After seeing the Southern Lapwing yesterday, I decided to leave the gathering crowd and head up to the Sugar House pond to look for the Hudsonian Godwits found by Ryan Rodgriquez the day before.  Though world population estimates are over 70,000 (compared to 8,000,000,000 people), not rare by shorebird standards, their narrow migratory path up the center of the United States means most birders have to go to some effort to see one.  We are fortunate here in the Rio Grande Valley to have a few pass through easch spring.  They completely bypass us in the fall.  It did not take ..read more

After an unprecedented fall and winter birding season in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, this spring has continued with more amazing rare birds.  Last Sunday it was the Mexican Violetear on South Padre Island and two days ago it was a Flame-colored Tanager at Quinta Mazatlan.  And then yesterday, a resident at the Llano Grande Resort photographed a strange bird while playing golf.  He showed it to a local birder at the resort and eventually the ID was determined to be a Southern Lapwing.   According to Steve Howell's "Rare Birds of North America" there are only t ..read more

The Valley's four young guns, Ryan Rodriguez, Nolan Walker, Simon Kiacz and Zach Johnson have been leaving a path of destruction in their wake in recent months.  This morning Ryan found Hidalgo County's third Flame-colored Tanager.  This Mexican montain species is still a review species in Texas but now is annual in SE Arizona where it has nested.  I was happy to refind it for the small group of birders who had assembled.  It was my 415th species for Hidalgo County. Nolan, who found the Mexican Violetear on SPI a few days ago, had been looking for the Flame-colored Ta ..read more

Yesterday was the much anticipated occurrence of a total eclipse of the sun across much of the United States.  Here in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas we were to get only about 90% coverage.  I could have gone a bit north near San Antonio for the complete spectacle but I saw the last total eclipse back 2017 and thousands of people were predicted to be out on the roadways and most of all it was forecast to be cloudy so I just stayed down here.  Anyway I had bigger fish to fry. Sunday afternoon a Mexican Violetear was found on South Padre Island.  I got the report mid af ..read more

On this past Oct 22, Gray Hawk researcher and all around fantastic birder Evan Farese found the first Cameron County record of a Downy Woodpecker at the Convention Center on South Padre Island.  Word got out late in the afternoon and several people got to see it, but those of us who arrived the next morning were surprised to not be able to refind the bird.  Who would have thought that a poor little lost Downy who had been most likely wandering for days down arid treeless South Padre Island would be so quick to leave an oasis like the Convention Center? Well two months later Evan foun ..read more

I was birding today south of  Mission when I ran into a couple who had just found a Green-tailed Towhee.  There's been quite a few in the Rio Grande Valley this winter with a particularly cooperative one at the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands so it's no big deal.  When they described the location I realized it was Los Ebanos Road just east of the National Butterfly Center.  This area was famous a few years ago for several Hooked-billed Kites that were feeding on the Rabdotus snails that were having a good year.  I had not seen a Green-tailed Towhee yet this year so I made the ..read more

Today I decided to make a try for the Cassin's Vireo at Resaca de la Palma State Park near Brownsville.  Even though I still need that species for my Cameron County list, I have not made much effort during my past few visits.  It's always a chore trying to distinguish between Cassin's Vireo and pale Blue-headed Vireo.  In west Texas during migration I feel pretty good about calling Cassin's Vireo but down here I've seen way too many pale Blue-headed Vireos to feel comfortable about making the call.  I wish they would just lump 'em all back into Solitary Vireo.  Anyway ..read more

It was forecast to be windy today so I decided to head west as the wind is usually not as bad out there.  Since my last trip to Falcon State Park suffered from Crane Hawkus interrptus, I thought I might go back to the lake and see what was about.  But as I drove through Roma I noticed the wind had already picked up so I decided to head to Salineno instead.  I figured the wind wouldn't be as bad down along the Rio Grande.  And maybe I could refind the Crane Hawk which has gone missing for a few days. Well as I approached Salineno the WhatsApp dinged.  Cameron Cox had ju ..read more

Back in December the second ever for Texas, Fan-tailed Warbler, was found by Evan Farese on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus in Brownsville.  I went out there a few days later and had a good but very brief view of the bird in the thick vegetation that borders the resaca behind the biology building.  It was a much better look than I had of the first record in Pine Canyon at Big Bend National Park.  I got very poor views of that bird and no photos at either sighting.  The Fan-tailed Warbler has been present since then at UTRGV but was MIA for a few days until ..read more

 A week ago an amazing first Texas record of Yellow-footed Gull at Southeast Park in Amarillo was posted on the Texbirds Facebook group.  Actually this first year bird has been present since early November and the local birders were passing it off as an immature Herring Gull.  I've seen this species on the Pacific coast of Mexico and at the Salton Sea in California where a few show up every summer but that's been a few decades ago.  This is not a species we were expecting in Texas although a young Yellow-footed Gull was seen in New Mexico just last year.  As the bird h ..read more