Thanks to all who still read this narrative. We are (painfully) aware that I am now well behind in finishing the “blog” of my 2019 Peregrination “Big Year”. My goal to make this a running narrative fell by the wayside, as Life and Birding took precedence to writing. When I finish documenting my birding year, catch up with my photographs and records, and so forth, I intend to reconstitute this “blog” into a more informative “natural history” type page. Time and Perseverance Accomplisheth All Things . . .
So, today was a redux of our yesterday’s afternoon, just a lot slower and more enjoyable. As it was, I was one of only five participants on this trip who ended up in the van of trip leaders Dave Irons and Shawneen Finnegan, and we also were treated to having along Andrea Gibbons as a guide.
Andrea gave a Festival talk last Thursday on Harris’ Hawks in the Valley, and is very much the expert and local knowledge for raptors here.
We started along the Old Port Isabel Road, where the sparrows were active in the morning. There were thousands of coots and ducks on Loma Alta Lake, but identification was nearly impossible due to the angle of the sun and glare. However, the group racked up a respectable list of 59 species. A highlight for several folks was seeing courtship behavior (bird sex) in a pair of Harris’ Hawks, and a nice flock of Long-billed Curlews.
Our next stop was at the Shrimp Basin Bridge and “Zapata Memorial Boat Ramp”, which is the outlet for San Martin Lake, to scan the gulls, terns and shorebirds. Another birder had let us know that a Seaside Sparrow was across the road, but Dave was smart enough to not take a group of birders across the busy highway.
Our last stop was along East Ocean Boulevard (Texas 100), near one of the hacking sites for the Aplomado Falcon recovery programs.
This evening, Billy Snider invited me to the mixer and buffet supper for the guides, volunteers, and vendors. I felt kind of funny as a participant, but Billy insisted that since he’d met me at Space Coast, Laredo and Tucson, as well as here, he wanted me to sit in. I enjoyed supper with Glen Olson, and Isidro (missed his last name?) a beginning guide who I gave contact information to for their upcoming visits to the Puget Sound area, and hope that I can meet up with them sometime.
There was also a student art show at the Bird Festival, and I was impressed with the quality of some of the work. Even the ‘amateur’ efforts are much better than anything I could come up with. The winners of the Student Art show can be seen Here.
I bid on a few items at the silent auction, ending up with a couple things that "Honest, Dear! I was just trying to get a higher bid going for a good cause . . . "
Seriously, there is a tremendous effort that’s put into the Festival, and I am so thankful for the wonderful volunteers and staff who made it a successful event. Rio Grande Valley birder and guide, Mary Gustafson was in charge of putting together the trip leaders and picked excellent guides.
Besides just birding, I learned a lot of life history, identification nuances, botany, butterflies, and the culture of the Valley.
Old Port Isabel Road eBird checklist is Here
Shrimp Basin/Zapata Ramp eBird checklist is Here
East Ocean Boulevard eBird checklist is Here
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