After a restless night in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), waking up at 6:45am was not easy, but we managed to make it out of the house by sunrise. Temperatures held in the 70s (F), which was perfect for some serious birding. Our first stop was at Edinburg Scenic Wetlands and World Birding Center. This birding hotspot is essentially a large pond with a walking trail and some vegetation around it, located in the middle of an urban area just north of McAllen, TX. These wetlands are a perfect oasis for birds and other wildlife in an otherwise inhospitable area. Thus, in about 2 hours we were able to spot 31 bird species just around the pond! We saw all possible Kingfishers (Green, Belted, and Ringed), heard Loggerhead Shrikes screaming at each other, and detected Dickcissels calling from the tall grasses. In addition, I added both Bewick's Wren and Curve-billed Thrasher to my life list! I was slightly disappointed that my first Curve-billed Thrasher just had to be sitting atop a pile of trash and old tires in an adjacent lot. Perhaps it should be renamed to Curve-billed Trasher.
Great-tailed Grackle
Yellow-crowned Night-Herons (immature and adult)
Our next stop was the Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center in McAllen, TX. Here the Plain Chachalacas were parading around with their adolescent offspring, Clay-colored Thrushes hopped around on the walking trails, and a male Blue Grosbeak popped out of some thick vegetation to model for us. I was also happy to redeem my memories of Curve-billed Thrasher by seeing one that was NOT on a trash pile. We did not stay here very long because we wanted to get to Anzalduas Park before I had to leave the RGV and continue on my adventure.
Quinta Mazatlan!
Olive Sparrow
Plain Chachalaca
Spiny-backed Orb Weaver
Curve-billed Thrasher
Anzalduas Park is located along the banks of the Rio Grande River, and supposedly hosts breeding Gray Hawks in the spring and summer, which was our target species. Although we did not see a single Gray Hawk, we managed to not get questioned by border patrol, and I finally got to see my lifer Black-crested Titmouse!
Black-crested Titmouse (of course, hiding most of his crest)
The one surprising thing I learned during this birding stop was how much narrower the Rio Grande River actually is compared to what I had imagined it would be like. Of course, like any river, it naturally widens and narrows depending on the surrounding landscape and bedrock, but I was not expecting to be able to easily pick up birds for my Mexico list while standing on US soil. This new-found birding tactic was very exciting to me, and I spent a prolonged amount of time staring across the river hoping to see as many birds in Mexico as possible. My final tally for Mexico was 5 species, which included Anhinga, Laughing Gull, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, and Great-tailed Grackle.
View of Mexico across the Rio Grande River
One of my goals for this Texas tour was to see one of my favorite raptors - a Harris's Hawk. Thus, on the way back to Tiff's house from Anzalduas Park we took some back roads and watched for brown "lumps" in trees and on telephone poles (also still holding out for Gray Hawk). As luck would have it, we didn't have to search very hard before seeing a Harris's Hawk perched on a roadside utility pole. He/she even cooperated with me long enough so I could dig the camera out of the back seat to get a photo, and then flew low over my head and off into the distance. Just a bit further down the road we also came across two Crested Caracaras and a Turkey Vulture who were ripping apart a Skunk that had become roadkill.
Harris's Hawk
Immature and adult Crested Caracara with a Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture and Crested Caracara feeding on Skunk
Turkey Vulture with the spine of the Skunk
Crested Caracara (immature)
I was planning on leaving the RGV with plenty of time to get back to Corpus Christi and drop the rental vehicle off by 6pm. Of course, with all the great birding and "catching up" that needed to be done, I didn't leave Tiff's house until around 3pm. Luckily, going through the only border patrol checkpoint I encountered the whole trip did not take more than about 3 minutes. Even with a few rainstorms along the way, I somehow made it back to the Corpus Christi airport and returned the car at exactly 6pm! When I entered the rental return lot, the attendant asked me to roll down the back windows and he looked inside. He apparently didn't find anything suspicious, and just told me to go ahead and park. He also told me to "stay sweet". Oh Texas.....
When I filled out the final paperwork for the rental, I was surprised to see that I had put 700 miles on the vehicle in the 3 days I had it, and spent only $80 on fuel! The strange thing is that I didn't feel like I had been driving that much. I guess flat roads and high speed limits will play tricks on your mind like that.
By the time Libby arrived at the airport to pick me up we were both very hungry and decided to get some dinner at a local Mexican restaurant called Taqueria Guadalajara. The place was bustling, but we were seated right away. Although the waitress got half of our order wrong, it was corrected with only minimal hassle, much of which were due to language barriers. When we finally got the correct items, they were not only at a great price, but they were absolutely delicious! My fajitas and shrimp even came on a sizzling skillet!
Fajitas and Shrimp on a sizzling skillet at Taqueria Guadalajara
After dinner both Libby and I retreated to her house for some general catching up and nerding out over birds we have seen, want to see, and REALLY want to see.
Next up: experiencing raptor migration at the Corpus Christi Hawk Watch.
Just before 7am I packed all my things back into the birding mobile and headed down to the Rio Grande Valley from Corpus Christi. Temperatures were in the low 70s for the entire drive allowing me to have the windows down rather than blasting the air conditioning. I made it to Tiff's house in about 2.75 hours, and thanks to 4WD I was able to make it down her dirt road. Thankfully, I have had a lot of experience driving through deep snow and slush, so navigating the very squishy, slippery, muddy road was not as frightening or as disastrous as it could have been. Once I got the SUV unpacked and had a proper introduction to Tiff's foster dog we headed out to the famous Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park for some birding!
The Plain Chachalacas at Bentsen were perched awkwardly in the treetops while they called to each other in their chicken-like mini-dinosaur voices. A few migrating warblers were hanging around, notably Hooded Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Wilson's Warbler. A Yellow-breasted Chat even hopped out into the open for a quick glimpse. The highlights of our walk around Bentsen were: a singing Altamira Oriole, a roosting Eastern Screech-Owl, and a family of Groove-billed Anis. However, my favorite sighting was a Greater Roadrunner, doing what they do best - run!
Northern Mockingbird
Plain Chachalacas being awkward in the treetops
Yellow Warbler
Plain Chachalaca keeping an eye on us
Groove-billed Ani drying off from the last rainstorm
Eastern Screech-Owl
Altamira Oriole showing off his ninja moves
Altamira Oriole singing!
We also saw some odd looking mushrooms that Tiff said were newly described to science, and only come out after heavy rains. After doing a little research I found that their latin name is Podaxis longii, and were indeed not officially described until 1985. In addition, they can grow to be over 1.5 feet tall! Seems like I visited at the right time as there were many of these along our path.
Podaxis longii
After about 1.5 hours and 28 species later, we left Bentsen and drove to Mission Nature Park. We were on a mission for Cactus Wren (pun intended), the largest wren species in North America.The habitat in this park was one of the strangest I have ever experienced! The place was thick with shoulder-high prickly pear cacti, which was tucked under a thin tree canopy. We searched for the Cactus Wrens for at least 20 minutes before finally locating one, and then one more showed up, with a third calling in the background! These birds are very curious and checked us out thoroughly before going back to their daily business. Of course, they were sure to check us out from perches that were not photo friendly making getting a clear photo impossible.
Cactus Wren!
Old Cactus Wren nest
By the time we were done hanging out with the wrens, it was past noon and time for lunch. Being so close to the Mexican border, I wanted to try some Mexican food, so we went to a place called Costa Messa in McAllen, TX. I was impressed with the size and decor of the restaurant, and the professionalism of the waitstaff. As soon as we sat down, drink orders were taken and the chips, queso, and salsa were served. I ordered the "Tacos Bandera" which consisted of 3 Corn tortillas with fajitas, onion, cilantro and tomato, served with rice and beans. The food came out quickly, and was very filling and delicious! I would definitely eat here again.
Tacos Bandera at Costa Messa
Now in a post-lunch stupor, but determined to continue birding, we headed off to Estero Llano Grande State Park. On our approach to the park headquarters, Tiff pointed out my first ever Texas Spiny Lizard! We were then approached by a park official who told us that although we were welcome to walk the grounds, the buildings were all closed due to an overflowing sewer caused by the recent flooding. While we were speaking with the park official, a non-native, invasive Brown Anole decided to climb up onto the railing and show off his push-up skills and bright orange dewlap. I was also slightly startled by a huge wasp-like insect that zoomed past us. It was a Tarantula Hunter Wasp or Tarantula Hawk which is a huge, metallic blue/purple spider wasp which can grow up to 2 inches in length! As the name indicates, the female wasp spends her days looking for tarantulas in which to lay her eggs. The male wasps simply sip on nectar all day and look for females to chase (females also feed on nectar when not busy hunting). Luckily, these wasps are not aggressive unless provoked. I say luckily because the painfulness of their sting is second only to the sting of the Bullet Ant.
Texas Spiny Lizard
Brown Anole showing off
We didn't have too much time to walk around the park before the rain came. This was not a shower, it was a serious, long-lasting, intensifying downpour. The downspout/rain water collection tank setup couldn't even keep up with how much water was coming off the roof!
Rainstorm at Estero Llano Grande State Park
Rain water collection tank just couldn't take it anymore.
I was happy that we at least got to see a roosting Common Pauraque before having to seek shelter under the roof at the main viewing area. We then spent a considerable amount of time watching the Buff-bellied and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds playing around the feeders in the downpour, and enjoyed watching the Least Grebes and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks taking baths and feeding.
Note: most of the following photos were taken before the rain started
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Least Grebe
Black-bellied Whistling Duck family
Least Grebe skulking through the vegetation
Common Pauraque
Least Grebe in the rain.
Once the rain slowed down enough for us to escape from our shelter and walk back to the car, we decided to head home. The drive back was quiet challenging with more heavy downpours and serious flooding along the edges of the roads. There were times when I could barely see in front of the car, but pulling over was not an option, and neither was stopping. Making it down the now even muddier, squishier road to Tiff's house proved to be slightly nerve-wracking, and I don't think I breathed for most of that experience. By the time I parked at her house, the underside of the SUV was caked with mud and stones, and there were spots of mud all the way up to the door handles. I am surprised the condition of the vehicle was not worse.
The rest of the evening was spent catching up and playing with her foster dog. I even sampled some of the Prickly Pear products she had made over the summer, and they were delicious!
