Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (2005, KRE photo)
Hook-billed Kite, Salineño (2005, KRE photo)
Whooping Cranes, Aransas NWR (2018, Bill Sullivan photo)
Plain Chachalaca (2015, Jeff Stephenson photo)
White-tailed Kite (2014, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Groove-billed Ani (2019, Val Landwehr photo)
Aplomado Falcon, Mustang Island (2023, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Common Pauraque (2004, KRE photo)
Ringed Kingfisher (2016, Jerry Pruett photo)
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Great Kiskadee (2018, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Green Jay (2023, Joanne Dial photo)
Black-crested Titmouse (2009, Vija Kelly photo)
Clay-colored Thrush (2023, Joanne Dial photo)
White-throated Thrush, Estero Llano Grande (2015, Jena Highkin photo)
Long-billed Thrasher (2014, Scott Meyer photo)
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Estero Llano Grande (2015, KRE photo)
Red-crowned Parrot (2019, Lon Baumgardt photo)
Morelet's Seedeater, Salineño (2020, Jay Vancura photo)
Olive Sparrow (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Pharr (2011, KRE photo)
Blue Bunting, Laguna Atascosa NWR (2009, Vija Kelly photo)
Altamira Oriole (2023, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Audubon's Oriole (2019, Dennis Randall photo)
Northern Jaçana, Santa Ana NWR (2016, KRE photo)
Pyrrhuloxia (2016, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (2017, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Rose-throated Becard, Resaca de la Palma State Park
(2020, Doug Kieser photo)
Green Kingfisher (2023, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Clapper Rail (2018, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Anhinga (2018, Jerry Pruett photo)
Least Grebe (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Common Black Hawk, UT Brownsville (2019, Dennis Randall photo)
mccallii Eastern Screech-Owl (2023, Joanne Dial photo)
Buff-bellied Hummingbird (2020, Doug Kieser photo)
Tropical Kingbird (2019, Lon Baumgardt photo)
SOUTH TEXAS MBWEEK SUMMARY
February 17 - 25, 2020
This 41st MBWeek in South Texas may have ended up with close-to-normal temperatures overall and an average species total of 205, but at the same time it featured its share of uncommon highlights. Considering the weather, note that an average high in winter is in the 70s, but this mostly seems the result of days in the 50s or even 40s combined with others well into the 80s and even 90 – and not that many in between. True to form, our first full day this year reached 90, but the next day featured a 30 degree drop along with about the heaviest rain showers I’ve ever seen here (where winter rains are rare). Then, strong north winds dropped temperatures down through the 50s and into the 40s as we birded the Rockport area in winter jackets. It then rebounded back to 80 as the MBW ended.
But, as they should be, the ornithological highlights of this MBW were more interesting than the meteorological ones. During our first full day in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), we saw a pair of oft-elusive Fulvous Whistling-Ducks among some domestic somethings at Bannworth Park in Mission, and that same afternoon we found all three “countable” parakeets/parrots: Monks at their Hidalgo nests, Greens by chance on a wire during our break at McDonald’s, and Red-crowneds on a wire in Weslaco. Then the next morning at Resaca de la Palma we had views of two Rose-throated Becards, and a Tropical Parula was heard (but not seen, alas). And before we headed north to Rockport there was time to find the Common Black Hawk which had returned from 2019 to the resaca at UT’s Brownsville campus (we had recorded this species only 5 times in the previous 40 MBWs).
During our cold day-and-a-half in the Rockport-Port Aransas-Corpus Christi area, we chose to forgo the boat tour into Aransas NWR for the first time ever (if we had gone, we would have faced 20 mph headwinds and a “high” of 50), but the Whooping Cranes on their now-favorite pasture put on quite a show as 8 unmated sub-adults were methodically displaced by a dominant pair of adults that flew in after we arrived. A staked-out female Painted Bunting at a Goose Island State Park feeder was next (only the 3rd one ever on this MBWeek), but the best sighting that day was at Indian Point when at least 6 Brown Boobies flew by at fairly close range. For some reason they had been wintering out in the bay here, and this represented species #350 on the all-time South Texas MBW list (!) – along with a new addition to my Texas life list.
After our return to the LRGV, we went back to Santa Ana NWR to witness a flight of no fewer than 4 Hook-billed Kite close to the observation tower – this after no one had reported more than 2 that month! (And their timing was perfect as they appeared at 9:58 am after I had announced we were planning to go elsewhere at 10:00.) During the next 10 minutes they flew around us, chased each other at times, and even perched for brief scope views before flying out of sight. Anything later that day was anticlimactic, but at Anzalduas the wintering Sprague’s Pipits were easier than usual to see, scope, and photograph in the shorter-than-normal grass, and we finally found a Clay-colored Thrush (not as easy to find in recent years) at Quinta Mazatlan.
Our pre-dawn departure to spend the next day upriver in and around Salineño was mostly successful. There were 3 brief sightings of uncooperative Red-billed Pigeons that popped up into view on their traditional island, but a Morelet’s (formerly White-collared) Seedeater provided uncharacteristically long and close views for a full minute for most of us. Mexican Duck-type Mallards were also on the river (“countable” on eBird, but not so on ABA’s checklist), all the expected desert-type species were cooperative (e.g., at least 8 roadrunners, Bewick’s and Cactus Wrens, Cassin’s and Black-throated sparrows), plus a bonus Black-tailed Gnatcatcher in “downtown” Salineño.
We spent our last full day along and near the Gulf coast and finally had nice looks at an Aplomado Falcon at its Old Port Isabel Rd platform, after missing this species up at Mustang I. We also rounded out our shorebird list with no fewer than 25 species with Snowy Plovers near one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX facilities and a group of no fewer than 70-80 Reddish Egrets. And a staked-out Rock Wren, which is rare here, was waiting for us in Laguna Vista to complete our trip list of 205 species.
We would have 207 in all if I count the possible fly-by Common Tern at Indian Point and a heard-only goldfinch at Anzalduas which Jeff felt was probably an American. But for now, American Goldfinch goes down as missed for only the second time ever on this MBWeek, and even worse is the inexplicable absence of Cattle Egret from our list for the first time ever! Other “misses” included a Mew Gull which appeared before and after – but not during – our 3 visits to the Port Aransas boardwalk, and the elusive Groove-billed Anis we were unable to find at Santa Ana and Oso Bay. It is also interesting that normally productive birding sites like Laguna Atascosa NWR, Progreso Lakes, and Bentsen State Park were missing from our itinerary, as was Capt Tommy’s boat trip on the Skimmer, and we barely spent any time at Estero Llano Grande.
On the plus side, note that Pectoral Sandpiper had only been seen once before on this MBW, and Bank Swallow only three times. Also consider there are so many other birds cited above that most South Texas specialties failed to make the final highlight reel – chachalaca, Least Grebe, White-tipped Dove, pauraque, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Harris’s & White-tailed & Gray hawks, kingfishers, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, kiskadee, Tropical & Couch’s kingbirds, Green Jay (ignored, as always, after a couple days), Black-crested Titmouse, Long-billed Thrasher, Olive Sparrow, Audubon’s & Altamira orioles, and all the other "routine" species.
Itinerary
February 17: Arrival at HRL @10 am; Hugh Ramsey Nature Park, Resaca de la Palma, and UT Rio Grande Valley resaca; dinner at Blue Onion (!) & first of 2 nights in Mercedes.
February 18: Santa Ana NWR, Border Rd’s owl-less burrows, Hidalgo, Granjeño, Anzalduas County Park, Shary Rd CVS parakeets, Bannworth Park, Westgate Dr cowbirds & parrots; dinner at Arturo’s.
February 19: Return to Resaca de la Palma and UT Rio Grande Valley; afternoon drive to Rockport via the Brewer’s at the Sarita wayside, Chapman Ranch, and Indian Point; dinner at Crab-N (now reopened after the 2017 hurricane!) & first of 2 nights in Rockport.
February 20: Rockport-Fulton bay, The Big Tree’s crane pasture, Goose Island State Park, Cavasso Creek, return to Indian Pt, Sunset Lake, Hans Suter Wildlife Area, North Padre Island, and Mustang Island; dinner at San Juan’s.
February 21: Return to Cavasso Cr (for grackles!), Old Port Bay Club Rd & Live Oak Country Club, Port Aransas boardwalk and beach, Mustang Island, Packery Channel Park, JFK Causeway, Oso Bay Preserve, return to Chapman Ranch, and return drive to LRGV; dinner at Longhorn Cattle Company (Jeff’s favorite) & first of 4 nights in Weslaco.
February 22: Return to Santa Ana, return to Anzalduas, and Quinta Mazatlan; dinner at Blue Onion.
February 23: Pre-dawn upriver drive to Salineño, Chapeño, Falcon State Park, Falcon County Park, and Roma; dinner at Milano’s.
February 24: Tiocano Lake, return to Resaca de la Palma, Old Port Isabel Rd, Boca Chica Blvd (incl SpaceX), Hwy 48/Zapata Boat Ramp, South Padre Island, and Holly Beach Rd; dinner at Arturo’s.
February 25: Estero Llano Grande (briefly) and departure for MN.
Bird List
(boldfaced species = “non-Minnesota” birds (i.e., absent, Accidental, or Casual in MN)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Snow Goose
Greater White-fronted Goose
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard (incl “Mexican Duck”)
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Northern Bobwhite
Wild Turkey
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Common Pauraque
Archilochus, sp.
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Clapper Rail
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Whooping Crane
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Snowy Plover
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Stilt Sandpiper
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Bonaparte's Gull
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Common Loon
Brown Booby
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Hook-billed Kite
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Common Black Hawk
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Gray Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl (the mccallii subspecies and potential split)
Great Horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
Ringed Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Aplomado Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Green Parakeet
Red-crowned Parrot
Rose-throated Becard
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Green Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Horned Lark
Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Purple Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Rock Wren
House Wren
Sedge Wren (heard-only)
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Clay-colored Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
House Sparrow
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Cassin's Sparrow
Olive Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Tropical Parula (heard-only)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Morelet’s Seedeater
* * *
SOUTH TEXAS MBWEEKS PHOTO GALLERY
Fulvous Whistling-Ducks (2020, KRE photo)
Crested Caracara (2020, Doug Kieser photo)
Green Parakeets (2020, Doug Kieser photo)
Vermilion Flycatcher (2020, Carla Bates photo)
Sprague's Pipit, Anzalduas County Park (2020, Carla Bates photo)
SOUTH TEXAS MBWEEK SUMMARY
February 10 - 17, 2023 (plus post-MBW Feb. 18-19)
The verdict was unanimous. It seemed everyone we talked to said the birding was slower than normal this winter, and I had to agree. That’s not to say it was boring or uneventful, however; the assortment of birds we saw was merely excellent rather than spectacular. After all, our trip list was graced by both whistling-ducks, chachalacas, Least Grebes, White-tipped Doves, pauraques, Buff-bellied Hummingbirds, Whooping Cranes, skimmers & spoonbills, two kinds of kites, Harris’s & White-tailed & Gray and Zone-tailed hawks, three kingfishers, Aplomado Falcons, three countable parrots/parakeets, a vocalizing becard, kiskadees & kingbirds, Green Jays, Long-billed Thrashers, Clay-colored Thrushes, Hooded and Altamira orioles, Tropical Parula... And most of these are found nowhere else in the U.S.!
In all, we “officially” listed 186 species on this MBWeek (i.e., through Feb 17), and I have to admit this total was well below average. (I also admit it was disappointing that tyrannulet, Black Phoebe, Cactus Wren, Sprague’s Pipit, Cassin’s Sparrow, Audubon’s Oriole, and the always-difficult seedeater were uncooperative this winter.) This was our 42nd South Texas MBW, which has averaged a respectable 204 species overall, and only three previous trips here recorded totals in the 180s, with another six finishing with totals in the 190s. On the other hand, we have managed 220 species or more on five MBWeeks, with an impressive high of 231 in 2016. And if you add up all 42 MBWs, our composite list now stands at a lofty 352 species!
Among the 186 birds we found through Feb 17, I did not include Red-billed Pigeon (although it’s likely that the large, dark pigeons that flew by me at Saliñeno were Red-billeds, since they started to appear there regularly the next day); I also chose not to list Short-billed Dowitcher (though some were almost certainly among the many silent dowitchers we saw on the coast). But I did include Yellow-headed Blackbird and Say’s Phoebe at Progreso, Cinnamon Teal (and another Fulvous Whistling-Duck) at Santa Ana, Tropical Parula (seen by Bruce at Laguna Vista), Summer Tanager (and Yellow-throated Warbler) found by Darcy & Joanne at Quinta Mazatlan – since these were all seen that afternoon.
Note that our total list would have reached 196 if the birds seen Feb 18 and/or Feb 19 counted. The Doug/Scott/Jeff/Kim group had Least Flycatcher, Winter Wren, Sandwich Tern (plus Gull-billeds), and Bronzed Cowbird (finally!) on the 18th, and on the 19th we had a non-countable but free-flying Budgerigar at Anzalduas, while Scott and Jeff had a brief look there at a Tropical Parula. Meanwhile, Kevin saw the Laguna Vista Tropical Parula on the 18th, when it was joined by Northern Bobwhite and Painted Bunting; then on Feb 19 at South Padre, he reported Black-throated Gray Warbler, Orchard Oriole (quite rare in winter), Green Heron, and Stilt Sandpipers.
I would assume that the Hook-billed Kite sightings at Bentsen represented the leading highlight of our trip for some (especially Scott), but it was especially rewarding as well to see Whooping Cranes so well, plus that pair of Aplomado Falcons on Mustang Island, to at least hear the Rose-throated Becard at Bentsen, and to find a Nelson’s Sparrow posing so nicely as a surprising consolation for the silently invisible Seasides. Note as well that our MBWeek highlights included our first-ever Palm Warbler, while Mountain Bluebird and Dickcissel had each only been recorded on three previous MBWs here.
Itinerary
February 10: Arrival at HRL @11:00 am; Hugh Ramsey Nature Park (briefly), Hwy 106 Cattle Egret pond, Hwy 100 Aplomado-less platform, and first of 4 total visits to Laguna Vista Nature Trail; night in Raymondville.
February 11: Drive to Ingleside via the Sarita wayside & town, King Ranch Visitor Center, Hazel Bazemore County Park, Indian Point & Sunset Lake in Portland; first of 2 nights in Ingleside.
February 12: Port Bay Club Rd & vicinity, Cavasso Creek grackles & wetlands, The Big Tree crane pasture, Rockport-Fulton bay, and Mustang Island (UT marine center, Gulf of Mexico & beaches, Aplomado nest platforms, Port Aransas Birding Center boardwalk).
February 13: Return to LRGV via Pollywog Pond, Hwy 285, and Hwy 281 wayside; Edinburg Scenic Wetland, brief visits to Weslaco vulture roost and Estero Llano Grande; first of 4 nights in Weslaco.
February 14: Brief parrot search in Weslaco, Bentsen State Park, National Butterfly Center, Anzalduas County Park, and 10th & Trenton parakeets staging area.
February 15: Weslaco parrots, return to Estero Llano Grande, Laguna Atascosa NWR, return to Laguna Vista, Jaime Zapata boat landing & Hwy 48 inlet, and San Benito Burrowing Owl.
February 16: Pre-dawn drive upriver to Salineño, Chapeño, Falcon State Park & vicinity; return to LRGV via former/alleged Peñitas Pipit Patch and Hidalgo.
February 17: Return to Bentsen State Park, and Kevin, Darcy, & Bruce to IAH car rentals; post-lunch for some to Progreso and Santa Ana NWR; Bruce’s successful return to Laguna Vista and flight home; Darcy & Joanne to Quinta Mazatlan (with flights home Feb 18).
-----------------
February 18: Day One of post-MBWeek (Doug/Scott/Jeff/Kim) to Old Cannon Rd, Resaca de la Palma, UT Brownsville, Boca Chica Blvd (incl Space X), return to Jaime Zapata inlet, Old Port Isabel Rd, and Harlingen grackle/cowbird roost; Kevin’s successful return to Laguna Vista (and extra days at South Padre Island).
February 19: Day Two of post-MBWeek (Doug/Scott/Jeff/Kim) to Bentsen State Park, Anzalduas, and Donna sod farm en route to HRL for flight home; Kevin still at South Padre Island.
Bird List
• boldfaced species = “non-Minnesota” birds (i.e., absent, Accidental, or Casual in MN
• post-MBW = only seen Feb. 18 or 19
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Snow Goose
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
(Northern Bobwhite - post-MBW)
Wild Turkey
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Common Pauraque
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Whooping Crane
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Snowy Plover
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
(Stilt Sandpiper - post-MBW)
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Bonaparte's Gull
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
(Sandwich Tern - post-MBW)
Black Skimmer
Common Loon
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret
(Green Heron - post-MBW)
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Hook-billed Kite
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Gray Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl (mccallii subspecies)
Great Horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
Ringed Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Merlin
Aplomado Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Green Parakeet
Red-crowned Parrot
Rose-throated Becard (heard-only)
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
(Least Flycatcher - post-MBW)
Eastern Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Green Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Verdin
Black-crested Titmouse
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Bewick's Wren
Carolina Wren
House Wren
(Winter Wren - post-MBW)
Marsh Wren
Gray Catbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Mountain Bluebird
Clay-colored Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Olive Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
(Orchard Oriole - post-MBW)
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
(Bronzed Cowbird - post-MBW)
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Tropical Parula
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
(Black-throated Gray Warbler - post-MBW)
Wilson’s Warbler
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
(Painted Bunting - post-MBW)
Dickcissel
* * *
Monk Parakeets (2023, Jeff Stephenson photo)
Also see the PHOTO GALLERY
following the summaries of the 2024, 2023, and 2020 MBWeeks
_________
SOUTH TEXAS MBWEEK SUMMARY
February 6 - 14, 2024
This is not going to be easy. How do I provide an organized and coherent summary of this MBWeek in just a few paragraphs? After all, it included ...
• 12 “write-in” species added to the South Texas field checklist;
• 2 first state records (one of these a first for the U.S.), plus 4 others with only 1-2 previous TX
records;
• 8 additions to this MBWeek’s composite list (now = 360 species; just 0-1 additions per year
is typical), plus 4 other species which had only been seen twice before on this MBW;
• 5 additions to the all-time MBWeeks list (now = 732 species);
• 4 additions to my Texas life list (after 100+ tours here), with 2 of these new to my ABA list (or
7 new for TX and 5 new for ABA incl. a pre-MBW trip here last month);
• 2 tours to a private ranch, which provided 5 of those write-ins, plus 7 or so others seen
nowhere else on our MBW;
• an above-average species total of 214, our 7th best out of 43 MBWeeks here.
... And all of this on the final MBWeek, the End of an Era, after 125+ of them over 35 seasons, compiling a grand composite total of more than 730 species.
As spectacular as all that was, we did miss a few things as does every tour – especially one with so many rarities to find that it took time away from looking for other quintessential species which we otherwise might have seen. So, for example, we lacked the time to find such “non-Minnesota” birds as Mexican Duck, N. Bobwhite, N. Beardless-Tyrannulet, Sprague’s Pipit, Lesser Goldfinch, and Morelet’s Seedeater. (We missed some other birds, too, but you’ll get over it once the loons, swallows, waxwings, Sedge Wrens, bluebirds, robins, Chipping and White-crowned sparrows return to MN in a couple months.)
But we had plenty of the more normal South Texas specialties to look at and appreciate – which this summary would normally list as headliners. But this time around the chachalacas, Least Grebes, White-tipped Doves, pauraques, Whooping Cranes, White-tailed and Gray hawks, kingfishers, Aplomado Falcons, parrots/parakeets, kiskadees and kingbirds, Green Jays, thrashers, Clay-colored Thrushes, Olive Sparrows, orioles, and all the others took a back seat to that overwhelming array of extreme rarities.
And, in most years it’s enough of a success when we find maybe 3 or 4 rare-regular South Texas birds: e.g., birds like Red-billed Pigeon, Mountain Plover, Hook-billed Kite, Zone-tailed Hawk, Rose-throated Becard, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Rock Wren, Green-tailed Towhee, Tropical Parula, Hermit and Golden-crowned warblers, Crimson-collared and Black-headed grosbeaks, Blue Bunting. But this year we listed all 14 of these, and yet they are stil relegated down to this summary’s “Other Highlights” paragraph.
And we had other memorable sightings as well: at least 5-6 dozen classified-as-Endangered Piping Plovers at both South Padre Island and Sunset Lake...a minimum of 59 Mountain Plovers counted in a single “middle-of-nowhere” field in western Hidalgo County...that exceptional and unmatched view of the Rio Grande from the Santa Margarita Ranch bluff...a welcome break between ranch tours at Falcon State Park’s free Super Bowl party...seeing all 8 pigeon/dove species in one day...the entertaining flocks of parrots wandering around Weslaco...and the overwhelming hordes of blackbirds at Progesso’s grain storage area.
For more information on the more significant rarities we had, see the annotations in the South Texas MBW Composite List attachment and in the Bird List section below:
Itinerary
February 6: Mid-afternoon arrivals at HRL; Hugh Ramsey Nature Park (briefly) and Resaca de la Palma State Park’s Roadside Hawk; first of 2 nights in Harlingen.
February 7: Return to Resaca de la Palma (becards & parulas!), U.T. Brownsville’s Fan-tailed W. (!), Buena Vista Cemetery, Hwy 48’s Jaime Zapata public access, South Padre Island convention center boardwalk & flats.
February 8: Return to Hugh Ramsey (Golden-crowned W.), Williams Rd’s Burrowing Owl, San Benito’s Limpkin-less resaca, and afternoon drive to Corpus Christi & Portland via Sarita wayside rest and town, downtown Corpus tyrant (!), and Sunset Lake’s godwit; first of 2 nights in Portland.
February 9: Bee-Country Club-Old Port Bay Club roads, Big Tree’s crane pasture, Cavasso Creek grackles, Cove Harbor marshes, ferry to Port Aransas & Mustang Island, and gull-less JFK causeway.
February 10: Drive to Rio Grande City via Sunset Lake & Indian Point, Hwy 285, Hwy 281 wayside, and Mt. Plover fields near McCook; first of 2 nights in Rio Grande City.
February 11: Santa Margarita Ranch tour/death march (most of group) plus Salineño, Chapeño, Falcon State Park & vicinity (Jeff & KRE), late afternoon break & free Super Bowl party at state park (!), evening Mottled Owl tour at SMRanch, and lights out at midnight back in RGCity.
February 12: Return to Lower Rio Grande Valley via Los Ebanos ferry (briefly), Anzalduas County Park, Hidalgo parakeets, Edinburg Wetlands, and McAllen’s staging parakeets @10th & Trenton; first of 2 nights in Mercedes.
February 13: Weslaco parrot flocks, Estero Llano Grande, Progresso blackbirds (!), ani-less Anacuitas ditch (briefly), and La Feria Nature Center.
February 14: Harlingen soccer pond, Palo Alto Battlefield, brief return to Hugh Ramsey, and return to HRL for afternoon flights home.
Bird List
Annotations:
• boldface = “non-Minnesota” birds (i.e., absent, Accidental, or Casual in MN)
• write-in = not incl. on printed Texas MBW checklist
• 1st ABA = first ABA-area record (2nd ABA = 2nd record, etc)
• 1st TX = first Texas state record (2nd TX = 2nd record, etc)
• 1st MBW = new species on Texas MBW composite list
• 1st MBWeeks = new species on MBWeeks composite list
• ABA lifer (or TX lifer) = new addition in 2024 to KRE’s ABA list (or Texas list)
• SMRanch = only (or primarily) seen/heard at Santa Margarita Ranch on 2024 MBW
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Snow Goose
Wood Duck (SMRanch)
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Wild Turkey
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon (SMRanch)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground Dove
White-tipped Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Common Pauraque
Buff-bellied Hummingbird (why so few?)
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin (write-in, 1st MBW, at Salineño and SMRanch)
Sandhill Crane
Whooping Crane
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Mountain Plover (3rd TX MBW record)
Snowy Plover
Long-billed Curlew
Bar-tailed Godwit (Sunset L in Portland; write-in, 2nd TX, 1st MBW, TX lifer)
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Stilt Sandpiper
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Bonaparte's Gull
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull (Indian Point in Portland; write-in, 1st MBW, TX lifer)
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
American Bittern
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (write-in, 2nd ABA, 2nd TX, 1st MBW, 1st MBWeeks,
ABA & TX lifer, SMRanch)
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Hook-billed Kite (Mexico-only; SMRanch)
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Roadside Hawk (Resaca de la Palma; write-in, 3rd TX MBW record)
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Gray Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk (SMRanch)
Red-tailed Hawk
Barn Owl (heard-only; SMRanch)
Eastern Screech-Owl (mccallii subsp.)
Great Horned Owl (SMRanch)
Burrowing Owl
Mottled Owl (write-in, 3rd ABA, 3rd TX, 1st MBW, 1st MBWeeks, ABA & TX lifer, SMRanch)
Ringed Kingfisher (SMRanch)
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Merlin
Aplomado Falcon (Mustang Island)
Peregrine Falcon
Monk Parakeet (pair in Hidalgo)
Green Parakeet (staging at 10th & Trenton in McAllen)
Red-crowned Parrot (+ Lilac-crowneds & Yellow-headed in Weslaco)
Gray-collared Becard (Resaca de la Palma; write-in, 3rd ABA, 1st TX, 1st MBW,
1st MBWeeks, ABA & TX lifer)
Rose-throated Becard (Resaca de la Palma & SMRanch)
Dusky-capped Flycatcher (heard-only; write-in, 3rd TX MBW record, SMRanch)
Great Kiskadee
Cattle Tyrant (downtown Corpus; write-in, 1st ABA, 1st TX, 1st MBW, 1st MBWeeks,
ABA & TX lifer)
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Brown Jay (formerly regular in Salineño area until 2012; write-in, SMRanch)
Green Jay
Chihuahuan Raven (SMRanch)
Verdin
Black-crested Titmouse
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Rock Wren (Anzalduas)
Cactus Wren
Bewick's Wren
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Gray Catbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Clay-colored Thrush
House Sparrow
American Pipit
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Cassin’s Sparrow (Palo Alto Battlefield, heard-only near SMRanch)
Olive Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow (heard-only)
Lark Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Clay-colored Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Green-tailed Towhee (Edinburg Wetlands)
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Altamira Oriole
Audubon’s Oriole (SMRanch)
Red-winged Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Tropical Parula (2 at Resaca de la Palma)
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Hermit Warbler (seen by Paul E at Buena Vista Cemetery; write-in, 3rd TX MBW record)
Black-throated Green Warbler
Fan-tailed Warbler (skulking by an alleged styrofoam landmark at UT Brownsville; write-in,
2nd TX, 1st MBW, 1st MBWeeks, ABA & TX lifer)
Golden-crowned Warbler (Hugh Ramsey)
Wilson’s Warbler
Crimson-collared Grosbeak (Frontera Audubon)
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Black-headed Grosbeak (Estero Llano Grande)
Blue Bunting (seen by Alan & Paul E at Hugh Ramsey)
Indigo Bunting
* * *
Red-billed Pigeon, Santa Margarita Ranch (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
White-tipped Dove (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Santa Margarita Ranch
(2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Roadside Hawk, Resaca de la Palma State Park
(2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Harris's Hawk (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
White-tailed Hawk (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Gray Hawk (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Zone-tailed Hawk, Santa Margarita Ranch (2024, Howard Towle photo)
Mottled Owl, Santa Margarita Ranch (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Gray-collared Becard, Resaca de la Palma State Park
(2024, Raymond Tervo photo)
Cattle Tyrant, Corpus Christi (2024, Raymond Tervo photo)
Brown Jay, Santa Margarita Ranch (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
Tropical Parula (2024, Jerry Pruett photo)
"Welcome to Santa Margarita Ranch"
(photo courtesy of Texas Tourism & Visitors Bureau – Greg Abbott, Governor)
And now, a word from our sponsor...
Eric Arndt (left), owner of the Blue Onion, Weslaco
with unidentified customer (right)
