Goa, India

Obviously, this post is over 6 months late. If you have somehow not been made aware, it's been a wild 6 months with Christina's pregnancy and my CFA studying has made it difficult to get this written. This is far from my best work, but the pictures and birds were cool and are worth seeing.

India carries a mythical aura. Tigers and snow leopards, the Himalayas and the Sundurbans, and Hampi and the Taj Mahal all can be found in this iconic country.

At some point I planned to visit to see either Tigers or Snow Leopards, my most wanted animals in the world, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. And of all places in India to go, I never expected to go to Goa. That is, until I got a once in a lifetime offer.

One my good friends and groomsmen Zak asked me to a groomsman in his wedding in Karnataka, the state just to the south of Goa. How could I say no to that? I wouldn’t have time to chase Tigers or Snow Leopards, but I could chase some birds!

Malabar Grey Hornbill, a Western Ghats edemic

Logistics were the biggest challenge. I had about 4 days free before I had to end up in Mangalore, which meant southern or western India were my best options. Choosing where to go was actually really hard. I considered Tansa and Sanjay Gandhi National Park in and around Mumbai or Thattekad outside of Kochi. Both were really compelling options, but logistically the easiest option was to stay at Backwoods Camp in Goa. Travel to and from Mangalore was much more convenient from Goa as well. Booking was super easy, and I reached out to the owner Loven Pereira who would meet me at the airport upon my arrival.

Backwoods Camp is located in what is called the Western Ghats, a mountain range that stretches down the western edge of the Indian peninsula. Ghat actually means "mountain," so this is literally the western mountain range in India. The Western Ghats have a good selection of endemics. Many of these have the name Malabar because southwest India has been called the Malabar Coast, with the first usage of the term coming from Arab traders in the 900s.

Malabar Grey Langur

While I was excited, I was pretty nervous. Most of that was food anxiety, as I have sensitive stomach and while I love Indian food, India is known for messing up stomachs.

 There was drama from the beginning. My flight left on April 12 connecting through Doha, Qatar. That morning I got a notification: Iran to launch attack on Israel in the next 48 hours. Good thing I was flying over Iraq, perfectly in the path of whatever attack was coming.

While my flight to Doha was uneventful, my flight to Goa got delayed. Right after closing the plane door, a Spanish couple behind me started freaking out, and no one knew why. They spoke no English, and for probably the first time in my life, no one on the plane spoke any Spanish except me. It fell on me to translate and communicate with flight attendants and medics, some of whom did not speak much English.

Black-naped Monarch

I landed at 3 AM in Goa to news that Iran launched hundreds of missiles at Israel while I was in the air. Would I be able to get home? To make matters worse I would have about 5 minutes of cell service a day. Christina, already worried about me, was not happy. Time to embrace the chaos.

I should have stayed up, but I didn't. I was too tired and slept until 1 PM. It was hot when I woke up, but from the lunch table I was able to watch birds come to the only nearby water source. It was the end of the dry season and it was over 100 degrees. Still, a smattering of birds were present. White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Jungle Babbler, and the handsome Flame-throated Bulbul all came in.

Flame-throated Bulbul, another Western Ghats endemic

We went to the Kadamba Shri Mahadeva Temple, a 12th century Hindu temple that had some trails around it in the late afternoon to look for birds, which there were plenty of. Even before accounting for how late in the day it was, the birding was fantastic. The main highlight was a Malabar Barbet, an exciting endemic to get. Barbets, pittas, and hornbills are some of my favorite birds to flip through in bird books and I had the chance to see plenty on this trip.

Kadamba Shri Mahadeva Temple

While the birding was fantastic, it was hard to come to terms with the fact that I was in India. You can know without even go there that there is a stark difference between here and the USA in every sense. Sometimes you end up somewhere and think "wow, I'm really out here." For some people that's London or Paris, for me it was being at this temple at dusk in India. This is the kind of rush I chase when I travel for birds!

Jungle Babbler

It was also here that I got my first glimpse at Indian Peafowl. I knew they were easy to see, but it each additional peafowl we saw just as special as the last. 

Indian Peafowl obscured by the humidity

Some other really exciting birds to wrap our day up were Malabar Pied Hornbill and Malabar-Imperial Pigeon. 

Rufous Treepie  

I hardly slept at night. Being 10.5 hours off of Dallas time was a tough adjustment that other Americans at the wedding said weighed on them, too. That meant I was super tired during morning birding sessions but came to life in the afternoons after a 2 hour nap. My body would pay for that lack of sleep, but fortunately I held on through the first morning.

White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, endemic to the Western Ghats

We went back to the temple area, but super slow birded a creek bed. April is Goa's version of a Texas August. The creek was 99% empty and it would be over 105 degrees by 11 AM. But the birds were still active!

Yellow-browed Bulbul

A flock of Malabar Parakeets, a bird that was on my most wanted list, whizzed by screeching. An Orange Minivet appeared next. We inched on, stopping for sunbirds and bee eaters. Purple-rumped Sunbirds were common at Backwoods, but here we also had plenty of Purple Sunbirds. There is so much dazzling color and it feels overwhelming in the best way.

Orange-headed Thrush

The clearing we arrived at was full of birds, but none of them mattered once Loven said he heard a Great Hornbill calling. Going into the trip I held out hope that I would be able to get one, but it seemed like 25% at best.* They aren't seen often and the field guide showed that I did not have a chance. Amazingly, one was here, but would we see it through the thick foliage on the hillside?

*I found out later that Great Hornbill is understandably a sensitive species on eBird, which is explains why it was so hard to find during research

The answer was yes! There were incredible looks of 2 Great Hornbills! Day 2 and I already secured the bird of the trip. Y'all know I love my hornbills, and this was one of my favorite bird encounters ever. They look so weird with their yellow casque and long black and white tails, paired with their long yellow bill. My 5th hornbill species, this was my favorite encounter. You can argue that Rhinoceros Hornbill is a cooler bird, but I had a fleeting glimpse of it. I got to gawk at them for 10 minutes as they moved around, calling and feeding. It was surreal.

Great Hornbills from a DISTANCE

As if things couldn't get cooler, Loven said we were going to go up a mostly dried creek in search of Blue-eared Kingfisher. Christina has trained me to appreciate the vibes. Since I met her I have found myself needing good vibes when birding. Miss me with that excessive heat, road noises, and disturbed habitat. The vibes up this creek were immaculate. The bird calls, the smells, and the forest provided epic, intoxicating vibes. This is how birding is supposed to be done. 

White-throated Kingfisher

The birds knew that the vibes were here as well. Heart-spotted Woodpeckers darted between trees above us while Common Kingfishers darted from pool to pool, searching for any signs of fish or lizards. We didn't know it at the time, but a Leopard was watching us walk right past it. We were busy looking up and admiring a Vernal Hanging-Parrot.

Common Kingfisher

We never got that Blue-eared Kingfisher, but we saw plenty of other incredible birds. Various species of bulbuls, drongos, and babblers will make up for that. On our way back we encountered fresh scat. Fresh as in it was not there 15 minutes prior. It was from a Leopard and it was literally following in our footsteps. As we got down a little further, we saw that it had freshly marked its territory as well. We don't know what direction it went, but it for sure saw us. 

There's a Leopard in there somewhere!

Leopard scat

There was something terrifyingly exhilarating about that moment. Who knows how close we got to an apex predator, but we were close. I'm not saying that I cheated death, but to get so close to a dangerous, secretive, and magical animal like that and find out afterwards will get your blood flowing!

By this point it was getting quite hot, and we worked our way back much quicker than before. The birds weren't calling as much, but I stayed on alert and was rewarded with my other favorite tropical bird, a trogon. A gorgeous Malabar Trogon offered up close views, and it was just enough to keep our energy up enough to get to the car. 

Malabar Trogon was a top target

At this point things started taking a turn. I had no energy to keep going and took a 3-hour nap after feeling like vomiting by the time we got back. I intentionally did not sleep long so that I could sleep at night, and it was just enough to keep me going.

Our evening birding took us to a fish farm that was full of Woolly-necked Storks, Lesser Adjutants, Little Cormorants, and a few Brahminy Kites, which was the perfect way to kill about 30 minutes while we waited for the sun to go down.

Indian Pond Heron

At sun set, we staked out a spot for Jungle Nightjar. Loven explained it would likely be a quick view at best. Jerdon's Nightjars began calling, and before long a Jungle Nightjar flew out, landing on a branch overlooking the road and began calling. We got just enough light on it for a quick view before a second one came in, causing them both to fly into the night. There are few things that beat seeing nightjars.

Indian Scops Owl. Not a bad photo with zero light!

It turns out this spot is also great for Indian Scops-Owl. Better yet, after seeing the Scops Owl I realized mis-IDed a bird in Malaysia. I actually had an Oriental Bay Owl. Armchair tick! Getting 3 nocturnal birds was a huge win and was a perfect way to end the night birding-wise. We still went out near the temple and found some flying squirrels. I think they were Malabar Giant Squirrels. Whatever they were, they were really fun to find and helped motivate to want to do more dedicated mammal watching.

This was a different species than what we saw at night, but I can't remember which one was which.

Unfortunately for me, this is where things started to go downhill. I got maybe 2 hours of sleep, probably less. My body gave out and I got sick. It may have been food related, as I had a pretty bad stomach ache. Having been to Australia and Singapore before with minimal issues I thought I would be fine, but this was the worst jet lag I have ever had, and it was hitting me hard.

Brown-headed Barbet

At this point too I should say that I was in a mental prison. Loven was the only person I knew who spoke English, and with no cell service I was cut off from the outside world. Given all of the Iran/Israel drama I was afraid I would not be able to go back home. In hindsight it was all silly to worry that much, but the exhaustion from traveling, being sick, and the lack of sleep really took a mental toll on me.

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

But I didn't come all this way to get sick and not see birds. We still got up early and went to Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary. I had a feeling I ate something bad because the idea of stopping for breakfast made me nauseous. I forced myself to push through, and I'm so glad that I did.

The sunbird sweep was completed when we got SIX species of sunbird, highlighted by Vigors's and Loten's Sunbird, as well as Little Spiderhunter. That's one way to start feeling better. Thick-billed Flowerpeckers were in the flock, too.

Sunbirds were impossible to get pictures of, but this Purple Sunbird was cooperative

The darkest hour proved to be just before the dawn. Just as I passed the point of feeling the worst, an Indian Pitta appeared and offered fantastic views. This was easily a top 5 bird of the trip for me. Pittas are fascinating birds, and I understand why Chris Goodie referred to them as "rainforest jewels" in his book about him. Any time I dream of a new place to go tropical birding, I immediately think of the pittas, and it was part of why I was extra gutted in Kuching back in 2022 when they closed down Kubah National Park.

Indian Pitta

Things started to get better from a mental standpoint after that. I had some more energy and was able to enjoy great looks at Golden-fronted Leafbird, White-rumped Shama, and the larger than expected Greater Coucal. When we got back to the lodge, I decided to stop trying to avoid the jet lag and focus on getting better. I slept most of the day but still woke up for some twilight birding at an old mine. I felt so much better, and it was a great set up to what would be a great final day.

White-rumped Shama. The humidity made it hard to get good pics at times

"Waking up" on the last day was exciting. I'd get to head to Mangalore to see my friends, talk to Christina, and start the highly anticipated wedding festivities. Feeling like a new man, it was time to get birding.

Bonnet Macaque

Loven took me to another abandoned mine that had a few trails. The day was overcast, which meant it would be much cooler. On our way we got a few Red Spurfowl running across the road, which was an expected find. The trail had some good, wooded habitat, but it was weirdly silent. Soon enough we found out that it was because there was a Crested Serpent Eagle in the trees. It wasn't the only cause for silence, though. The cloudy weather helped keep a Jungle Owlet out in the open, and it was actually calling! I have not had an owl viewing like that in years!

Jungle Owlet

The birding here was pretty good, with lots of bee-eaters, drongos, and bulbuls. It's been so long I honestly forgot most of what we saw here as I forgot to eBird this section, but another highlight was an Oriental Turtle Dove that was a lifer. Other great birds that I remember here were Crested Treeswifts and White-rumped Shama, which looks so much better live than it does in the field guide or even in pictures. The colors really pop.

Black Drongo

Running out of time before I had to get to the train station, we checked for Sri Lankan Frogmouths near the temple again. After about 30 minutes of searching, I started feeling sick again and we went back so I could pack my stuff up. The frogmouths were one of my big targets at the start of the trip, but I felt so bad I didn't even care. Loven was not going to stand for missing a bird he knew was there, and unbeknownst to me he went back up the road to look for them. AND HE FOUND THEM! While I was puking, he was looking for frogmouths. 

Sri Lankan Frogmouth

We got back to the temple area in a thick area that we previously looked. They were in there, but their camouflage is impeccable. They definitely were seeing us, despite us not seeing them. The dense brush made Loven hesitant to even let me in, and I understood why. If it was Texas, I would have fully expected to step on a Copperhead or a Timber Rattlesnake. Except in Goa you run the risk of bumping into a King Cobra or Common Krait, which are 15x as venomous as a cobra! Still, no way was I going to miss the chance to get a frogmouth. Being an absolute hoe for nightjars, I trudged in despite wearing shorts and clothes for the train. 

How many frogmouths do you see?

We paced around for 30 minutes, bafflingly not able to find them. There was a weird patch of leaves, but they weren't leaves. They were frogmouths! Hell of a way to end the birding section of the trip, and I got my top 5 targets- Great Hornbill, Malabar Parakeet, Sri Lankan Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, and Indian Pitta! That doesn't happen often! Feeling sick and desperate to reach familiar faces in Mangalore, it was time to head to the train station.

The Arabian Sea from the wedding in Mangalore

As an epilogue, part of what delayed this post initially was I got the worst Covid of my life on the flight home. Within 12 hours of coming home I was running a 104.5 fever and my stomach was so messed up that I did not pee for four days. Indian Covid is built different.

Despite the illnesses, I would absolutely go to India again and I can't give Backwoods Camp in Goa a good enough recommendation. I try to avoid using guides due to personal preferences, but I do think you need a guide in India. Loven was a fantastic guide who knows all the local people and birds. Also, just go to an Indian wedding if you have the chance. For the sake of length, I never got into it, but wow, it was a ton of fun. 

I have to come back and take Charlie Uncle birding

Rarity Chasing in the Rio Grande Valley

A little life update: I got a new job! With a few weeks between my start dates, it was time to celebrate with some birding! The offer was formally accepted on the Friday of Presidents’ Day weekend, but due to a pretty packed schedule I couldn’t leave until Sunday but had to be back by Thursday night. Central America was the dream, but 36 hours was not enough prep time to arrange flights, transport, and hotels. Boy did we try, though. If I had a few more days I think we easily could have done Guatemala and figure it out on arrival.

Altamira Oriole

The easiest option was the Rio Grande Valley, which is a great fallback option. It’s like having Rice as your safety school. Depending on who you talk to, this is THE premier birding destination in the United States. The RGV is where the transition to the tropics begins, and birds that are found nowhere else in the country can be found here with ease, like Altamira Oriole and Great Kiskadee. Blue Jays are incredibly rare and almost unheard of, but are replaced by the intensely stunning Green Jays. A heavily debated topic is the status of even some parrots in the valley! Some say the Red-crowned Parrots and Green Parakeets are native, while others do not.

Green Jay

I’ve been to the RGV a few times and seen all the major birds. Why come back? For starters, show me a someone who is sick of Green Jays and Altamira Orioles and I’ll show you a psychopath. The valley is also a magnet for rare birds, especially in winter. Just to the south are mountains in Mexico, and during drought periods those birds can wander long distances in search of water, putting them in an area crawling with birders and are easily picked up. The drought must be bad, because there were a ton of smattering of rare birds in the area this winter.

Plain Chachalaca

In addition to the rare birds, the valley is truly a frontier where ranges fluctuate. Brown Jays are a great example, they were once rare, became common, and then about 15 years ago they retreated back across the border. They are super common 5-10 miles south of the border, but are very hard to find now and actually were added to the TBRC review list back in 2007.

Instead of an overview of every rare bird, I’ll list them out as we look for them. We were able to chase all but a small few. This was a great chance to pick up some new birds for my, US, and Texas.

Not only was finding the birds important, but the company was just as important. I reached out to my friend, Bobby Helwick, in advance of the job offer to see if he would be down. He was going to try to spend an intense few days of birding without taking PTO. As Dale Gribble would say, “I’m skeptical he could, but intrigued that he may.” Bobby started to take an interest in birds and this was my chance to hopefully clinch the interest for him. The pressure was on!

Inca Dove

I drove 8 hours down to the Alamo Inn B&B, where I met Bobby after his own 5 hour drive that involved his engine smoking! Hungry and excited, we went to Smokin Moon BBQ, one of the top 100 BBQ joints in Texas according to Texas Monthly. After a delicious sandwich with brisket chili, it was time to start laying out the week.

This trip sprung up so quickly that I had no time to even really create the optimal plan, as finding details on where to find the birds took up most of my research. Fortunately, our plan on the first day ended up being the optimal way to go.

We left Alamo with the intention of getting to Resaca de la Palma State Park at 7:45, just before it opened. The goal was Gray-collared Becard and Roadside Hawk. This was the 4^th American record of the becard (1^st Texas) and I believe the 12^th record of Roadside Hawk in both Texas and the United States. There were a few other treats like Tropical Parula and Rose-throated Becard that we also had a shot at.

I saw many more Altamira Orioles than previous trips

A crowd formed as we arrived around 7:50, but not to greet us. It had to be the becard of the gray-collared variety. We sprinted over, hoping to get a look. We got the worst words in the birding language: “you just missed it.” Surely it would be seen again. In the meantime we still had some other rarities to go chase. The Roadside Hawk was being seen off the Ebony Trail and it was time to go find that.

Getting to the trail was quite difficult. It was really fun watching Bobby have his mind blown by the colorful display in front of him. It was nearly impossible to tear us away, but a warbler flock with the tantalizing potential of a Tropical Parula was able to do it.

We knew they were in the area, but in my experience they are kind of a crapshoot. They can be hit or miss, and I have looked for them on multiple occasions with no success. Failing to see one on this trip would officially make in a nemesis bird.

Tropical Parula

First we saw Nashville, then Yellow-rumped, then a gasp from the crowd indicated that someone had seen it. There was also a hybrid with Northern Parula that had to be distinguished, but after a few minutes of checking every bird we finally found the Parula without eye arcs. Talk about a relief. One target down!

Finally, we after many fun obstacles, we made it to the trail! The crowd stayed to watch it, but we had a more important mission. The mission turned out to be as easy as it gets. Bobby spotted it as soon as we got to the resaca hanging out on a stump. Roadside Hawk! Just like that we got an ABA code 4 rarity! I wish I had some dramatic tale, but there was nothing to it. Roadside Hawks are quite common from Mexico to Argentina, and eBird did not flag some as rare within 50 miles of the border, so they seem pretty close despite having so few records.

Roadside Hawk

 The crowd caught up to us after about 20 minutes, and by that point another little flock came through. Wilson’s Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and others moved through, but then I saw a becard. It was a female Rose-throated Becard! Another frustrating bird down! Rose-throated Becards are regular, but erratic visitors to the Rio Grande Valley. I would say there is usually one in the area at any given time, but they can be elusive and irregular. There were a few of them being seen throughout the valley and I was more worried about getting it the next day, so this came as a welcome surprise. We also were able to pick out a young male Western Tanager with a hint of red on the face. After crossing the empty resaca we came across a Dusky-capped Flycatcher. Both the tanager and flycatcher were not lifers, but the flycatcher was new for Texas for me. Young birds tend to wander, and the Western Tanager was not even on my radar so it was fun to stumble upon.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

The Gray-collared Becard still eluded us, but we had already spent too much time looking for it. We had to move to our next mega-rarity. It was about noon at this point and we took a pit stop at El Ultimo Taco, which was delicious. Bobby miraculously was getting work done and was able to be on the phone while staking out our morning birds.

El Ultimo Taco

Fan-tailed Warbler had been seen at UTRGV’s resaca, a stone’s throw from the border. We turned off the highway at the last exit and could actually see the international crossing and parked along Rio Grande.

Fan-tailed Warblers are incredibly rare to the United States and most records come from SE Arizona where the mountains get much closer to the border. There is one previous Texas record from Big Bend. I know next to nothing about bird biology/distribution, but Fan-taileds are pretty common about 200 miles south of the border at El Cielo, and just looking at maps on eBird I would think they could go as far north as the mountains in the Monterrey area, which would be the same mountain range as El Cielo. That area is so underbirded that it wouldn’t shock me, but records are sparse. But the had been one here since November and we couldn’t pass this up.

We arrived around 1:15, within the window that it was being seen. 2:00 was a pretty reliable time at the “Styro Spot,” a block of styrofoam somewhere in the Resaca. All the coordinates I had were not leading us to the Styro Spot, and after joining up with a few birders we still couldn’t find it. Worse, I got a text that the Fan-tailed Warbler was being seen at this spot! It was maddening. Finally, after 45 minutes of searching we finally found it…

Roadside Hawk

Only to have the worst birding heartbreak of my life. We frantically arrived at the spot, in a dense thicket, where a tour group was snapping pictures. The guide told us to go to the other side of the tree, 10 yards away to get a better view. We rushed over, only to hear the group say it flew off, past the spot we were just in. We heard it calling, and then silence. It was within a few feet of us and we missed it by mere seconds. Surely it would show up, right? This was an epic bird to get even in its normal range. It was time to dig in.

We waited. And then waited some more. Bobby whipped out his laptop and got a lot of work done while we sat there and just blankly stared at a block of styrofoam. At this point it was too late in the day to look for Hermit Warbler at Buena Vista Cemetery, which, while a lifer, was not a bird I would have trouble finding in the States in the future. We also planned to look for Cassin’s Sparrows at Palo Alto Battlefield, but it was too late for that to. We had to choose between waiting it out for the warbler or going back to try the becard. Bobby said “it doesn’t matter what we choose, the rare bird will show up at the place we aren’t at.” Those words would be turn out to be prophetic. We decided to wait for the warbler.

Long-billed Thrasher

4:00 passed, then 4:30. 4:50 was the latest it had been seen, and I didn’t want to bore Bobby. We decided to leave at 5. At 5:02 we began our walk to the car. It was pretty frustrating to miss out on the 2 biggest finds for the day, but we still got the Roadside Hawk and 2 near-nemesis birds. But the warbler was literally in front of us and we still missed it. It was a bitter defeat served up by the birding gods. Bobby FaceTimed his wife, Lauren at 5:25 and recounted the day as we approaching the light to turn on to the highway.

Then I got a text. “Fan-tailed Warbler, 5:15, Styro Spot. Still here.” I could only show Bobby the text. His eyes widened and he yelled “WE HAVE TO TURN AROUND!” Lauren didn’t need to see the text to know what it said, and was yelling “GO GO GO” as she hung up. I whipped a u-turn and we floored it to the Styro Spot, spilling out of the car without even taking binoculars or the camera out of its case.

We made it just in time. In the fading light, hopping around, was a stunning Fan-tailed Warbler. It hopped around for less than a minute before disappearing, but that was all we needed to enjoy it. What turned into the worst birding heartbreak ended up being one of the best birding stories I have. Talk about a rush! We were a stoplight away from getting on the highway and missing it completely.

Best Fan-tailed Warbler pic that I could get

There was no time to rest, we still had more birds to see. Tuesday was the big kahuna. I was able to arrange a trip to Santa Margarita Ranch, a formerly inaccessible ranch on the Rio Grande in Starr County, just upriver from Salineno. Some guides were given access and rarities started pouring in. Mottled Owl, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, and Brown Jay were all being seen reliably, as were range-restricted birds like Morelet’s Seedeater, Red-billed Pigeon, Hook-billed Kite, and Muscovy Duck. Rose-throated Becard was also being seen as well. Unfortunately, the owl could only be seen on night tours, and there was no availability for those.

We woke up at 4:30 and were off for the 1:45 ish drive to Santa Margarita. I had high hopes that I would get to hit 100 birds in Starr County. My camera had been charging all night but was struggling to get juice. Hopefully it would hold up, as we had some fantastic birds to see.

Showing up was wild. We drove down dirt roads and then parked along the infamous border wall at the ranch. To access the bluff that the tiger-heron was being seen from we had to walk through it and down to the river. Looking for the tiger-heron was the first order of business, and we blocked off 3 hours to scan for it.

Bobby at the border wall

It took less than 5 minutes to see it flying back and forth across the river before disappearing. This was a big win. They can be very hard to see, as they are quite secretive birds and blend in very well with their surroundings. It wasn’t a very good view, but I knew going into it that this may be the best view possible so I was happy to just get that.

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Bare-throated Tiger-Herons are extremely rare in the United States. This is the 3^rd US record, all of which have occurred in Texas, the other two being at Bensten and then another that was seen in Uvalde 60 miles from the border. Not much is known about their range in Northern Mexico, and they could be much closer to the border than we think. Waders are quite prone to wandering in times of drought.

I tried to take a picture, but my camera died. I charged it all night, but looking back it was on an extension cord so maybe it didn’t get enough juice. I thought I was going to let my loyal readers down. I wouldn’t have gotten great pictures anyways at this distance.

Trading a dead camera for great birds was a worthwhile trade. There were tons of ducks including Mexican and Mottled, Canvasback, and Bufflehead, as well as two Limpkins. It felt like every few minutes some kind of new bird was turning up. Ringed and Green Kingfishers flew up and down the river while we awaited some of our other targets. Gray Hawks and Ospreys lined the riverbanks. There was tons to see.

Limpkin from the phone camera

I kept an eye on the reeds below me, as it looked like perfect seedeater habitat. After about an hour of looking off and on we finally got on some Morelet’s Seedeaters! The Rio Grande is as far north as they get, and you can typically get them pretty easily in Laredo, Del Rio, and Salineno. I think they were a little more widespread across the valley but have been hit hard by habitat loss over the decades.

A single flying bird caught all of our attention, it was finally a Red-billed Pigeon! I know, I know. “It’s just a pigeon.” While quite common in Central America, Salineno and Laredo are the only two places in the country where they can be found, and I was finally down here at the right time to get them. I held out hope from both Muscovy Duck and Hook-billed Kite, but they supposedly fair better in wetter years and therefore were less likely this year. Muscovy Duck is already a super secretive bird in the wild that requires luck to see and Hook-billed Kites can be pretty erratic as well.

The bluff at Santa Margarita Ranch

Overall the bluff was as successful as we could reasonably expect. Getting the Tiger-heron was a weight off of our shoulders, and it was now time to get the Brown Jay. Due to a drive to the new spot, I was able to get some critical juice for my camera.

Brown Jays are common just across the river, but are currently extremely rare in Texas. In the past they have been found in Salineno, but it has been about 11 years since they have been seen. When I first started birding I heard about how you can reliably them in the area, but since you had to be incredibly lucky to find one. But now we actually had a chance.

Brown Jay

It was about a mile down to where they were being seen and it was starting to get hot. Like any bird walk, it was really hard to even get to the spot for the jays. We heard a Rose-throated Becard calling as we neared the spot, and while the guide set up oranges and marshmallows we followed it down the trail. It was a stunning male and the rose throat was on display.

The original plan was to walk down to the river to give the jays time to move in to feed. I heard a commotion in front of me as I continued to unsuccessfully try to get a picture of the becard. It turns out we didn’t have to wait long and the Brown Jays were already moving in.

A large bird was moving through the trees and it looked like a chachalaca. My jaw hit the ground when I realized it was actually a Brown Jay. This is a great example of why I love birding. Outside of rarity, Brown Jays look a lot plainer than other jays and may not be as exciting. Guess again. Their size makes them captivating to watch. It was my personal bird of the trip.

Now it was time to head down to the river through some amazing riparian habitat. We saw many of the same birds, but got fantastic looks at Brown-crested Flycatcher. The habitat was incredible, and it really felt like anything was bound to turn up. There are few things better than looking at sick birds in even better habitat.

Brown-crested Flycatcher

We walked out onto an island to hope to see the tiger-heron. It was a long shot, as they blend in amazingly well and tend to retreat into cover if they catch food. Within a minute or so someone found it hiding in the reeds! We had unbelievable luck today! After a few shots and some pretty close views, it did what it does and went back to hide.

We could barely find it from 50 yards! They have great camouflage

Tired, hot, and hungry, we made the long drive back to Alamo. We made a desperate attempt to get Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Frontera, but we had no luck. After some all you can eat tacos at Nana’s, we hit the sack early for one final day of going all out.

I originally hoped to look for Crimson-collared Grosbeak again and then finish the morning out at Estero Llano Grande State Park, which is my favorite birding spot in the RGV. But the Gray-collared Becard was being found again in the mornings. Going back to Resaca de la Palma would open up Palo Alto Battlefield and then we could wrap up at Hugh Ramsey Park to look for Golden-crowned Warbler before heading back north. Not a bad lil plan!

Greater Roadrunner

Ultimately the decision came down to Crimson-collared Grosbeak (one of my yearned for Texas birds) or Gray-collared Becard. While really pretty, Crimson-collared Grosbeaks are starting to become annual in the RGV. I remember seeing somewhere (can’t find it so maybe I’m mistaken) that they were altitudinal migrants, which would make sense given that they are becoming almost annual in the RGV now. The becard may not be back ever.

It ended up being the same story as before with the becard. It was a lot of waiting around and it never showed. It showed up on the days before and after we were there, but not on the days we were there </3. Bobby had to leave to deal with some thankfully easily fixed car issues and I went to Palo Alto.

Eastern Meadowlark

Palo Alto was the opening battle of Mexican War in 1846. Famous generals like Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, a host of other famous American figures were present on the battlefield. We love a good piece of history, especially one that has birds! This is a great spot to get Cassin’s Sparrow, but there was also a rare Brewer’s Sparrow hanging around.

I didn’t have my hopes up as I approached what had been the American lines. It was really windy, but a small patch of sparrows showed up. I couldn’t identify them because I’m garbage at sparrows and didn’t have a field guide, so I at least got some pics. The Savannah Sparrows were easy to identify, but I did end up getting pictures of both Brewer’s and Cassin’s Sparrows after looking through the field guide and getting some outside ID help! Americans just get those dubs at Palo Alto.

Cassin's Sparrow

It was time for the final stop: Hugh Ramsey in Harlingen. Golden-crowned Warbler is another common Latin American bird that is becoming increasingly common in the winter, but it is still quite rare and not a regularly found bird. They are very common in Latin America and I have seen them in Panama, but they are a review species in Texas.

I arrived to a very hot afternoon. Not much was moving around. But Bobby was heading back and I was on a mission. There were some chachalacas running around, but not much else. Green Kingfisher flew by at the pond it was being seen at. Fave American kingfisher right there!

The warbler was seen in a flock with Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Other birders were creeping around the area and I was scanning every kinglet I saw. No Golden-crowed, but there was a Wilson’s! People started hissing at me and I knew it was showtime! I ran about 10 yards up ahead, and I could hear calling in the dense foliage. Come on, come on… then it briefly flew into view! No doubt, that was it! I stayed on it for 15 minutes as Bobby came rumbling down the trail, having just arrived. We lost it a few times but both got great looks at it! Hell of a way to end the trip. It was time for some celebratory Tex-Mex at Las Vegas Café!

Only photo I could get of Golden-crowned Warbler

It was a long from to Austin where I stayed with friends of the blog Gordon and Sean. I aimed to do some Austin birding and look for Limpkin in an effort to boost my Travis County list, but the AT&T outage forced a change of plans, and I went to KG BBQ (my most wanted new BBQ spot) with other friend of the blog Alex instead! After some delicious lamb bacon ribs and the best tea I’ve ever had, it was time to hit the road.

Hype = exceeded

This trip was really important for me. Hanging around with Bobby made me stop and appreciate Texas and American birding again. I’ve been on an international kick recently, but it was really fun to focus more on county, state, and American listing again. I got to discover more parts of Texas and try new foods. The logistics were easy, the birding was fun, the company was fantastic, and I’m back to looking at holiday weekend flights to target more ABA lifers!

Stunning birds and stunning scenery