Battle of Palmito Ranch

Hwy 4, Boca Chica Beach Road is a living history tour, too.  We tuned to FM 1610 for a narration to learn the story of the last battle of the Civil War on May 12 & 13, 1865, more than a month after Robert E Lee surrendered at Appomattox.  

The battle resulted in the loss of 11 Federals with no Confederate casualties and was won by the Confederates with the Union troops retreating back to Brazos Island. 

Most of the facts are taken from the writings of Rip Ford, soldier and Texas Ranger, now archived in the Haley Library in Midland. 

A few miles east was the location of Fort Belknap, occupied for just a few months during the Spanish American War in 1846. Unsanitary conditions, insects, thorn scrub, and  disease resulted in many deaths and one or two funerals a day. 

After the summer, most soldiers had relocated to Matamoras or Camargo. 

This marker designates the remains of the railroad constructed by Gen Phillip Sheridan in 1865. Earlier, in 1846, General Zachary Taylor constructed a floating bridge across Boca Chica Bay for  to transport military supplies from Brazos Santiago to White Ranch and Clarksville. 

Boca Chica Beach Tuesday February 18

Day off, so we headed for Boca Chica thinking we would enjoy a nice walk on the beach. A few clouds overhead on the 48 miles drive over. As we neared the pavement's end, the fog enveloped us. This exact same thing happened a year ago!

We opted to walk in the fog as the temp was 68 and the visibility wasn't quite as bad as last year.

North toward Brazos Island

South toward the Rio Grande

                                       








                                           

We walked right up to the birds, they couldn't see in the fog either, and were hesitant to fly.

This sleeping Willet let us approach closely, as he defied gravity. 

With birds scarce and hidden in the fog, my attention turned to patterns in the sand. 

Tracks

Clam ?

As the waves receded, unseen critters would clear their breathing holes bubbling out watery sand. 

  

Angel Wings

Shells decorated the sand, most were broken and some crunched under foot, but I did find a perfect pair of angle wings. 

Patterns appeared in lighter colored sand...

 feathers and poop...

small waves... 

large waves

Can't get enough of the sound of the surf!

President's Day Weekend

Three days of birding tours, 52 and 55 species on Saturday and Sunday at Laguna Atascosa Unit. Saturday the fog was so dense, we couldn't even see the lake until 10:30.

Ducks, Geese, and Cranes really help beef up the counts. Spring is definitely in the air as the Sandhills were yodeling and dancing to the delight of us all. Monday's tour to Bahia Grande produced fewer species, only 30, due to the wind gusting in excess of 25 mph. The Cassin's Sparrow are beginning to sing, but no skylarking yet.

This beautiful White-tailed Kite found on Gator Pond Road had caught a large rat. I'm surprised he could lift it.

 We need lots more rat catchers! Other raptors on this weekend were Harrier, Harris's, Red-tailed and White-tailed Hawk, Kestrel, Merlin, Osprey, Caracara, and Black and Turkey Vulture.

This large raft of Coots in the Laguna was just a fraction of the 400+ counted on Sunday. Every fresh water pond on West Lake Road hosted more coot than any other waterfowl.





We added Anhinga and Zone-tailed Hawk to our species list. Ducks included Redhead, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Lesser  Scaup, Northern Shoveler, Hooded Merganser, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck, Gadwall, and Mottled Duck.

After lunch we conduct bird walks around the visitor center. The Gator Trough bird bath was the hot spot on Sunday... Black-and-white Warbler, Orange-crown, Yellow-rump, and Olive Sparrow were all bathing, with Blue-headed Vireo looking on. The big Indigo Snake visited water feature #1.

Hard to believe we only have 6 weeks left.

February 13 Estero Llano Grande State Park

Birder's Day Off - going birding for fun!

We threw a dart at the map - mentally - to decide the location for today,  celebrating the sunshine's return. Windshield had a light coating of ice when we left the refuge shortly after 7 AM. Driving the backroads to miss rush hour traffic we arrived at ELGSP while temperatures were warming but still chilly.  A 230 acres oasis reclaimed from former agriculture usage, the park is one of the most visited in the Valley.

The deck at the visitor center overlooks Ibis Pond affording close looks at many of the ducks and grebes that frequent the area.

 This Least Grebe was also enjoying the sunshine raising the feathers on his back to bask in the warmth.

He was a feisty little guy, holding his own with the much larger Shovelers while actively feeding.

The Common Gallinule sported bright red bills












contrasting with the drab white of the Coot. 


We saw our first Cinnamon Teal of the year, they were too far away for even an ID photo, although one flyover gave us great looks at the bright blue speculum.

I did get close enough to the Green-winged Teal

 to see just how beautiful he is while

Bottoms up!

clearly demonstrating dabbling duck behavior.

















The most numerous bird of the day, besides Red-winged Blackbird, were Orange-crowned Warbler.

this one in the butterfly garden behind the visitor center actually showed his namesake "orange crown"

This one in the tropical area posed so close I could barely focus.

Maybe we should rename them "Orange Eating Warbler"

This Common Ground-dove played tag with larger White-tipped Dove, tree trunks, and patches of grass before finally allowing few good poses. 

We also had Vermilion Flycatcher, Roseate Spoonbill, White Pelican, White-faced Ibis, Lesser Goldfinch, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Cooper's Hawk, and a bright yellow kingbird - either Tropical or Couch's, but with no vocalization positive for ID. Back in the parking lot, a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher showed up to say good-bye. 

3 miles away is Frontera Audubon Sanctuary, a well preserved and protected 15 acre thicket of thorn scrub and dense Sabal Palm located in the center of Weslaco.

Over a mile of trails loops around several small ponds and multiple feeding stations. Not too many birds, probably due to the time of day, but we did get Buff-bellied Hummer, Black-chinned/Ruby-throated Female, House Wren, Inca Dove, and great Kiskadee. We also picked up the first Ovenbird since Vermont. A great Egret Squawked loudly as it circled a small pond. We could hear the Ringed Kingfisher in the distance, but never picked up a visual. Lots of b'flies since the temp had reached 70. Gulf Frit, Checkered Skipper - not sure if they were Common, Tropical, or White, Queen, Grey Hairstreak, and large Yellow something.

 With fewer birds to view, my attention turned to patterns and plants. The Sabal Palms sport wicked spines along the stems

 and the fans with sun and shadow

at play are abstract works of art.

We had a late lunch at Keno Cafe, a place popular with locals in business since 1933. On the drive home through Rio Hondo, we were delayed by a barge being pushed up the Arroyo Colorado, Harlingen Ship Channel.

The draw bridge works differently from any we seen before, the entire roadbed is raised between the two uprights while the channel traffic passes underneath. We've crossed this bridge many times without experiencing a delay.

Never a dull moment.

February 10

Wednesday, we birded Edinburg Scenic Wetlands chasing the elusive Tropical Parula. After getting detailed instructions from Javie, the naturalist... "Follow this path to the 'snake habitat' sign, make a left to the Potato Tree. The dark green foliage behind is a Cano Tree, the warbler likes to visit this area"
We followed instructions and located Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Wilson's and Orange-Crowned, and Yellow-rumped Warbler, but NO TRPA. The wind was howling on the other side of the visitor center, so we had no luck with the other favorite location. After making a third loop around the grounds tagging Lesser Goldfinch, Grey Catbird, Carolina Wren, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and either Black-chinned or Ruby-throated female we wandered back toward the potato tree. Met a nice couple from Ontario who were searching for the target bird. We chatted for several minutes, giving them directions and hints about birding locations, when a flash of movement caught my eye and I raised my binoculars to focus on this...

Sadly, I didn't take this photo, my dinky little Canyon Powershot and my eyes aren't quick enough, but the 4 of us did get satisfying looks at our quest. 

Just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone again. We stopped off to thank Javie and to report the sighting.

Next stop was Schlotzsky's for a small original combo with cracked pepper chips for me, Alvin likes jalapeno, before spending the rest of the cold windy afternoon at the Museum of South Texas History.   The museum traces more than 500 years of history starting with prehistoric a mammoth skeleton and the earliest human inhabitants. 

We especially enjoyed the exhibits covering the cotton industry and the river boat trade. The museum includes the old Hidalgo County jail constructed in 1910, currently closed for renovation and restoration. 

Thursday the weather took a real nosedive that kept us mostly housebound and shivering for 48 hours. Finally figured out the circuits so we could plug in 2 electric heaters just to keep the inside temp up to 68. Opening the closet was like walking into a freezer. 

Began warming up on Saturday just in time for our tours and the sunshine finally returned briefly on Sunday.

Saturday and Sunday tours were around our fresh water lake, Laguna Atascosa, for which the refuge is named. At 3500 acres and the largest body of fresh water in South Texas except for Falcon Reservoir, it is the only reliable source of fresh water on the refuge. Pelican Lake on the Bayside Loop is totally dependent on rainwater. Laguna Atascosa does receive some water from Cayo Atascosa, a 5 mile long canal running under Hwy 106.

We tallied 54 species on Saturday and 55 species on Sunday. Saturday was cold, very foggy and visibility was limited. Sunday was warm enough for mosquitoes to be a problem, but visibility was much better. Saturday's highlights were Aplomado Falcon in 2 different locations. We also nabbed 5 Common Yellowthroat and 3 Cactus Wren. I'm amazed at the number of Yellowthroat we find in this thick thornscrub habitat. I'm used to seeing them in cattail marshes. Sunday's tour had Snow Goose and Sandhill Crane and 3 species of Grebe, Eared, Pied-billed, and Least.
The surface of the lake was covered with ducks, but some were so far out identification was impossible. Yellow-rumped Warbler were common and abundant with a total of 38.

Buena Vista Ranch abutes the Refuge, had a good herd of American Bison and the small herd of Burros. They were working cattle Sunday morning as we passed by. 

On the afternoon bird walk at 2 PM, I refound the common Pauraque. A female Hooded Oriole took a bath at the wetlands adjacent to the alligator trough. Sadly, no photos this time. 

Little Blue Heron and White Ibis took to the tree along the Cayo Atascosa. 

A pair of Couch's Kingbird occupied the trees near the picnic area when we arrived at the Visitor Center to prepare for the Sunday tour. 

Monday's tour was to the Bahia Grande Unit of the Refuge. Weather was decent, starting at 65 degrees with sunshine. We only managed a total of 30 species, but what a wonderful day we had. 

A herd of Nilgai flushed a Short-eared Owl from the cord grass which flew directly at the van affording great looks for everyone. We missed several species usually seen on this tour and numbers were surprisingly low. Thinking we had dipped completely on the Aplomados, we had exited Tower Gate and were preparing to enter Hwy 100 when one of the visitors spotted 3 raptors approaching. 2 Aplomado Falcons engaged 2 White-tailed Hawk in a territorial dispute while we watched gape jawed. The flight of the Falcons is amazing and their tenacity is unrivaled. After soundly whomping the larger White-tails, they disappeared as quickly as they materialized. A pair of Chihuahuan Raven watched the entire encounter from a safe distance. 

An Texbird report of the Amazon Kingfisher has us planning an excursion tomorrow morning. 

February 2

Back at work on the refuge...
Saturday tour to Bahia Grande, a couple from Baja California and 3 men from "New York City"...
Birds were hard to find due to winds gusting to 28 mph and numbers were low. We missed several of the usual species due to a wet road on the loma just inside the red gate. Highlights for some were the Long-billed Curlew.  We did manage to score on the Aplomado Falcon near the tower gate when 1 flushed off a fence post and hunkered down against the brisk south wind. The mate was soon located in the same grove.

Back at the visitor center after lunch we had a scheduled bird walk around the trails. Only 4 people joined us and they left right after the gator trough.

The little girl wanted to know why he didn't move, I tried to explain he didn't need to move very much because he just sat there to wait for something good to eat to come along. 

Then I checked the dry resaca for pauraque and located one sleeping between two downed trees...

perfectly camouflaged among the detritus. 

I also snagged a Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-eyed Vireo, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the same area. Too fast for my camera. 

Sunday morning we had our first tour of the Laguna Atascosa Unit. We tallied 51 species, although numbers were small except for ducks and coots. 

Sunday afternoon, we scrubbed the bird walk and took Cary and Leon around West Lake Road in prep for their birding tour later in the week. We picked up species not seen on the morning tour like Yellow-legs and many mammal species. 

We discussed if this was Gregory Peccary 

After counting the legs on this youngster

we opted for Olivia de Javelina 

A pair of feral hogs turned into a family unit when 2 piglets were discovered running after mama and papa. 

Feral hogs came into being after Russian Boars were introduced into the US for exotic hunting and they escaped and mated with domestic pics. 

Feral hogs can bear 3 litters a year with a maximum of 16 per litter, and they can reproduce at six months of age. 

Sandhill crane occupied the roadway crossing a coastal prairie usually home to Aplomado Falcon. As we approached they took to the air. 

Shortly after, the cold front arrived and cut our drive short, opting not to drive Gator Pond Road and arriving back at the maintenance building to park the van and prepare for tomorrow's tour to Bahia Grande.