This was our third time attending the Rio Grande Birding Festival, which tells you just how special this event is. Our trip started with a late flight out of Tampa to Harlingen, Texas, getting us to the hotel just past midnight. With our first tour starting at 7:00 a.m., five hours of sleep was better than none!
A Mega-Rarity and a Lifer Vireo
We arrived at the Sabal Palm Sanctuary and split into two groups. Despite the thick mosquitoes on the trails, we were lucky to be in the group with our guide, Jake Mohlmann. When he spotted a flycatcher and recorded its call, we thought it was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. However, later confirmation from the photos and recording revealed it was a Pacific-slope Flycatcher—a mega-rarity for this part of Texas and an incredible find. Of the 57 species we saw, highlights included Olive Sparrow, Bay-breasted Warbler, Least Grebe, Green Jay, Altamira Orioles, and a lifer Philadelphia Vireo.
Next, we headed to Estero Llano Grande State Park, a part of the World Birding Center Network and one of our must-do stops. Although we dipped on the Green and Ringed Kingfishers, we still saw 31 species in just two hours, including favorites we rarely see elsewhere: Inca Dove, Great Kiskadee, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. We also had awesome looks at a Common Pauraque, a bird so well camouflaged we would have never found it without our guide.
That evening, we signed up for the “Parrot Tour,” where birders pile into vans to chase these vibrant birds through urban areas. We located a nice group of Green Parakeets across from a lawn mower shop, and the dogs were not happy to have us there! The chase for the Red-crowned Parrots was more difficult, but after one group was accidentally flushed, we all managed to find them again in a parking lot. We capped off the successful day with a celebration dinner at Pepe’s, which has the best Mexican food and prices.
An Anniversary on the King Ranch
We were up early on Sunday, November 8th, for a tour of the famous King Ranch. It was our 35th wedding anniversary, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate! Our tour of the Norias Division began in cold, windy conditions, but we soon flushed grassland birds like Sprague’s and American Pipits, Vesper Sparrows, and Lark Buntings. The ranch is a raptor paradise, and we saw numerous species, including five kinds of hawks, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Merlin, and Crested Caracara.
The main target was the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, and after 20 minutes of searching without a response, we were a little discouraged. The group started to move on, but our leader, Dave Irons heard the owl’s unmistakable call 100 yards back. Shawneen Finnegan located the bird, much to the delight of the 40+ birders in our group.
The Race to 500
We were down to our last five hours of Texas birding and needed only seven more species to reach our goal of 500 for the year. There were reports of Bronzed Cowbirds in the area, but all we saw were Brown-headed Cowbirds. After a couple more stops with no new birds, we knew it was time for a quick lunch. Stripes gas stations in Texas have some of the best Mexican food, and we took our tacos to Highway 100 to look for the Aplomado Falcon, a species found only in this area of the U.S. Success!
Next, we tried two different resacas for the Green and Belted Kingfishers, but they were our second-biggest miss of the year. Our next stop was the Rice Tract Oasis in San Benito, hoping for a new sandpiper in the rice stubble. We saw nineteen species with nothing new, but we did find Gadwall, Mottled and Ruddy Ducks, and Great Kiskadee. Our last stop before the airport was Hugh Ramsey Nature Park, where we were pleased to see a beautiful Buff-bellied Hummingbird.
At the airport, we had a delicious dinner of Hot Smoked Salmon at Pappadeaux, celebrating for two reasons: our 35th anniversary and adding 24 year birds to our list. Only six to go to reach our goal!
Trip Summary:
- Total Species: 110
- Year Birds: 24
- Life Birds: 3
2015 Summary:
- Year Birds: 494
- Life Birds: 78
- 2015 Bird List
Next up: Central Florida and The Keys
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