where it was rather quiet at first, but shortly 

things livened up with a Yellow-breasted Chat, a knockout male Scarlet Tanager, 

and a "Christmas Tree" full of Indigo Buntings!  A single female Painted  was 
in with them, and a moulting Baltimore Oriole tried to bully a female  
Cardinal off a grapefruit (which Alice had put out beforehand)! A 
Black-and-white 

Warbler worked the trees while this was going on, and a female  Orchard Oriole 
had me fooled into thinking it was a Blue-winged Warbler at first  (they're 
small, but not THAT small)!  A pair of Tropical Kingbirds  chittered near the 
wires, sparring with a pair of Scissortails.
 
From there Alice took me to a couple of spots she sometimes checks for  
migrants, including Scarlet's neighborhood where I at least heard a 
Rose-breasted 

Grosbeak, and the little plot of woods where our other San Diego  buddy Tony 
Merceica sets up his photo blind, where we had a Wilson's and  Tennessee 
Warbler, plus a Curve-billed Thrasher whistling rudely at us. Then we headed 
over 

to the Convention Center, where several other  birders/photographers were 
circling the trees trying to glimpse some leftover migrants; I was pleased to 
be 

able to add Redstart (singing his "Please please  send me E-mail!" song), 
Northern Parula, Warbling Vireo, and the real prize--a male Blackpoll Warbler 
to 

the list!  We serendipitiously ran into Richard  Griebe, who joined us as we 
poked along the boardwalk.
 
It was great hearing both Sedge and Marsh Wrens singing together, which  
sparked a conversation about the possibility of splitting the Marsh Wrens, as  
they truly do sound a LOT different here than the western birds! At the end of 

the boardwalk Alice had been telling us about the rudeness of Alloicious  
(sp?) the Alligator who lunged at her and roared, only to find out that people 

had been feeding her chickens (feeding the alligator, not Alice), and she had  
come to expect a free meal from passers-by!  Back in the mud was a Killdeer  
and what we thought were Semipal Plovers at first, when we suddenly realized we 

were looking at baby Killdeer!  I was commenting that this was the first  
time the Moorhens hadn't been at our feet, but Alice pointed out something even 

better: a Least Bittern!  He even decided to come out and put on a show,  
which sent Richard literally running back to his van for his camera! Pictures 

(along with a brazen Great-tailed Grackle) are posted here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm) 
 
Along the other boardwalk a pair of amorous Clapper Rails called and mated  
right out in the open, and a Tricolored Heron in high breeding plumage oohed 
and  ahhed some visiting birders with its bright blue bill!  At the very end  
were colorful White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbills, and a female Redhead sitting on  
what almost looked like a Muskrat mound or something! The Larid Flock had its 

usual contingent of Laughers, Skimmers, and Royal and Sandwich Terns, plus  
various flavors of shorebirds (Dunlin coming into breeding plumage were  
especially nice). A Reddish Egret flew by, and the whole group took off when an 

Osprey decided to bomb them just for fun!
 
I wanted to access the ocean side of the beach before we all met Tony's  wife 
Peggy for lunch, so we zipped down to the end of the road to look at the  
dunes, then zipped into one of the beach access points and picked up several  
courting Least Terns, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstone, and Brown Pelicans sailing 

by.  After a wonderful lunch at Naturals, I dropped Peg off at the  Convention 
Center where Tony was hanging out (he thought it was gonna be the  "Girl's 
Club" for lunch and didn't realize that Richard and Alice's other half Chuck 
was 

gonna join us) and we sat and chatted for a few, adding Yellow Warbler  to 
the list.
 
Said list:
 
Location:     South Padre Island WBC (LTC  035)
Observation date:     4/22/08
Number of species:   72

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck      11
Mallard     2
Mottled Duck      3
Blue-winged Teal     3
Redhead      3
Brown Pelican     30
Neotropic Cormorant   1
Least Bittern     2
Great Blue Heron   7
Great Egret     1
Snowy Egret   2
Tricolored Heron     6
Reddish Egret   1
Cattle Egret     60
Black-crowned  Night-Heron     1
White Ibis     3
Roseate  Spoonbill     3
Osprey     1
Clapper  Rail     4
Common Moorhen      2
Black-bellied Plover     2
Killdeer      5
Willet     10
Ruddy Turnstone      17
Sanderling     15
Western Sandpiper      5
Least Sandpiper     2
Dunlin      10
Laughing Gull     47
Least Tern      10
Royal Tern     25
Sandwich Tern      3
Black Skimmer     46
Rock Pigeon      11
Eurasian Collared-Dove     10
White-winged Dove   1
Mourning Dove     3
Inca Dove   1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird     5
Great  Kiskadee     2
Tropical Kingbird      3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher     3
Warbling Vireo   1
Tree Swallow     1
Barn Swallow   14
Sedge Wren     1
Marsh Wren   2
Northern Mockingbird     5
Long-billed  Thrasher     1
Curve-billed Thrasher      1
Tennessee Warbler     1
Northern Parula   2
Yellow Warbler     1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  (Myrtle)     5
Blackpoll Warbler      1
Black-and-white Warbler     1
American Redstart   2
Common Yellowthroat     2
Wilson's  Warbler     1
Yellow-breasted Chat      1
Scarlet Tanager     1
Lincoln's Sparrow   1
Northern Cardinal     2
Rose-breasted  Grosbeak     1
Indigo Bunting     8
Painted  Bunting     1
Red-winged Blackbird      14
Great-tailed Grackle     48
Brown-headed Cowbird   6
Orchard Oriole     2
Baltimore Oriole   4
House Sparrow     21

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car 
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Subject: Anacua Levee, Zacatal, & McAllen Sewer Ponds
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:41:06 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Birded the levee down around the Anacua Tract of Las Palomas this morning;  
got there much earlier than anticipated, but my reward was a beenting Common  
Nighthawk!  Two pairs of Tropical Kingbirds were being territorial, and it  
would be that way pretty much along the whole 15 miles, causing eBird to flag  
the number! 
:-D  I was disappointed that I found no migrants at the two  trailheads, but 
did have my only Caracara of the day there.  
 
At the levee I headed west to the little "station", and since the road was  
so dicey decided not to do that little stretch any more.  But curiosity won  
out and instead of backtracking to where I initially got on the levee, I 
decided 

 to head north on a connecting levee (seeing as it bordered some good 
habitat) to see where that went. Felt a little funny as this one went pretty 
close 

to  some homes and a ranch (even ran into a couple of guys walking their 
dogs), but DID stumble upon a tiny little resaca that had a Solitary Sandpiper 
and 

a  Moorhen, in addition to a couple of coots!  In the woods Altamira Oriole  
and White-tipped Dove were both new for the route.  So was White-winged  Dove, 
even though they were out the wazoo this time!
 
I got all turned around back there, as I thought I was heading back east  but 
the position of the sun shot that theory, and the levee eventually dumped  
out on US281 just west of Santa Maria.  So I backtracked down to the WMA  then 
went east at the levee as usual.  The little wetlands had water this  time, 
along with Least Grebes, a Stilt Sandpiper, and Black-necked  Stilts.  Other 
highlights at various stops along the route included two Baltimore Orioles, my 

FOS Summer Tanager, another calling Upland Sandpiper, and several Black-bellied 

Whistling Ducks, also new for the route.  Raptors  were thin (it was pretty 
much overcast the whole time), but caught a  White-tailed Kite doing a display 
flight, which was nice to see!   Chachalacas were tuning up at various points, 
and flushed a couple of Bobwhite  that made a funny grating sound (obviously 
an alarm call) which I had never  heard!  Lots of Barn and Rough-winged 
Swallows were heading north as well, and I was surprised to still have 
Lincoln's 

Sparrows around this late!   Even had a Buff-bellied Hummer chitter from the 
woods!
 
A stop at the Zacatal Resaca was productive as always; whistling duck  
numbers were way down, but the nicest bird was a fresh, pink Franklin's Gull! 

Other special birds there included a White-faced Ibis and Tricolored Heron, 
plus 

both grebes, BN Stilts, BW Teal and Shovelers, and a Spotted  Sandpiper.  A 
singing Yellow Warbler was the only migrant I could kick  up.
 
I wanted to check the McAllen Sewer Ponds before the gang from San Diego  
came to town, and lo and behold, there was actually water in the first  pond!  
And along with it were lots of stilts (both the Black-necked and  Sandpiper 
kind), plus a single male Wilson's Phalarope, what I felt comfortable calling a 

Semipalmated Sandpiper (little dinky bill with a pretty obvious  eyepatch), 
several Least, and a single Baird's, plus a couple of dowitchers. An American 

Goldfinch called happily during all of this! I'm thinking that mystery hawk I 

had last week over on the Cannon Loop may have  been a young Swainson's, as 
an identical raptor was here on the telephone wire,  and when it flew, the 
pattern below looked more like a young Swainson's than a young Redtail to me. 

After circling the pond I explored another dirt road on the way out that had a 

Cactus Wren singing, and found a recently killed  nighthawk that looked like a 
Lesser to me, but I would welcome feedback;  pictures are posted here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm) 
 
The three bird lists follow:
 
Location:     Anacua WMA (LTC 051)
Observation  date:     4/21/08
Number of species:      55

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     13
Plain  Chachalaca     9
Northern Bobwhite      3
Least Grebe     4
Great Blue Heron      1
Great Egret     3
Snowy Egret      2
Turkey Vulture     1
White-tailed Kite      1
Swainson's Hawk     1
Crested Caracara      1
Common Moorhen     1
American Coot      2
Killdeer     1
Black-necked Stilt      4
Solitary Sandpiper     1
Upland Sandpiper   1
Stilt Sandpiper     1
Rock Pigeon   2
White-winged Dove     45
Mourning Dove   29
Inca Dove     1
White-tipped Dove   2
Common Nighthawk     1
Buff-bellied  Hummingbird     1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      17
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     2
Brown-crested  Flycatcher     3
Great Kiskadee      18
Tropical Kingbird     26
Couch's Kingbird   14
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher     1
White-eyed  Vireo     12
Green Jay     2
Horned  Lark     3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow      39
Barn Swallow     39
Black-crested Titmouse   1
Carolina Wren     5
Northern  Mockingbird     11
Long-billed Thrasher      9
European Starling     2
Common Yellowthroat   27
Summer Tanager     1
Olive Sparrow   7
Lark Sparrow     4
Lincoln's Sparrow   2
Northern Cardinal     6
Red-winged  Blackbird     90
Great-tailed Grackle      191
Bronzed Cowbird     18
Brown-headed Cowbird   24
Altamira Oriole     1
Baltimore  Oriole     2
House Sparrow     9

Location:     El Zacatal (LTC-052)
Observation  date:     4/21/08
Number of species:      25

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     40
Blue-winged  Teal     4
Northern Shoveler     7
Least  Grebe     1
Pied-billed Grebe     5
Snowy  Egret     1
Tricolored Heron      1
White-faced Ibis     1
Common Moorhen      1
American Coot     60
Black-necked Stilt   8
Spotted Sandpiper     1
Franklin's  Gull     1
White-winged Dove     2
Mourning  Dove     2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     1
Tropical Kingbird   1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     1
Northern  Mockingbird     1
Yellow Warbler      1
Common Yellowthroat     2
Red-winged Blackbird   2
Great-tailed Grackle     30
House  Sparrow     3

Location:     McAllen Sewage Ponds (LTC 066)
Observation  date:     4/21/08
Number of species:      21

Blue-winged Teal     6
Great Egret   1
Harris's Hawk     1
Swainson's Hawk   2
Killdeer     1
Black-necked Stilt   16
Spotted Sandpiper     1
Semipalmated  Sandpiper     1
Least Sandpiper      4
Baird's Sandpiper     1
Stilt Sandpiper   17
Long-billed Dowitcher     2
Wilson's  Phalarope     1
Rock Pigeon      1
White-winged Dove     2
Mourning Dove      1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     1
Cactus Wren   1
European Starling     3
Great-tailed  Grackle     3
American Goldfinch     1

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car 
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Subject: Edinburg Wetlands & Monte Cristo
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:21:48 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Visiting San Diego birder Richard Griebe joined me on today's excursion,  and 
truth be told, had he NOT been with me, I might have canned the trip!   It 
was dry when we set out, but we hadn't gotten a mile up Ware Road when it  
started pouring! Not wanting to negotiate a dirt road in the rain, we agreed to 

head over to Edinburg Wetlands and see if perhaps it was dry there and do that 

first.
 
Thankfully the gate was open when we arrived, but it was still spitting,  
windy, and cold, so we bundled up (or at least I did; Richard braved the  
elements with what he had) and made the rounds. A Buff-bellied Hummer chittered 
and 

gave a brief view in the sheltered bushes, and a Long-billed  Thrasher poked 
along the curb on the main trail by the north lake.  We  scanned the water and 
I was shocked: not ONE Black-bellied Whistling  Duck!!!  That's usually where 
I send people to see 'em!!  We did  manage to see Coots and Moorhens, BW Teal 
and Shovelers, and three Black-crowned  Night Herons across the way (plus two 
Least Grebes that Richard spotted--they  were so close that I had overlooked 
them!).  The big south lake had a great  show, though: a mob of Neotropic 
Cormorants (at least THEY were consistent), a few Stilt Sandpipers hanging with 

the dowitchers, some Least Sands, BN Stilts,  and the real treat, a young 
Roseate Spoonbill! Both Forster's and Gull-billed Terns hung out on a stick, 
and 

across the lake were more ducks and a  load of herons of various sorts, 
including several Cattle Egrets. Circling back I spotted a small bird with 
black 

upperparts, pale underparts, and a lot of  white in the wings, and I thought, 
"No way!  That CAN'T be a seedeater way  out here!!"  It turned out to be a 
"Black-backed" Lesser Goldfinch with  more white in the wings than normal, and 
whose yellow looked white at first in  the lousy light!  We stopped at the 
center and met Javier, and he showed us where the Audubon's Oriole usually 
hangs 

out (but we didn't see him today). On the way out a bright chirp betrayed the 

presence of a bright  Yellow Warbler!
 
The rain had let up, so we headed back to Wallace Road to do the Monte  
Cristo Tract, and at the first stop we saw how parts south of us were getting  
clobbered! The wind hadn't abated (and the big trucks were going lickety split 

along that road--I saw how it paid to get it done first thing in the morning), 

so hearing things was tough, but we managed to pick up lots of "field  birds" 
such as Horned Larks and Lark Sparrows, in addition to the ubiquitous  
icterids. At one stop we flushed an Uppy Sand who gave his little warble, and 
near 

the north end of the road had two singing Cassin's Sparrows.  Sapo  Lake had 
some nice birds despite the traffic, including three White Ibis, the  resident 
Anhinga, and a handful of Least Terns!  I was surprised to see  half a dozen 
Willets lined up on a branch, when I'm used to seeing them on the  beach or in 
the fields near the coast!  Here we also had both Couch's and  Tropical 
Kingbirds, as well as my first Brown-crested Flycatcher for the route. We had a 

good show of raptors as well, with two each of Swainson's  and White-tailed 
Hawks (the latter were both immatures), and both vultures along  with the 
caracaras.  It was getting late coming back along Bryan, so we  scooted along, 
stopping only at the little wetland there where a Lesser Yellowlegs yelled and 
a 

couple of Mottled Ducks jumped up.
 
We celebrated with a wonderful Chinese buffet at Sun Palace on 10th where  
Richard treated me to lunch (he's one of those disgusting ;-) people who can  
clean out the whole buffet and not gain an ounce...), then said our goodbyes! 

Despite the weather, we were very happy with the day's  list!
 
Location:     Edinburg Scenic Wetlands WBC (LTC  061)
Observation date:     4/18/08
Notes:   Cold, windy, and drizzly--pretty miserable!
Number of  species:     39

Gadwall     2
Mottled  Duck     2
Blue-winged Teal     40
Northern  Shoveler     40
Least Grebe     7
Neotropic  Cormorant     30
Great Blue Heron      1
Great Egret     4
Snowy Egret      8
Tricolored Heron     1
Cattle Egret      15
Black-crowned Night-Heron     4
Roseate Spoonbill   1
Common Moorhen     8
American Coot   8
Killdeer     1
Black-necked Stilt   4
Spotted Sandpiper     1
Least  Sandpiper     10
Stilt Sandpiper      5
Long-billed Dowitcher     30
Laughing Gull   2
Gull-billed Tern     5
Forster's Tern   2
Rock Pigeon     3
Mourning Dove   3
Common Ground-Dove     1
Chimney Swift   2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird     3
Great  Kiskadee     1
Cliff Swallow     1
House  Wren     1
Northern Mockingbird      2
Long-billed Thrasher     5
Yellow Warbler   1
Common Yellowthroat     1
Northern  Cardinal     2
Great-tailed Grackle      20
Lesser Goldfinch     1

Location:     Monte Cristo Tract (LTC 062)
Observation  date:     4/18/08
Notes:     Windy
Number of  species:     46

Mottled Duck      4
Blue-winged Teal     5
Least Grebe      1
Neotropic Cormorant     5
Anhinga      2
Great Egret     1
White Ibis      4
Black Vulture     1
Turkey Vulture      2
Swainson's Hawk     2
White-tailed Hawk   2
Crested Caracara     2
American Coot   30
Killdeer     4
Willet      6
Lesser Yellowlegs     1
Upland Sandpiper   2
Least Sandpiper     1
Least Tern   6
Gull-billed Tern     1
Mourning Dove   38
Common Ground-Dove     1
Golden-fronted  Woodpecker     4
Ladder-backed Woodpecker      1
Brown-crested Flycatcher     1
Great Kiskadee   8
Tropical Kingbird     3
Couch's  Kingbird     3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher      1
White-eyed Vireo     1
Horned Lark      18
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     1
Barn Swallow   6
Bewick's Wren     1
Northern  Mockingbird     3
Long-billed Thrasher      1
Curve-billed Thrasher     1
Common Yellowthroat   6
Olive Sparrow     3
Cassin's Sparrow   2
Lark Sparrow     21
Northern Cardinal   4
Red-winged Blackbird     460
Great-tailed  Grackle     50
Brown-headed Cowbird      20
House Sparrow     8

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Prairie Warbler @ Quinta Mazatlan
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:28:13 EDT
Hi, all!
 
That was definitely the highlight today; QM was the last of three places  
visited this morning, and by that time the wind was horrendous, so everything  
was hanging out in the little sheltered butterfly garden!  In addition to  the 
Prairie, also had a Nashville, Black-and-white, Wilson's, and Baltimore Oriole 

as well as the sparrows and doves hanging out at the feeders.   "Sharpened" 
pics of the warbler can be viewed here (camera had trouble  focusing...):
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm) 
 
Started the morning at Frontera Audubon, where a weird-looking grackle at  
the water feature by the deck morphed into a Groove-billed Ani!  (A real  
grackle also showed up later...)  For some reason on past trips I had  totally 
overlooked the big pond that's on private property next to the trail  (what a 
backyard) that had two young White Ibis and a pair of Blue-winged Teal! Near 
the 

Sabal Palm grove a pair of Green Parakeets screeched  overhead then attached 
themselves to a dead palm (looked attractive for a nest  site if it isn't 
already)! The feeding area had its contingent of Chachalacas (which were also 

"singing" in quadrophonic--I teased Gloria about  them waiting for her to open 
the place up before starting the concert, as before that point there was not a 

peep from them), plus Cardinals, doves of various  sorts, and a very friendly 
Olive Sparrow.  The pond had a pair of  Yellow-crowned Nighties, but was 
pretty quiet otherwise. Black-bellied Whistlers were constantly flying over, as 

well as Chimney Swifts.  A young  male Ruby-throated Hummer made an appearance 
over by the pond, and at the little  watering hole ran into Wayne where we 
chatted a bit; one thing I discovered to my delight is that on Fridays they DO 

open at seven, so we "during-the-week"  birders do have an opportunity to get 
here early!
 
Headed over to Valley Nature Center after that, where several school groups  
were having a big time both inside the center and out!  Thought it was  funny 
to have "Nashville, Tennessee" Warblers hanging out together near the  cactus 
patch! :-)  Lots of Chachas and doves at the feeding station, but  nothing out 
of the ordinary.  A large but silent Myiarchus showed up that  had a nice 
pale base to the lower mandible, so I called it a Great  Crested.  A 
Brown-crested called in the parking lot.
 
Last stop was Quinta Mazatlan, where the wind had really picked up, so  
things were pretty quiet; I was truly surprised that not much seemed to be 
going 

on at the feeding stations, especially since they had several fresh,  
juicy-looking grapefruits out! As I mentioned, the highlights were the migrants 
at 

the butterfly garden.  At one point I could have sworn I heard  a Green 
Kingfisher "tic-ticking" away, but without any water around I was dubious. 
Following 

the sound, however, brought me to a huge water hazard  at the golf course 
next door, but since I couldn't spot any kingfisher I let  that one go...  
Buff-bellied Hummers were in good numbers today, but especially here. Other 
birds 

I picked up here for the day included  Curve-billed Thrasher and Pyrrhuloxia.
 
Bird lists for all three locations follow:
 
Location:     Frontera Audubon Ctr (LTC 058)
Observation  date:     4/17/08
Number of species:      36

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     13
Blue-winged  Teal     2
Plain Chachalaca      25
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     2
White Ibis   3
Laughing Gull     1
Rock Pigeon   15
White-winged Dove     9
Mourning Dove   2
Inca Dove     10
Common Ground-Dove   1
White-tipped Dove     10
Green  Parakeet     2
Groove-billed Ani      1
Chimney Swift     4
Buff-bellied Hummingbird   7
Ruby-throated Hummingbird      2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     5
Great Kiskadee   7
Couch's Kingbird     3
White-eyed  Vireo     2
Green Jay     2
Purple  Martin     1
Black-crested Titmouse      4
Carolina Wren     2
Northern Mockingbird   3
Long-billed Thrasher     1
Nashville  Warbler     2
Black-and-white Warbler      1
Olive Sparrow     6
Northern Cardinal      8
Red-winged Blackbird     3
Great-tailed Grackle   18
Bronzed Cowbird     1
Brown-headed  Cowbird     2
House Sparrow     5

Location:     Valley Nature Ctr. (LTC 057)
Observation  date:     4/17/08
Notes:     Very windy  conditions
Number of species:     21

Plain  Chachalaca     9
White-winged Dove      7
Mourning Dove     1
Inca Dove      2
White-tipped Dove     8
Buff-bellied Hummingbird   3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird      1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     3
Great Crested  Flycatcher     1
Brown-crested Flycatcher      1
Great Kiskadee     6
Purple Martin      6
Carolina Wren     2
Long-billed Thrasher   1
Tennessee Warbler     2
Nashville  Warbler     3
Northern Cardinal      6
Red-winged Blackbird     21
Great-tailed Grackle   4
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
House  Sparrow     11

Location:     Quinta Mazatlan WBC (McAllen) (LTC  063)
Observation date:     4/17/08
Notes:   Extremely windy conditions
Number of species:      25

Plain Chachalaca     4
White-winged Dove   16
Inca Dove     4
White-tipped Dove   1
Chimney Swift     1
Buff-bellied  Hummingbird     8
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      6
Couch's Kingbird     2
White-eyed Vireo   1
Green Jay     1
Northern Mockingbird   3
Curve-billed Thrasher     1
Nashville  Warbler     1
Prairie Warbler      1
Black-and-white Warbler     1
Wilson's Warbler   1
Olive Sparrow     3
Northern Cardinal   2
Pyrrhuloxia     1
Red-winged Blackbird   15
Great-tailed Grackle     8
Bronzed  Cowbird     1
Brown-headed Cowbird      1
Baltimore Oriole     1
House Sparrow      40

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Santa Ana NWR
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:52:54 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Had a very pleasant morning at the refuge today; winds didn't kick up until  
later in the morning, where they actually rocked the hawk tower!  Kicked up  a 
troupe of Peccaries early on, and unless the same bird followed me all around 
 the big loop, had a grand total of five Beardless Tyrannulets!  Also early  
on flushed a nightjar that showed a longish, very dark tail with lots of white 
 (looked like outer tail feathers as opposed to tail corners), so I'm 
presuming Pauraque. Migrants included a noisy Great Crested Flycatcher at the 

"Willow Lake Culvert" (where I also had a waterthrush of some kind calling but 

wouldn't come out), a small group of Northern Parulas and Nashville Warblers  
where the Pintail Lakes Trail heads back into the woods towards the center, and 

a Yellow-breasted Chat between Pintail Lakes and the Rio Grande.  Raptors  
included a Red-shouldered Hawk batting by, a single Broadwing blowing overhead, 

a Harris' at Pintail Lakes, and a calling Gray Hawk near the boardwalk along 
the  Willow Trail.  Had a large group of Cattle Egrets at the lakes, as well 
as  a single Yellow-crowned Nightie.  Had a kingfisher sweep with both Belted  
at Green at the culvert (Green was at the River as well), and the resident  
Ringed at Pintail. A few lingering Shovelers and Lesser Scaup were also still 

hanging around.  A beautiful group of BB Whistling Ducks was hanging  at the 
Willow Lake overlook on the Chachalaca Trail, and said trail certainly  lived 
up to its name as the Chachalaca pairs bantered back and forth!  Pics  of one 
of them are posted here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm) 
 
Lizards were out in force, too, so I finally set up a special page for  
reptiles and mammals, which can be viewed here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Reptiles%20Etc
.htm_ 

(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Reptiles%20Etc.htm) 

 
A sit at the center feeders for five brought in an 11th-hour Clay-colored  
Robin, and a stroll through the butterfly garden kicked up a Buff-bellied  
Hummer.  The only leps I could get on were a Celia's Roadside Skipper and a  
Laviana White Skipper.  Bird List:
 
Location:     Santa Ana NWR (LTC 059)
Observation  date:     4/16/08
Notes:     Also had an  Archilochus hummingbird and a waterthrush sp.
Number of species:   65

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck      32
Gadwall     7
Mottled Duck      5
Blue-winged Teal     16
Northern Shoveler   8
Lesser Scaup     3
Plain Chachalaca   19
Least Grebe     7
Pied-billed Grebe   3
Neotropic Cormorant     2
Great Egret   9
Little Blue Heron     2
Tricolored  Heron     1
Cattle Egret      15
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     1
Turkey Vulture   3
Harris's Hawk     1
Red-shouldered  Hawk     1
Broad-winged Hawk     1
Gray  Hawk     1
Common Moorhen     5
American  Coot     11
Black-necked Stilt     2
Spotted  Sandpiper     3
Forster's Tern      4
White-winged Dove     11
Mourning Dove      11
Common Ground-Dove     2
White-tipped Dove   5
Common Pauraque     1
Buff-bellied  Hummingbird     1
Ringed Kingfisher      2
Belted Kingfisher     1
Green Kingfisher   3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      27
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     9
Northern  Beardless-Tyrannulet     5
Great Crested Flycatcher   1
Brown-crested Flycatcher     13
Great  Kiskadee     13
Couch's Kingbird      25
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher     1
White-eyed Vireo   8
Green Jay     9
Northern Rough-winged  Swallow     2
Barn Swallow      5
Black-crested Titmouse     9
Carolina Wren   10
House Wren     1
Clay-colored Robin   1
Northern Mockingbird     8
Long-billed  Thrasher     8
European Starling      3
Nashville Warbler     4
Northern Parula   2
Common Yellowthroat     8
Yellow-breasted  Chat     1
Olive Sparrow     17
Northern  Cardinal     4
Red-winged Blackbird      30
Great-tailed Grackle     31
Bronzed Cowbird   3
Brown-headed Cowbird     4
Altamira  Oriole     3
House Sparrow     5

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Anzalduas & NABA
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:27:07 EDT
Hi, all!
 
The gate guard wouldn't let me sneak into Anzalduas before eight this  
morning ;-) so decided to kill time by getting that stretch of Old Military 
Highway 

between FM 1016 and Bentsen done, then going back to bird NABA after  doing 
Anzalduas.  Just had the usual Valley suspects; the highlight was a  singing 
Blue Grosbeak on the way back to Anzalduas!  Had a couple of brown  shorebirds 
fly in that I suspect might have been Uppy Sands (they were too small  to be 
curlews), but I just wasn't sure. Did have the day's only Cattle Egrets along 

here, though.
 
Anzalduas was quite birdy, although I couldn't kick up any migrants.   The 
Beardless Tyrannulets were calling right at the four-way stop and elsewhere  
throughout the park, along with lots of White-winged Doves.  I ran into a  
birding tour, and had my brain been functioning I would have had them point out 
THE 

tree they found the roosting Eastern Screech Owl in, as I realized later  
that just perhaps the gang coming in from San Diego next week might just wanna 

see that one... :-P  I later found some good trees in the general area they  
pointed me to, so maybe we'll refind him...  They had found a Clay-colored  
Robin in the same grove, and as we chatted a Broad-winged Hawk flew overhead! 

Oh, and one of the guys asked me why I named my car Jip, and enough people have 

been curious that I'll spill the unexciting beans: his  original California 
plates were 4JIP714, and the name stuck...
 
From there I headed into the back area, where I actually DID kick up my own  
Clay-colored Robin (giving the usual skulking views)!  While I was out of  the 
car a young Swainson's Hawk flew over, and I was thinking about the post  
yesterday about the Mississippi Kite show over at Santa Ana and was wondering 
if 

a similar show might happen here, when suddenly, there they were!  A flock  
of about 30 birds wheeled around and then came right overhead!  During the  
course of this the odd Broadwing would sail over, but there were no big kettles 

that I saw.
 
The dam had a few egrets and a lingering pair of American Wigeons, but  
hundreds of swallows swooped around the dam; those I could get on were all 
Cliff. 

Three Neotrop Corms were also there, as well as a Spotted  Sandpiper.  While 
I was back looking for the owl roost I heard the Gray  Hawk the group had seen 
earlier, and also kicked up a gorgeous little  black-and-white moth, which I 
actually found in the Kauffman guide (and later  found an English name for on 
BugGuide): a Zebra Pyralid!  Pictures are  posted here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Anzalduas.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Anzalduas.htm) 
 
A quick look at the marsh on the way out only added Blue-winged Teal,  
Pied-billed Grebe, and Coot to the list. Scared up a pair of Little Blue Herons 
at 

the gate, and a buteo passed in front of me at the corner, bringing  back 
memories of the Zone-tailed Hawk at that exact spot last time!  It was  clear 
across the field by the time I jumped out of the car, but it turned out to be 
an 

adult Swainson's...
 
Headed back to NABA, where I had the place to myself; leps were scarce, of  
course, but had some interesting birds. White-tipped Doves were at the picnic 

table where the Mexican Bluewing usually hangs out, and when I pished  after 
five minutes I was practically attacked by a Buff-bellied Hummer and a  
Lincoln's Sparrow! Kicked up a pair of Nashville Warblers at the far end of the 

Walking Trail, and a commotion in one of the trees I walked under turned out to 

be a pair of silent (!) Chachalacas.  A pair of Long-billed  Thrashers 
pranced around near the center, and a Curve-billed came out as well. Thought I 
was 

gonna dip on the required Common Ground Doves, but  spotted them just as I 
started the car up!
 
Both bird lists follow:
 
Location:     Anzalduas County Pk (LTC 068)
Observation  date:     4/15/08
Number of species:      47

American Wigeon     2
Blue-winged Teal   2
Plain Chachalaca     2
Pied-billed  Grebe     1
Neotropic Cormorant     4
Great  Blue Heron     1
Great Egret     7
Snowy  Egret     2
Little Blue Heron     1
Turkey  Vulture     13
Mississippi Kite      30
Broad-winged Hawk     4
Gray Hawk      1
Swainson's Hawk     2
American Coot      9
Killdeer     2
Spotted Sandpiper      1
Laughing Gull     1
White-winged Dove      11
Mourning Dove     7
White-tipped Dove      2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     19
Ladder-backed  Woodpecker     5
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet   4
Brown-crested Flycatcher     2
Great  Kiskadee     6
Couch's Kingbird     4
Green  Jay     1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow      1
Cliff Swallow     100
Barn Swallow      6
Black-crested Titmouse     3
Marsh Wren   1
Clay-colored Robin     1
Northern  Mockingbird     10
Long-billed Thrasher      1
European Starling     2
Common Yellowthroat   6
Olive Sparrow     2
Lark Sparrow   1
Northern Cardinal     4
Red-winged  Blackbird     208
Eastern Meadowlark      4
Great-tailed Grackle     128
Bronzed Cowbird   3
Brown-headed Cowbird     2
House  Sparrow     9

Location:     NABA International Butterfly  Park
Observation date:     4/15/08
Notes:   This survey includes a three-mile stretch of Old Military Highway  
between FM 1016 and Bentsen SP
Number of species:      36

Plain Chachalaca     4
Cattle Egret   9
White-faced Ibis     11
Killdeer   3
White-winged Dove     2
Mourning Dove   10
Common Ground-Dove     3
White-tipped  Dove     2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird      3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     9
Ladder-backed  Woodpecker     4
Brown-crested Flycatcher      2
Great Kiskadee     8
Couch's Kingbird      16
White-eyed Vireo     1
Green Jay      2
Cliff Swallow     30
Cave Swallow      20
Black-crested Titmouse     2
Bewick's Wren   1
House Wren     1
Northern Mockingbird   12
Long-billed Thrasher     4
Curve-billed  Thrasher     1
Orange-crowned Warbler      1
Nashville Warbler     2
Common Yellowthroat   2
Olive Sparrow     5
Lark Sparrow   3
Lincoln's Sparrow     2
Northern  Cardinal     5
Blue Grosbeak      1
Red-winged Blackbird     20
Eastern Meadowlark   3
Great-tailed Grackle     83
Bronzed  Cowbird     2

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Nine counties, 4 days, and lots of birds in Florida
From: Bob Carroll <gatorbob23 AT YAHOO.COM>
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:48:25 -0700
Before I give you the details, I want to thank a number of people who gave me 
invaluable advice about birding hotspots in the nine-county area of southwest 
Florida we birded last weekend. Ron Smith, Dave Goodwin, Brian Ahern, David 
Simpson, Rex Rowan, Tina Mossbarger, and Susan Daughtrey all came through with 
great ideas and suggestions. There are two reasons why I love county listing. I 
see places in my adopted state that I never would have visited, and I come into 
contact with some of the best and kindest people I’ve ever known. 

 
Here’s the short version: Nine southwest Florida counties (Charlotte, Collier, 
De Soto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee and Sarasota) in four days 
(April 5-8) with 124 species including one lifer (Snowy Plover at Siesta Key 
beach), and 473 total county ticks. 

 
Many of you will want to stop reading here, but if you’re curious, here are the 
details of our four days. 

 
We actually left Gainesville, Florida, on Friday after work and drove to the 
Fort Myers area stopping only for dinner at an exit in Manatee County. That was 
a little stroke of luck because I picked up eight county birds in the parking 
lot of Applebees including the trips only House Finch. With two other species 
added in Hillsborough, we started the trip with 10 new county ticks that felt 
like a bonus and a good omen of things to come. 

 
We started out on Saturday morning at sunrise at Bunche Beach, just south of 
Ding Darling in Lee County. I had been told that this was an overlooked gem and 
that’s what it proved to be. There were few people and a greater variety of 
shorebirds and waders than we would see a day later at Ding Darling and they 
were within a step or two of us. We walked north along the beach to a cove that 
held hundreds of birds including a few Roseate Spoonbills, Western and Least 
Sandpipers, Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers, Willets, Turnstones, 
Dunlin, Sanderlings, etc., all of the usual egrets and herons, and more 
Gannetts than I’ve ever seen on one day. We totaled 28 species in an hour-long 
stop. 

 
Next we headed south into Collier. I had wanted to visit Tigertail, but the 
tight schedule and the need to cover three counties in one day kept us further 
north. Instead, we stopped at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park. This was nearly 
the opposite of Bunche – more people and significantly fewer birds. We had read 
that the best spot for shorebirds was to scope the beach from the observation 
tower at the north end of the park. However, the trees around the tower have 
grown to such an extent that the view of the beach was negligible. We got what 
we could and headed inland. 

 
Our next stop was Corkscrew Swamp. The biggest surprise for us was that the 
swamp is bone dry. We found one muddy area not much bigger than a small 
bedroom, and it was dominated by a lone gator that was enjoying the mud. Still, 
we had some luck – a male Painted Bunting at a feeder (first left after the 
paved path) and a singing Black-throated Green Warbler (gorgeous!). We left 
Collier feeling slightly disappointed with 53 species. 

 
Next we headed into Hendry where we did mostly roadside birding along CR 846, 
833, and 832. We had hoped to stop at Dinner Island on CR 833 but the gates 
were locked so we continued on to Okaloacoochie and drove some of that area in 
the dimming light. I’ve since learned from Vince Lucas that the Dinner Island 
gate only appeared to be locked. I’ll make a better effort to open it next time 
before I drive away. Ultimately we ended up in LaBelle where the best 
restaurant in town closed at 8:00PM on a Saturday night! We finished Hendry 
with 41 county ticks for the day (including our first of many Crested 
Caracaras) with a day list of about 70 (not counting heard birds which I don’t 
count because I’m so lousy at it). I felt much better about the day when I 
added up the tally and realized I had picked up 122 county ticks for the day 
and had broken the 5000 barrier. 

 
We started Sunday at Ding Darling – my first visit there – and it was 
everything I had hoped for. We spent lots more time than we should have driving 
around and walking the trails so we had to forego all other Lee County birding 
and head north. Ding Darling produced 31 new species for the county including 
our only Spotted Sandpiper of the trip which was kind enough to land nearly at 
our feet. Also among the new were Red-breasted Mergansers and about a half 
dozen beautiful Prairie Warblers. 

 
Next we headed into Charlotte County and Babcock-Webb WMA. Perhaps it was the 
late afternoon heat and the sound of gunfire from the shooting range, but the 
birds were reluctant to come out to play. Still, we coaxed over 30 species out 
of their hiding spots in a relatively short visit. They included some new trip 
birds such as Eastern Towhee, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and Pine Warblers. We 
heard a few Bachman’s Sparrows, but none came out to see us, so no tick for me. 

 
Before we could go on to Glades County we made an unscheduled stop that was 
absolutely worth the cost in time. We stopped at a convenience store to watch 
the US Air Force’s Thunderbird team put on an unforgettable display of flying. 
The jets screamed over us so close that we could see the pilots in their seats 
and feel the vibration in the air. They flew in formations of 3, 4, and 6 
planes that were incredibly tightly packed together. The show defies 
description. All I can add is that the next time they’re in Florida – go see 
them. You won’t regret it. 

 
On to Glades County and what was to be our most difficult birding. It was 
already late in the day and thunder storms and lightning surrounded us. Our 
goal was Fish-eating Creek, but we didn’t reach there until quite late and the 
weather kept us from walking the trails. Instead we headed into Moore Haven 
thinking to pick up some “city birds.” What we found was a really pleasant 
surprise. On a hunch, we crossed the bridge heading east out of the city but 
took the first right off the bridge, curling back to the canal along a cane 
field. We then took the first left and parked along the ditch. This turned out 
to be a great little spot! We scored White-winged Doves, Indigo Bunting, 
Painted Bunting, Common Yellowthroat, Purple Martin, Gray Catbird, and a 
fly-over Ring-billed Gull. That little bonanza as the sun set brought us the 34 
in Glades. 

 
For the day, we scored 81 species seen and 97 new county ticks. While our 
totals were low, we were happy. Ding Darling was magnificent, the air show 
incredible, and a male Painted Bunting a few feet away in the dying light with 
thunder and lightning in the distance was a great way to end the day. 

 
On Monday morning we started out at Englewood Beach and Stump Pass State Park. 
The former filled with people rather quickly. We saw a nice variety of 
shorebirds and waders but nothing new for the trip. Stump Pass is a small park 
that we heard about from a local resident. It was a nice little gem with lots 
of beach to walk and few people. At Englewood we were thrilled to find a Common 
Loon in something very close to its summer plumage. We also picked up Royal, 
Caspian, and Sandwich Terns, the last two being new for the trip. At Stump Pass 
we saw Green Heron, Red-breasted Merganser, and a nice variety of shorebirds, 
but nothing new. We left Charlotte County with 24 new species for the day and a 
total of 56. 

 
Our next planned stop got delayed a bit by an unexpected stop at a place I’ve 
never heard of before – Manasota Scrub Preserve. It is at the SW corner of 
Manasota Beach Rd. and CR 776. It’s a very small area, but we picked up a few 
nice surprises here including our only Eastern Kingbird of the four days. We 
also found Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, White-eyed Vireo, and Pine Warblers. 
Nice surprise. 

 
Next we drove north to Siesta Key Beach Park in Sarasota County. My 
expectations were low here because the parking lot was packed. The birds didn’t 
seem to mind all of the people, however, and we found lots of beach birds to 
admire. Here we got our best terns of the trip – Royal, Sandwich, Common, 
Forster’s, and Least – numerous Black Skimmers, and my only lifer of the trip, 
six wonderful Snowy Plovers about five feet away. They were too close to use 
our bins, so we kind of stared at each other until they realized how 
uninteresting people are and wandered away. Fantastic! 

 
Next, it was on to the Celery Fields. Way cool. This was a great stop, and only 
time constraints made us leave. In a very short time we saw Black-bellied 
Whistling Ducks, Wood and Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, 
Coots, Moorhens, and Pied-billed Grebes. There were American White Pelicans in 
the distance and above us were a Bald Eagle and a Red-tailed Hawk. Meanwhile, 
Meadowlarks sang from the field across the street from the gazebo. I’m sure 
there was much more to be seen, but time was slipping away, so we headed out 
for a quick stop at Mayakka State Park. Continuing the pattern of previous 
days, the late afternoon birding was sparse at best. We added only a Northern 
Parula and a Black-and-white Warbler to the county list. We left Sarasota 
County with 74 species for the day and headed toward Arcadia and De Soto 
County. 

 
On the way to Arcadia we saw our first Wild Turkeys of the trip, two or three 
Red-headed Woodpeckers, Tree Swallows, Purple Martins, and several 
Swallow-tailed Kites – always a beautiful sight. Our next stop for the day was 
in De Soto County at a small park along the Peace River on the north side of SR 
70 in Arcadia. The trees here had lots of birds, mostly your every day park 
type but each a new tick for the county. We tallied Blue Jays, Downy 
Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Parula, and Palm and Black-and-White 
Warblers. Finally we went to a restaurant in front of the Holiday Inn Express 
(a Chili’s, I think). Before we went in we checked the retention pond behind it 
and scored a Green Heron and some Red-winged Blackbirds. 

 
That ended our third day. It was a good one with nearly 90 species on our day 
list and 126 county ticks. 

 
Our final day started with a frustrating search for what the DeLorme calls NE 
Roads St. It is actually called NE Roan St. Once there, we had a very enjoyable 
morning doing roadside birding and picking up the trip’s first seen Bachman’s 
Sparrows. Among the other birds found there were a Pileated Woodpecker, a Swamp 
Sparrow, two Eastern Towhees, several Ground-Doves and a Blue-headed Vireo. We 
finished up our stay in De Soto with a swing along CR 760 which is southeast of 
Arcadia and then heading east along SR 70. Our final tally for De Soto was 29 
new ticks for the day bringing our total to 57 – not bad for the small amount 
of time we spent there. 

 
We were on to Highlands County next. Our first stop was near the Archbold 
Biological Station where we picked up our second Red-eyed Vireo of the trip and 
our only Florida Scrub Jays. Then we headed off to the area around Lake Placid, 
particularly around the boat ramp on the western edge of the lake. Here we 
added White-winged Dove and Forster’s Tern to our county lists. Eventually we 
made our way to Lake Jackson and Highlands Hammock State Park which – true to 
form for this trip – was nearly birdless in the mid and late afternoon. Still, 
we added a Tufted Titmouse, a Carolina Wren, and a few common warblers. We 
decided to call it quits in Highlands and took SR 66 west toward Zolfo Springs, 
birding a bit along the way. We ended up with 44 species for Highlands and 
little hope that we could find anything unusual in Hardee as the day began to 
fade. 

 
Boy, were we wrong! If memory serves, it was Ron Smith who suggested we check 
out CR 664 west of Bowling Green. In the last hour of daylight, we started 
along the road until we saw a small pond on the north side as the road took a 
sweeping turn to the right. Thank goodness we stopped, because we had all 
missed the large pond on the south side. There was a Moorhen in the northerly 
pond, but by then we had turned our scopes to the south. There were American 
White Pelicans, Black-necked Stilts, Blue-winged Teal, Caspian Terns, a 
Forster’s Tern, Mottled Ducks, an Osprey, an Anhinga, Cormorants, and Snowy and 
Great Egrets. Then a half-dozen Roseate Spoonbills flew in as well as a single 
Sandhill Crane. One Ring-billed Gull flew overhead and dozens of Meadowlarks 
sang in the field in front of us. Back across the street we noticed some 
Black-bellied Whistling –Ducks in the northerly pond. Wow, we thought, what a 
great way to end the trip . . . but 

 we weren’t finished yet. A bit down the road was another pond to the north 
with about 40 dowitchers, a few Greater Yellowlegs, and some Least Sandpipers. 
And a Black Skimmer. A bit further along the road we found a building that must 
be a community center or perhaps a church. In front and on top of one of the 
telephone polls was a Great Horned Owl being harassed by Blue Jays. A few 
hundred yards away we encountered a Northern Bobwhite out for a stroll along 
the road. It was time to turn around and head toward home, but we decided that 
there was enough light to justify one last stop. We went back to the original 
ponds, but just before them we turned north onto what I think was called Pool 
Road to scope from a different angle. There we found the last bird of the trip 
– a Sora, just visible in the last bit of light (thank heavens for that 
distinctive shape and lovely yellow bill). 

 
Our last day netted us 81 species and 118 county ticks. Our final tally 
included 124 species, 473 county ticks, and more laughs than we could count. 
Since I moved to Florida in 1982, I’ve come to love this state. Since I took up 
county listing, I have really come to appreciate its beauty as I’ve explored 66 
of our 67 counties looking for birds. Get out and see Florida, folks, it’s a 
jewel – and I haven’t even gotten to Monroe County yet! 

 
Bob Carroll
Gainesville
Florida County Listers’ Website
www.geocities.com/gatorbob23
 
 

 
I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.
Emily Dickinson
US poet (1830 - 1886)
Subject: Estero Llano Grande SP
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:02:18 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Had a wonderful morning at the park, but started birding along the south  
side the river along the dirt road, picking up many Avocets, Long-billed  
Dowitchers, Coots, a few Moorhens, Black-necked Stilts, a Black-crowned Night 
Heron, 

and a single White Pelican.  Birding the levee padded the list with  
ag-related birds such as Eastern Meadowlark, Horned Lark, and Upland Sandpiper. 
One 

of the little wetlands along the levee had a Gull-billed  Tern batting around, 
a single Gadwall, and a couple of Little Blue Herons.   A couple of Harriers 
scoured the fields, and a Cooper's Hawk blasted out of the  vegetation by one 
wetland.  
 
In the park, a group of White Ibis in every conceivable plumage dined on  the 
crayfish, and the dowitcher flock had a few Stilt Sandpipers in with them,  
some coming into breeding plumage!  Lots of swallows were moving  
through--mostly Barns, but samples of all the others species as well except for 
Tree (and 

that was probably there, too, and I just overlooked it...).  One  of the 
highlights was stumbling upon a HUGE flock of ducks on Dowitcher Pond,  which 
included both Whistling Ducks (it was nice to see the Fulvous), Shovelers, 
Mottled 

Ducks, and Blue-winged Teal.  A pod of eight Least Grebes sat in  the middle 
as well, and a Least Bittern gave its rail-like call from the  reeds.  Grebe 
Marsh had the resident Green Kingfisher, and had an "ask and  you shall 
receive" moment when I was wondering if I was ever going to stumble upon any 
migrant 

warblers, and suddenly a "seep" revealed a fleeting look at a  Tennessee 
Warbler, and a Prothonotary that followed me halfway to Alligator  Pond!  Said 
Alligator was basking on the shore showing all his teeth, and  at the overlook 
had a couple of Green Herons and Neotropic Cormorants to add to  the list.  On 
the Camino de las Aves, a five-minute sit up on the levee was  rather quiet 
until a Red-crowned Parrot flew over!  A Harris' Hawk claimed  one of the 
telephone poles, and a swing around the loop added Tropical Kingbird, 
Curve-billed 

Thrasher, Common Ground Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and  Bewick's Wren to 
the list.  On the way back a Lesser Yellowlegs had joined  the lineup at 
Dowitcher Pond, and enjoyed a couple of Buff-bellied Hummers at the feeder 
(also 

had had an Archilochus of some kind whiz by earlier).  On  the way out was 
entranced by a Mockingbird that whipped off at least 16 other species in the 
time 

I was along that path!  That was one of those times you  wished you had a tape 
recorder!
 
Other critters included Texas Spotted Whiptail and Rosebelly Lizard, and  
while leps were pretty sparse, did manage to kick up another Cyna Blue in the  
parking lot!
 
Bird List:
 
Location:     Estero Llano Grande SP WBC (Weslaco)(LTC  054)
Observation date:     4/14/08
Notes:   Also had an Archilochus Hummingbird, species unknown.  Area  covered 
also included the south side of the river and the levee.
Number of  species:     79

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   108
Fulvous Whistling-Duck      30
Gadwall     1
Mottled Duck      7
Blue-winged Teal     9
Northern Shoveler   13
Plain Chachalaca     12
Northern  Bobwhite     2
Least Grebe      10
Pied-billed Grebe     2
American White Pelican   1
Neotropic Cormorant     2
Double-crested  Cormorant     5
Least Bittern     1
Great  Egret     2
Snowy Egret     1
Little Blue  Heron     2
Green Heron     2
Black-crowned  Night-Heron     1
White Ibis     8
Turkey  Vulture     4
Northern Harrier      2
Harris's Hawk     1
Sora     2
Common  Moorhen     6
American Coot      20
Killdeer     4
Black-necked Stilt      10
American Avocet     11
Spotted Sandpiper   3
Lesser Yellowlegs     1
Upland  Sandpiper     1
Least Sandpiper     21
Stilt  Sandpiper     12
Long-billed Dowitcher      95
Laughing Gull     1
Gull-billed Tern      1
White-winged Dove     18
Mourning Dove      64
Inca Dove     2
Common Ground-Dove      10
White-tipped Dove     4
Red-crowned Parrot   3
Buff-bellied Hummingbird     2
Green  Kingfisher     1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      20
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     2
Brown-crested  Flycatcher     2
Great Kiskadee      12
Tropical Kingbird     1
Couch's Kingbird   7
White-eyed Vireo     1
Green Jay   2
Horned Lark     1
Purple Martin   3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     11
Bank  Swallow     6
Cliff Swallow     4
Cave  Swallow     6
Barn Swallow      22
Black-crested Titmouse     1
Carolina Wren   1
Bewick's Wren     2
House Wren   1
Marsh Wren     3
Northern Mockingbird   16
Long-billed Thrasher     1
Curve-billed  Thrasher     2
Tennessee Warbler      1
Prothonotary Warbler     1
Common Yellowthroat   14
Olive Sparrow     1
Lark Sparrow   4
Lincoln's Sparrow     2
Northern  Cardinal     3
Red-winged Blackbird      186
Eastern Meadowlark     6
Great-tailed Grackle   69
House Sparrow     15

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Falcon Parks
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:34:21 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Birded Falcon State Park and environs this morning as opposed to during the  
week, mainly because Fran Bartle was throwing her first annual Butterfly Fest, 
 and I wanted to be sure to catch it!  She's done a fabulous job on the  
garden, which is now in essence completed with benches and beautiful 
interpretive 

signs, and she gave some of us a guided tour, pointing out the  various host 
plants and special native plants that are all but extirpated in the  Valley.  
Unfortunately it was too cool and breezy (and dry) for leps (most  interesting 
thing was a Southern Dogface that went fluttering by), but she DID  show us 
her "Pipevine Swallowtail Nursery" where several of the caterpillars  were 
munching away, and some had made their way up under the awnings of the rec 
center 

and had even pupated!  Pics are posted here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Falcon.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/TX%20Butterflies%20Falcon.htm) 
 
I got there early to bird and added several new species to my Falcon list  
right away: a "pinking" Blue Grosbeak, a serenading Cassin's Sparrow, and a shy 

Chachalaca behind the old restroom!  Several Bullock's Orioles showed  
themselves (some of them sure sound different here than in San Diego), and 
while I 

think the "weekend warriors" made an impact on what birds might have been by  
the lakeshore, the regulars (Coots, Laughing Gulls, Snowy Egrets, etc.) were  
still there.  One of the picnic areas had a convention of caracaras and  
Turkey Vultures down by the water's edge inspecting something! A lingering 
Vesper 

Sparrow was poking along the road, and at the boat ramp were several  kinds 
of swallows flying overhead, including Bank.  The big "Bird Viewing  Area" in 
the campground had several Bobwhite, and a couple of Bronzed Cowbirds bullying 

the Redwings and Brownheads.  The photo blind at the Rec Center  had its 
attendant Redwings and Grackles, of course, but a Green Jay, Cactus Wren, 
another 

Bobwhite, and both thrashers came in for a visit.  A big miss  was 
Black-throated Sparrow (although one had been seen by a British tour group 
earlier), 

and an even bigger miss (that I didn't even know about until Fran and  Jim 
Booker told me about it later) was the group of Black Skimmers that have  been 
hanging around lately! Other critters included a Texas Spotted Whiptail back at 

the Butterfly Garden.  Photos of some of the birds are  posted here:
 
_http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm_ 
(http://miriameaglemon.com/photogallery/Rio%20Grande%20Valley%20Birds.htm) 
 
Took a quick swing through Starr County Park and had some Chihuahuan  Ravens, 
several Lark Sparrows, and a kingbird that had me leaning towards  Western, 
but I couldn't get a definitive view in the poor light.  Chatted  with a 
birding tour from Canada who had just visited the River areas and had  gotten 
Muscovy Duck amongst the regulars, so they were a bunch of happy campers! Bird 

List:
 
Location:     Falcon SP (Starr Co.)(LTC 084)
Observation  date:     4/12/08
Number of species:      53

Plain Chachalaca     1
Northern Bobwhite   10
Double-crested Cormorant     2
Great  Egret     3
Snowy Egret     17
Tricolored  Heron     1
Black Vulture     2
Turkey  Vulture     4
Osprey     2
Crested  Caracara     4
American Coot      21
Killdeer     1
Laughing Gull      6
Ring-billed Gull     1
White-winged Dove   5
Mourning Dove     10
Inca Dove   1
Greater Roadrunner     4
Golden-fronted  Woodpecker     7
Ladder-backed Woodpecker      4
Vermilion Flycatcher     1
Ash-throated Flycatcher   2
Great Kiskadee     8
Couch's Kingbird   3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher     3
White-eyed  Vireo     1
Green Jay     4
Chihuahuan  Raven     3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow      1
Bank Swallow     1
Cave Swallow      2
Barn Swallow     2
Verdin     4
Cactus  Wren     6
Bewick's Wren     3
Northern  Mockingbird     38
Long-billed Thrasher      1
Curve-billed Thrasher     8
Common Yellowthroat   1
Olive Sparrow     5
Cassin's Sparrow   2
Vesper Sparrow     1
Lark Sparrow   12
Northern Cardinal     6
Pyrrhuloxia   13
Blue Grosbeak     1
Red-winged  Blackbird     63
Great-tailed Grackle      58
Bronzed Cowbird     1
Brown-headed Cowbird   16
Bullock's Oriole     4
Altamira  Oriole     1
House Sparrow     6

Mary Beth  Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) 





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Subject: Harlingen
From: Mary Beth Stowe <MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM>
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:58:54 EDT
Hi, all!
 
Visited Hugh Ramsey and Harlingen City Lake Parks this morning; the wind  was 
horrendous, but it was sunny and otherwise beautiful.  Highlights at  Hugh 
Ramsey include my FOS Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling across the arroyo: it  was 
singing the slow, deliberate "cou, cou, cou," rather than the rapid roll I'm  
familiar with, so I needed to check Stokes on that one! :-) I thought I heard 

a Blackburnian Warbler sing, but it didn't sing again, and the wind and  
cacophony made it difficult to pick things out. No parrots today, but when I 
ran 

into Christine on the Ebony Trail, she told me about some Groove-billed  Anis 
that had been hanging around, but unfortunately I dipped on them.  At  the far 
eastern (?) end of the park was a Ringed Kingfisher along the little  
tributary, and a pair of Blue-winged Teal came tearing into the resaca while I 

watched! The Cattle Egret was a flyover at the entrance, and a Black-and-white 

Warbler sang while I was at the car.  Nothing but a female  grackle came in to 
the feeders, but I could hear the Buff-bellied Hummers  zipping around.
 
Over at City lake Park, I finally got smart and parked in the library lot  so 
I could walk right up to where the birds always are over by the dam, and had  
the usual Laughing Gulls, Coots, and BB Whistlers, along with a single 
Forster's Tern coming into breeding plumage. Checked the flock carefully but 

couldn't pull out any odd gulls.  Liberty Gardens was pretty quiet due to  the 
wind, except for the ubiquitous grackles, redwings, White-winged Doves, and  
Mockingbirds.
 
Came home early due to a doctor's appointment, and a very bad accident in  
that construction zone along 85 was a graphic reminder to take it easy along  
there!  Bird lists:
 
Location:     Harlingen Arroyo Colorado (Ramsey Park) WBC  (LTC 026)
Observation date:     4/10/08
Number of  species:     40

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   30
Blue-winged Teal     2
Cattle Egret   1
Killdeer     1
Spotted Sandpiper   1
Laughing Gull     10
White-winged Dove   9
Mourning Dove     7
Common Ground-Dove   1
White-tipped Dove     3
Yellow-billed  Cuckoo     1
Chimney Swift      2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird     4
Ringed Kingfisher   1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker      9
Ladder-backed Woodpecker     1
Brown-crested  Flycatcher     4
Couch's Kingbird      5
White-eyed Vireo     3
Green Jay      1
Cave Swallow     4
Black-crested Titmouse   1
Verdin     2
Carolina Wren   3
Bewick's Wren     2
House Wren   2
Northern Mockingbird     7
Long-billed  Thrasher     2
Curve-billed Thrasher      5
European Starling     2
Orange-crowned Warbler   1
Black-and-white Warbler     1
Olive  Sparrow     12
Lincoln's Sparrow      1
Northern Cardinal     5
Red-winged Blackbird   4
Great-tailed Grackle     14
Brown-headed  Cowbi