Falfurrias Rest Stop: Painted Redstart

The Falfurrias rest stop is an oasis of Live Oak Trees that is 1 1/2 hours north of Edinburg on Interstate 83. It is the perfect place to get out and look for birds.  The male Painted Redstart has been in the wooded park for 3 winters and probably will die there without a mate.  How sad.  This year on our way north we stopped and found him.  We have told many other birders about it so we hope had the same luck. It was a first for us as was the Yellow-throated Warbler. We were elated to see them. What a way to start a road trip! 

Yellow-throated Warber 

Hackberry Emperor in a Live Oak Tree

 

South Padre: Alligators, A Curlew and A Sora

What do they have in common?  They are regulars at at the World Birding Center of South Padre Island and greeted us near the center.  It was a sunny morning and the alligators were sunning themselves with silly smiles on their faces. We spotted two of the babies alligators later from the boardwalk. The Long-billed Curlew was hunting. 

 

The Baby Alligator

Long-billed Curlew

Mottled Ducks

Sora (Rail) posing for a shot or resting in the sun.

Great Blue Herons and Little Blue Herons

         The Great Blue Herons and the Little Blue Herons in South Padre 

are in breeding trim and looking wonderful. 

 

The Little Blue Heron was on the hunt not showing off his new feathers.

Clapper Rail at South Padre

We had an amazing last visit to The World Birding Center at South Padre on March 23rd. There were few ducks, fewer herons but the rails were out. This is a Clapper Rail which is usually a very secretive bird as is most rails. We are not sure if there was two or three Clappers, but we saw the Clappers two different times. Other birders said they saw three which is very delightful. We also saw Green Herons, a Least Bittern and Blue Heron up close. 

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Summer Tanager in a Muddle

      The Summer Tanager taking a bath in a muddy puddle was the highlight of my Butterfly Walk at Estero.  This poor bird's bath did not work out so well. She got muddier and muddier and looked frustrated. We were very entertained during the highest heat in humidity of the day.  "It's to dang hot!" May said and added, "I waited all winter to say that."  She is right, the weather was cool and rainy most of our time SRGV.  We hardly had more than two days of sunshine in a row. Fridays were not sunny or warm which is the best for finding butterflies, but I am grateful for the time with an interesting group of naturalists. Thank you Rick and May for hosting the Butterfly Walks and Dave for making it fun.

 

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

I have been hoping to see a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in the SRGV for the last 4 years.  This Flycatcher is common in the summer in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansan and Louisiana.  Well, summer came for me today!  As we left Estero the Scissor-tailed was just sitting there on the barbwire posing for us. 

  

 

A Clay-colored Thrush

         Most times when we see the clay-colored thrush, they are high in the trees or off at a distance. This Thrush was right on the ground and on the road in the Tropical Area at Estero.  Clay-coloreds really behavior as our familiar American Robin.  The last photo is the one I took months ago of the White-throated Thrush. It is still probably at Estero but seldom reported with no multi-sightings in one day. Last week as workers were removing fallen trees it was flushed for a moment.

 White-throated Thrush, you may see why it is difficult to distinguish one from the other.