RGVBF - the pre-game show

As I mentioned in my last post, Pamela and I have come down to Harlingen, TX to the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. The festival kicks off today, Wednesday November 11th with an evening reception at the Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum, where we'll get to meet other participants, leaders, vendors, and other festival folk, then tomorrow the festival starts in earnest with the first field trips heading out at 5am.

Pamela and I have been to the Rio Grande Valley before, and have enjoyed it so much that we came into town this past Saturday to bird some of our favorite spots on our own (and to check out some of the sightings that had already hit the birding listserv.) We arrived Saturday afternoon about 1pm local time and after quickly checking into our room at the La Quinta in Harlingen, headed straight back out to Santa Ana NWR, where a pair of Masked Ducks had been spotted a few days earlier at the Cattail Lakes. We checked in and headed to the familiar lakes on the refuge and spotted plenty of ducks, as well as some waders, but not the Masked Ducks. There were plenty of dragonflies and butterflies to keep us busy as well.

After scanning the lakes, and following dragonflies and butterflies for photos, we did a quick stop at a spot that looked perfect for Paraque, and after a few moments scanning, one flushed and did a few circuits of it's area and put back down again a little further back. As we headed back off the refuge, I glanced at the refuge map as we were going, and something went off in the back of my head, but couldn't quite make the connection at that point - then as we were driving away in search of some Texas barbecue for our first night's meal, it hit me. The 'familiar' lakes that we checked out were the Pinttail Lakes - not the Cattail Lakes where the Masked Ducks had been seen. Well, that was just another reason we arrived early -I planned on coming back! We found a local barbecue joint that served exactly what we were looking for and headed back to our room to settle in. We also gave Marci, the festival chair a call - since we were in town early, she invited us to her lovely home where we met her, her husband Terry, and Jeff and Liz Gordon - and spent the evening chatting and making new friends. As cheesy as it sounds, I think that one of the wonderful things about this festival will be meeting new friends. Marci, Terry, Jeff , and Liz were all wonderful and I'm looking forward to spending time with them again, as well as meeting several folks in person that I've met and known 'online' for some time.
Sunday morning, we headed out to another favorite birding spot - lovingly known as "Bentsen" by most birders. (But not before our morning ritualistic stop at Shipley's Do-nuts for coffee and a donut.) Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park used to be a camping location for Texas 'snowbirds' - folks that headed down from more northern climes in the winter to escape the cold and snow, and enjoy the balmy Texas winter - and birds. You see, over many years, those folks put up feeders - lots of them, and they attracted lots and lots of birds. For years, birders have flocked here to see valley specialities as well as the many rarities that have shown up. Well, the campground has moved a little north to a more spacious area, but the park has been kept open to birders, and feeders are everywhere and filled daily in order to keep the bird coming back. It is now the flagship location of the World Birding Center. They've got a number of other locations as well, and we'd visit several on this trip. I have to admit, there seemed to be a lot fewer birds here than I remember from my two previous trips. Sure, there were plenty Plain Chachalacas:
And Green Jays:(Sorry I love these guys and took lots of photos of them)

But we only noted a couple of Altimira Orioles - and I couldn't manage a single photo of one.
A non-avian species that I always enjoy seeing at Bentsen are the Javalinas, and not only did we see them (also often found at the feeders) this time we were treated to a mother with a pair of young (kids? calves? javalinets?)We then headed back to Santa Ana, to try again for the Masked Ducks. This time, we made the much longer trek out to the Cattail Lakes, and were able to "tick" off a single female. There had been three females seen less than an hour before, and to my knowledge, nobody had seen the male that day (which I had hoped for, but alas it was not to be). We then continued on to Estero Llano Grande State Park - another World Birding Center location, where we had nice looks at another valley specialty - Buff-bellied Hummingbirds, as well as spotting a life bird for Pamela, Fulvous Whistling Duck. This was our first time at this spot, and it was a pleasant, leisurely birding spot with a nice variety of ducks, waders, and shorebirds, and they've done an excellent job with the visitors center there. Certainly someplace to be sure to visit on a trip to the valley.

On Monday morning, we started out again at Shipley's then headed east to another of our favorite locations - Laguna Atascosa NWR. The big target bird here is the Aplomado Falcon - a species of concern that has had a seemingly successful re-introduction program in this area. There were a few moments where I felt pretty sure that we'd had fleeting glimpses of this mid-sized falcon, but since there are many Kestrel, as well as Merlin and Peregrines around, I felt I could not safely count this one on this trip. (Still waiting of that killer look at a perched bird that isn't a mile or two away) I find this to be a great spot for raptors, with Harris' Hawks and and White-tailed Hawks joining White-tailed Kites, Crested Caracara, and Northern Harriers and the falcons mentioned above all being seen regularly. Being right on the coast, it's also a great place for waders and ducks. We drove the 15 mile loop in intermittent rain that really seemed to keep the bird activity low. Not to say that we didn't see plenty of birds though. At one break, we saw a number of Long-billed Curlews - a beautiful bird with a seemingly impossibly long bill: We then headed off to another World Birding Center location - the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. Again, they have done a wonderful job with the visitor center, and have added some extensions to the famous boardwalk there. It's another fantastic location for ducks, shorebirds, and waders.The day had started to clear up so we decided to try another turn at Laguna Atascosa. It was sunnier when we arrived, but still it was a bit slow, being the hot part of the day. We did have some other fun sightings though - including several Texas Tortoise crossing the road:
And one tarantula:

Wow, this is getting pretty long - I shouldn't try to cover several days of birding in Texas in one post. Too late now - hang on a few moments more and I run through yesterday and wrap this up...
On Tuesday, we took another early morning run at Laguna Atascosa again (I did say it was one of my favorite places) mainly because I REALLY wanted to get a photo of a White-tailed Hawk, but just couldn't get one close enough for a pic. We did see plenty of other birds though like these elegant Scissor-tailed Flycatchers with their beautiful salmon colored axillaries:
And this playful roadrunner near the visitor center:

We then headed to Quinta Mazatlan - yet another World Birding Center location. Spend a little time reading about this location - it really is beautiful and fascinating, and worth the trip to see if you are in the area. They have got a lot of feeder stations around the grounds. Unfortunately we were also there in the hottest part of the day, so it was a bit quiet for us, but we may try again earlier or later in the day before we leave.
We also checked out the Frontera Audubon Center, which was closed (going back today) and then the Valley Nature Center which is a nice oasis of trails in the middle of Weslaco. We saw several Buff-bellied Flycatchers here too:

OK the sun is rising and I need to get out birding again.

Oh, I should mention one last species of wildlife we encountered at some point on our trip so far - chiggers. I am covered in maddeningly itchy little red welts. If you are coming down here - do yourself a favor - be careful where you go AND make sure to do some research on how to prevent getting these little mites on you. Trust me - you won't regret it!