A South Texas Adventure with Nature Trip - Texas bird watching trip report

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ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

A South Texas Adventure - Day 8

Bentsen State Park & Hugh Ramsey Nature Park

First up: Bentsen - Specialties such as Black-crested Titmouse and Couch’s Kingbirds are common here. Ringed and Green Kingfisher appear with some regularity at the park’s “resacas” and rarities such as Hook-billed Kite, Tropical Parula or Blue Bunting, while not expected, are always possible.

Bentsen along with Santa Ana NWR has also become an important spring Hawk Watch site so we’ll keep one eye in the sky for late migrant raptors as well. We’ll use a combination of well-maintained walking trails and the park’s tram to visit the park’s excellent observation towers, decks and bird blinds.

After lunch and during the heat of the day we’ll gradually make our way east. Along the way we’ll check remnant pothole wetlands or hyper-saline lakes tracts that often attract western birds such as White-tailed Kite to its arid, scrubby habitat.

Other raptors to look for here and along the roadways include Crested Caracara, Harris’s Hawks and the gorgeous White-tailed Hawk.

Thorn scrub habitat at Hugh Ramsey Nature Park in Harlingen is always worth birding and the butterfly list here is equally impressive.

This evening we will want to retire on the early side as tomorrow we have a grand day planned with a very early start.

Sunday 23 ^rd of April 2023 and I started the day with smoked salmon and tea in my room. Last night at this hotel so I packed my bag before going to the reception to meet the group. We left the hotel at 8 o'clock and I missed one of the group members.

He had to attend a meeting in Toronto so he had left early morning. We had packed our luggage in the car and we took off to our first stop, a bridge to look at swallows with nests.

It looks like it will start to rain any second but we walk to the bridge and back to the van without any rain falling on us.

eBird Report

Military Pkwy, Mission, Texas, US, Hidalgo, Texas, US
Apr 23, 2023 08:39 - 08:55
Protocol: Traveling
0.27 kilometer(s)
Checklist Comments:   Stop to look at swallows under bridge
6 species (+1 other taxa)

White-winged Dove 2
Brown-crested Flycatcher 1
swallow sp. 30   Two kinds of swallows with nest under the bridge and on the side of the bridge
Northern Mockingbird 3
Altamira Oriole 3   Pair with nest
Great-tailed Grackle 6
Northern Cardinal 1   Singing bird

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S134712966

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

We left the bridge and it started to rain, not heavy but enough for me to want to sit inside. The rain stopped and it was just an intermittent drizzle by the time we arrived to the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. The park was open today but had been closed yesterday for clean up after the storm on Friday afternoon.

There is a tram, well, a big golf cart serving the park and it departs from the service center every full hour. Our original plan was to go to the “hawk tower” but it was still closed due to the storm. The tower is located on the border to Mexico so I missed the opportunity to get another Mexican checklist.

My group took off walking to the lake, we had expected the golf cart service to run more frequently and we had just missed one when we arrived so we would have lost a lot of time waiting. I was walking around the HQ to look for birds while waiting for the 10 o'clock departure of the golf cart.

The golf cart

I take the seat in the golf cart

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

I take my seat in the golf cart and I speak with some bird watchers that have come to look for birds in Texas. And I have never seen more bird watchers than I have seen in Texas. And the immigration is world famous and attract a lot of birders.

We spotted one Ladder-backed Woodpecker and I tried to take a few pictures. Arriving here and I had started the eBird app using hotspot: Bentsen-Rio Grande Val. SP--HQ Buildings area and now I had to change to hotspot: Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

We leave for the “tram” adventure

We drive by the border fence

We drive by the border fence

The golf cart left the HQ and we were passing the border wall to Mexico as the park is on the border to Mexico. We spot a few birds and I had not really expected to see many birds during the tour around the park with the golf cart.

And as the tram only goes every hour there is no time to get off to look for birds as I will meet the group at the visitor center at 11.

eBird Report

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Hidalgo, Texas, US
Apr 23, 2023 10:01 - 10:24
Protocol: Traveling
5.35 kilometer(s)
Checklist Comments:   Taking the tram service around the park
6 species

Plain Chachalaca 2   Heard only
Inca Dove 1
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 2
Great-tailed Grackle 1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S134736425

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

I stop the eBird checklist when we return to the tram stop at the HQ. And I continue with the other checklist for the HQ hotspot. I see one Brown-crested Flycatcher sitting on the wire at the tram stop and I go over to try to get a couple of pictures.

It starts to rain and I go to the visitor center to buy a bottle of water and an oatmeal cookie. I was surprised to see that my birding group was coming in to the souvenir shop.

We walked back to the car and we spotted six Wood Stork flying over the parking lot and it turned out that the Wood Stork was a rare bird alert.

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Wood Storks

eBird Report

Bentsen-Rio Grande Val. SP--HQ Buildings area, Hidalgo, Texas, US
Apr 23, 2023 09:04 - 11:04
Protocol: Traveling
0.81 kilometer(s)
9 species

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 2
Inca Dove 1
White-winged Dove 1
Wood Stork 6   Six birds flying over the parking lot when we go to the van
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Brown-crested Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 1
Green Jay 1
Great-tailed Grackle 17   Seems like the females fly around with nest material while the males are busy being noisy

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S134735860

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at the Bentsen-Rio Grande Val. SP--HQ Buildings area

We leave the park and next stop is at the National Butterfly Center. The group walk around the park and I walk along the road outside the Butterfly Center. I had my camera in the car as I thought it was like a butterfly house.

I spotted a few birds walking along the road and I could see that my group returned to the van and I walked back to the National Butterfly Center.

eBird Report

National Butterfly Center--General & area North of Levee, Hidalgo, Texas, US
Apr 23, 2023 11:35 - 11:59
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 kilometer(s)
4 species

White-winged Dove 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Great-tailed Grackle 2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S134743655

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Thunder storm rolling in over town

Thunder storm rolling in over town

We drive in to town to have lunch and we get a thunder storm warning and we have very strong wind walking from the van to the restaurant. The furniture is blowing around on the patio and the sky is turning black very quickly.

We study the rain radar online and it is for sure not looking like we have any place to go to look for birds. The rain eases a little bit and we can get out to the van. We decide to go to the hotel where we will spend the night, Holiday Inn, Raymondville.

I cannot say that I was sad to go to the hotel as we have had very long days since we arrived to Texas. And it is for sure no weather to go bird watching in.

The weather leaves a lot to wish for

On the way to Raymondville

We check-in to Holiday Inn in Raymondville and it is a very nice hotel. I meet the Guide in the reception after 15 minutes and we drive to the supermarket to buy milk and stuff for my tea. I buy avocado and a we are about to leave when the Guide hear the PA system message.

“Fresh French bread ready” And I went to buy a fresh loaf of bread that they take out from theoven. I had not been eating bread for many months so I was looking forward to this. Now I needed to buy butter as well. They did not have smoked salmon at the HEB supermarket.

But I will be OK with avocado and fresh bread.

We will leave early tomorrow morning as we will go bird watching at the King Ranch and this promise to be exciting. Click HERE to see how this turns out.

eBird Trip Report

Since April 2023 eBird offer a new feature, to create Trip Reports. At least this is when I first heard of this feature and I have decided to make the eBird Trip Reports instead of my list of OBSERVED birds.

And of course, this also means that I will HAVE TO go back and do the same for my old birding adventures, WHEN I HAVE THE TIME!

Today's Trip Report: Southern Texas bird watching tour with Nature Trip - Day 8 | Click HERE

Download | PDF

Lifers
Icons for lifers used in the eBird trip reports

Species lifer:First time that someone observes a species in their life

Photo lifer:First time that someone photographs a species in their life

Audio lifer:First time that someone audio records a species in their life

Exotic species
Exotic species flags differentiate locally introduced species from native species.

Naturalized:Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases (including vagrants from Naturalized populations). These count in official eBird totals and, where applicable, have been accepted by regional bird records committee(s).

Provisional:Either: 1)member of exotic population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years, but not yet Naturalized; 2)rarity of uncertain provenance, with natural vagrancy or captive provenance both considered plausible.

When applicable, eBird generally defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be of "uncertain provenance". Provisional species count in official eBird totals.

Escapee:Exotic species known or suspected to be escaped or released, including those that have
bred but don't yet fulfill the criteria for Provisional. Escapee exotics do not count in official eBird totals.

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