Avian Eye Candy

Yesterday morning, Mary and I drove down to Salineno, a small refuge on the Rio Grande about 20 minutes from here. Cheryl, the host, has many feeders and attracts a wonderful variety of South Texas birds. When we went there last year for the first time, it was visual overkill -- just so many different birds that we never see up north. It reminded me of my first time snorkeling -- there is almost too much color and movement for your senses to process.

Today was no exception. When we first got there, a “sharpie” had just passed by scattering the birds so it took a few minutes for the orioles and jays to start returning. We sat in lawn chairs watching Green Jays, three types of Orioles (Altimira, Hooded, and Audubon), Greater Kiskadees, and a host of other species flock to the peanut butter and loose bird food. Here are a few of the shots I took. Enjoy -- we certainly did.

Altimira Oriole

Long-billed Thrasher eats while Green Jay waits impatiently

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Audubon Oriole at feeder

Green Jay with a mouthful of crunchy peanut butter

Greater Kiskadee

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Ubiquitous Birds

Crested Caracara

I mentioned last post about the hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds that hang out in Falcon State Park (and many sites in the Southwest.)  I also mentioned the Pyrrhuloxia which are everywhere.  These members of the Cardinal family are native to Texas and Mexico and are fun to watch.  Here’s a shot I took this afternoon of a female alongside the park road.

The Crested Caracara, sometimes called the “Mexican Eagle,” is a spectacular low-flyer who is easy to identify and very common along highways in this area.  It feeds on carrion and lizards and small mammals and it’s unusual not to see a few any time you bird in this area.  They too are Texas/Mexico birds.

Pyrrhuhuloxia

One of the most prevalent birds here seems to be the orange-crowned warbler.  The plain little green birds are everywhere -- to the point that I have yet to take a picture of one.  Of course, like most warblers, they don’t sit for portraits but rather move briskly along from branch to branch.  They have no markings per se -- and that in itself is an identifying characteristic.

Another common bird here is the Great-tailed Grackle.  We started seeing them as we hit Texas and they are everywhere -- not in Red-winged Blackbird numbers, but noticeable because of their size and their raucous calls.  They love to hang out in mall parking lots.

Great-tailed Grackle

Other birds we see each walk are Greater Roadrunners, Northern Cardinals, Inca Doves, and Northern Mockingbirds.  I suspect that the warming weather will crank up birding activity -- both the birds and the birders have been waiting out this wintry blast.

Some Falcon Birds

It has been pretty windy for good birding here at Falcon although I’m seeing some interesting stuff and have picked up a couple of life birds -- a Long-billed Thrasher and a Cactus Wren.  These were both birds that I should have seen last year but didn’t.

Falcon, like many areas, is infested with Red-winged blackbirds.  They really are a pest: you put out a feeder and before long, dozens appear.  They tend to drive off the other birds with their noisy aggressiveness -- but I know that I’ll enjoy them once we, and they, get to Vermont.

Pyrrhuloxia are one of the signature birds here -- I remember seeing them for the first time last year.  They are quite friendly, coming to feeders, and are pretty birds -- not as spectacular as their Northern Cardinal brethren but still quite attractive.

Greater Roadrunner

Of course, Northern Mockingbirds and Greater Roadrunners are everywhere.  Crested Cara-caras are also very numerous.

This afternoon on a walk, I came upon a very accommodating Cactus Wren who posed for pictures while the dog strained at her leash, and then went through a whole song cycle for us.  I was surprised at the size of the wren -- I had been looking for a more furtive smaller bird.

Cactus Wren

I’ve seen quite a few birds that I’m not sure of -- some quail that were either scaled quail or bobwhite, a little brown job that I have a picture of (and will get folks to ID it for me), and meadowlarks that are either Eastern or Western. 

The weather forecast is probably going to put a damper on birding for a few days although once the wind dies down, it may be productive if only in the high 30’s.  That’s a day we’d bird in Vermont so why not here?  I’ll let you know what I find.

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