RGVBF - Day four

Day four of the festival and we're still going strong. Well, it wasn't easy getting out of bed at 4-something every morning, but when you are in 'the valley', with such great birds and guides, well, you just have to do it! Sunday morning's adventure we actually kept things a little closer than in the previous few trips and boarded a bus towards Brownsville. In year's past, when heading to Brownsville, many birders headed to the city landfill for Tamaulipas Crow, though they have not been seen there for years. When I've gone in previous years, my primary destination was the Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary, and unfortunately, due to the @#$%&! wall, it is no longer open to visit. For this trip, we started by birding the resacas at the University of Texas in Brownsville. In no time, we were hearing the vocal differences between Tropical and Couch's Kingbirds, spotting Yellow-throated Warblers among the palms, and seeing a flock of Green Parakeets circling the area.

Photo of some "non-countable" Muscovey Ducks

After birding the campus a bit, we headed to Resaca del Las Palmas State Park (another World Birding Center - and I believe the newest one in the system). I will say it again, I am very very impressed with the job that the WBC is doing with the parks! We were getting into the warm part of the day, so Pam and I decided not to hike as far as much of the group, but still enjoyed our time with Least Grebes, a Texas Green Anole, and what has quickly become my favorite dragonfly, the Roseate Skimmer.
On the bus ride back from Brownsville towards Harlingen, I learned via Twitter that Jeff Bouton and several others had seen a Rose-throated Becard at Estero Llano State Park. (Modern technology really can be a wonderful thing, and this is a perfect example of how it has changed the face of birding.) Unfortunately, even with relatively recent knowledge of the sighting and perfect directions, we still dipped on the becard. :(

That evening, Marci invited Pam and I to stick around while they celebrated and thanked all the wonderful folks who helped to make the festival happen. After a meal and some toasts, those who wished to stick around enjoyed beers and laughs, as well as a bit of karaoke. What a blast!

This is the first time that I've attended a birding festival, and I've said earlier and I'll probably say it again - as great as the trips are (and they are great, thanks to the leaders) I think the best part of the festival is the people you meet, the connections you make, and the friends you make.
(Yeah, yeah, I know - it sounds cheesy, but there you are)

One last post to follow...