Texas Day 3: Laguna Atascosa, San Padre Island

We started the day with the long, deserted drive out to Laguna Astacosa, celebrated as having the last 30 ocelots in the US.

One can see why they would choose to be there, the reserve is miles from anywhere along long straight roads. Along the road we saw our first Harris Hawk sitting on a post, then some Crested Caracaras squabbling over a bit of road-kill. As we finally neared the reserve, Leo spotted some Northern Bobwhites.

There was only one other car at the Visitor Centre (which was closed), so we had the reserve to ourselves.

The walks close to the VC were very rewarding, including a Common Nighthawk flushed from a tree, our first Brown Crested Flycatchers and, best of all, a wonderful view of an Aplomado Falcon chasing a smaller bird. Such a long, thin, delicate bird, it has a special place in American Birding because it was all but diappreaed from the US but has gradually now built up and LA have 6 or 8 in adjoining territories. A bit like the role the Avocet plays for British birders.

We didn’t see any Ocelots, hardly surprising since they are (a) incredibly rare and (b) nocturnal! But it was a great visit with 30+ species.

Next we headed off to San Padre Island (picked up Eastern Meadowlark along the way – very noticeable with the white tail flashes), the bottom end of the hundred-mile long, one mile wide island that creates the unique lagoon all along the Texas coast. At Easter, thousands of students descend here for the Spring Break beach parties, and once one has crossed the impressive bridge, the town has that feel.

However, there is a fancy Birding Centre with a boardwalk on the lagoon side which yielded lots of great birds: terns, herons, waders etc. Several lifers:

-        Least Tern

-        Short-billed Dowitcher

-        Long-billed Curlew (which from its official name looks like it is different from our Curlew)

-        Least Bittern

and some great views of Roseate Spoonbill, Pied Billed Grebe, Caspian and Sandwich Terns.

After a lot of walking in sweltering heat, a dip in the Bay of Mexico was a great relief.

Black Bellied Whistling Duck

Bronzed Cowbird - starting its attraction routine: male puffs himself up as shown,
then leaps in the air to do a bit of a hovering/buzzing routine. I've seen some blokes try the same. 

Brown Crested Flycatcher

Crested Caracara

Harris Hawk

Laughing Gull

Least Bittern

Long Billed Thrasher

Reddish Egret

Short-billed Dowitchera

Tricoloured Heron

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Laguna Atascosa

Laughing Gull l t

Harris Hawk l t

Crested Caracara

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Northern Bobwhite leo l t

Eastern Meadowlark l t

Green Jay

Long Billed Thrasher

Great Tailed Grackle

Groove Billed Ani

White Tipped Dove l t

Bronzed Cowbird

Black Crested Titmouse

Olive Sparrow

Red Winged Blackbird

Aplomodo Falcon l t

Brown Flycatcher l t

Common Nighthawk

Northern Cardinal

Plain Chacalaca

Golden Fronted Woodpecker

Ladder Backed Woodpecker l t

Great Kiskadee

Greater Roadrunner

White Ibis l t

House Sparrow

Inca Dove

Mourning Dove

Common Ground Dove

White Winged Dove

Mexican Ground Squirrel l t

Eastern Cottontail

San Padre Island

Reddish Egret t

Brown Pelican t

Tricoloured Heron t

Eurasian Collared Dove t

Moorhen

Great Blue Heron

Least Bittern t l

Long Billed Curlew l t

Willet t

Short Billed Dowitcher l t

Roseate Spoonbill t

Black Crowned Night Heron t

Yellow Crowned Night Heron l t

Great White

Black Winged Stilt

Snowy Egret t

Caspian Tern t

Sandwich Tern t

Least Tern l t

Mottled Duck

Black Bellied Whistling Duck

Pied Billed Grebe

Texas Day 2 - Santa Ana, Estero Llano

We got to Santa Ana reserve in good time. The pond near the visitor centre gets one off to a good start!  We took the walk out to Pintail Lakes. It was very exciting to round a corner and see a Crested Caracara flying overhead, shortly followed by our first Groove Billed Ani of the trip. One of the lakes had water in it and that attracted Black Bellied Whistling Duck, Mottled Duck, Least Grebe, Lesser Yellowlegs and Black Necked Stilt.

Our walk then took us to the edge of the Rio Grande (so a view across into Mexico!) and then a lovely track to an Observation Tower. It was along this walk that Leo spotted a magnificent White Tailed Hawk overhead (later revised to a Swainson’s Hawk, after we studied the head markings on the photo – with Swainson’s, it covers the whole head, but with WHH it is to eyeline only).

After the tower, which didn’t get us the hoped-for Harris Hawk, we tried the Chacalaca walk back towards the visitor centre and wonderfully saw Black & White Warbler (seems to be very early) and Lesser Goldfinch.

After this very satisfying morning, we went on to Estero Llano (on our way to Brownsville) which was baking hot and all the ponds were dried up, so not much new there. 

Santa Ana

White Winged Dove

Green Jay

Black Crested Titmouse

Plain Chacalaca

Red Winged Blackbird

Great Kiskadee

Inca Dove

Cave Swallow

Couch's Kingbird

Groove Billed Ani t

Crested Caracara t

Great Tailed Grackle

Little Blue Heron l t

Black Bellied Whistling Duck t l

Clay Coloured Thrush

House Sparrow

Altamira Oriole

Orchard Oriole

Carolina Wren t

Black and White Warbler t l

Mottled Duck t l

Least Grebe t l

Black winged Stilt t

Lesser Yellowlegs t l

Turkey Vulture

Black Vulture

Lesser Goldfinch t l

White Tailed Hawk t l

Long Billed Thrasher

Bronzed Cowbird

Northern Mockingbird

Golden Fronted Woodpecker

Black Crested Titmouse

Black Winged Stilts

Ladderback Woodpecker

Lesser Goldfinch

Groove Billed Ani

Northern Cardinal

Swainson's Hawk

Texas Day 1 - Bentsen

Leo and I have come to Texas for a week to celebrate his 21st and his 1st class graduation. Texas is one of the world's great birding locations, but not generally recommended during July as (a) there isnt much migration going in (b) it aint half hot.

Nonetheless we're here and we'll make the most of it.

First stop is McAllen close to the Rio Grande.

We joined the morning bird walk at Bentsen World Birding Centre,  where the lead park biologist Melissa Chadwick took us on a fascinating tour. We saw about 34 different types of bird (all listed below) but the show stopper was seeing a Diamond Backed Rattlesnake!

After the bird walk, we went to the nearby World Butterfly Centre who were having their bi-annual count, so 2 expert guys were there and kindly showed us some of the astonishing variety that visit this area.

Texas Spiny Lizard

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Golden Fronted Woodpecker

Plain Chacalaca

Mourning Dove

Greater Roadrunner

Green Jay

Long Billed thrasher

Western Diamond Backed Rattlesnake

Whip Tail Lizard

Northern Cardinal (Female)

Green Jay

Altamira Oriole

Blue Spiny Lizard

Clay Coloured Thrush

Butterflies

- Giant Swallowtail

- Large Orange Sulphur

- Lyside Sulphur

- Queen

- Soldier

- Tawny Emperor

- Pipevine Solitaire

- Zebra Heliconian

- Crimson Patch

- White Peacock

- Banded Peacock

- Erato Helicoian

Dragonflies 

- Roseate Skimmer

- Carmine Skimmer

- Red Saddlebags

Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake

Texas Spiny Lizard

Blue Spiny Lizard

Whip Tail Lizard

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit

Long Billed Thrasher

Great tailed Grackle

Bronzed Cowbird

Plain Chacalaca

Altamira Oriole

Inca Dove

White Winged Dove

Cave Swallow

Couch's Kingbird

Golden fronted Woodpecker

Turkey Vulture

Black Vulture

Yellow billed Cuckoo

Green Jay

Black Crested Titmouse

Northern Mockingbird

Green Kingfisher

Greater Roadrunner

Common Ground Dove

Mourning Dove

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

Scissor Tailed Flycatcher 

Great Kiskadee

Northern Cardinal

Gray Hawk

House Sparrow

Buff Bellied Hummingbird

Mystery Oriole...subsequently identified by Melissa's expert network as an early migrant Orchard Oriole

Common Nighthawk R

Eurasian Starling

Red Winged Blackbird

Rock Dove

Olive Sparrow

Clay Coloured Thrush R

Heard: Verdin, White Tipped Dove

Sonoma 7-11 July

Oak Titmouse*, Northern Mockingbird, California Towhee

Mystery Sparrow

California Towhee

Northern Mockingbird

bird (pic)

Anglesey 13-15 Jul 2014

Stonechat, Chough, Guillemot, Razorbill, Gannet, Manx Shearwater, Cormorant, Herring & LBB gull, Crow, Jackdaw, Linnet, Corn Bunting (pic)‎, ‎Goldfinch(pic), Great Tit, Cormorant, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank, Canada and Greylag Geese, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Mallard,  Swallow, House Martiin

15 June Moelfre Anglesey

Raven, Shag Cormorant, Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, Meadow Pipit, Herring, BH & LBB gulls, Wheatear, Whitethroat Corn Bunting, Skylark, Stonechat, BB, Robin Grey Partridge, Little Egret, Wilow Warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Swallow, Goldfinch, Greylag Pheasant , Starling, woodpigeon, Crow, Jackdaw

Istanbul 1 June

Yelkouan Shearwater groups flying up and down the Bosphorus

Japan April 2014

To get some body-clock-reviving sun after arriving, we went to Hamarikyu Gardens near our hotel.

The lake there had Spot-Billed Duck*, Great Cormorant, ‎Little Egret, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Shoveler. In the air, Black Kite, Tree Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Great Tit and White Wagtail.

Spot-Billed Duck

White Wagtail

Travelling out to Mitaka for the Ghibli Museum, in the lovely park we added Oriental Turtle Dove, Brown-Eared Bulbul*, White-Cheeked Starling* (which had looked like Mynas to me yesterday).

Oriental Turtle Dove

White Cheeked Starling

A Grey Heron flew past, 20 stories up in central Tokyo. 

On a day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima, we saw Long Tailed Tit, Large-Billed Crow*, Dusky Thrush*(ecunumus) and a distant duck which zooming reveals as Greater Scaup*.

Greater Scaup

Large Billed Crow

Then deep into the Alps, and at Tsumago we saw Japanese Robin*, Grey Wagtail, Barn Swallow. And on the 13km walk from Magome to Tsumago ‎and Nagiso JR, Jay, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker*, Peregrine, Meadow Bunting (thought it was Alpine Accentor initially, but strong head-stripes), Japanese Grosbeak*. Also a weird mammal called a Serow.

Grey Wagtail

Japanese Wagtail

White Cheeked Starling

Brown-Eared Bulbul

Barn Swallow

At the station I finally figured out that the ringing call we have been hearing everywhere is the Japanese Bush Warbler* (apparently and appropriately, considered a sign that spring is here).

In Kyoto, along the Philosophers Walk, Japanese White-eye*, Varied Tit* and Mallard. (30,11)

Varied Tit

Japanese White Eye

Edinburgh 16-18 Feb

At Gullane, Eider, Bar

Tailed Godwit, Bullfinch and a distant Long-Tailed Duck

Derbyshire 21/22 Dec

At Wyver Lane, Goosander, teal, fieldfare, redwing, LTT, Blue and Great Tit, Robin, Canada and Greylag goose, jay, magpie, crow, bb, pochard, mallard, shoveler, chaffinch, BH gull, Cormorant.

At Carsington Reservoir, Mute swan, Canada goose, teal, mallard, wigeon, tuftie, goldeneye, gcg, coot, moorhen, snipe, dunnock, tree sparrow, reed bunting, blue, great, willow Tit, chaffinch, woodpigeon, pochard, robin, redshank, lapwing, bb, Cormorant, house sparrow