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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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 4th American record of the becard
(1st Texas) and I believe the 12th 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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…
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Bare-throated Tiger-Heron |
Bare-throated Tiger-Herons are extremely rare in the United
States. This is the 3rd 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| Stunning birds and stunning scenery |
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