UPDATED! Rio Grande Valley, Birding Day 1, Report 3: Sparrow School!

Thanks to comments confirming IDs, I can now add some to this post. Thanks, John, Felicia, and Elizabeth!

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but for a while during my time at the Marsh House, I got really into sparrows. I was reading Mike McDowell's blog on a daily basis, soaking up every bit of knowledge I could on the various sparrows I saw on the marsh and at my feeders. I racked up a pretty impressive yardlist of sparrows, with Chipping, Field, White-crowned, White-throated, Swamp, Fox, Song, and American Tree sparrows all making regular appearances.

It's been a while since I was studying sparrows intensively, however, as it's been a while since I left the Marsh House. Besides, I'm now waaaaay farther south than Pennsylvania, so some of those sparrows that were so familiar to me up there don't even come down this far (I'm talking to you, Fox and Tree sparrows). So I'm hoping you'll all help me out with this new crop of sparrows, all seen at Estero Llano Grande State Park. I'll just put up the photos and my best guesses, and you guys can just set me right with your bird-braininess. (I meant that as a compliment!)

Late in the day, Estero Llano Grande State Park

First, I'll list the species that can be found in the RGV at this time of year; no sense talking myself into thinking I'm seeing a Baird's Sparrow or something when they don't even come down here. I'm at least realistic enough to check the range maps first! This list was compiled from RTP's Field Guide to the Birds of Texas and the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (which I really like because it has the range maps right next to the descriptions and illustrations of the birds). Here's our list of choices:
Field
Cassin's
Chipping
Clay-colored
Lark
Grasshopper
Nelson's Sharp-tailed
Seaside (we were about five miles north of the Rio Grande River and about thirty miles inland)
Savannah
Lincoln's
Song (though this is too far south, according to Ntl Geo guide)
Swamp
Vesper
White-throated
White-crowned

Here we go!

1. Please just tell me these aren't female Red-winged Blackbirds. I thought so at first, but these birds looked too dark to me.UPDATE: They are indeed lady RWBL. I should've gone with the first instinct instead of trying to overthink it.



And is it just me, or do they have the two-color bill (pink on bottom, black on top) of the... no, this is certainly not an American Tree Sparrow. Never mind. I'll just be quiet now.

On the chance that you'll see more than I did in the "group" photos I took of these birds, here's an uncropped shot to make huge and look at (because I know you've got nothing better to do than geek out over sparrows!)--
Are these just lady RWBL or what? I've seen those before, but these looked different somehow. Now I'm starting to think I'm a fool. I know what the problem is, though: I saw the list the rangers were keeping at the first big observation deck; they had Lincoln's, Savannah, Swamp, and even American Pipits--you name it. Now I'm trying to make every brown streaky bird into something exotic!

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

2. Moving on! UPDATE! Song Sparrow!


Look at that bird; couldn't you just scream Clay-colored Sparrow!? Okay, maybe not. I found it interesting that he sat on his haunches like that the whole time I watched him. Is he a juvenile? At this time of year? I wouldn't put it past those booger house sparrows to be breeding in the winter, you know.

3. Look at this little bird:Song Sparrow? But where's his hatpin spot?
UPDATE--Savannah Sparrow--John pointed out the pink bill and short tail. Nice! I'd heard them before and seen them from a distance, but now I feel like I'll know them right off. I hope.
I know you're saying, "didn't you get a picture of his back?" Yes, I did! I wish these birds had sung a little bit--NONE of them were singing when I watched them. That sure would've helped.
How are you feeling about this one?


4. The one with the long flat forehead:
It's the Lincoln's, isn't it?! Yeah, just kidding. It can't be. But what the heck is it? UPDATE! I had suspected a Pipit, especially because that weird head shape didn't match any sparrows. I knew they'd seen American Pipits from that big observation deck across the pond, so I should've known. Don't know that I'll count this as a lifer, however, as I was not able to make the ID myself. I even took the Lincoln's Sparrow off the lifer update list to the right, because I didn't have a pic and I couldn't for the life of me remember which bird it was. So the American Pipit remains a potential lifer for me, but having this photo to study will make my next sighting a good one!

5. Finally, what I thought was a sparrow but is a Yellow-rumped Warbler, I think:
I see the hint of the yellow on his sides and on his rump (though it may just be a pixel-illusion), and his warbler beak. It's a YRWA, isn't it? UPDATE: John and Elizabeth confirmed that it's a YRWA. He looks so smooth, though, don't you think? Almost phoebe-ish in his shapeliness. Usually they look like little blurs flitting through the trees, but this guy stopped and posed for me. America's Top Yellow-rumped Model!

I sure hope you sparrow buffs show me some love and help me with these. At this point, I don't even want them for the lifelist--if I can't ID them with surety even after staring at their photos, I don't feel like they belong on the list. I learned a lot about shorebirds by studying photos and noticing general types and shapes. Sparrows just seem to defeat me sometimes. I like the easy ones--Fox, Field ID'd by his call, Chipping, Tree -- those are gimmes. Too many times I've stared at the same streaky-breasted head-stripy birds and been lost.

I know some people are "naturals" at remembering bird songs or field marks. I have trouble remembering my phone number. I may not be a natural, and my list may be meager after four years of effort--but, as they say, it is what it is. I am what a am: a beginning birder.

Rio Grande Valley, Birding Day 1, Report 2

After our brief but productive time in the windstorm of South Padre, our guide Tim recommended that we head inland for warmer temps and lower wind speeds. He said his favorite place was one I hadn't noticed in my pre-trip research, Estero Llano Grande State Park. He gave us directions and we were off.

First, however, let me show you some of the delicacies on display at the place we breakfasted, Ted's Restaurant, a quality joint for a solid meal at a great price:


I stuck with the more traditional eggs over-medium, homefries, and wheat toast. We passed the famous water tower of San Benito:Wow.

Estero Llano apparently means something like prairie (llano) with water from a spring (estero), though my parents argued back and forth about the precise meanings (dictionaries were also pulled out) for several minutes until I finally told them I really didn't care what it meant, other than BIRDS! (There was some definite "hmph"-ing heard at that point.)

A photo tour, including the many lifers I saw:

Isn't this prairie-like place beautiful? It made me a little sad to think of how the Valley must've looked before all the roads, farm fields, and development took over. It's wonderful to know a place like this still exists; it felt like we were in another country, Africa or someplace, standing on the veldt, watching for colorful birds like this one:a Vermilion Flycatcher, still working on that ridiculously vibrant red breeding plumage. What a beautiful bird! I've wanted to see one of these guys ever since I became a birder up in PA, and it's so wonderful to have finally seen one!

Fulvous Whistling Duck, anyone? I heard no whistling, but everyone in the park was buzzing about this rare visitor. What a find!

Most of the time, however, the ducks pretty much all looked like this, and my pictures were of butts and blurs. You'll see what I mean as I continue with the tour.


a Buff-bellied Hummingbird gets the best of me, shutter-speed wise. That sucker was fast, and I KNOW I heard him giggling at my frustration.

Long-time readers of the bloggy might recall that I once named the Cinnamon Teal one of the top ten birds I'd most like to see:OMG it's a Cinnamon Teal! Let me get a picture! D'oh! He went under!
D'OH!
SHEESH! He WAS a Cinnamon Teal, really! I confirmed it with that Northern Shoveler on the left! I took TEN PICTURES of that darned teal, and all of them were of his butt. I began to take his obvious snubbing of me personally around shot #8. But there was no mistaking that cinnamon-colored plumage; I think Mary actually got some video which I'll be posting at some point. Meanwhile...

Really, Mr. Dove? You think I came here to see your tocks? Seriously? Come on! Help me out here!
Okay--blurry but better than your butt. Now, listen here, Mr. Common Ground Dove; I'm adding you to my lifelist and there's nothing you can do about it! How I've longed to see that pinkish-red at the base of your tiny bill, the reddish wings, the scalloping on your breast! Be still, my birdy heart, for there were many more lifers to be had that day.

a Common Pauraque, looking cute as a button asleep (?) in the leaf litter. I wanted to scoop him up and take him home! Thank you to the unnamed birder who directed me precisely to the exact tree where our little Pauraque could be found!

a little darter action for you, as an Anhinga shows off the white wing streaks that made the ID easier for me, as if that crazy neck and head weren't enough

a terrible picture, but through my binocs I could see the distinct white tail and the kite-head on this White-tailed Kite (the park ranger's ID also helped me not call it a White-tailed Hawk)

I also got close-up views (like from four feet away) of this darling little Least Grebe, whom I definitely wanted to put in my pocket and take home:When I saw one of these in Austin at Hornsby Bend, I knew it was a Least because he was swimming next to a comparatively larger Pied-billed. Now I got to see that these little cuties are the size of baby ducklings! WANT ONE!

the Great Kiskadees were all over the place

here's another photo of our overly ambitious Great Egret, who caught himself a trophy perch but couldn't swallow him. I guess every fisherman's gotta have a "the one that got away" story to tell the kids.

I even got to see one of Niblet's southern cousins. Howdy!

It's past midnight now, and there's still more from Estero Llano--but it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Hasta luego from the butts of all the ducks in the Rio Grande Valley!

Coming up tomorrow: a sparrow quiz!

Rio Grande Valley, Birding Day 1, Report 1 UPDATED!

NOTE: I'm updating this post after some information re IDs from my brilliant commenters.
Saturday was a long day at two wonderful facilities: the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center and Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco. In order to include more pictures, I'm going to split it up into separate posts for each place. We'll start off with a visual tour of SPIBNC.

This fairly new facility is located 3.5 miles north of the Queen Isabella Bridge, right off the main drag on the island. The boardwalk stretches over the mudflats of the Laguna Madre (the bay between the barrier island that is South Padre and the continental U.S.), and they have everything from birds to alligators to coyotes out there. We arrived around 8:30 at low tide, so the mudflats were exposed:Also exposed were these huge jellyfish who'd been trapped by the retreating tide. I don't know if they live or die while waiting for the water to come back in.

You know it's going to be a good day when the first bird you see is a lifer:This beautiful Reddish Egret wasn't even fussed that people were staring at him; he just strutted around like he owned the place.

The wind was blowing at probably 30 or 40 miles an hour, which is pretty normal for the beach (and South Texas, actually). That made a morning in the mid-40s into a wind-chilled experience, but we were hardcore and stayed out there with our guide, Tim Bradshaw, a thoroughly good egg. He showed us what there was to see on this windy morning:

Black-bellied Plover still in winter plumage

a Common Moorhen showing his blazing red schnozz

Brown Pelican flying about twenty feet over our heads

that beautiful Little Blue Heron

a Tricolored Heron and his pal the Roseate Spoonbill

a side-by-side comparison of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs

Cute little Pied-billed Grebe

this Northern Harrier was our constant companion, flying over the area the entire time we were there and then landing for a few seconds on this native grass stem (which I figured would collapse under his weight, but it didn't)

Tim said these were Mottled Ducks; I would've passed them off as lady Mallards myself. Speaking of Mallards, there was a hybrid Mallard that Tim pointed out who was much bigger than a normal Mallard and who was missing that white ring separating the green of his head from his chestnut-colored breast. I didn't get a picture, though, dangit! No telling what this big guy's mom/dad cross-bred with; a goose?

The spoonbill returns!

a drinking Willet whose little not-quite-shut eye is cute to me

UPDATE!This isn't a Dunlin, say Laura and John; it's a dowitcher. Now--Long-billed or Short-billed?
I suppose my uncertainty stemmed from the awfully long bill on this guy. However, bill length isn't a reliable indicator of which dowitcher we have, according to Roger Tory Peterson! (Huh?) He states in his Field Guide to the Birds of Texas and Surrounding States (1988), "Bill measurements of the two overlap, but extreme long-billed birds of this species are easily recognized...." That white eyebrow is also distinctive.

I'd say this guy's bill is pretty long; Peterson states that a 3-inch bill qualifies as a Long-billed's bill, so I'm going with Long-billed Dowitcher here. Further, RTP states that the breasts of the Short-billed are more spotted than the more solid-colored or barred Long-billed's. This fellow's breast looks more like a solid darker area than spotty. What do you think?

This shorebird business is tough; Tim did give us a great tip about spotting Spotted Sandpipers: he said they always bob up and down when they walk. He said they're the only sandpiper that does that, though my field guide says that both the Spotted and the Common (which the Spotted in winter plumage resembles) "nod and teeter constantly." Of course, the Common Sandpiper is NOT common here at all! It's one of those Eurasian species that's seen only up in Bering Strait and places like the Pribiloffs.

Well, that was our rapid but rewarding trip to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. We meant to go back there, but we just ran out of time. I already listed the birds we saw there -- UPDATE: though now I have to amend my list! Off comes the Dunlin and on goes the Long-billed Dowitcher in a shaky but educational ID process. One thing's for certain: I'm glad the Willet is so much huger than the other shorebirds. He was pretty easy! I also learned that "snipe" is a reference to that distinctive headshape that our boy up above has: that long bill extending from his head, almost like a Woodcock's head does. It's funny-looking but cute, in my opinion.

I wish we'd stayed longer, but the wind was howling and we decided to go inland for a while. Tomorrow, I'll show you birds from our trip to Estero Llano Grande State Park. For now...

gotta fly!