Southwest Bird-Nerding Part 2

 

Silhouetted Great Horned Owl we saw in Edinburg, Texas

Our second week of vacation was in South Texas along the Rio Grande Valley. This week was all about the birds! There are 9 World Birding Centers (WBC) in the Rio Grande Valley, and we went to see them all. Some are worthy of a return visit, and some were barely worth a single visit. However, we are glad we saw them all. Even the less worthy ones offered something in the birding world. Read on to learn about all 9. Also, Connie posted about every WBC on FB each day.

The Edinburg Scenic Wetlands was a great first stop

We stayed on a citrus farm in Edinburg, Texas. Edinburg is centrally located to all 9 WBCs. We did day trips to each one, visiting 2 on some days depending on size. Our first day we spent half a day at The Edinburg Scenic Wetlands and then ventured over to Quinta Mazatlan for half a day. Truth be told, I could have spent a full day at Edinburg Scenic Wetlands. We loved it there. It was a great way to start our trip. Edinburg Scenic Wetland had a great set up for kids. A place for puppet shows. Walking trails. An educational room for classes on nature. The day we were there, there was a small group of 6- to 8-year-olds doing a craft project about birds. And the grounds were well taken care of. We saw a lot of great birds here including the Great Kiskadee, The Green Jay, The Buff-Bellied Hummingbird, The Black and White Warbler, The Plain Chachalaca and many more. 

Black and White Warbler. He was fun to watch.

Quinta Mazatlan was a little smaller, but still well maintained with good walking trails. All and all we spent about 4 hours at Edinburg and 3 hours at Quinta Mazatlan. We saw a lot of the same birds at Quinta that we saw in Edinburg. We did see a Clay-Colored Thrush and a Curved-Billed Thrasher at Quinta, and we didn't see those in Edinburg. The Green Jays are common like a Blue Jay, but we were thrilled every time we saw them. They were just so colorful and active! The Great Kiskadee was another bird new to us and fun to watch.

2 local birds that became some of our favorites to watch. The Green Jay and The Great Kiskadee side by side.

Our second day in Texas we ventured over to Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park. This was a large state park with 8 miles of trails. We spent the whole day here and it did not disappoint. We saw some fun birds here, along with a fun wildlife viewing of javelinas. Javelinas are pig like animals, that apparently are more related to deer in the evolution scale. Make no mistake though, they are rodents, and cute as can be. 

2 Javelinas at a watering hole. Looks like he is going in for a smooch and she is playing coy. :0)

One of the fun birds we saw here that we don't see in Wisconsin, are The Altamira Orioles. They are a beautiful bird. I also got some great photos of The Green Jay and The Northern Cardinal. The cardinals down here just seemed redder to me. They say there is a genetic mutation that makes them so. You tell me.

The Green Jay

The Altamira Oriole

The Brilliantly Red Northern Cardinal :0)

When we got back to our AirBnB on the citrus farm, I took a walk around the grounds. I stirred up a Great Horned Owl that flew over me and landed on top of an orange tree. I wish I could have gotten a better photo, but alas I did not. He was still fun to watch sitting so "delicately" on top of such a small tree. I have a blurry photo of it, if you check out my photos. He did greet us one more time on our last day, and that is the photo at the top of this blog post. 

Our 3rd day we went to Estero Llano Grande State Park. This was another park we planned for half a day but could have spent the whole day there. We did spend 2/3 of the day here, knowing our next destination for the day was really small. It was a great choice. At Estero our big goal was to see the Common Parauque. They are an interesting bird, part of the nightjar family. Similar to a whippoorwill, but different. Parauques nest and sleep on the ground all day and are active at night. You can walk right past one and never know it is there because they camouflage so well. We probably wouldn't have seen them if it wasn't for the volunteer guide who showed us where they were and thanks to the Badgerland Birding brothers. 

Before we went on our trip, Connie stumbled on the Badgerland Birding youtube videos. Badgerland Birding are 2 brothers from Wisconsin who love birding. They are in their late 20s to early 30s and a lot of fun to watch. Plus, they are smart and know their birds. They did a series of videos on the Rio Grande Valley and mentioned seeing the Common Pauraques at Estero. Hence, we knew to look for them here. We are so glad we did as they are such cute little creatures. 

There are 2 Common Pauraques here. Can you see them?

Here is a close-up of one. They blend in so well.

An Eastern Screech Owl tucked into a tree for the day.

Also, at Estero we were treated to a surprise bird, the Eastern Screech Owl. This is another bird that camouflages well, and we would have never seen it if the volunteer guide didn't show us. I am so glad she did. It was far away and through some branches, so it was challenging to get a great photo of her. We got to watch her for a good 30 minutes. We could have watched longer if we wanted to. We just had too much to do for the rest of the day. 30 minutes was long enough, and I did get a "decent' photo of her. Midafternoon we headed over to the Hidalgo Pump House. This was a really small WBC. It is not maintained well at all and not a recommended visit to be honest. Unless you really want to see a Monk Parakeet. They were all over the grounds here and that made it worth the trip. I am just glad we only spent a little over an hour here. It was enough time for sure. 

Monk Parakeet at Hidalgo Pump House

The 4th day we traveled over to Roma Bluffs. This was not a big place with a lot of walking trails, but it was a little further drive than usual. So, we planned the whole day on it. It was certainly not worthy of a whole day. However, we did see a Pyrrhuxolia here and we had a fun experience with border patrol that led us elsewhere. There wasn't a lot to do at Roma Bluffs, so we took a little detour to walk a dirt road along the Rio Grande River. This is just across the border from Mexico, so 2 border patrol officers came by. They were very nice and just doing their job. Plus, one of them was a huge bird fan like us, and he was chattering about the kingfisher he had seen the day before. Then he told us about a wildlife preserve nearby that had some good bird watching. We traveled over to the Salineno Wildlife Preserve and had a fun afternoon. 

Pyrrhuloxia. Looks a lot like a cardinal, but no red.

A fun and unexpected stop for us. 

A short walk on the trail led us to a bird-feeding station that was manned by 2 gentlemen from North Dakota. They come to this same spot every year (for the past 40 years!) and set it up as a bird sanctuary with a feeding station. They live in a camper on site and stay through the winter. We sat with them and watched a few of the local birds fly in. We saw a lot of the usual birds like Altamira Oriole, Green Jays, etc. But then an unexpected visitor came by. An Audubon Oriole! It is a little smaller than the Altamira and mostly yellow and black. It is not a common bird to be seen here, and it was our first ever encounter with it. We also saw a Ladderback Woodpecker and a Black Crested Titmouse here. Then one of the gentlemen told us to walk down to the river and we could probably see a Ringed Kingfisher. That is exactly what we did, and we were treated to more than the kingfisher.

The Audubon Oriole

A young Ladderback Woodpecker.

Down by the river we in fact did see a Ringed Kingfisher. At least we believe it was one. It could have been a Belted Kingfisher, which we have seen. The Ringed is a little different and this bird was just a little different. We couldn't confirm 100%, but with other sightings in the area confirmed, we are confident it was. We also saw a Gray Hawk here. He was perched in the distance, but we got a decent view of him with our binoculars. Then we got to watch a male Vermillion Flycatcher for about 30 minutes and that was a real treat to watch! Male Vermillion Flycatchers are a brilliant red color. They do boomerang flights from high branches as they try to catch flies. Hence their name. After watching him for a bit, it was time to head back to our AirBnB. 

A Gray Hawk

A Male Vermillion Flycatcher

A Ringed Kingfisher (Unless someone else can prove otherwise)

On our way back to the AirBnB we came across another first-time bird for us. The Crested Caracara. It is a funny bird. It is a raptor by nature and genetics, but it apparently acts like a vulture. Even hanging out with vultures as they share a carcass. We only saw one from a little distance, and no vultures, but it was fun to see it none the less. We did end up seeing them a couple of more times, but not a lot. Another bird we saw on the side of the road with the Crested Caracara was an Eastern Meadowlark. We have seen them in Wisconsin, but it was not on our radar to be seen in South Texas. So much fun!

The Crested Caracara in a farm field. A carcass was nearby.

On our fifth day in the Texas, we headed over to the Harlingen area. There were 2 WBCs we needed to see here. The first one was the Resaca De La Palma State Park and WBC. This was a large state park with over 8 miles of walking trails. We planned on spending a large portion of our day here before heading over to Arroyo Colorado WBC. However, the weather was not cooperative for the first time on this trip. It rained most of the morning. We did do the 3-mile loop in the rain, but that was enough for us. If we ever go back to this area, we would like to do more here. After a few hours and a lunch break, we headed over to Arroyo Colorado WBC. At first, this place seemed well maintained and we were enjoying it. But as we walked along the trails, we came to realize it was not kept up very well. We were still outside and the rain had stopped, so nothing to complain about really. We did see a few fun birds at these places. One such bird was the Lincoln Sparrow. He is not a flashy bird, and in fact likes to hang out in the deep brush and out of the limelight. But Merlin picked him up and when I replayed his call, he did some towards it. He hid well in the brush, but I did get a decent photo of him. He is a cute little bugger. 

A Lincoln Sparrow doing his best to hide from me.

A couple of other birds we saw here, and I think are quite beautiful are the Curved-Billed Thrasher and the Plain Chachalaca. 

A Curved-Billed Thrasher

A Plain Chachalaca

Our final full day in Texas we drove over to South Padre Island. My friend Debbie lives there, and I have not seen her since our last trip in Russia in 2019. Plus, hanging out on a beach seemed appropriate for our last day of vacation. We spent a few hours in the morning walking around the South Padre Island WBC. This place is very well managed. There is a nice boardwalk that leads you out to the bay to see all the shorebirds while enjoying other creatures as well. They have giant tortoises and alligators on their property. One of the alligators is called Big Padre and trust me... he is huge! We also saw a lot of fish and a blue crab along the way. But of course, we were there for the birds and were not disappointed. There were some great shorebirds there, including some we had never seen. My personal favorite was the Black Bellied Whistling Duck. Not only do they sound really cool, but they also look really cool. In fact, they don't even look real to be honest. See photo below to see what I mean. 

A Black-Bellied Whistling Duck. It almost looks like a stuffed animal don't you think?

Check out the big round eye. And you can see their black belly from this angle. 

Their hyper pink feet, multi colors with a black belly, and the big round eyes that never blinked made it comical and beautiful at the same time. I hope everyone gets to see one of these in their lifetime! Other birds we saw here included, but were not limited to, The Roseate Spoonbill, Reddish Egret, Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, Blue-Winged Teal, Brown Pelican, Redheads, Tri-Colored Heron, Great Egret, American Kestrel, Common Gallinule, Snowy Egret, Neotropic Cormorant, Caspian Tern, and others. To see all 300 photos I took of birds in our two weeks, see link below. This includes birds in Arizona and Texas.

                                  https://photos.app.goo.gl/y4zt9knsyQNPxBnTA

After a few hours at the WBC, we met my friend Debbie for lunch. We went to a cute little cafe on the Gulf of Mexico. It was quaint, delicious and had a great view! We then walked the beach with her for a few minutes before saying our goodbyes and heading back to the WBC to see a few birds we had missed from earlier. Then we drove back to our AirBnB in Edinburg for our final night of sleep. As Connie took a shower, I took one last look around the citrus farm and was treated to a wonderful view of the Great-Horned Owl on a branch right behind our cabin! It was a great sign to end our wonderful bird adventure with. I would be remiss if I didn't post a Roseate Spoonbill photo, along with a couple of other final shots.

The Roseate Spoonbill. You just don't see that color pink in nature often!

Big Padre. Local celebrity on the island.

A Great Horned Owl. My final photo of our vacation, and it seemed truly appropriate!

                      Now Go Out and Hug a Bird Nerd Today!!!

Southwest Bird-Nerding Part 1

 

Connie and I at the Grand Canyon

Connie and I took a two-week vacation in early December this past year. We decided to do a trip that was focused on birding. Early December is migrating time for a lot of great birds in the southwest. So, we focused our efforts on that. We spent one week in Phoenix and one week in South Texas along the Rio Grande Valley. Rest assured we saw a plethora of birds. We saw every bird we hoped to see, except for the painted bunting. We didn't really expect to see the painted bunting because their migration through Texas usually ends the first week of December. There was one seen on South Padre Island as late as Dec. 8th, but alas we did not make it in time. We still had one of the most enjoyable, fun, and relaxing vacations ever. This blog will be all about Arizona, and I will write a 2nd blog about Texas. 7 days in each place is a lot to condense to one blog. So read on and enjoy! 

We started in Phoenix from December 3rd through the 10th. We stayed at a fun AirBnB in the foothills of the South Mountain near Phoenix. Connie had stayed here last April with Sandy, and I can see why they loved it so much. We were greeted by Dakota, one of the resident huskies. He showed us to our door with his tail wagging. I also met Mishka, the other resident husky, and Hagrid the resident giant tortoise. The residents just added to all the fun we had there. Not to mention our actual hosts. Ha. 

Connie doing some bird-nerding on our first day

One of the first different birds we saw was the Gilded Flicker. Similar to the Northern Flicker, but with some subtle differences.

The trip wasn't all about birds. We love all wildlife, and this mountain goat was a pleasant and fun surprise for us.

Our first morning we went for a hike up South Mountain along Geronimo Trail. A short quarter-mile walk led us to the trailhead. From there we hiked up the mountain a way. All and all we walked about 5 miles the first day and saw a lot of fun birds in the scenic desert mountain. We also saw other wildlife, like the mountain goat pictured above. The trip was off to a great start. 

After a short rest, we headed to Rio Salado Park along the Salt River. We hadn't had enough bird-nerding for the day. This was a short walk along the Salt River near Nina Mason Pulliam Audubon Center. There were a few birds here. Most notably we saw the Says Phoebe, Aberts Towhee, and a few Yellow-Rumped Warblers. After a couple of more miles of walking, we went home for an evening of relaxing. 

A view of a mountain from the desert floor.

Our second day we ventured out to Tonto National Forest. This was worth the 45-minute drive for sure! We had no plans other than to stop when we wanted and walk when we felt like it. The first stop was a random parking lot with a trail through the desert. So, we decided to walk a few miles here. The cacti are so unique and plentiful in Tonto. We didn't see a lot of birds here, but we were treated to a Gila Woodpecker, Phainopepla, and 2 Harris Hawks. Connie had seen the Gila in April, but the rest of the birds were new to us. 

A Harris Hawk sitting on top of a cactus looking for lunch

It flew directly above us. 

After a 3-mile hike or so, we drove further down the road. Connie and her sister Sandy had kayaked the Salt River back in April. In December it is drier, so kayaking wasn't a great option. Hiking was though. We pulled over at Blue Point Recreation and walked a trail above the river. The views were spectacular, and again we were treated to some unique birds. One such bird was the Greater Yellowlegs. At first, I thought it was a spotted sandpiper. Merlin identified it as a Greater Yellowlegs, and I believe Merlin is accurate. Apparently, it is a rare bird in the area, so what a neat find for us. 

A Greater Yellowlegs in the Salt River

We were also treated to an aerial show by an osprey along our walk. We also saw a Great Blue Heron up on the cliffside. We have seen both birds before of course, but not in such an interesting scenery. All and all we enjoyed this stop for sure. After a 2-mile walk along the river, we drove up to see Saguaro Lake and then headed back to our AirBnB. 

Our 3rd day we went back to Rio Salado to explore the Nina Mason Pulliam Audubon Center and walk along the Salt River more. We strolled along the river in a fairly secluded spot. It wasn't part of the Audubon Center, but they did direct us to it. We were treated to some fun birds here as well, and an extremely cool wildlife experience! As we were watching an American Kestrel, a Harris Hawk and a Cooper's Hawk, a coyote came along and took a dump about 50 yards from us! Maybe he was telling us this was his territory?! Although, I imagine he didn't even realize we were there. Either way, it was our first CLOSE encounter with a coyote while hiking and we thoroughly enjoyed it. He was a beautiful creature, and it was fun to watch him a bit, unnoticed.

An American Kestrel. We have these in Wisconsin, but I have only seen it twice here.

If you got to go, you got to go! :0)

After a half day at Rio Salado, we ate lunch at a fun Mexican restaurant and then headed over to Cesar Chavez Park. It is a small local park, but there were plenty of birds to watch. We saw another American Kestrel here, but the really fun bird we watched was the Red-Naped Sapsucker. He flew all around us and into a couple of different trees to eat berries. 

                                                        

A Red-Naped Sapsucker

                   

Now that is a mouth full! 

After exploring Cesar Chavez Park for a few hours, we headed back to our AirBnB. We hung out with Dakota, Mishka, and Hagrid for a little while before turning in. The next day Mitch and Sandy were flying in to join us on some adventures for a few days. 

On our 4th day of vacation Mitch and Sandy came over for breakfast. Then we headed over to Mormon Trail along the base of South Mountain. It was just a short 0.5 mile walk to the trailhead. Then we walked about up and all over the mountain. We put our bird-nerding to the side a little while we enjoyed Sandy and Mitch's company along with the scenic views of Phoenix below. 

Sandy, Connie and Mitch on Mormon Trail. Downtown Phoenix is visible in the backdrop.

It was a gloriously beautiful day as we walked up South Mountain via Mormon Trail. It was a semi vigorous hike that covered approximately 6 or 7 miles. Our goal was to make it to Fat Man's Pass. This is a tunnel that you have to squeeze through. As we got closer to the top, someone told us Fat Man's Pass wasn't all that exciting and there were more scenic tunnel areas the other way. So, we detoured a bit to the other area. The whole mountain and trail were wonderful. I don't think we could have gone wrong. It was an enjoyable, exhilarating, exhausting day. Especially for Mitch and Sandy who didn't get in until 3am and were up to start hiking around 9am. What troopers! 

One of the tunnels we walked through. No squeezing needed.

Mitch liked to go "off" trail at times. Everywhere was scenic.

We all went home for an afternoon of rest and relaxation, so we could be ready for more hiking the next day. We did go out to Pedal Haus Brewery for a fun and yummy dinner in Tempe before getting a good night's rest. The 2nd day we had breakfast at Mitch and Sandy's AirBnB. They had a place right at the base of the mountain. It was a great place to eat before a nice long day of hiking. 

     

Mitch and I enjoying our breakfast on the patio.

Today we decided to drive to Saguaro Lake and The Butcher Jones Recreation area for our next hike. We hiked 8 or 9 miles this day along Saguaro Lake. The views were breath taking at every turn. We were also treated to a few birds here. Some routine and some unique ones. We saw Cardinals, Ladder-back woodpeckers, and Phainopeplas here, among others. 

The Cardinals in Arizona appeared redder than ones in Wisconsin. Is that possible? :0)

A view of Saguaro Lake from the trail above.

The Butcher Jones trail took us along the edge of the lake, up and down and all around. The contrast of the blue water and the desert scene behind it was fascinating. Not to mention the weather was a perfect 76 degrees and sunny. Don't worry, we were well hydrated and rested. Along the trail we saw a lot of fun, unique cacti. We also watched kayakers and boats below and birds up above. If you are ever in the Phoenix area, we highly recommend this trail for a day hike. Pack a lunch and lots of fluids! 

Sandy enjoying the view of Saguaro Lake from the trail above

I took way too many photos of cacti, but I especially liked this one.

After walking all morning and part of the afternoon, we drove out of Tonto National Forest for a late lunch. We then headed over to the beautiful local Desert Botanical Gardens. We got there close to sunset, which offered some fun photo opportunities of sunsets behind the cactus and Christmas lights after the sunset. It is a beautiful garden that is well done. 

There is something about a sunset behind a cactus. The one in the distance looks like a "hiker" to me, with a rifle on his back perhaps?

This one I accidentally captured Connie's phone as she took the same photo. Ha Ha.

After a good night's rest, our last day in Arizona involved a road trip. Not just an ordinary road trip though, one to the Grand Canyon. Neither Mitch, Sandy nor Connie had ever seen the Grand Canyon. I had seen it, but it has been over 20 years! It was time to revisit. Neither of us were disappointed of course. Everywhere you looked it was just grandeur after grandeur. I guess it is named properly at least. We spent the full day walking the South Rim and exploring different vantage points. We explored Grand Canyon Village a little and even saw elk along the way. At sunset we stopped at the Desert View Watchtower. They close the watchtower at 5pm and sunset was at 5:18pm. This seemed a bit weird, but whatever. :0). We got a glimpse of the sunset, but it was 20 degrees and windy out. We were freezing, so we didn't stay long. Anyway, it was totally worth it. 

Connie and I with the Grand Canyon behind us.

Mitch and Sandy from a different lookout area.

We did see a few birds here that we didn't see anywhere else. Most notably the Mountain Chickadee, the Juniper Titmouse, and the Bushtit. We drove along the desert view highway on our way out and enjoyed the last glimpses of this majestic area. We stopped in Flagstaff, which is one of my old stomping grounds from my traveler days. We ate dinner at a yummy vegan Thai Restaurant and then headed back to Phoenix for a goodnight's sleep. We said our goodbyes to Mitch and Sandy as they would be heading back to Wisconsin the next day. Connie and I were heading to South Texas for a fully immersive bird nerd experience. You will have to read the next blog for that adventure. In the meantime, below is my "best of" album for the full 2 weeks. In essence, you can get a sneak peek into our Texas portion of our vacation. I hope you enjoyed my review and look forward to the next. 

                                https://photos.app.goo.gl/YvLfgdTSwW8XpUQZ7

                              No Go Out and Hug a Bird Nerd Today!!!