Hi!
I'm safely back from my wonderful trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of
Texas. My trip lasted from 3/30-4/5/97. The guided tour was from the
evening of 3/30 until noon of 4/4.

The tour was conducted by the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas
Southmost College. Our tour leader was Steve Walker, and his assistant
was Jimmy Hernandez. There were 20 people on the tour, divided into two
vans which traveled together, and were connected by radio.

During parts 1 and 3 of the tour, we stayed at the Ramada Inn, 1900B
Elizabeth St., Brownsville, TX. During part 2 we stayed at the Oso
Blanco Inn on Route 83 in Zapata, TX (overlooking Falcon Lake).

Just a note about this trip--it was the most fun birding trip I have ever
been on. We had terrific tour leaders, and a great group of folks from
all across the U.S. Most were experienced birders, with only one novice
in the group.

If you are deadly serious about birding, this trip may not be for you.
Our tour leaders made a couple of "mistakes," and we made several.
However, with all the eyes we had observing, any mistakes were quickly
sorted out with the help of our various and sundry field guides.

We did see quite a few very good birds. However, the emphasis seemed to
be not just on birding, but on having fun with some very intelligent
people who share one of your interests.
I repeat, I had a VERY good time, and made some friends. I highly
recommend this VERY INEXPENSIVE birding tour.

Because of all the rain this region has had lately (mostly at night
during our tour), everything was green and lush, and the desert was in
bloom. There were flowering plants and butterflies everywhere.
Unfortunately, I don't know anything about them. When I get a little
more experienced with the birds, I'll start studying butterflies and
flowers. Please excuse this lack of information. I know we did see
flowering purple sage and prickly-pear cactus, as well as Texas
sunflowers.

I arrived after dark on Saturday, 3/29 and checked into the Ramada.
There is a resaca (oxbow lake) in back of and across the street from the
hotel.

On my first full day at the Ramada, I was awakened by a cacophony of
birds calling from the Washingtonian palms in front of the hotel. As it
was still dark, I couldn't really identify the several species that were
putting up a racket. I did identify the silhouettes of the great-tailed
grackles as they began swooping out of the trees. These birds make
almost as many different calls as mockingbirds. I don't know if they are
trying to imitate other birds, but they sure can confuse someone who is
new to their area!

I also saw parakeet-shaped birds in the trees, but only caught glimpses
of green, as it was still not light.

After breakfast at 6 a.m., I followed a convenient path that runs from
the Resaca Restaurant along the resaca back to the Ramada Inn. A bench
provided a resting spot to relax and get oriented. As I sat there, I
noticed that the cormorants lined up along the pilings were not all the
same. With my naked eye, I could see that one appeared to be smaller,
and his face looked different. In my binocs, I could see a partial white
marking along the side of the bill. That, and the overall smaller size,
convinced me that I was looking at a neotropic cormorant (not a life
bird). The others were double-crested cormorants.

A raucous woodpecker, with a call like a red-bellied, flew in and landed
on the side of one of the palms--a golden-fronted woodpecker!! This was
my first life bird on this trip to Texas.
A kingfisher flew in and perched on one of the pilings. This tiny,
big-headed bird was a green kingfisher, and my second life bird. I
thought I would have a much harder time finding the green kingfisher, as
I read somewhere during my trip research that they were "secretive." Not
this bird!
During about an hour of relaxation, I was entertained by laughing gulls,
domestic geese and ducks, great and snowy egrets, a pair of green herons,
killdeer, royal terns, tree swallows, mallards, mourning doves, rock
doves, starlings, house sparrows, and a beautiful osprey. What a way to
start a vacation!

Before dinner that evening, we met our guide, Steve Walker. He promptly
took us across the street from the Ramada, to the opposite side of the
resaca.There, high in a Washingtonian palm, a nesting red-crowned parrot
was peering out of its nest cavity! Lifer #3 for this trip!

We went back to the restaurant, where we met Steve's assistant, Jimmy
Hernandez. We got our orientation and dinner, and made plans for leaving
the next day.

What follows is a day-by-day list of our activities and the birds seen.
If UTBTG is listed after a bird's name, it means someone else on the tour
saw the bird, not me. I have tried to put other's observations in where
I knew of them. However, most of this is what I saw. Just ignore the
numbers after the bird names that begin with #, they are notes for my
"Anything Goes" life list. Numbers in parenthesis indicate numbers of
birds seen.

3/30/97 Ramada Inn, 1900B Elizabeth Street, Brownsville, TX (CP) 5:30
am-6 pm, overcast, strong afternoon breeze, 75 degrees
This area is on a resaca (oxbow lake), surrounded by Washingtonian Palms
(not native) and lawn. Wow! awakened in early am to the cacophony of
raucous calls of great-tailed grackles, Mexican green parakeets, and
golden-fronted woodpeckers that roost in the Washingtonian palms. What
a racket! What fun! Birds seen: golden-fronted woodpecker #429, green
kingfisher #430, red-crowned parrot (Washingtonian palm nesting cavity)
#431, great-tailed grackle, starling, house sparrow, great egret, snowy
egret, green heron, killdeer, double-crested cormorant, neotropic
cormorant, laughing gull, royal tern, tree swallow, mallard, mourning
dove, rock dove, osprey, red-winged blackbird, spotted sandpiper

3/31/97 Ramada Inn, 1900B Elizabeth St., Brownsville, TX (CP & University
of Texas at Brownsville Tour Group-UTBTG) Our Team in Van #10 led by
Steve Walker included the following people: Patricia (Houston, TX), Bob,
(Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada), Burt & Mitze (Knoxville, TN), Ed
(Harwich Port, Cape Cod, MA), Len & Shirley (Anniston, AL), and Clare
(Horace) & Sharon (Pullman, WA) 6:30-7 a.m. Overcast, 55 degrees. Birds
seen: Mexican green parakeet, great-tailed grackle, red-crowned parrot,
golden-fronted woodpecker, black-bellied whistling duck

South Padre Island Causeway & Boardwalk at the Convention Center, TX
7:45-10:30? am (salt & fresh marsh)
Wilsons plover #431, snowy egret, laughing gull, cattle egret,
tricolored heron, little blue heron, American avocet, black-necked stilt,
redhead, greater yellowlegs, American coot, common gallinule, northern
harrier, red-winged blackbird, great blue heron, great egret, reddish
egret (white phase), red-breasted merganser, black skimmer, ring-billed
gull, herring gull, yellow- rumped warbler (Myrtle race), yellow-crowned
night heron, tree swallow, sora, Virginia rail, marbled godwit, Caspian
tern, royal tern, sandwich tern, long-billed curlew, scissor-tailed
flycatcher, semi-palmated plover, killdeer, black-bellied plover,
short-billed dowitcher, least sandpiper, willet, house sparrow, white
ibis, brown pelican

Barbara Kennetts house, South Padre Island, TX 11 a.m.?, 65 degrees
common yellowthroat, hooded warbler, Nashville warbler (orange flecks on
head visible), ruby-throated hummingbird, Lincolns sparrow, northern
mockingbird, yellow-throated warbler

South Padre Island, TX around noon
blue-winged teal, eastern meadowlark, white-eyed vireo, hooded warbler

3/31/97 En route to & at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, TX 1-6
p.m. (45,000 acres of wetlands)
Harris hawk #432, bronzed cowbird (sick) #433, green jay #434, olive
sparrow #435, Couchs kingbird #436, reddish egret (red phase), king
rail, barn swallow, osprey, black-bellied whistling-duck, fulvous
whistling-duck, long-billed dowitcher, Chihuahuan raven, greater
roadrunner, white-tailed kite, broad-winged hawk (kettle of 100),
northern cardinal, Lincolns sparrow, great-tailed grackle, red-winged
blackbird, pied-billed grebe, gadwall, black-crowned night heron,
yellow-crowned night heron, ruddy duck, chimney swift, northern
rough-winged swallow, American white pelican, loggerhead shrike, American
kestrel, eared grebe, lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, starling, rock
dove, mourning dove, roseate spoonbill, Nashville warbler, Mexican
ground-squirrel

4/1/97 Ramada Inn, 1900B Elizabeth St., Brownsville, TX (CP & UTBTG) 6
am, overcast, 60 degrees
great kiskadee #437 (a pair, carrying nesting material between the
palms), Mexican green parakeet, great-tailed grackle, tree swallow,
starling, rock dove, golden-fronted woodpecker, mallard, mourning dove,
laughing gull

On the road to Santa Ana NWR, TX
northern mockingbird, white-winged dove, snowy egret, cattle egret,
scissor-tailed flycatcher, great egret, tricolored heron

Santa Ana NWR, TX (2,088 acres of subtropical riparian woodland) 9 am
plain chachalaca #438, Botteris sparrow #439, least grebe #440,
broad-winged hawk (kettle of about 100), blue-gray gnatcatcher, great
kiskadee, belted kingfisher, white-faced ibis, neotropic cormorant,
pied-billed grebe, northern shoveler, American coot, anhinga (M & F),
great egret, tufted titmouse, golden-fronted woodpecker, common
yellowthroat (F), ladder-backed woodpecker, green jay, northern
rough-winged swallow, Couchs kingbird, red-winged blackbird,
black-necked stilt, greater yellowlegs, spotted sandpiper, ruddy duck,
American bittern, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal (UTBTG), tricolored
heron

Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, TX Noon, 70 degrees
white-tipped dove #441, common ground-dove #442, brown thrasher, Harris
hawk, golden-fronted woodpecker (eating grapefruit!), great-tailed
grackle, great egret, tufted titmouse (black-crested), Couchs kingbird,
northern flicker, Inca dove, bronzed cowbird

On the road to Zapata (arrived 3 pm)
turkey vulture, Chihuahuan raven

On the banks of the Rio Grande in Salineno, TX 4:15 pm (just a nice spot
by the river)
ringed kingfisher #443, Altamira oriole #444, eastern phoebe, Harris
hawk, loggerhead shrike, scissor-tailed flycatcher, barn swallow, snowy
egret, spotted sandpiper, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, white-faced
ibis, American pipit, laughing gull, American white pelican, pied-billed
grebe, great kiskadee, black vulture, turkey vulture

On the road back to Zapata (just past a rest area/overlook on the right)
is a culvert where we saw -
cave swallow #445

4/2/97 Oso Blanco Inn, Route 83, Zapata, TX (CP & UTBTG) 6:30 am,
overcast, 65 degrees
crested caracara #446, scissor-tailed flycatcher, house sparrow,
great-tailed grackle, northern mockingbird, scaled quail, cattle egret,
starling, cactus wren, sage thrasher (UTBTG)

On the road to Chapeno, TX
white-winged dove, house sparrow, scissor-tailed flycatcher, Couchs
kingbird, Chihuahuan raven, mourning dove, crested caracara, black
vulture

On the banks of the Rio Grande in Chapeno, TX 7:45 am, light rain
hooded oriole #447 (Mexican bank), northern rough-winged swallow, ringed
kingfisher, white-tipped dove, osprey, northern cardinal, laughing gull,
tufted titmouse, double-crested cormorant, Audubons oriole (UTBTG),
killdeer, mourning dove, gull-billed tern, red-winged blackbird,
great-tailed grackle, mourning dove, American white pelican, great egret

Falcon Dam, TX 10 am - Noon
Audubons oriole #448 (Mexican bank), hooded oriole (US bank), black
vulture, turkey vulture, killdeer, snowy egret, great blue heron,
red-winged blackbird, Couchs kingbird (Seen from above, the crown of its
head had a central black stripe bordered by two yellow stripes. Has
anyone seen this in a field guide? We couldn't find this marking
depicted in any of ours), double-crested cormorant, osprey, least
sandpiper, brown thrasher, Swainsons hawk,
cactus wren

4/2/97 Oso Blanco Inn, Route 83, Zapata, TX (CP & UTBTG)
American white pelican (12)

On the road to San Ygnacio, TX 1:30 pm
turkey vulture, Chihuahuan raven

Cemetery, San Ygnacio, TX 2 pm
Lincolns sparrow, Savannah sparrow, mourning dove, rock dove

Judges ranch, San Ygnacio, TX 3-5 pm (I don't remember the Judge's
name-S.Walker has permission to bird the ranch).
barn owl #449, lark sparrow, greater roadrunner, black-tailed jackrabbit

On the road to Zapata, TX
turkey vultures (mating atop a telephone pole)

4/3/97 Oso Blanco Inn, Route 83, Zapata, TX (CP & UTBTG) 6:30 am,
overcast, 60 degrees
northern mockingbird, killdeer

On the road to Chapeno, TX
great egret, Harris hawk, crested caracara, great-tailed grackle, turkey
vulture, rock dove

On the banks of the Rio Grande at Chapeno, TX 7-10:30 am, light rain
brown jay #450, long-billed thrasher #451 (Mexico), gray hawk #452
(Mexico), Inca dove, northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, tree swallow,
golden-fronted woodpecker, bronzed cowbird, great kiskadee, white-tipped
dove, American coot, northern rough-winged swallow, great egret (20),
ash-throated flycatcher (CP), red-winged blackbird

On the road to Zapata Library
red-billed pigeon #453, crested caracara, pyrrhuloxia, eastern
meadowlark, Swainsons hawk, black vulture, American kestrel

Library at Zapata, TX 11 am-Noon, overcast, 80 degrees
lesser goldfinch, house sparrow, Inca dove, killdeer, osprey

On the road to Salineno, TX
Harris hawk, Swainsons hawk, Chihuahuan raven, crested caracara,
curve-billed thrasher, tufted titmouse

On the banks of the Rio Grande, Salineno, TX
great egret, white-faced ibis, American pipit, spotted sandpiper, greater
yellowlegs, snowy egret, American white pelicans (60) and broad-winged
hawks (40) kettling in the same thermal, Couchs kingbird, golden-fronted
woodpecker, double-crested cormorant, royal tern, black-bellied whistling
duck, northern cardinal, red-eared slider

4/4/97 Ramada Inn, 1900B Elizabeth St., Brownsville, TX (CP & UTBTG) 6:30
am, overcast, breezy, 65 degrees
great-tailed grackle, Mexican green parakeet, great egret, golden-fronted
woodpecker, rock dove, tree swallow

On the road to Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary, TX 7:30 am-10 am (?)
buff-bellied hummingbird #454, cattle egret, killdeer, starling,
red-winged blackbird, golden-fronted woodpecker, American coot,
broad-winged hawk, blue-winged teal, Carolina wren, pied-billed grebe,
least grebe, yellow-rumped warbler (Myrtle & Audubons races),
white-tipped dove, double-crested cormorant, black-bellied whistling
duck, tree swallow, great kiskadee, tufted titmouse, summer tanager (F),
green jay, white-eyed vireo, northern mockingbird

On the road to the mouth of the Rio Grande
Mexican crow #455, turkey vulture, northern harrier, white-faced ibis,
reddish egret (red phase)

Mouth of the Rio Grande/Gulf of Mexico 11:00 am-Noon (?)
willet, osprey, Wilsons plover, semi-palmated sandpiper, sanderling,
Mexican crow, horned lark (imm.), red knot (UTBTG), ring-billed gull,
gull-billed tern, laughing gull, ruddy turnstone, brown pelican,
white-tailed hawk, red-tailed hawk (dark morph), snowy plover

4/5/97 Ramada Inn, 1900B Elizabeth St., Brownsville, TX (CP) 6:30-8 am,
overcast
great-tailed grackle, golden-fronted woodpecker, green heron,
double-crested cormorant, Mexican green parakeet, great kiskadee

I saw 156 species of birds on this trip, 25 ABA life birds, and 29
"Anything Goes" life birds.
The tally for the Van #10 group was 176 species.

The trip list for the group in Van #10 follows. An asterisk indicates
the birds on my trip list. All caps indicates life birds (whichever
list it fits). A notation follows each bird that was seen perched only
on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, or which doesn't qualify for my
ABA life list for another reason.

*LEAST GREBE
*pied-billed grebe
horned grebe
*eared grebe
*American white pelican
*brown pelican
*double-crested cormorant
*neotropic cormorant
*anhinga
*American bittern
*great blue heron
*great egret
*snowy egret
*little blue heron
*tri-colored heron
*reddish egret (white and reddish phases)
*cattle egret
*green heron
*black-crowned night heron
*yellow-crowned night heron
*white ibis
*white-faced ibis
glossy ibis
*roseate spoonbill
*fulvous whistling-duck
*black-bellied whistling-duck
muscovy duck
*American black duck
*mallard
*mottled duck
northern pintail
*blue-winged teal
*cinnamon teal
*northern shoveler
*gadwall
American widgeon
*redhead
*ring-necked duck
*lesser scaup
hooded merganser
*red-breasted merganser
*ruddy duck
*black vulture
*turkey vulture
*osprey
*white-tailed kite
*northern harrier
*HARRIS' HAWK
*broad-winged hawk
*Swainson's hawk
*white-tailed hawk
*GRAY HAWK (Mexico)
*CRESTED CARACARA
*American kestrel
*PLAIN CHACHALACA
clapper rail
*Virginia rail
*king rail
*sora
purple gallinule
*common moorhen
*American coot
*black-bellied plover
*snowy plover
*WILSON'S PLOVER
*semipalmated plover
*killdeer
*black-necked stilt
*American avocet
*greater yellowlegs
*lesser yellowlegs
solitary sandpiper
*willet
*spotted sandpiper
*long-billed curlew
*marbled godwit
*ruddy turnstone
red knot
*sanderling
*semipalmated sandpiper
*western sandpiper
*least sandpiper
*short-billed dowitcher
*long-billed dowitcher
*laughing gull
*herring gull
*ring-billed gull
*gull-billed tern
*Caspian tern
*royal tern
*Sandwich tern
*Forster's tern
*black skimmer
*rock dove
*RED-BILLED PIGEON
*white-winged dove
*mourning dove
*Inca dove
*COMMON GROUND-DOVE
*WHITE-TIPPED DOVE
*Mexican green parakeet (now accepted in Texas, according to S.
Walker-not yet on ABA list)
*RED-CROWNED PARROT
red-lored parrot
*YELLOW-HEADED PARROT (not on ABA list)
*greater roadrunner
*BARN OWL
common paraque
*chimney swift
*BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD
*ruby-throated hummingbird
*RINGED KINGFISHER
*belted kingfisher
*GREEN KINGFISHER
*GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER
*ladder-backed woodpecker
*northern flicker
eastern phoebe
*ash-throated flycatcher
*GREAT KISKADEE
*COUCH'S KINGBIRD
*scissor-tailed flycatcher
*horned lark
*purple martin
*tree swallow
*northern rough-winged swallow
cliff swallow
*CAVE SWALLOW
*barn swallow
*GREEN JAY
*BROWN JAY
*MEXICAN CROW
*Chihuahuan raven
*tufted titmouse (black-crested)
*cactus wren
*Carolina wren
Bewick's wren
*marsh wren
*blue-gray gnatcatcher
clay-colored robin
American robin
*northern mockingbird
*brown thrasher
*LONG-BILLED THRASHER (Mexico)
*curve-billed thrasher
*American pipit
*loggerhead shrike
*European starling
*white-eyed vireo
solitary vireo
*Nashville warbler
*yellow-throated warbler
*common yellowthroat
*hooded warbler
*yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon's & Myrtle races)
*summer tanager
western tanager
*northern cardinal
*pyrrhuloxia
indigo bunting
*OLIVE SPARROW
green-tailed towhee
*BOTTERI'S SPARROW
lark sparrow
*Savannah sparrow
grasshopper sparrow
*Lincoln's sparrow
swamp sparrow
*red-winged blackbird
*eastern meadowlark
*great-tailed grackle
*BRONZED COWBIRD
*HOODED ORIOLE
*ALTAMIRA ORIOLE
*AUDUBON'S ORIOLE (Mexico)
*lesser goldfinch
*house sparrow

Cathi Pelletier
Waterbury, CT
Heronwing at juno.com