Subject: [Tweeters] Texas birding: red-hot
Date: Feb 1 21:34:49 2005
From: Scott Atkinson - scottratkinson at hotmail.com


Tweeters:

Just wanted to pass along to anyone in Tweeterland contemplating a first
Texas trip, or a return to get those ones missed last time, that this is the
time to go. Although down here on business, I managed my usual weekend down
from Houston and, with the multitudes, got great looks at that deep blue
phantom, the male Blue Bunting (Santa Ana, there's also a Hook-billed Kite
there, and two recent reports of Social Flycatcher!), plus Crimson-collared
Grosbeak and White-throated Robin (Frontera Audobon in Weslaco, both also
found recently at several other sites).

I missed on both tries, but there are also two Golden-crowned Warblers in
the area, also the same Gray-crowned Yellowthroat at Sabal that was there
last year, and a Rufous-capped Warbler is staked-out up near San Antonio.
Tropical Parulas are at several sites. A Green-breasted Mango stayed
several weeks in McAllen (but is now apparently gone), a Blue Mockingbird
shows up occasionally at a nearby residence, and--believe it or not--at
least one Roadside Hawk was reported recently. I went to Anzalduas County
Park following up a diffferent report of Roadside there from Saturday that
the two observers then retracted, only to stumble on a slender raptor that
the three of us were convinced was neither Red-sh nor Broad-winged, but none
of us had any prior experience with Roadside, nor any good field guide for
it! There was also a thirdhand Social Fly report from Anzalduas also during
the week prior, following up a staked-out bird seen by many at Bentsen.

So it doesn't get any hotter for rarities from south of the border, and the
birder visitation shows it. The Dallas news even had an article on the
birders flocking down to the lower valley. If you want to follow along on
the sightings, check out Texbirds on the www.birdingonthe.net. Amazingly,
while all the rarities have been turning up, the weather has been quite cool
and wet--40s and 50s a number of days--and they even had a significant
snowfall Christmas day, as far south as Brownsville, the first time in 100
years! Yet it was warm enough (in the 60s-70s) last weekend for mosquitos,
snakes, and ticks. I've found 5-6 of the latter since the weekend, luckily
none have gotten the bite on; and the snake sighting was from the beat of an
unhappy Red-shouldered Hawk, which, right over the Rio Grande, chased off
our magic buteo (which had the snake in its talons) before retreating to the
Mexican side.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com