Looking for Lifers: Rio Grande Valley Day 3

Rio Grande Valley Day 3
South Padre Island Convention Center

The first stop of our third day was the South Padre Island Convention Center boardwalk. The boardwalk is right next to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center and is free to the public for those who may not want to pay the entrance fee required at the Nature Center. We can't say what we missed by not going to the Nature Center, but we picked up some good birds along the boardwalk of the Convention Center which provided access to the same habitats.  We observed Tricolored Herons, Green Herons, Little Blue Heron, Blue-winged Teals, Reddish Egrets, Night-Herons, Northern Waterthrushes, Dunlins, dowitchers, Black-necked Stilts, Greater Yellowlegs, gulls, terns, Clapper Rails (lifer), and a couple of skulking Common Gallinules.

Common Gallinule South Padre Island Convention Center Boardwalk

One of my favorite experiences at the Convention Center was observing this Sora that preyed on and nibbled this tiny fish to death. This was a memorable experience since these birds are so secretive and it was the first time I'd ever seen a Sora display carnivorous behavior.

Sora Preying on Minnow South Padre Island Convention Center Boardwalk

Sora Preying on Minnow South Padre Island Convention Center Boardwalk

The Sora was so accommodating I decided to capture some video to record the behavior.

A pair of Green Herons flew across the water while a Black-crowned Night-Heron was snoozing on the edge of the water as we left the boardwalk and went back to the van to drive to our next planned location.

Old Port Isabel Road (The Falcon Was Worth the Mud)

From the Convention Center we drove off the island via Highway 100 (E Ocean Blvd) to Old Port Isabel Road.The fields along Old Port Isabel Road provide the right habitat for Aplomado Falcons. Our Birdseye app indicated that there had been recent sightings in multiple areas in the days before we arrived, including Laguna Atascosa, but we chose to try Old Port Isabel Road. We noticed that the dirt road had become mud as we turned off of the highway. It seemed passable so we proceeded. At one point, however, it became quite sketchy for us. The van was bogging down despite Eric's attempts to maintain our speed and control.  It looked like we would be okay if we could make it just a little farther.  Eric sustained forward movement, but we were losing traction as the loose mud filled in around the tires.  There was a moment when I wondered if we were going to be "those guys". Fortunately, Eric successfully navigated the worst part so we pressed forward until that fortuitous moment when we saw, for our very first time, an Aplomado Falcon (lifer). It was perched on a snag about 100 yards to our left.

These falcons used to range across the southwest in Arizona, Nevada, and Texas and down into Central and South America.  Their preferred habitat is open desert grassland with scattered perches. They were placed on the Endangered Species list in 1986. After 1952 there were no known breeding pairs in the US. The Peregrine Fund reintroduced them to parts of their US breeding grounds in the early 1990s and now there are breeding pairs in South Texas. Aplomados are about 16 inches tall and weigh about 10-12 ounces.

We ran across a few White-tailed Hawks along the muddy road and they were all perched on distant poles and somewhat obscured by mist and/or fog. They are not well lit and they are deeply cropped, but I kept the images below since they show the typical field marks for the adults of this species. I was quite surprised to see how short the tail was relative to the wing tips when perched. It made me curious to see how the short tail of a White-tailed Hawk would compare to an actual Short-tailed Hawk.

Deeply Cropped Image of a White-tailed Hawk Under Fog Port Isabel Texas

Deeply Cropped Image of a White-tailed Hawk Under Fog Port Isabel Texas

We eventually decided that it was time to turn back and return to the safety of asphalt when we found a relatively safe place to attempt a three-point turn.  I took a moment to check out the exterior of the van.



We did better at getting through the mud on our way back to the main road by approaching with the speed that respected the mud rather than the crawling speed that was conducive to scouring the horizon for falcons. I had a little fun this time by making a video of the return to better ground.

Once we were back on the road we made our way toward Brownsville Old City Cemetery. My Birdseye app was showing recent reports of a few more life birds, including Anhinga.  Mother Nature kindly provided a bit of a car wash with occasional rains as we drove to Brownsville and other destinations throughout the day. 

Brownsville Old City Cemetery

We arrived at the Old City Cemetery in Brownsville under, you guessed it, light rain and heavy cloud cover. The first bird that caught my attention was this Tricolored Heron that was on the bank of the pond. It was rather accommodating as it stood in a light rainfall.

Tricolored Heron Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

Tricolored Heron Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

Muscovy Ducks (lifer) were also amenable to some portrait photography.

Muscovy Duck Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks whistled from all around the small pond.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Pond Sliders (Turtles) Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

We saw what we hoped was going to be an Anhinga, but it turned out to be a cormorant. We did not see any signs of an Anhinga as we cruised around the cemetery and pond in the van for an initial assessment of the area, but I was determined to inspect the pond and possible roosts with as much diligence as possible so I got out and inspected on foot. I ran across what I believe is a Tropical Kingbird as I walked along the open side of the pond.

Tropical Kingbird Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

With some persistence I was able to put my eyes on an Anhinga (lifer) that was taking cover from the rain under a tree that was on the opposite side of the pond. That area of the pond was inaccessible because it backed up to private property. I did my best to focus on the bird through the rain that was falling and the branches between us.

A Hidden Anhinga Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

Near the cemetery was another small body of water that presented a couple of White Ibises (lifer). This bird was standing on one leg with the other tucked under its wing.

White Ibis Near Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

A crop of a similar image shows a little more detail of the rain drops beading up on the head and back feathers.

White Ibis Near Old City Cemetery Brownsville, Texas

Time was ticking and we found ourselves having only minutes remaining to enjoy birding the Rio Grande Valley. We had to get up to Austin for the evening to prepare for Eric's responsibilities with the dog show that would take place the next morning. We set our course back to Austin via Corpus Christi, hoping to get better views of Roseate Spoonbills.

We made a few random stops on our way back to Austin. One included a stop for a perched  Crested Caracara in the middle of who-knows-where.

Crested Caracara Somewhere in South Texas

Another stop include a ranch where a Ferruginous Pygmy-owl had been reported. However, the guard at that gate would not let us pass. We made a few phone calls to those with stewardship over the ranch, but they would not acquiesce despite the application of my best negotiating skills. They said big game hunters had paid big bucks to hunt on the property and that might pose a risk to our safety and the hunters' experience. The guy on the other end of the call asked me how much he should charge birders to go on the ranch and observe their Pygmy-owls. He was friendly, but not giving in. We had nothing to sway him so we resumed the trek toward Austin.

We reached Corpus Christi a little before 3 PM and this lone Harris's Hawk was perched on this wire above a canal.

Harris's Hawk Corpus Christi, Texas

We drove across the JFK Memorial Causeway to South Padre Island, but the weather turned against us so we turned back rather quickly to continue our trek toward Austin. We picked up three more species for our trip list as we went across the causeway and back--American Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, and our only Peregrine Falcon.

Hans A. Sutter WMA

We pulled into the Hans A. Sutter Waterfowl Management Area about 3:30. This would be our last shot at getting better looks at and photos of spoonbills. The rain started falling on cue, right as we stepped out of the van and began to don our binoculars and cameras. By this time we were quite used to wearing the rain gear. We walked along a boardwalk to a semi-covered viewing area. There were no spoonbills present, but we did end up observing twenty five species and Eric located a Sedge Wren. Marbled Godwit, Willet, Forster's Tern, Black Skimmer, and Sanderling were new birds we added to our total list for the trip during this stop. I didn't spend much effort with photographs due to the rain, but here are a few.

Long-billed Dowitcher Under Rain Corpus Christi, Texas

Brown Pelican Approaching for Landing Under Rain Corpus Christi, Texas

Black Skimmer Under Rain Corpus Christi, Texas

Black Skimmer Under Rain Corpus Christi, Texas

An Odd Combination for Dinner

We made it to Austin after dark ready to eat some more Mexican food. I had a little bit of a desire to try some Chinese food, but I decided on Mexican instead. Eric searched for Mexican restaurants with good ratings as I was driving. He found a restaurant that met our requirements and requested directions with his phone. As we pulled into the parking lot of the place we realized that the restaurant had a different name and the tag line for the place was "Chinese and Mexican". "Well, it might be Chinese food after all," I thought to myself.  Both of us thought that Chinese and Mexican seemed like an odd combination, but we went in to give it a try. The place kind of felt like a hodgepodge of things. Eric said afterward that it looked like they were having a garage sale inside the place because of all the odds and ends they were selling at the cash register.

Anyway, the list of Mexican food items on the menu was short. I asked the server if they had chili rellenos and he responded with, "What?" And he had a confused look on his face. I then asked if there was meat in the enchiladas since meat wasn't listed on the menu. "Not really. Maybe little scraps." Eric asked about what type of meat was in the tacos and that was met with another weak response. The server then justified his lack of understanding for the Mexican food by stating that they were more of a Chinese restaurant. At that point I decided I'd take the Chinese route to dinner.  I asked about one of my favorite dishes, General Tso's chicken. "Oh, you want the General Toast?" "No. I want General Tso's chicken. T-S-O or T-S-A-O." He said, "It's actually 'toast'". I looked at the menu and it actually showed General Toast, the fifth dish from the bottom of the chicken section, right above the Beef choices.

I asked how it was made and it sounded like the right thing so I ordered it. Minutes later, for the first time in my life, I was enjoying Mexican chips and salsa with a Chinese entree. It was actually pretty good food despite the meandering course we took to get the food on the table.

Interesting culinary experiences are a great way to end a fantastic day of birding. Sometimes those experiences make great stories to recall.

We put another memorable day in the books as we checked into our hotel in Austin and prepared for the dog show that would take place the next day.