Dave and I parted ways in the Seattle airport, and I headed to Texas. I would miss him, but realized after two days of birding he was probably getting bored. He had been reading in the car as I birded and I was already feeling guilty. Alone I was free to bird without guilt. The most inexpensive route to South Texas was via San Antonio, so I landed and hit the road south. I forget that there are large expanses of highway with no food or gas, so for dinner I made do with a burrito from a gas station. There were 3 rarities reported in Texas, and my first stop in the morning would be for a Northern Jacana that was lingering at Santa Ana NWR.
Jan 4
I arrived at Santa Ana and purchased a new National Park Pass, since ours had just expired. I joined a bird walk led by volunteer, Laura Paulson. I hoped she might show us a Common Pauraque, but when we got to the usual roosting location it was empty. Laura said an over-zealous photographer had recently trimmed the underbrush for a cleaner shot of the bird, and it had opted for a better concealed roost. She pointed out several other species along the way and a lady in the group added each bird to her year list, counting out loud, and her numbers tripled mine. My smaller list was building steadily however with Sora, Least Grebe, Green Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, but my target species was not seen, so I split ranks and moved to another area to search alone. I added an Olive Sparrow and Nashville Warbler seen along the path. I walked a short distance to the edge of the water and waited. And waited. I did a double take when the jacana moved into view, close!
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Northern Jacana at Santa Ana (Code 4)
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It stayed in sight for almost a minute, and very satisfied with the lucky encounter I strolled down the trail to relax and absorb the calls of the birds surrounding me. One in particular stood out and grabbed my attention. I knew I should remember, but I often forget bird calls as fast as I learn them. I spotted the tiny bird and it clicked...Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet.
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| Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet |
I followed a path to the location where a pair of late departing Groove-billed Ani had been spotted in previous days, but only recorded Gray Hawk and Harris's Hawk in the area.
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| Harris's Hawk with prey |
I moved on to Estero Llano Grande State Park, which is my favorite park in South Texas. It was almost closing time and I stayed close to the entrance but got distracted and lost track of time, finally realizing the park had closed. My last new bird of the day was a Pyrrhuloxia.
When I checked into my hotel at dark, I had added a fantastic 60 species that day to my year list which now totaled 109.
Jan 5
I arrived at Frontera Audubon at opening. Several other birders were also present to look for a Code 4 Crimson-collared Grosbeak. This park offers dense trees and thickets and great habitat and hiding places for rare birds. It is a difficult area to view birds, and photography can be almost impossible. Clay-colored Thrush are Code 3 but relatively easy to find.
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| A Ringed Kingfisher patrolled the water from the Frontera boardwalk |
Frontera has nice feeding stations where you can watch Plain Chachalaca, Inca and White-tipped Dove, Green Jays, Black-crested Titmouse, and Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Most birders present were canvassing the area for the grosbeak which stayed out of sight for several hours. Around noon, I heard a suspicious call, and moved in that direction, wondering if it was playback. A couple of others heard the same vocalization, and shortly after the bird was finally seen. I tried to balance myself on my tiptoes for a documentation shot and managed to get a bad shot. Writing this retrospectively, I can add that I would get much better photos during my next visit.
I had a few hours left to enjoy a leisurely visit to Estero Llano Grande nearby. The park was surprisingly empty. I didn't pass a single person the 4 hours I was there. I searched an area I had remembered seeing a pauraque during a previous visit, and amazingly, was able to spot not one but two of these well camouflaged birds!
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| Common Pauraque well hidden in the brush |
Much easier to find was the resident Eastern Screech Owl, who was keeping a lazy watch on the only visitor. I saw my first hummingbirds of the year, Black-chinned and Buff-bellied, and Altamira Oriole feeding on orange slices. Sparrows were abundant, and I saw my first Loggerhead Shrike for the year list. I enjoyed the day, and after the sunset left for the next target a few hours away.
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Jan 6
Lions/Shelley Park in Refugio was a hotspot for birders. I saw several Crested Caracara in flight on the drive from my hotel 30 miles away. Several birders were scattered in the park seeking a Golden-crowned Warbler that had been last reported on Jan 4. One photographer was weirdly blasting the call with a boom box. Given the size of the park, I exchanged phone numbers with several others in hopes that if we spread out to search, the finder would contact the others with the locations. After several hours of searching and listening in vain, I regretted my choice to go for the Jacana first, as I would have been here the day it had been seen by several observers. It was a lovely day, but the exhaustive search did not have the results I had hoped. I opted to take a break from the park and board a boat the following morning for Whooping Crane.
Jan 7
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I think this day, the photos from aboard the boat to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge speak for themselves. The Whooping Crane was a life bird. I had seen them before in Indiana, but these birds are considered a part of the wild population and are therefore countable.
I think this day, the photos from aboard the boat to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge speak for themselves. The Whooping Crane was a life bird. I had seen them before in Indiana, but these birds are considered a part of the wild population and are therefore countable.
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I took a boat ride to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and enjoyed another beautiful sunrise
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Foggy, but beautiful morning near the Texas coast
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| An Osprey flew close by our boat for this great view |
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| Great Blue Heron in fantastic plumage |
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| American Oystercatcher |
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Brown Pelican
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