Lower Rio Grande Valley - December 10th - 13th, 2004

Fog drifts over a resaca as the sun rises above Sabal Palms Sanctuary near Brownsville, TX.

After my Colorado/Nebraska fiasco, I felt a little silly flying off to Texas for the fifth time. Was it really worth the time and money to pick up one or two missed birds when there were still birds I could find in California? Since I had already booked the flights, I figured I might as well stick to my plan. My first target bird was the elusive Hook-billed Kite which had reportedly been flying over the Resaca at Bentsen Park early each morning. I also hope to luck into the Red-billed Pigeons and Muscovy Ducks I kept missing, and hopefully pick up the Red-crowned Parrots and Green Parakeets that were conspicuous enough that residents joked about the noise but which I couldn't hear or see to save my life.

In a nice twist, the trip was a great success, even though I missed most of the Lower Rio Grande specialties I was seeking. Several Crimson-collared Grosbeaks had been reported at Frontera Audubon in Weslaco, but I just assumed they would be long gone by the time I showed. Yet as my trip got closer and closer, they continued, so I decided to make them my new priority. I showed up prior to the gates opening and met another birder from New Mexico named Jerry Oldenettel. He was formerly of San Diego and had done a good bit of birding with Guy McCaskie.

As soon as the preserve opened, we paid our dues, got some helpful tips from the preserve manager, and made our way toward the Potato Trees favored by the Grosbeaks. No sooner had we entered the preserve when I heard a high-pitched whistling noise. Jerry was unable to pick up high frequencies, but I described the sound and he felt confident we were hearing the grosbeaks. He then spotted a male high in a tree overlooking the preserve parking which then flew over our heads and began moving around on the preserve side of the trail.

Although I got great looks at both a male and female Crimson-collared Grosbeak, these poor quality pictures were typical of the whole trip.

At that point a few other birders pulled into the parking lot and we hastened them inside to see the bird. Two of them were Dave and Carol from Torrance, CA and they had just seen the Green-breasted Mango being reported at a private feeder in McAllen. I had assumed this bird was gone as it hadn't been reported for several days. After about an hour of enjoying both genders of grosbeak and a Tropical Parula spotted by Jerry, we decided to follow each other to the Mango spot. Just before leaving, a flock of parakeets flew over, which I assume were Green Parakeets.

The owners of the feeders were not there when we arrived, so we paid our $10 donation and camped out on the lawn chairs that had been set out on the patio. Then we waited. We had many Buff-breasted Hummingbirds before the Mango made an appearance, but it came back at regular intervals, probably 20 - 30 minutes apart.

I was excited at getting two rare birds on the first morning of my trip. I was also excited because the coupe from Torrance had also informed me that a Female Rose-throated Becard had been spotted at a private residence in Pharr, TX. This was a bird that had eluded me many times in Arizona and I was happy for another chance.

After lunch, putting out some fires on two projects I was working on, and getting slightly lost, I didn't get to Allen William's residence and landscaping company until 4:20. The guest book had a note saying "RTB seen at 4:00." When I got there, Allen was playing cowboys and bandits (I think that is what it is called now) and I was interrogated as a potential bandit before Allen's kids lowered their weapons and he gave me some tips on the Becard and some local parakeet roosts. I missed both, but on leaving his parking area, a flock of noisy Red-crowned Parrots flew directly overhead. I was able to make a quick U-turn, pull into a church parking lot, and get great looks and a good sound recording of the birds. Unfortunately, I was now too late for the parakeets, so I called it quits for the day.

That night, I noticed that a Gray-crowned Yellowthroat was again being seen at Sabal Palms Sanctuary. I called jerry to see if he was interested and we met at the gate at 8 AM. We saw many Common Yellowthroats, but not the Gray-crowned, so we drove to Anzalduas County Park looking for a male Rose-throated Becard that had been spotted the day before, again without success. So we decided to check out the new World Birding Center at Bentsen state Park. This was an extremely controversial, and largely unpopular, project which prohibited camping and vehicle access to the park. After checking out the visitor center, Jerry went on his way but I stuck around to get a glimpse of the park's interior. In January and March, the park had been bustling with activity, but now it seemed dead. A tram passed by with a young couple there for a romantic picnic lunch and those were the only people I saw in the park.

The closed gates at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and the new tram system for park entry.

I pretty much always side with conservation over human activity, and if these new restrictions really did make a difference in protecting the parks biodiversity then I was all for them. However, it was a little depressing to see the park so empty. Maybe I just was there at a slow period. In any event, no one at the Visitor's Center seemed very knowledgeable about birds, and the Hook-billed Kite report seemed to be stale.

Having struck out on new birds for the day, I planned to go to Hastings bookstore in north McAllen to find the "guaranteed" Green Parakeets that roost there. Unfortunately, a local birder had noticed a change in roosting pattern the prior few days. Instead of hundreds of roosting parakeets, he had only a small flyover. Sure enough, I had the identical experience. No sooner did I get out of my car than I heard parakeets flying over the bookstore. Six Green Parakeets and they were gone in an instant. From there, my plan was a little crazy.

Since I had repeatedly missed Harris's Sparrow in California, I decided to drive to Austin where local birder Ingris Huskey had graciously offered to help me find one. Suffice to say that Austin and McAllen are not exactly close. After a long night of driving, I met Ingrid at her home just after 8 AM the next day. We spent several hours checking out spot after spot. "Here is where we saw them on Saturday" she would say at one spot. "Here is where we see them quite often," she'd say at the next spot. It was perfectly enjoyable birding and Ingrid was great company, but I knew the drive back to McAllen would be even longer if I struck out on the sparrow yet again.

I was resigning myself to that scenario when Ingrid, scanning some trees on the side of the road, said "Come here Harris's Sparrow." The way I heard it, she was beseeching any Harris' Sparrow within earshot to "come here" so we could see it. Of course, what she was really saying was, "I see Harris' Sparrow, so come here and see it." Once I figured that out, I rushed over to view a handsome first-winter bird with buffy cheeks and a light V on the breast. It lingered a few seconds and then was gone. Hoping to see a few more, we moved on toward some private ranches. Seeing a good deal of activity near the road, we stopped to scan, and I saw what I was sure was an adult Harris's Sparrow but in poor light. Ingrid thought so too, but as I was getting out my scope for a better view, the property owner pulled up and invited us onto her land. I wanted to stay and scope the sparrow, but etiquette dictated that I accept her offer, and Ingrid was excited to at the opportunity. There continued to be a great deal of activity as we followed her through the gate, but by the time small-talk and pleasantries had been exchanged, the birds seemed to have moved on.

As we headed back, the discussion turned to other birds I was still looking for. I had seen a single report of an American Woodcock in a different part of the state, so I asked Ingrid if there were any good spots in Austin and indeed there was a good spot. She told me about Hugh Brown, a reclusive gentleman who owned property east of Austin and who allowed birders to come and see the Woodcocks that displayed on his land every year. It was too early for them to be displaying, but with Hugh's permission, I might flush one or two.

I called Hugh just after dropping off Ingrid and he didn't seem at all surprised that a stranger would call him out of the blue and ask to walk his property. It was a little after 3 PM when I came to the unmowed entrance to Hugh's property. I drove my rental car in about twenty yards and then thought better of it, walking the rest of the way to Hugh's small house. Peering through the door, I saw a fairly tall man with a long beard sitting at a desk. I knocked, and he came to greet me.

I expected that he might just point in the right direction, but instead Hugh grabbed a pair of binoculars and gave me a guided tour. I was lucky he did, because the trails on his property were fairly overgrown and I would have surely gotten lost otherwise. For several hours we walked, discussed birds, conservation, politics, philosophy, education and just about anything else that crossed our minds. Hugh was probably the most interesting person I met during the year, and the experience of driving to this total stranger's property on the advice of another total stranger felt a little surreal. When we finally flushed one Woodcock, then another, it was just icing on the cake. I was amazed how well these forest shorebirds blended in with their surroundings, and wished I could spot one before it flushed. Hugh was surprised to hear that I planned to drive all the way back down to McAllen that night, but it was the only chance I would have to try again for the Becard.

I returned to the William's residence for a third time the next morning after just a few hours of sleep. There were more guest book entries indicating the bird was still being seen. I went immediately to the area where the bird seemed to spend the most time and waited. I was watching a Mockingbird when I noticed the movement of what appeared to be a smaller bird behind it. Something told me this was the Becard and I was right. It eventually popped into view and lingered for about a minute, long enough for me to get this poor quality picture.

My trip began and ended with bad pictures of good birds.

Thrilled to have recorded seven new birds for the year, I was off to the airport, knowing that this was my last scheduled trip of the year focused purely on birding. Next stop: New England for the holidays.