Birds on the Wing

Quarantine Chronicles Part 3: Texas, Hook-billed Kite

Because of the coronavirus pandemic my ability to go birding has been hindered so I decided to write about some of my favorite birding adventures in a series called the Quarantine Chronicles. This post is about my first trip primarily for birding, which was in South Texas in December of 2018. South Texas, more specifically the Rio Grande Valley, is one of the best birding areas in North America. It has a unique mixture of Gulf Coast and Central American birds. Many of these birds can’t be found anywhere else in North America. On the first day we spotted one of the rarest birds of our trip, the Hook-billed Kite.

These pictures were taken before I had my Nikon P1000 camera. My Dad took all of the pictures in the post. Thanks Dad for letting me use these! Here are my favorite shots from our first two days in Texas.

Quarantine Chronicles Part 2 here.

12/23/2018

A White-tailed Kite perched in the distance.

Wow! Look at this flock of American White Pelicans circling above our heads.

Our main target of the day, a Hook-billed Kite! Hook-billed Kites are rare in the United States and can only be found at several locations right along the border. They can easily be identified by their broad paddle-like wings.

Harris's Hawk — Harris’s Hawk circling overhead.

Inca Doves feeding on the ground. These small doves have distinctive scaly backs.

Long-billed Thrasher bathing in a small puddle.

Tropical or Couch's Kingbird — A Tropical or Couch’s Kingbird. These two birds are almost identical and only identified confidently by voice.

12/24/2018

On our second day in Texas we spent most of our time birding at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge which had seemingly endless trails. This is the only time I have ever seen 100 species in one day! It is an incredible birding spot. We ended the day at a Green Parakeet roost in the town of McAllen. These are some of the only wild Parakeets in North America.

Great-tailed Grackles perched on a stump in a lake.

A Common Pauraque. These nocturnal birds sleep on the ground during the day and hunt insects at night.

Stay tuned for the rest of our trip, coming soon!

Quarantine Chronicles Part 2: Birding North Carolina

Because of the coronavirus pandemic my ability to go birding has been hindered so I have decided to write about some of my favorite birding adventures in a series called the Quarantine Chronicles. For the second post I will show you some of my favorite pictures from a trip to North Carolina in August, 2018. Although this trip was a beach vacation, not a birding trip, we still managed to see 41 new birds for my life list (lifers). These pictures were taken before I had my Nikon P1000 so they were all shot by my Dad. Thanks Dad for letting me use these! Here are my favorite pictures from birding in North Carolina.

If you missed the first part you can read it here.

August 21

Great Egret
birding North Carolina — Two Great Egrets and some Boat-tailed Grackles.

A Laughing Gull in nonbreeding plumage which was a lifer several days before.

Osprey and Laughing Gull — An Osprey with a fish and some Laughing Gulls hoping to share.

August 22

Our goal today was to find shorebirds on the south end of Topsail Island. It proved to be excellent shorebird habitat.

Willit and Sanderling — A Willit on the left and a Sanderling on the right.

Semipalmated Plover
birding North Carolina — More Semipalmated Plovers on the beach.

Semipalmated Plover and Sanderling — A Sanderling in the foreground with Semipalmated Plovers in the background.

Wilson's Plover — Wilson’s Plover which was a lifer.

A Black-bellied Plover transitioning from breeding plumage to nonbreeding plumage.

Piping Plover, lifer. This threatened species is often banded by researchers. This bird has one band on each leg.

August 23

We spent the early morning birding on the north end of Topsail Island in expansive marshes and mudflats.

A Least Sandpiper. These small shorebirds are easily identified by their yellow-green legs.

Cooper's Hawk — A juvenile Cooper’s Hawk.

Gull and Tern flock
Birding North Carolina — Large flock of gulls and terns roosting on a sandbar. The ones with black backs are Black Skimmers which were lifers.

Gull and Tern flock — Another part of the flock with some shorebirds in the foreground.

A Whimbrel in the background and a juvenile Laughing Gull in the foreground.

August 25

During our final day in North Carolina we birded on the way to the airport. Dad got a little distracted with photographing dragonflies. I included several of the best ones.

Forest in North Carolina — Look at that forest!

swamp — I wonder if there are any alligators in here?

Alligator — Looks like there are! Seen from a raised boardwalk (thankfully).

Great Crested Flycatcher, final lifer of the trip!

What excellent birding in North Carolina!