Texas Tour 2014 - Rio Grande Valley: Day 2 - Sept. 15, 2014

     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.

Texas Tour 2014 - Rio Grande Valley: Day 1 - Sept. 14, 2014

     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!



Stay tuned for my 2nd day in the RGV!

Texas Tour 2014 - Travel day - Sept. 13, 2014

     Today was the day I planned to travel from Austin down to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) with a quick stop in Corpus Christi. In the early morning Maggie dropped me off at the Austin airport so I could pick up my rental car and get on the road. I am fortunate enough to be employed by an organization that has a corporate agreement with a couple car rental companies, so I was able to get a really good deal, along with a free 2 car class upgrade. This meant that I was to get a standard sized vehicle with unlimited mileage for the cost of a compact car. As I was standing at the car rental desk, I suddenly got a barrage of texts from my friend in the RGV (Tiff) telling me that the monsoon-like rains they had been getting for the last few days had caused a lot of flooding, and that her road was in very bad shape. She advised me to get a 4WD vehicle if possible. At this point the guy at the rental counter asked me if I would like to add on the roadside assistance for an extra $5 a day. I asked him if that would cover pulling me out of a mud pit anywhere in Texas. He laughed and said "absolutely". I took the offer. I figured that was cheaper than upgrading to an SUV, and hoped that the extra weight of a larger car would get me through whatever challenges were ahead of me that day. When I got to the rental lot to pick out my birding mobile, the lot attendant looked at my paperwork and pointed to a line of vehicles from which I could choose. There was only one car there, the rest were SUVs. I couldn't believe it. I had lucked out big time and got a new fuel efficient 4WD Chevy Equinox complete with backup camera!

The Birding Mobile

     This was my first experience driving in Texas, and I had just spent two days as a passenger watching all the stupid things that drivers do around Austin. Understandably, I was a little on edge, and was eager to get out of the city and onto the open road. Getting out of the airport was tricky, but once I got out into the countryside, the driving became much easier and less stressful. Temperatures were in the 70s (what a relief!), with spotty, sudden downpours. Unlike most of the states I have driven in or through, Texas does not construct their roads in a way that allows rain to flow off of them. Instead, they are paved to be as flat as possible, thus creating rivers in heavy downpours making driving very difficult.
     Inevitably, I eventually had to make a pit stop in one of the tiny towns located along the highway, so I chose a gas station where all the sheriffs were hanging out. I figured this was the safest place to stop, and it turns out I was right. One of the sheriffs even held the door open for me and tipped his hat as I walked into the convenience store. During this pit stop, Tiff began texting me again, urging me to head straight down to the RGV due to incoming rainstorms that were supposed to hit later in the day. However, I had a very strong feeling that I needed to stop in Corpus Christi first. Not only was I going to need  a mental break, but some internal instincts were telling me that changing plans was not what I needed to do.

     Resupplied and refreshed, I headed back out on road. Near the town of Seguin, TX I saw my first Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! He was sitting on a fence along the road hunting insects. What an unbelievably awesome looking bird! I spotted many more after that initial sighting, each one just as exciting as the first. I even saw 5 males fighting at one point, with their long streamer tails going every which way in a chaotic flurry of flourishing feathers. Unfortunately, I never did get a photo of these fantastic birds. 

     I had left Austin at 9:10 am and finally pulled up to the Hawk Watch platform at Hazel Bazemore County Park in Corpus Christi at 12:30pm. I was unable to find my friend Libby who was supposed to meet me at this spot, so I contacted her to find out where she had gone. It turned out that literally minutes before I had arrived her Jeep had broken down while she was birding in the park and she was in the process of calling a tow truck. She was very lucky that I had swooped in at that moment to rescue her and provide transportation. I believe this is why I was feeling so strongly about needing to take a break in Corpus Christi.
     We took all her stuff out of her Jeep and put it in my rental while we waited for the tow truck to arrive. After over an hour wait, the tow truck finally showed up, and three guys popped out and ran over to the nearby river. They immediately started interrogating us about the procedure for being able to fish there, and their body language was giving off a creepy vibe.  This was the strangest, sketchiest towing brigade we have ever experienced, and Libby was very glad she could ride with me rather than having to ride in the tow truck with the 3 stooges. I am still not sure why 3 guys were necessary to put one Jeep on a flatbed. When they finally got around to getting the vehicle hooked up to the tow truck, their subsequent actions did not instill any confidence in us that they knew what they were doing, making us very nervous. As we were leaving the park the tow truck got "lost" by making a wrong turn and I ended up guiding them out to the main road. When we finally got to the repair shop that Libby's insurance company had approved, we found that it was closed. The tow truck guys told us of the only two repair shops in Corpus Christi that were open on Saturdays, but the insurance company said they did not cover them, so we ended up leaving Libby's Jeep in the parking lot of the closed repair shop.
     By the time all these things happened, it was around 3 pm, and I was going to have to leave if I was going to make it down to the RGV that evening. Just before I was about to say my goodbyes, Tiff informed me via text that there was an apocalyptic storm system moving through her area, with tornado warnings just north of her and rainfall of 2-3 inches per hour. After looking at the radar and seeing that I would hit this massive, nasty storm head-on if I left at that moment, I made a decision to stay the night in Corpus Christi with Libby and leave early the next morning for the RGV.
     Now that I wasn't leaving until the next morning, Libby and I went back to Hazel Bazemore County Park to do some hawk watching and general birding. By 5:30pm when the official hawk count ended for the day, the total number of raptors that had cruised past the hawk watch that day was around 1,700 individuals. Most of these birds were Broad-winged Hawks and Mississippi Kites.  At most small hawk watches in other parts of the country, this would be an extraordinary number for an ENTIRE season, but it is considered a "slow" day in Corpus Christi.
     Before going to get some dinner, Libby and I decided to do a cruise around the park to spot some more birds for my trip list. There weren't too many birds around, but seeing Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Buff-bellied Hummingbirds, many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, American Avocets  and a white morph Reddish Egret were certainly worth the drive! Couch's Kingbirds were everywhere, and ended up being my 500th life bird! As we were creeping along the edge of the river, Libby suddenly yells at me to stop. She had spotted a bird flycatching from its perch atop a powerline. She also had seen a flash of red color in the fading daylight. Sure enough it was a Vermilion Flycatcher! A life bird for both of us!

White-winged Doves were everywhere.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird just starting to get the ruby feathers in!

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird giving me some sass. 

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird just starting to grow ruby feathers

Inca Dove

One of the local Red-tailed Hawks flying over the hawk watch

Reddish Egret (white morph)

Reddish Egret (white morph) scaring up some food by running around and flapping its wings. 

Sleepy American Avocets

Vermilion Flycatcher!!!!!!!

Couch's Kingbird

     Once it got too dark for birding we headed back to where Libby was staying to drop things off, then out to dinner at Miller's BBQ in Corpus Christi. The food was reasonably priced, and the staff was friendly, but it wasn't the best BBQ I have had, and was nowhere near the quality I had experienced in Austin. Then again, we had shown up 30 minutes before closing so that could have been a factor in the quality issue.

Miller's BBQ dinner

     We spent the rest of the evening exploring the huge old house where Libby was staying, and trying to figure out the chronology of when certain parts of the dwelling were added based on similarities and dissimilarities of architecture, placement, and design. This turned out to be a bigger project then anticipated, thus we didn't get to bed until pretty late. Nonetheless, we had a ton of fun working together on this mystery that included suspicious locked doors, doors that opened to a wall, and inexplicable empty spaces.


Upcoming: my adventures in the Rio Grande Valley!