BIRDING TRIP REPORT The Lower Rio Grande Valley (plus the Houston area and the lower Texas Coast) March 7-13, 1998 Bill Sverdlik and I returned last Saturday, the 13th, from six days of birding in Texas, mostly in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. With travel, this was a seven-day trip. We laid the trip out using the ABA guide, _BIRDFINDER: A Birder's Guide to Planning North American Trips_. For detail, including local maps, we used the Lane/ABA guides _A Birder's Guide to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas_ and _A Birder's Guide to the Texas Coast_. Additionally, we made good use of information and suggestions generously provided by 'birders' member Carl Langefeld and my brother and his wife, Gary and Lisa Bowman (Vincennes, IN). Finally, for the week or two prior to the trip I subscribed to BIRDCNTR and TEXBIRDS to get Texas RBAs and other useful information. In the narrative below each species is listed in UPPERCASE letters the first time it is mentioned. Day 1 (Mar 7): Arrival in Houston; Cullinan Park, Davis Estates Road, Brazos Bend State Park. Every day starts with HOUSE SPARROW, doesn't it? We got ours at Houston George Bush Airport (formerly Houston Intercontinental). We arrived at the airport at 9:30am, having seats on a scheduled 6:55am flight out of Detroit. This arrival was forty minutes late, though, partly because we left Detroit late and partly because we had to go around some bad weather. That was the beginning of a crimp in our tight schedule for Day 1. The crimp was worsened when we found our map and/or navigating skills insufficient to prevent our getting lost on the way to stop number 1, Cullinan Park, which is in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston. The target there was MASKED DUCK, a Mexican species that occasionally strays to Texas. In just a few minutes we found our bird thirty feet from the boardwalk. Masked Duck is similar to RUDDY DUCK, which we also found, in small numbers, at this park. A vulture was overhead--a BLACK VULTURE, of which we would see many even though TVs are much more numerous in the parts of the state where we birded. Other birds we saw at Cullinan Park were AMERICAN COOT, WOOD DUCK, PIED-BILLED GREBE, RING-NECKED DUCK, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, LITTLE BLUE HERON, and GREAT EGRET. We also saw MOURNING DOVE, EASTERN PHOEBE, NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, BLUE JAY, CAROLINA CHICKADEE, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, NORTHERN CARDINAL, SONG SPARROW, ROCK DOVE, EUROPEAN STARLING, and GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. While in the Houston area we kept our eyes open for the similar Boat-tailed Grackle, a southeast coastal bird which is at the edge of its range in Houston, but we saw none. Besides the Masked Duck the best bird we had at Cullinan Park was a beautiful RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, one of two we saw on the trip. We didn't have to wait long for TURKEY VULTURE, which we saw south of Sugar Land as we headed off toward Brazos Bend State Park, a nice park about 35 miles south of downtown Houston. On the way we got AMERICAN KESTREL and NORTHERN HARRIER along Crabb River Road. These were the first of many of these birds we saw on the trip. Along the same road we had KILLDEER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and CATTLE EGRET. Just before Brazos Bend State Park we turned down Davis Estates Road, which can be good for sparrows. We found LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, CHIPPING SPARROW, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (Audubon's), AMERICAN CROW, EASTERN MEADOWLARK (heard, saw), EASTERN BLUEBIRD, and RED- TAILED HAWK. We saw hundreds of meadowlarks on the trip. According to range maps and and bar charts in various books, most of them should be Eastern. We did hear a Western late in the trip, though. Brazos Bend State Park is a beautiful park and has good birding with its freshwater ponds, marshes, the Brazos River, live-oak woodland, bottomland hardwoods, and coastal prairie. There we added DOWNY WOODPECKER, SWAMP SPARROW, TUFTED TITMOUSE, WHITE IBIS, CAROLINA WREN, COMMON MOORHEN, SORA, BLUE-HEADED VIREO, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, ANHINGA, VERMILION FLYCATCHER (a male), BELTED KINGFISHER, and a resident BARRED OWL who-cooking for you in the midafternoon. We had our only RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER here. This bird is at the edge of its range in Houston. We saw many of the similar, and similar sounding, Golden-fronted Woodpecker during the rest of our trip, farther south in Texas. The Anhinga, just 20 feet away from us, looked like anything but a bird while sticking only its long, thin neck and head straight up out of the water. We later saw it out of the water with wings spread, trying to get dried out. We headed south, hoping to get to Aransas NWR for a quick look at Whooping Crane, but the late arrival in Houston, picking up our rental car, getting lost on the way to Sugar Land, stopping at a Kroger's to buy water, sandwich makings, and munchies, and a long stay at Brazos Bend State Park bollixed our plans. We settled for a GREAT BLUE HERON at Texana Lake just before dark when we stopped at a Whataburger for dinner. This first day, as on other days, we tried to do most of our long-haul driving after dark. We ended our first day in McAllen, where we would stay at the Microtel for three nights. Day 2 (Mar 8): McAllen, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Anzalduas County Park, McAllen Sewage Pond. As we packed our car in the morning, preparing to head off for the day's birding, we got our next trip bird--a noisy GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER. We drove to nearby Bentsen State Park with great anticipation, for at last report two primary target birds had still been there. We parked at the entrance to the trailer loop, where many northerners spend a couple of weeks or a couple of months living in their trailers and feeding the birds (orange halves, seed, and a mash of peanut butter, cornmeal, and lard). We started walking the trailer loop and soon came to a site #14, where a cluster of birders were intent on what was surely--and was--our quarry: CLAY-COLORED ROBIN, and, rarer, WHITE-THROATED ROBIN. This was too easy. It hardly seems right to count these birds, but we'll count them anyway. The robins had been hanging around for weeks, and as long as those orange halves are continually replaced, they won't be very inclined to leave. Other birds that couldn't get enough of the oranges were ALTAMIRA ORIOLE, GREEN JAY, HOODED ORIOLE--and PLAIN CHACHALACAS, lots of them. GREAT KISKADEES were all about, seen and heard. Golden- fronted Woodpeckers were plentiful, and they, too, liked the oranges. Continuing our walk, we saw the first LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER of the trip. We also heard and saw the only NORTHERN FLICKER of the trip. We soon added WHITE-TIPPED DOVE, INDIGO BUNTING, INCA DOVE, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER (one we won't be getting in Michigan), ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, and BARN SWALLOW. We waited around for a male Blue Bunting that had been seen on and off for a couple of weeks but didn't get it. At Bentsen SP we saw our first Tufted Titmouse of the "Black-crested" variety. Every Tufted Titmouse we saw in the Lower Rio Grande Valley was Black-crested. We drove to a different part of the park and took a nonproductive walk on the Rio Grande Trail. This is a trail through chaparral. A walk on a different day during the week might have produced some birds, but Day 2 was very windy all day long, and the smaller birds were pretty well held down except in sheltered areas. The walk was made worthwhile, though, by a HARRIS'S HAWK that rocketed up out of the mesquite. We would see many more Harris's Hawks on the trip--and all were worth a long look--but this first one was kind of special. Before leaving Bentsen SP we checked out the picnic area, where we found a mixed flock of yellow-eyed Great-tailed Grackles and red-eyed BRONZED COWBIRDS. We left Bentson SP and headed for Anzalduas County Park. There, we added CLIFF SWALLOW and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. Most were the latter. In half an hour or so of looking down on the Rio Grande River we saw half a dozen Mexicans wade across the river to a path and vegetation on the American side, where they soon disappeared. There was a family of four plus a couple of others. Border guards at the park told us matter of factly that they'd be picked up a short distance down the river. Trip birds added at the river were AMERICAN WIGEON, OSPREY, LAUGHING GULL, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, and AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN. From Anzalduas County Park we drove to the McAllen Sewage Pond, getting there about an hour before dusk. There, we added NORTHERN SHOVELER, BLACK-NECKED STILT, CINNAMON TEAL, NORTHERN PINTAIL, RUDDY DUCK, EARED GREBES in breeding plumage, WHITE- FACED IBIS, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. The ducks seen in largest numbers on the trip were Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, and Gadwall. Good numbers of Ring- necked Ducks and Ruddy Ducks were seen at some locations. The most common waterfowl species of all was American Coot. Day 3 (Mar 9): McAllen, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, La Joya, Road FM 2221. Up and at 'em. It didn't take long to drive to the Santa Ana NWR, which is southeast of McAllen. Santa Ana has woodlands, brush, and water, so we expected to find a wide variety of birds there, and did. Our first trip bird was OLIVE SPARROW, several of which we saw soon after starting off on a path that leads away from the Visitor Center. We soon added HOUSE WREN and LONG-BILLED THRASHER. At the ponds the new birds were GREEN-WINGED TEAL, MOTTLED DUCK, AMERICAN AVOCET, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, SNOWY EGRET, and TRICOLORED HERON. We searched for a reported Red Knot but could not locate it. We found CASPIAN TERN here and, away from the water, COUCH'S KINGBIRD. We also had an outstanding look at a WHITE-TAILED KITE that was hovering and circling over a field with a small pond. We saw more Vermilion Flycatchers here, both male and female. We wanted to get a taste of the desert yet this day, so we headed west on U.S. 83 out of McAllen in the late afternoon. We found a good sampling of desert birds, and others, north of La Joya on road FM 2221. Birds we added to our trip list were BREWER'S SPARROW, COMMON GROUND-DOVE, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, CACTUS WREN, SAVANNAH SPARROW, and PYRRHULOXIA. We wrapped up the day with dinner at a burger place in McAllen. They offered a three-pound burger with two pounds of curly fries for $19.95, but we stuck with chicken, a stuffed baked potato, and the salad bar. Day 4 (Mar 10): Santa Margarita Ranch, Salineno, Chapeno, Falcon State Park, Falcon Dam. We hit the road early since we had a lot of stops to make while driving to Zapata, the western-most destination of our trip. About five miles east of Rio Grande City we saw a road heading north from U.S. 83 that "looked" good, so we tried it. (Turn off at the Transmission Parts Garage.) It was much like FM 2221, but even better. Here, we added BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD and LARK SPARROW to our list. Back on U.S. 83 near Rosita we were surprised to see a RINGED KINGFISHER on a telephone wire with no water about. That was a bird we wouldn't have bet that we'd get on the trip. With spirits high, we continued to Santa Margarita Ranch. Collen Vogler, a 'birders' member, had warned me of a pack of dogs that would jump up on and scratch our car at Santa Margarita Ranch, and promised dogs did appear. I got out of the car and walked ahead, though, so the dogs would jump on me instead of the car. And they did. The dogs proved friendly and seemed to know why we were there. They led the way to the river...I think. As we had never been to Santa Margarita Ranch before and no one seemed to be around at any of the three or four houses there, we had to trust the dogs. A long walk ended at an overlook of the river. I had the idea that we would be able to get all the way down to the river, so maybe the dogs missed a turn somewhere. Anyway, trip birds added here were FIELD SPARROW, GREATER ROADRUNNER, and an unlikely CANVASBACK. On to Salineno. We drove straight through town down to the river. We found lots and lots of birds here, but we added only RING-BILLED GULL and GADWALL to our list. Back up the hill at a trailer with bird feeders we were greeted by a very nice hostess/owner. We signed her guest register and sat on lawn chairs and watched birds of all sorts from up close. We added CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and BEWICK'S WREN to our list. We missed Audubon's Oriole while daydreaming or studying the Clay-colored Sparrow, but we would get that bird later in the trip. Our best chance for Brown Jay would be at Chapeno at the El Rio RV park. We paid our $2 per person, looked around a bit, and headed down to the river. Here we found the most beautiful stretch of the Rio Grande that we saw on the whole trip. Access to the river here is good and extends over perhaps 100 yards. Our new birds at Chapeno were BUFFLEHEAD (many) and GREEN HERON. We decided it was about time to find BLACK-THROATED SPARROW and VERDIN, so we did. The entrance road to Falcon State Park looked right for these birds (as had other places we'd been), and we found both there. After entering the park we headed straight for the trailer park, where, as at Bentsen SP, folks put out oranges and seed for the birds. Our first bird there was not a new one, but it was memorable: a Greater Roadrunner cautiously taking strips of venison from the the hand of a man sitting on a picnic table bench. We saw a couple of dozen NORTHERN BOBWHITES pecking at seed on the ground. They were completely unconcerned about onlookers, and we were able to carefully study both male and female birds. We had our first CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN, a flyby. At the edge of Falcon Reservoir we got a great look at a CRESTED CARACARA that circled over. What a magnificent bird this is! Leaving the park we drove a short distance farther to Falcom Dam. We saw lots of birds there but added only COMMON SNIPE, one of which was probing with a Short-billed Dowitcher directly below us. The road over Falcon Dam will deposit you in Mexico. We didn't want to cross over, but we wanted at least to drive out to the middle and turn around so we could say we'd been to Mexico. We stopped first to talk with the border agents at the U.S. checkpoint. They said, sure, you can do that, but we'll have to stripsearch you when you come back. With this reassurance we drove out, stopped at a couple of pulloffs to look for birds, took a picture at the U.S.-Mexico marker, and returned. Speeding through the checkpoint to avoid a stripsearch, we continued on to Zapata to check in at our motel. On the way to Zapata we stopped at Tigre Chiquito (a dry creek) to look for Cave Swallows, but March 10 is apparently too early for them. Day 5 (Mar 11): Zapata, Falcon Dam, Falcon State Park, Chapeno, Salineno, Bentsen State Park, McAllen Sewage Pond. Wednesday, March 11, was primarily a day of backtracking along our route of the preceding three days. It was a hard day for me as I was nauseous for much of the day, apparently from some bad food at dinner the evening before or from drinking some bad tap water. Starting in Zapata at the far west end of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, we ended the day at our motel in Harlingen near the far east end. We had a specific reason for staying in Zapata overnight, namely, to give ourselves the best chance to get WHITE-COLLARED SEEDEATER at the Zapata library. The word we'd received is that you should be at the pond/marsh at the library early in the morning...and be patient. We were there, and we were patient. It took an hour for a seedeater to pop up for us, but we had been prepared to wait much longer than that. It was in the middle of the back side of the marsh, and it gave us a great look--about three minutes, probably, and only 20 or 30 feet away. It was a male, singing continuously while hanging onto a bare reed. With the seedeater under our belts and the morning still young, we headed east and revisited some of the best spots we'd hit on the way west. We didn't add many new birds, but we did get some good ones. Besides the White-collared Seedeater, we picked up LEAST GREBE and GREEN KINGFISHER. These were both birds we had targeted but which had eluded us at Santa Ana NWR and along the Rio Grande (Salineno and west). We got them this time at Salineno. The Green Kingfisher, in particular, gave us a good look--and it was very cooperative in coming right over to us from the Mexican side of the river, where it wasn't countable for our ABA area lists. Earlier in the day, after the seedeater, we had gotten two other birds--LESSER SCAUP and AUDUBON'S ORIOLE. We had a pair of the orioles. They were near Falcon Dam along a long trail along (but not near) the river, a trail we hadn't taken the time to walk the day before. We arrived at Bentsen SP late in the afternoon and went straight to the trailer loop. What a difference from our early morning visit of a few days earlier! We saw empty feeders, no birds, no birders, no people period. Lesson: If you want to see White- throated Robin at Bentsen, get there early in the day, as we did. (And you'd better not be waiting until April, either.) At the McAllen Sewage Pond, we again saw lots of shorebirds and waterfowl, but we added no birds to our trip list. Day 6 (Mar 12): South Padre Island, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Road 48. Rain. Well, if we had to have rain, this was the day for it. The birds at South Padre Island and Laguna Atascosa NWR didn't much care. It didn't rain hard or long, but it was a gloomy day from start to finish, as, in fact, most of our days had been. Our first trip bird of the day, a couple of MALLARDS, came early at our first stop, the boardwalk at the Convention Center on South Padre Island. These would be the only Mallards we would see the entire trip (and we struck out entirely on Canada Goose!). Other birds added at the boardwalk and in the water on the bay side of the island were RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, BLACK SKIMMER (what a bird!), DUNLIN, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, WILLET, and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. We also had three REDDISH EGRETS, one dark morph and two white morphs--striking birds. At a jetty near the south end of the island we added BROWN PELICAN, COMMON LOON, and RED-NECKED GREBE. After returning to Michigan I learned from Texas birders Brent Ortego and Ron Weeks (formerly of Midland, MI) that Red-necked Grebe is a review list species for Texas. Had we known then that this is a rare bird, we would have worked for a better look. We were scoping it in the rain. It was near the loon and was clearly a grebe. I got the white on the side of the face, about half way between "winter" and "breeding" as shown in the National Geographic Society field guide. It had the rusty foreneck of the breeding plumage. I didn't think I needed any more than that, so I gave it no more attention. (And I think Bill wanted me to get his scope out of the rain!) We gave South Padre Island only a couple of hours, heading next to Laguna Atascosa NWR. Along the long entry road into Laguna it seemed strange to see Ospreys sitting here and there in the middle of a plowed, wide-open field. We made a quick stop at the Visitor Center to get a map and then started the Bayside Drive tour (15 miles). New birds added were BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, ROSEATE SPOONBILL, PURPLE MARTIN, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK, which we heard and saw. Back at the Visitor Center along the Kiskadee Trail we found the TOWNSEND'S WARBLER that has been there (the whole winter, I believe). We took a second driving tour (Lakeside Drive) and walked the Mesquite Trail, but we got no new birds. At the Osprey Overlook we added FORSTER'S TERN, and a quick, last stop at the Visitor Center got us GRAY CATBIRD. After leaving Laguna Atascosa NWR but before heading north we drove a few miles on Road 48 to check out the mudflats along each side of the road. We found no birds. So, on to Victoria, where we would spend the night. Day 7 (Mar 13): Victoria, Houston, Jesse H. Jones County Park. We had planned to meet early in the morning with a Victoria birder to go out for Greater Prairie-Chicken, Bald Eagle, and White-tailed Hawk. We talked with him on the phone in the evening but then called him back to cancel after we learned that the prairie-chickens are 25 miles SOUTH of Victoria. It just wasn't going to be practical for us to be at the lek, 25 miles in the wrong direction, at 6:30am (necessary to get the prairie-chickens). We'd had a long day, and we had to be sure to allow ample time the next day to get to the airport for our 1:15pm flight. We hoped to see White-tailed Hawk along U.S. 59 while driving north. We stopped several times to check out candidate birds, but they were all red-tails and Harris's Hawks. North of Houston, and immediately north of George Bush Airport, is Jesse H. Jones County Park. As this park is only three miles or so from the airport, we felt we could bird there and not have to leave a large safety margin for time to catch our flight. A boardwalk through a cypress swamp is the highlight feature of the park. There, we added one trip bird, PILEATED WOODPECKER. Two birds, clearly very accustomed to people, were zipping about. We got the best looks at Pileated Woodpecker that I've ever had. The time to head for the airport came too soon, and our Texas birding adventure was over. --- Some notes: Our trip count was 155. Bill got 48 ABA area life birds and I got 23. We wrapped up each day by marking a checklist over a late dinner. We marked a checklist for each day and also a trip checklist on which our birds were accumulated. Favorite birds? I liked our many good looks at Crested Caracara, a life bird for me. We saw most in the vicinity of Falcon Dam and Falcon State Park but one near Victoria. One regal bird, perched just off the highway near the town of Falcon, was particularly awesome. I also liked the singing White-collared Seedeater, the White-tailed Kites, and the Green Kingfisher at Salineno. Bill liked a lot of birds but couldn't get enough of those raucous Plain Chachalacas at Bentsen SP. He says they always brought a smile to his face. We did not visit Brownsville, the U.S. home of the Tamaulipas Crow, because we had been told that the crows cannot be seen there now. The story is that the crows, which stay at the Brownsville municipal dump, are at only the portion of the dump where bulldozers are turning material, and this winter that portion is far from any vantage accessible to the public. We left plenty of birds to be sought on another winter/spring trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley and nearby(?) parts of Texas. These include Muscovy Duck, King Rail, Clapper Rail, Whooping Crane, Gull-billed Tern, Hook-billed Kite, White-tailed Hawk, Aplomado Falcon, Scaled Quail, Red-billed Pigeon, Green Parakeet, Red-crowned Parrot, Groove-billed Ani, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Pauraque, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Cave Swallow, Brown Jay, Tamaulipas Crow, Sprague's Pipit, Tropical Parula, Blue Bunting, Green-tailed Towhee, Harris' Sparrow, and many more. When do we leave? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bruce M. Bowman | In nature there are neither rewards nor Ann Arbor, Michigan USA | punishments -- there are consequences. -bbowman@umich.edu ------ | Robert G. Ingersoll -bmb@biosci.umtri.umich.edu -- ++++++++++ I'M FOR THE BIRDS +++++++++++ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIFIED PERIOD LIST for Texas MAR 7, 1998 to MAR 13, 1998 First Sighting MO DA YR SPECIES LOCATION 03 07 98 House Sparrow 1 Geo. Bush Airport,Houston 03 07 98 Black Vulture 2 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Mourning Dove 3 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 American Coot 4 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Eastern Phoebe 5 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Red-shouldered Hawk 6 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Wood Duck 7 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Pied-billed Grebe 8 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Masked Duck 9 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Ring-necked Duck 10 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Double-crested Cormorant 11 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Little Blue Heron 12 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Northern Mockingbird 13 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Blue Jay 14 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Carolina Chickadee 15 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 16 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Northern Cardinal 17 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Song Sparrow 18 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Rock Dove 19 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Great Egret 20 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 European Starling 21 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Great-tailed Grackle 22 Cullinan Park, Sugar Land 03 07 98 Turkey Vulture 23 U.S. 59 so. of Sugar Land 03 07 98 American Kestrel 24 Crabb River Road 03 07 98 Northern Harrier 25 Crabb River Road 03 07 98 Killdeer 26 Crabb River Road 03 07 98 Greater Yellowlegs 27 Crabb River Road 03 07 98 Cattle Egret 28 Crabb River Road 03 07 98 Loggerhead Shrike 29 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 White-winged Dove 30 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 Chipping Sparrow 31 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 Yellow-rumped Warbler 32 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 American Crow 33 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 Eastern Meadowlark 34 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 Eastern Bluebird 35 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 Red-tailed Hawk 36 Davis Estates Road 03 07 98 Downy Woodpecker 37 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Swamp Sparrow 38 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 White Ibis 39 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Tufted Titmouse 40 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Carolina Wren 41 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Common Moorhen 42 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Sora 43 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Red-bellied Woodpecker 44 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Blue-headed Vireo 45 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Red-winged Blackbird 46 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Blue-winged Teal 47 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Common Yellowthroat 48 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Anhinga 49 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Vermilion Flycatcher 50 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Belted Kingfisher 51 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Barred Owl 52 Brazos Bend State Park 03 07 98 Great Blue Heron 53 Texana Lake 03 08 98 Golden-fronted Woodpecker 54 McAllen 03 08 98 Altamira Oriole 55 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Clay-colored Robin 56 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Green Jay 57 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Plain Chachalaca 58 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Hooded Oriole 59 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 White-tipped Dove 60 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 White-throated Robin 61 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Indigo Bunting 62 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Inca Dove 63 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Great Kiskadee 64 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Lincoln's Sparrow 65 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Black-and-white Warbler 66 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 67 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Black-throated Gray Warbler 68 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 69 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Northern Flicker 70 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Orange-crowned Warbler 71 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 American Goldfinch 72 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Barn Swallow 73 Bentsen SP trailer loop 03 08 98 Harris's Hawk 74 Bentsen SP, Rio Grande Tr 03 08 98 Bronzed Cowbird 75 Bentsen SP, picnic area 03 08 98 Cliff Swallow 76 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 77 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 American Wigeon 78 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 Osprey 79 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 Laughing Gull 80 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 Solitary Sandpiper 81 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 Least Sandpiper 82 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 American White Pelican 83 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 Spotted Sandpiper 84 Anzalduas County Park 03 08 98 Northern Shoveler 85 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Black-necked Stilt 86 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Cinnamon Teal 87 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Northern Pintail 88 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Ruddy Duck 89 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Eared Grebe 90 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 White-faced Ibis 91 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Short-billed Dowitcher 92 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Neotropic Cormorant 93 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 08 98 Lesser Yellowlegs 94 McAllen Sewage Pond 03 09 98 Olive Sparrow 95 Santa Ana NWR,B Tr/Cat.Lk 03 09 98 House Wren 96 Santa Ana NWR,B Tr/Cat.Lk 03 09 98 Long-billed Thrasher 97 Santa Ana NWR,B Tr/Cat.Lk 03 09 98 Green-winged Teal 98 Santa Ana NWR,B Tr/Cat.Lk 03 09 98 White-tailed Kite 99 Santa Ana NWR,B Tr/Cat.Lk 03 09 98 American Avocet 100 Santa Ana NWR, Pintail Lk 03 09 98 Snowy Egret 101 Santa Ana NWR, Pintail Lk 03 09 98 Wilson's Phalarope 102 Santa Ana NWR, Pintail Lk 03 09 98 Mottled Duck 103 Santa Ana NWR, Pintail Lk 03 09 98 Tricolored Heron 104 Santa Ana NWR, Pintail Lk 03 09 98 Caspian Tern 105 Santa Ana NWR, Pintail Lk 03 09 98 Couch's Kingbird 106 Santa Ana NWR, Pintail Lk 03 09 98 Brewer's Sparrow 107 La Joya, FM 2221 03 09 98 Common Ground-Dove 108 La Joya, FM 2221 03 09 98 Curve-billed Thrasher 109 La Joya, FM 2221 03 09 98 Cactus Wren 110 La Joya, FM 2221 03 09 98 Savannah Sparrow 111 La Joya, FM 2221 03 09 98 Pyrrhuloxia 112 La Joya, FM 2221 03 10 98 Brown-headed Cowbird 113 off 83 at Trans.Parts.Gar 03 10 98 Lark Sparrow 114 off 83 at Trans.Parts.Gar 03 10 98 Ringed Kingfisher 115 U.S. 83 near Rosita 03 10 98 Canvasback 116 Santa Margarita Ranch 03 10 98 Field Sparrow 117 Santa Margarita Ranch 03 10 98 Greater Roadrunner 118 Santa Margarita Ranch 03 10 98 Ring-billed Gull 119 Salineno 03 10 98 Gadwall 120 Salineno 03 10 98 Clay-colored Sparrow 121 Salineno 03 10 98 Bewick's Wren 122 Salineno 03 10 98 Bufflehead 123 Chapeno, El Rio RV park 03 10 98 Green Heron 124 Chapeno, El Rio RV park 03 10 98 Black-throated Sparrow 125 Falcon State Park 03 10 98 Verdin 126 Falcon State Park 03 10 98 Chihuahuan Raven 127 Falcon State Park 03 10 98 Northern Bobwhite 128 Falcon State Park 03 10 98 Crested Caracara 129 Falcon State Park 03 10 98 Common Snipe 130 Falcon Dam 03 11 98 White-collared Seedeater 131 Zapata library 03 11 98 Lesser Scaup 132 Falcon Dam 03 11 98 Audubon's Oriole 133 Falcon Dam trail 03 11 98 Least Grebe 134 Salineno 03 11 98 Green Kingfisher 135 Salineno 03 12 98 Mallard 136 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Red-breasted Merganser 137 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Reddish Egret 138 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Semipalmated Plover 139 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Black Skimmer 140 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Dunlin 141 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Long-billed Curlew 142 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Willet 143 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Black-crowned Night-Heron 144 South Padre Is. boardwalk 03 12 98 Common Loon 145 South Padre Is., so.jetty 03 12 98 Red-necked Grebe 146 South Padre Is., so.jetty 03 12 98 Brown Pelican 147 South Padre Is., so.jetty 03 12 98 Black-bellied Plover 148 Laguna Atascosa 15-mi drv 03 12 98 Roseate Spoonbill 149 Laguna Atascosa 15-mi drv 03 12 98 Purple Martin 150 Laguna Atascosa 15-mi drv 03 12 98 Western Meadowlark 151 Laguna Atascosa 15-mi drv 03 12 98 Townsend's Warbler 152 Lag. Atascosa Kiskadee Tr 03 12 98 Gray Catbird 153 Lag. Atascosa Visitor Ctr 03 12 98 Forster's Tern 154 Lag.Atascosa Osprey Ovrlk 03 13 98 Pileated Woodpecker 155 Jesse H. Jones County Prk ============= Total = 155 =============