Day 1

June 10, 2015

As I write this, I am laying in my wind-swept tent on the beach at South Padre Island.  With this wind off the gulf, I don’t know if I’ll sleep well tonight or not.

(Post Script: I did not)

I was growing antsy.  My original plan was to set forth on the 11^th.  That’s tomorrow by my reckoning.  However, there was nothing keeping me grounded at home, so I set forth a day early.  I’ll get more stops in this way.

On a down note, it looks like my pelagic birding trip will probably be canceled due to weather.  It’s supposed to rain all day on Saturday.  On the up side of this, it will save me some money for later in the trip.

I left my place around 7:30 this morning.  I finished packing and headed out.  The trip seemed shorter than any other time I had done this trek before.  I know that can be accounted for due to the fact that I road birded the entire trip.  I kept a list of every bird I saw in each county.  Each list was small, 4-8 birds, but I should have a nice swath of counties marked out on my county map after this.

I got into the Valley at 3:30 and knew this was a terrible time to bird, so I went to the Gladys Porter Zoo.  At one time, I raved about this little zoo, but now, it seems sad and dilapidated.  Yes, they still have a great collection, but the facilities are falling apart and the exhibits are poor at best.  I got some good photos of the rarities and headed out.

Long-Nosed Potoroo

West African Bushbuck

Sun Bear

My first birding stop was Old Port Isabel Road.  This is a terrible road for travel purposes, but great for birds.  It’s pretty much all dirt with huge ruts that will cause your car damage if you aren’t careful.  Here I was able to pick up some good birds starting with a lifer heard in a brushy area, a Botteri’s Sparrow.  As I kept driving, I picked up a Common Ground-Dove and a Gull-Billed Tern both needed on the year.

#343 Botteri’s Sparrow (Lifer 472)

#344 Common Ground-Dove

#345 Gull-Billed Tern

From here, I needed parrots, and the best place to get them is at dusk at Oliviera Park in Brownsville.  The park was bustling, but I decided not to pay any attention to the throngs of people.  I wandered around the park for some time listening and watching.  First thing I picked off was a Mexican Ground Squirrel.

Mexican Ground Squirrel

Then I found several Tropical Kingbirds.  Finally, a lone Green Parakeet came in (late I saw 8).  I know I had seen this bird earlier, but evidently I never ticked it off my year list.  Come to think of it, maybe it was on my trip in December and not in February.  Anyway, the real goal was the Red-Crowned Parrots.  Right at dusk, three flew in.

#346 Tropical Kingbird

Tropical Kingbird

#347 Green Parakeet

Green Parakeet

#348 Red-Crowned Parrot

Red-Crowned Parrot

There is considerable debate as to where these birds came from.  Are they escapees or are some from the wild in Mexico.  On-going study will soon answer this, but for my take, these birds now represent one of the largest, and most stable, populations of either species.  They have essentially become the northern extension of what was originally two Mexican only species.

I then headed to the beach north of South Padre Island where I currently am getting a crick in my neck writing this.  Tomorrow should be fun.