Week 14 (4/7/19) and Week 15 (4/14/19) - Texas, baby!!!

For those who have been following along on FB, this will not be a surprise, but spanning across Weeks 14 and 15 Avian Adventures traveled to Texas, baby!

So, there's a lot to take in here. Basically, April has been a giant bird fest, probably one of the biggest birding weeks of my life. I'm not really sure how to even begin with this, so I guess we'll just go chronologically..

I really like flying and take numerous pictures out of the window, because I'm a silly goose. Here's some rando barrier islands I think off the coast of LA or MS. 

Houston!

First new bird in Texas was the ubiquitous Great-tailed Grackle (picks to follow later). Much like the Boat-tailed Grackle, these guys were all over the place for the entire trip. I gather the birds aren't necessarily popular, though I'm a big fan. I like the grackles here, I like the grackles there. I like the grackles everywhere!

Dope sunrise over the bridge to Galveston

So that's how I got to the first location - Galveston beach. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary there, so we moved on to Lafitte's Cove - a surprisingly diverse little park in a housing development.

Here's what I look like when I'm paddling around in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time

Solitary Sandpiper - you can tell because it's spotted, not to be confused with a Spotted Sandpiper which is also spotted

Great-tailed Grackle (lifer 1 of the trip). You'll get a better look at that tail here shortly

Hooded Warbler - not a lifer at all, but probably the best looks I've ever had at these guys - there were several of them flying around getting close, zipping around, being awesome. 

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher!!! Lifer 2 (and 410) This guy was high on my wish list and we ended up seeing them almost every day. They're amazing! I heart them. 

Eastern Kingbird hopping around to grab some munchies

Glossy Ibis - apparently this guy wasn't supposed to be here. We had a White-faced Ibis flyover (a lifer for Rich) but this guy was something of a local celebrity.

Downy Woodpeckers - both males,. not sure if they were competing for territory or what, but they were very active and chasing each other around. 

Great-tailed Grackle showing off its awesome tail. The V-shape is very distinctive. 

Later that day we saw our first ever White-tailed Hawk (lifer 3) while waiting at a red light. Alas, no pictures. Indeed, no pictures ever. I nearly got a video, but I messed up the binocucam. Here's the video.... you're welcome.

I think with some careful pausing, this might even be diagnostic 😛

We stopped by the NASA center in Houston, because that's a fun thing to do when you're in Houston. 

Here's some other NASA things - literally not sure what they are

Here's another bigger NASA thing - it's a shuttle on a 747! 

Anywho, that was day one (not counting the arrival day of course). 3 lifers added and making great progress.

Day 2 we started out heading south and stopped at the legendary Aransas NWR. The weather wasn't great sadly, it was misty and muggy and we got utterly scared to death...

That was on the Rail Trail, but it was more like the Gator Gulch. They were everywhere, they were loud and they in a baaaad mood. We didn't actually run away, but we walked pretty quickly.

Here's a Black Vulture that for a while I really thought was something far more exciting. No offense intended to the vulture, but I really thought for a second it would be something cool, especially since we were in Texas and there was a chance for all sorts of new birds. 

Nervous deern staring at me over the terrifying gator water. 

Ms. Anhinga chilling in a tree, well safe of any evil gators

Yet more Scissor-tailed action - I do have a video of this guy flying, but I need to edit it before I upload it. I'll have a special update once all the videos and get them uploaded 

Another lifer for Rich, Neotropic Cormorant. It's not very clear here, but there are clear white edges around the yellow gape. 

Ok, this is a crappy picture, but this is lifer 4, a Least Grebe! There were actually several of them here, including some young 'uns.  

Stunning Yellow-crowned Night-heron on the prowl

On the way out we ran into these guys by the side of the road. Left is a skinny-necked Pectoral Sandpiper and on the right is a Least Sandpiper. Neither were lifers, but it was good to find them nonetheless.

Also, not pictured, we saw our first Crested Caracara (lifer 5/413) on the side of the road. Worry not, no pics here but pics to follow 😏

On day 3 we decided to stick around in Corpus Christi and take a relatively easy day off. Of course, things never really pan out that way, especially when there are birds to be found.

This Northern Bobwhite was chilling next to the hotel. Couldn't believe how good a look it gave us before it took off flying

We headed out to Mustang Island State Park to soak up some sun and surf. Naturally we ran across some birds.

Savannah Sparrow next to the visitor centre 

Clay-colored Sparrow (6/414) - I looked for these numerous times in  NC and FL, so it was awesome to finally get one. He was kind enough to sit out in the open. 

I told you I'd get a pic of the Caracara! This was the first one we got in the binocs and then the scope. Then, get this, he flew right over our heads!

I love Reddish Egrets. Never get tired of seeing them. I think this was the only we saw in Texas. 

Chilling on the beach at Mustang Island

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - we were hoping it was one of the other Texas hummingbirds, but the Merlin app said Ruby-throat based on the size and shape, especially the bill length. 

Not pictured (sadly) was a flyover from a Long-billed Curlew (7/415). We also had a Whimbrel, which is a cousin of the curlew, just with a shorter bill.

Next up - we headed further south to the border. specifically we headed to Brownsville, even more specifically we headed first to Sabal Palm Sanctuary. This was, hands down, the most awesome outing of the entire trip.

Here's the sightings board at the park. Some pretty awesome birds on here - let's see if we see any of them...

Barely out of the parking lot and we saw this guy - Ladder-backed Woodpecker! Similar in sound to a Downy, but more closer to a Sapsucker in appearance. 

Great Kiskadee! Another one of my top targets and we were still only ten paces from the parking lot. 

I told you - literally everywhere! So gorgeous!

White-tipped Dove - this feeding station was literally ridiculous. So birdy!

Told you - Green Jay! Another wish list bird!

Green Jays chilling in the tree. 

Plain Chachalaca! I think of these as tree pheasants. The noise they make is amazing! I'll get the video up ASAP.  

Here's one in a tree. 

Long-billed Thrasher! Note the grey head and brown body. Common Thrasher would be all brown, Curve-billed would be all grey. They are very considerate birds, thrashers. 

That red eye can mean only one thing - Bronzed Cowbird!

White-winged Dove - not a lifer for me, but yet another lifer for Rich.

Green Jay chilling in a tree

Golden-fronted Woodpecker! Soo many lifers. 

There were a lot of really cool paths at Sabal Palm, none of them too long a walk nicely. 

Summer Tanager - he was taking a bath in the water feature (see below) and then hopped up into the tree

Said water feature, with the former plantation house in the background. 

Another Ladder-back.

Grey Hawk! Look, he has a stick! Nesting material!

He then dropped his stick, screeched once and then flew away. 

Couch's Kingbird! You can't tell, because you can't hear it. They are virtually indistinguishable from Tropical Kingbirds, it all comes down to the sound. 

Hey look - another Ladder-back!

FINALLY!!!! Louisiana Waterthrush! I was so excited to see this guy. I've missed out him like four times in the past. Note the clear white throat which separates it from the Northern Waterthrush (streaky throat). 

Look, that's Mexico! Technically we saw a few birds on the south side of the river, but eBird rules dictate that you count based on where your feet are, not where the bird is. 

Hooded Oriole (female) hanging out at the house. She didn't stick around long sadly. 

Another kingbird - I don't think this one called so we couldn't figure out who it was

After tearing it up at Sabal Palm we grabbed some awesome noms in Brownsville before heading over to the dump. 

So, to the famous Brownsville Dump. As a big fan of the move, The Big Year, the dump forms part of a wonderful scene where Steve Martin wanders around the dump offering people Ketchup Potato Chips. Anywho, wonderful moment. Also, the dump is a well known location for all manner of birds including the best and pretty much only place to see the Tamilaupas Crows in the US. They're something of a specialty down there.

One little problem...

Cattle Egret chilling with some cattle (not pictured)

I was pretty convinced this was Cinnamon Teal - looking back, it's pretty clear they're not - but then what?

It's only blumming Fulvous Whistling Ducks! It took me forever to figure out that's what they were. I actually thought they must be something else, though I had no idea what they were. So happy to see these guys, even happier to see 40 or more of them. 

Cute little Ruddy Duck. I tried really hard to turn it into a Masked Duck, but it just wasn't. 

Looking up across a road and two fields we could see several birds over at the dump. Try as I might, I couldn't turn these two into Tamilaupas Crows. Compared to the other birds around them they were just too big to be crows, so I decided they had to be Chihuahuan Ravens. 

Crested Caracara looking awesome! This time he was only across one field. 

After a mixture of both success and a little failure, we headed back to town and found a nice park (Dean Porter Park) in Brownsville to chill for a bit. And guess what? There were birds there too!

Seriously podgy Muscovy Duck

One good Whistling-duck deserves another... Black-bellied this time

Super cute little cluster of Neotropic Cormorants swimming along the canal in front of a Snowy Egret

Tropical Kingbird calling - otherwise I would have had no way to tell it apart from the Couch's or maybe even the Western

Couldn't resist another pic of the Black-bellied Whistling-duck. They're so freakin' cute!

And that was the end of that day. So, there was only one full birding day left. What did we do with that day you ask? We went to the (probably) world famous Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, that's what!

Glorious looking Great Kiskadee! Look how amazing!!! Lovely yellow front and the rufous on the wings. I'm in love. 

Super-cute squirrel taking advantage of the seeds having fallen off a feeder

A couple of Anis, but what sort? Are they Smooth-billed or Groove-billed? 

Well, that settles that - very clearly Groove-billed. After talking to some of the locals, they said they were something of an attraction, though not strictly rare. Definitely got lucky to see them, barely five minutes after we got into the park and they were right behind us in the tops of the trees. 

My comrades on our amazing adventure. I think this was right around the time i thought I saw a Clay-colored Thrush, but the little guy disappeared into the trees before I could get a better look. 

Another Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Note how similar it is to a Red-bellied Woodpecker. 

This time is actually IS a Cinnamon Teal! Not a lifer for me, as long time readers would know, but a nice bird regardless and a lifer for Rich. 

Hey look, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! Also, Black-necked Stilts in the background. 

A far better picture of a Sora this time. I think I took 50 pictures... may have gotten carried away. 

Not the first sighting we had of one on the trip - but a Harris's Hawk in the wild! These are one of the most common birds to see in bird of prey centers in the UK. It was really cool seeing one in the wild. Rich and I had a great flyover while we were at the dump, but naturally there's no pics of that one, so you'll have to make do with this one. 

And that, as they say, is that! There's tons of videos to come, but it'll be a while before they all get sorted. Thank you for your patience one and all.

All in all I saw 143 species in Texas across essentially 5 days of birding (even if one of them was supposed to be an off day). Of those 143 birds, 29 were lifers! It was pretty freaking amazing! I am 100% going to have to go back to Texas and see more birds. Total life list is now up to 437 after an amazing rampage through the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Also, you'd think that would be enough, but on the final day of Week 15 I went to Losco Regional Park just down the road from home back here in Jacksonville. I have been lagging a little on my Duval list, and I was able to add two for the year and one Duval lifer - Great-crested Flycatcher. Now, in fairness I have actually seen them before, I just never logged it.

And now, for some eBird lists:

Lafitte's Cove list
Jamaica Beach list
Aransas NWR list
Corpus Christi hotel area list
Mustang Island SP list
Sabal Palm Sanctuary list
Brownsvville Dump list
Dean Porter Park list
Santa Ana NWR list
Losco Regional Park list