Note: For additional information on previous February MBWeeks in South Texas (there have been more than 25 since 1988), contact eckertkr@gmail.com.

SOUTH TEXAS MBW SUMMARY  ~  DECEMBER 26, 2011 - JANUARY 1, 2012

Also see the PHOTO GALLERIES from this and previous South Texas MBWeeks

following the summaries

It got a little spooky after awhile. After all, rarities shouldn't be that easy to find, but bird after bird would appear just as we simply drove or walked up to the site – and there they were! It may have taken awhile to find access to Old Port Isabel Rd, but this pair of Aplomado Falcons was sitting on the first yucca we came to. Typically erratic and often elusive, Red-crowned Parrots were already staging and waiting for us in Harlingen as we drove up. As we walked up to the rare Rose-throated Becard's area at Estero Llano Grande, it was one of the first birds we looked at. There was only one known Brown Jay coming intermittently to its favored feeder in Salineño, but we saw it before getting out of the cars. A Tropical Parula sat on the first orange we came to at Quinta Mazatlan's feeding station. Best of all, one of our cars pulled into the last parking spot at Frontera Audubon and stopped within a few feet of a foraging Golden-crowned Warbler.    

Our luck also seemed to involve the weather. The days just before our MBW started were unpleasantly cool and rainy, but it warmed up nicely by Day 2 of the trip, and there was no rain until we were almost done birding on January 1. Especially nice was the relative lack of windy conditions during the entire time.

In all, a surprising 211 species were found, more than most of the South Texas MBWs manage – and note that those February trips are eight days long, two more than this one. Among all those birds, the rarest ones included Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Brown Creeper, and Townsend's Solitaire – all seen for the first time ever on this MBW, which now has a composite total of 322 species. Other significant records included Aplomado Falcon (2nd "countable" record on this MBW), King Rail (2nd record), Whimbrel (3rd record), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (4th record), Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (2nd record), Yellow Warbler (4th record), Spotted Towhee (2nd record), Nelson's Sparrow (4th record), and Black-vented Oriole (2nd record).

Obviously, there had to be lots of other highlights to reach such a lofty total. In addition to those mentioned above, some of my favorites were: the unexpected family of Whooping Cranes along busy Highway 35, the side-by-side looks at the three small plovers at Sunset Lake, the Gull-billed Tern and Greater Roadrunner which highlighted our lunches at Dick Kleberg Park and Falcon State Park, the sleeping Common Pauraque at Estero Llano Grande, the pair of N Beardless-Tyrranulets having a prolonged argument at Bentsen, our only Couch's Kingbirds by that Scissor-tailed near Rockport, our total of 13 warbler species thanks to that flock on the last morning at Estero Llano Grande, and the Crimson-collared Grosbeak which finally teed up for us at Frontera on that same day.         

Thanks to all of you for making this brief winter escape from Minnesota possible – and for your generous gratuities. My thanks as well to the Loren and Bill for driving, and to Pam for providing some of the photos in the gallery which follows this summary. If any of the rest of you have images you'd like to share, please send them or provide us with a link where they can be viewed.  -Kim

Itinerary

December 26 – Early afternoon option to Tule Lake and Hazel Bazemore Co Park before all arrive at CRP by 3:45 pm, and drive to Rockport/Fulton via Indian Point Park; dinner at Charlotte Plummer's and first of 2 nights at Best Western Inn-by-the-Bay.

December 27 – Morning boat trip for Whooping Cranes et al aboard the M V Skimmer with Capt Tommy Moore; afternoon along Rockport's Water St, Conn Harbor Marina, Business Hwy 35, Aransas Pass/Hwy 361, and Paradise Pond & Birding Center & Gulf of Mexico gannet scan in Port Aransas; dinner at Crab N.

December 28 – Hwy 35 North (for grackles), Cape Valero, Port Bay Club Rd, Sunset Lake, lunch at Dick Kleberg Park in Kingsville, Mountain Plover-less & Sprague's Pipit fields E of Sebastian, and 7th St parrot roost in Harlingen; drive to Weslaco's Fairfield Inn for first of 4 nights and dinner at Blue Onion.

December 29 – Bentsen State Park, National Butterfly Center, Anzalduas Co Park, Quinta Mazatlan, and 10th & Violet parakeet roost in McAllen; dinner at La Casa del Taco / Republic of Texas. 

December 30 – Whataburger cowbird roost, Estero Llano Grande State Park, Frontera Audubon Thicket, Old Port Isabel Rd (eventually!), Bahia Grande inlet on Hwy 48, and Isla Blanca Park on S Padre Island; dinner at Longhorn Cattle Company.

December 31 – Salineño and Falcon State Park & vicinity; New Year's Eve dinner at Olive Garden (about the only place open).

January 1 – Return to Estero Llano Grande and Frontera Audubon before return flights home from MFE for some and return drives for others to SAT and AUS.

Bird List (211 species; boldface = South Texas specialties – those mostly absent/rare/very local elsewhere in the U.S.)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Greater White-fronted Goose

Snow Goose

Wood Duck

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard ("Mexican Ducks" at Salineño)

Mottled Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Plain Chachalaca

Scaled Quail (seen by some at Falcon State Park)

Common Loon

Least Grebe (best at Estero Llano Grande)

Pied-billed Grebe

Eared Grebe

Neotropic Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Anhinga

American White Pelican

Brown Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Reddish Egret

Cattle Egret (only one fly-by flock?)

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Bahia Grande inlet on Hwy 48)

White Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill (several seen in perfect light)

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

White-tailed Kite

Northern Harrier

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Harris's Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Gray Hawk (heard well and seen briefly at Bentsen)

White-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Crested Caracara

American Kestrel

Merlin

Aplomado Falcon (the road was hard to find....the birds weren't)

Peregrine Falcon

Clapper Rail (Indian Point)

King Rail (unexpectedly responsive at Port Aransas Birding Center)

Sora

Common Gallinule

American Coot

Sandhill Crane

Whooping Crane (incl a family group of 4 along Hwy 35)

Black-bellied Plover

Snowy Plover (Sunset Lake Park)

Semipalmated Plover (ditto)

Piping Plover (ditto)

Killdeer

American Oystercatcher

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Willet

Lesser Yellowlegs

Whimbrel (normally in S America in winter)

Long-billed Curlew

Marbled Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling

Western Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Dunlin

Stilt Sandpiper

Short-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Dowitcher

Wilson's Snipe

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Gull-billed Tern (best at Dick Kleberg Park)

Caspian Tern

Forster's Tern

Royal Tern

Black Skimmer

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Inca Dove

Common Ground-Dove

White-tipped Dove

Green Parakeet (still reliable at 10th & Violet in McAllen)

Red-crowned Parrot (unexpectedly easy in Harlingen)

Greater Roadrunner (incl a "cheesehead" still at Falcon State Park)

Barn Owl (brief fly-over at Estero)

Eastern Screech-Owl (two roosting mccallii individuals)

Great Horned Owl

Common Pauraque (sleeping by day at Estero)

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Estero)

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (ditto)

Ringed Kingfisher (why so few?)

Belted Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Northern Flicker (not present most winters)

Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (a scolding pair at Bentsen)

Black Phoebe (Anzalduas & Roma)

Eastern Phoebe

Say's Phoebe (unexpected in the Mountain Plover-less area)

Vermilion Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

Tropical Kingbird (best at Estero)

Couch's Kingbird (only near Rockport; why so few?)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (late migrant near Rockport)

Rose-throated Becard (eluded many others at Estero, but not us)

Loggerhead Shrike

White-eyed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Green Jay

Brown Jay (the first one since 2007)

Horned Lark

Tree Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Cave Swallow (cruising overhead at Estero as rain moved in)

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Brown Creeper

Cactus Wren

Carolina Wren

Bewick's Wren

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Eastern Bluebird

Townsend's Solitaire (Paradise Pond stake-out; quite rare in eastern Texas)

Hermit Thrush

Clay-colored Thrush (best views at Bentsen)

American Robin

Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird

Long-billed Thrasher

Curve-billed Thrasher

European Starling

American Pipit

Sprague's Pipit (a nice consolation prize in the Mountain Plover-less area)

Cedar Waxwing

Orange-crowned Warbler

Tropical Parula (unexpectedly easy at Quinta Mazatlan)

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

Pine Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Ovenbird

Common Yellowthroat

Wilson's Warbler

Golden-crowned Warbler (foraging in Loren's parking spot)

Olive Sparrow

Green-tailed Towhee (briefly at Falcon State Park)

Spotted Towhee (ditto)

Cassin's Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Lark Sparrow (eventually eaten by Aplomados?)

Black-throated Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Nelson's Sparrow (also on Port Bay Club Rd last winter)

Lincoln's Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Summer Tanager (Estero)

Crimson-collared Grosbeak (seen twice at Frontera Audubon; not present most years)

Northern Cardinal

Pyrrhuloxia

Red-winged Blackbird

Eastern Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird (not seen most winters)

Brewer's Blackbird

Boat-tailed Grackle (again along Hwy 35 north of Fulton)

Great-tailed Grackle

Bronzed Cowbird (roosting again by the Weslaco Whataburger)

Brown-headed Cowbird

Black-vented Oriole (also at Bentsen last winter)

Hooded Oriole (Salineño's feeders)

Altamira Oriole

Audubon's Oriole (as usual, best at Salineño; also briefly at Estero)

Lesser Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS:

Atlantic Bottle-nosed Dolphin

Hispid Cotton Rat (Estero)

Nutria (Port Aransas)

Armadillo (Falcon State Park)

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Javelina (incl a baby at Falcon State Park....aw!)

White-tailed Deer

Red-eared Slider

Indigo Snake (Old Port Isabel Rd!)

PHOTO GALLERY

White-tailed Hawk

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

____________________________________________________

SOUTH TEXAS MBW SUMMARY  ~  FEBRUARY 19 - 27, 2011

It wasn't until after we were back in Minnesota that I realized this was our 25th February MBWeek in South Texas – and this milestone trip was certainly marked by some memorable highlights. Of course, our record total of 223 species was our most significant accomplishment, with that Yellow-faced Grassquit (only the third or fourth Texas record) and Black-vented Oriole (apparently a fifth state record) the most outstanding rarities we managed to relocate and to record as lifers for us all.

But almost as amazing is we managed to add no fewer than 11 new birds to this MBW's composite list, which now stands at a lofty 319 species. (After so many years, it's more typical for one of these MBWs to add just one or two species to the all-time list.) The new additions were: Aplomado Falcon (on 2 previous MBWs, but considered "countable" for the first time, and my best view ever!), Little Gull, Black and Sandwich terns, Anna's Hummingbird, Hammond's and Gray flycatchers, Cliff Swallow, Northern Waterthrush, plus the grassquit and oriole.

There were several other highlights as well, and everyone will remember their own favorites, but most notable in my mind were: that immodest pair of copulating Clapper Rails at South Padre; the relatively easy-to-find flock of Red-crowned Parrots we tracked down in Weslaco; an obliging tyrannulet which waited around at Bentsen for all to see; Black-tailed Gnatcatchers again on the good ol' reliable gnatcatcher road; the White-throated Thrush which finally rewarded our persistence at Estero Llano Grande; our discovery of White-collared Seedeaters in San Ygnacio (after virtually none had been reported all winter, and #600 on Bob's life list!); the surprising Nelson's Sparrow on Old Port Bay Club Road; my best view ever of a Crimson-collared Grosbeak in Alan Williams' yard; and our successful vigil for the female Blue Bunting at Bentsen.

And who can forget the weather, as the MBWeek ended with 4 consecutive days at 90-plus degrees. The humid, breeze-less 96 at McAllen broke a record when we were there Feb 24, and on the afternoon we left Laredo on the 27th it topped out at another record high – 103 degrees! To put all this in perspective, this was a full 100 degrees warmer than in Sierra Vista when the MBW group was there a couple weeks earlier. Or, if you prefer, think of 103 as a full 118 degrees warmer than Duluth's low of minus 15 the day before.

Congratulations to Brian, who had well over 60 life birds on the trip (or was it 70?), and to Jeff, who may have failed to turn up a Song Sparrow but still added about 10 or so to his Texas list. It was also nice that Paul Davis, along with Betty Rae, joined us for part of the time as he added the grassquit and oriole to his list.  

ITINERARY

February 19 – All arrive (incl Paul Davis) in San Antonio by around noon for the afternoon drive to Goose Island State Park and our first (and unsuccessful) try for a Yellow-faced Grassquit; dinner at Los Comales and first of 2 nights at the Best Western in Fulton/Rockport.

February 20 – Morning boat trip aboard the M V Skimmer with Capt Tommy Moore for Whooping Cranes et al. at Aransas NWR; successful afternoon return to Goose Island for the grassquit (and lunch), then the crane family near the Big Tree, grackles along Hwy 35 farther north, and a "flip- around" to Indian Point & Sunset Lake parks in Portland; dinner at Crab 'N.    

February 21 – Morning at Cape Valero & Old Port Bay Club, then Port Aransas/Mustang Island (incl the beach by the jetty, Paradise Pond, and Port Aransas Birding Center) and lunch at Packery Channel; afternoon drive to the Rio Grande "Valley" via Rosehill Cemetery in Corpus, the Sarita wayside on Hwy 77, and a brief, unsuccessful plover search on Mesquite Co Rd; dinner at Lone Star Restaurant and first of 4 nights at the Fairfield Inn in Weslaco.

February 22 – Morning at Bentsen State Park (incl a Black-vented Oriole), lunch at Luby's, a Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Alan Williams' yard in Pharr, first of 3 visits to Estero Llano Grande, and a Red-crowned Parrot flock at dusk in Weslaco at 4th & Mills; dinner at Blue Onion.

February 23 – Ranch Viejo, Sabal Palm Grove (incl lunch), Boca Chica Rd, Bahia Grande inlet on Hwy 48, South Padre Island boardwalk, Laguna Atascosa NWR, and an Aplomado Falcon en route to dinner at Longhorn Cattle Company.

February 24 – Return to Estero Llano Grande, Progreso Lakes, Santa Ana NWR (incl lunch), a 96-degree Blue Bunting vigil (unsuccessfully) at Bentsen, and cowbirds at the Whataburger/HEB roost en route to dinner at Blue Onion.

February 25 – Successful return to Estero Llano Grande (for White-throated Thrush) and to Bentsen (for Blue Bunting), late lunch/early dinner at Caro's Restaurant, Salineño, and brief visit to Las Palmas en route to first of 2 nights at Best Western in Zapata.

February 26 – Chapeño, Falcon County Park, return to Salineño, Falcon State Park (incl lunch), return to Las Palmas, and the gnatcatcher spot on Old Hwy 83; dinner at Steak House Restaurant.

February 27 – Morning at San Ygnacio (for White-collared Seedeaters!) and Laredo (along Zacate Creek & briefly at the Community College), lunch at Luby's, and return drive from Laredo (before it hit 103) to San Antonio for flights home. 

BIRD LIST = 223 species (!) + 1 exotic + 1 leader-only

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck (seen by all at Estero Llano Grande – except, of course, by Leslie who apparently never entered the park?)

Snow Goose

Ross's Goose

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard ("Mexican Duck" types at Chapeño)

Mottled Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Greater Scaup (Goose Island; 5th record on this S Texas MBW)

Lesser Scaup

Long-tailed Duck (from the Skimmer; 3rd MBW record)

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Plain Chachalaca

Northern Bobwhite

Common Loon

Least Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

Eared Grebe

Northern Gannet (best views at Boca Chica)

Neotropic Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Anhinga

American White Pelican

Brown Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Reddish Egret

Cattle Egret

Green Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Bahia Grande)

White Ibis

White-faced Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

White-tailed Kite

Northern Harrier

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Harris's Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Gray Hawk (only seen/heard at Bentsen?)

White-tailed Hawk (best looks along Boca Chica Rd)

Red-tailed Hawk

Crested Caracara

American Kestrel

Aplomado Falcon (near Laguna Atascosa; 1st "countable" MBW record)

Peregrine Falcon

Clapper Rail (I thought rails were secretive!)

Sora

Common Moorhen

American Coot

Sandhill Crane (impressive estimate of 600 near Sabal Palm)

Whooping Crane (incl a family group near that Big Ol' Tree)

Black-bellied Plover

Snowy Plover (Sunset Lake Park)

Semipalmated Plover

Piping Plover (ditto)

Killdeer

American Oystercatcher (from the Skimmer; probably my best looks ever)

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

Spotted Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Willet

Lesser Yellowlegs

Long-billed Curlew

Marbled Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling

Western Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Dunlin

Stilt Sandpiper

Short-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Dowitcher

Wilson's Snipe

Bonaparte's Gull

Little Gull (quite rare in Texas; 1st MBW record)

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Gull-billed Tern (best at Boca Chica Rd)

Caspian Tern

Black Tern (early migrants at Cape Valero; 1st MBW record)

Forster's Tern

Royal Tern

Sandwich Tern (also early, at Port Aransas; 1st MBW record)

Black Skimmer

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Inca Dove

Common Ground-Dove

White-tipped Dove

Green Parakeet (Rancho Viejo fly-bys)

Red-crowned Parrot (unexpectedly easy in Weslaco)

(Lilac-crowned Parrot – non-countable exotics within the Red-crowned flock)

Greater Roadrunner

Eastern Screech-Owl (best in Alan Williams' yard)

Great Horned Owl

Common Pauraque (total of 4 by day at Estero Llano Grande)

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Archilochus, sp. (Santa Ana)

Anna's Hummingbird (also at Santa Ana; 1st MBW record)

Ringed Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher (only seen by a few at Llano Grande)

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (Bentsen; a challenge to find without visiting Anzalduas)

Hammond's Flycatcher (Rosehill Cemetery in Corpus; 1st MBW record)

Gray Flycatcher (Bentsen; 1st MBW record)

Black Phoebe (San Ygnacio & Laredo)

Eastern Phoebe

Say's Phoebe (along the Salineño short-cut)

Vermilion Flycatcher

Myiarchus, sp. (a probable Ash-throated seen by Jeff in Laredo; 5th MBW record)

Great Kiskadee

Tropical Kingbird (best at Rancho Viejo)

Couch's Kingbird

Loggerhead Shrike

White-eyed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Green Jay

Chihuahuan Raven

Horned Lark

Purple Martin

Tree Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Cliff Swallow (species #223 en route to San Antonio; 1st MBW record)

Cave Swallow

Barn Swallow

Black-crested Titmouse

Verdin

Cactus Wren

Carolina Wren

Bewick's Wren

House Wren

(Winter Wren – leader-only, heard-only at Bentsen)

Sedge Wren

Marsh Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (again at the "Usual Spot")

Golden-crowned Kinglet (Bentsen; not seen most years)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Hermit Thrush

Clay-colored Thrush (best views at Bentsen)

White-throated Thrush (finally at Estero Llano Grande; 3rd MBW record)

Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird

Long-billed Thrasher

Curve-billed Thrasher

European Starling

American Pipit

Sprague's Pipit (a consolation prize for a few on the plover-less road; tough to find without Anzalduas)

Orange-crowned Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler (incl Audubon's types)

Yellow-throated Warbler (best at Rancho Viejo)

Pine Warbler (especially at Rosehill Cemetery)

Black-and-white Warbler

Ovenbird

Northern Waterthrush (Sabal Palm Grove; 1st MBW record)

Common Yellowthroat

Wilson's Warbler

White-collared Seedeater (!!)

Yellow-faced Grassquit (obviously a 1st MBW record)

Olive Sparrow

Cassin's Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Clay-colored Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Lark Sparrow (allegedly at Falcon County Park)

Black-throated Sparrow

Lark Bunting (also at Falcon County Park)

Savannah Sparrow

Nelson's Sparrow (nice views on Old Port Bay Club Rd; 3rd MBW record)

Seaside Sparrow (good scope views from the Skimmer)

Lincoln's Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Crimson-collared Grosbeak (unexpectedly easy at Alan Williams'; 5th MBW record)

Northern Cardinal

Pyrrhuloxia

Black-headed Grosbeak (Bentsen; 3rd MBW record)

Blue Bunting (at Bentsen – finally)

Indigo Bunting

Red-winged Blackbird

Eastern Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird (near Sabal Palm Grove)

Brewer's Blackbird

Boat-tailed Grackle (again along Hwy 35 north of Fulton)

Great-tailed Grackle

Bronzed Cowbird (roosting by the Weslaco Whataburger)

Brown-headed Cowbird

Black-vented Oriole (another obvious 1st MBW record)

Hooded Oriole (Salineño's feeders)

Altamira Oriole

Audubon's Oriole (as usual, best at Salineño)

House Finch

Lesser Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

FEBRUARY 2011 PHOTO GALLERY

Aplomado Falcon

American Oystercatcher

Little Gull

Common Pauraque

Ringed Kingfisher

Green Jay

White-collared Seedeater

Yellow-faced Grassquit

Olive Sparrow

Crimson-collared Grosbeak

Black-vented Oriole

Altamira Oriole

*          *          *

PRE-2011 SOUTH TEXAS PHOTO GALLERY

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Least Grebe

Hook-billed Kite

Harris's Hawk

Greater Roadrunner

Groove-billed Ani

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Black-crested Titmouse (Vija Kelly photo)

Clay-colored Thrush

Long-billed Thrasher (Vija Kelly photo)

Blue Bunting (Vija Kelly photo)