Quarantine Chronicles Part 4: Texas Birding

Because of the coronavirus pandemic my ability to go birding has been hindered. 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. 

Quarantine Chronicles Part 3 here.

12/25/2019

On our third day in Texas we went to the town of Salineño. The bird feeder at the Salineño Wildlife Preserve provided the best photography opportunities of the trip. Later in the day we birded Falcon Lake State Park.

Rio Grand river.
Early morning fog over the Rio Grand river. This river is the border between Mexico and the United States.
Osprey.
An Osprey perched with a fish.
Salineno Wildlife Preserve.
The entrance to the Salineño Wildlife Preserve.
Green Jay.
Green Jay at the feeding station.
Audubon's Oriole.
Audubon’s Oriole with a photo bombing House Sparrow.
Audubon's Oriole.
Another picture of the Audubon’s Oriole.
Great Kiskadee.
A Great Kiskadee.
Altamira Oriole.
Altamira Oriole.
Altamira Oriole.
Yum.
Green Jays.
A pair of Green Jays.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker.
Long-billed Thrasher.
Long-billed Thrasher.
Poisonous Snakes.
That’s not good… Funny sign seen later in the day.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher.
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher.
Mouse.
This little mouse froze like a deer in the headlights.
Thorns.
Look at those thorns.
Crested Caracara.
A pair of Crested Caracara.

12/26/2019

One of my favorite locations we visited during our trip was Estero Llano Grande State Park. We spent almost the whole day birding at this location.

Snowy Egrets.
A small flock of Snowy Egrets.
Black-crested Titmouse.
Black-crested Titmouse.
White-tipped Dove.
White-tipped Dove.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker.
A Golden-fronted Woodpecker.
Buff-bellied Hummingbird.
Buff-bellied Hummingbird.
Buff-bellied Hummingbird.
Look at that throat!
Northern Cardinal.
Northern Cardinal with water dripping off its bill.
Common Pauraque.
A Common Pauraque hidden in the leaf litter.
Vermilion Flycatcher.
Vermilion Flycatcher.
Neotropic Cormorant.
A Neotropic Cormorant. They can be identified by the long tail and white “V” on their face.
Great Egret.
Great Egret.
Yellow-crowned Night-Herons.
Several Yellow-crowned Night-Herons.
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, American White Pelicans and Black-necked Stilts.
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, American White Pelicans and Black-necked Stilts.
Fulvous Whistling-Duck.
A pair of Fulvous Whistling-Ducks.
Eastern Screech-Owl McCall's.
An Eastern Screech-Owl, McCall’s subspecies.
Summer Tanager.
An immature male Summer Tanager.
Clay-colored Thrush.
Clay-colored Thrush.

Texas birding can’t be beaten!