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UNITED STATES UNITED STATES Bob Gibbons / Alamy TEXAS It’s birds aplenty in this grand, rich and varied habitat WORDS: STUART WINTER T here is certainly no better way to embrace TexMex species in all their colourful grandeur than by participating in the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival (RGVBF). British expat Julian Hough, who lives in Connecticut, has become a leading light on the American birding scene, and helped introduce me to some of the Rio Grande’s most eagerly-sought birds, as I worked through a five-day itinerary of field trips that the birding festival organisers had customised to help me see most of the valley’s specialities. Leading a crocodile of birders – or should that be alligator in these parts – along the labyrinthine trails of the famous Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Julian was quickly pointing out birds that had been high on my wish list. Feisty Great Kiskadees with their bandit masks held us up as they dashed from look-out to look-out. Even brighter Green Jays, a dream for any colouring book fanatic, played tag in denser cover, their striking green and yellow plumage absorbed by the leaf colour. An Altamira Oriole exploded into view in all its fiery glory. Think flying Christmas lights! As we made our way out of the riparian forest into open wetlands, Julian served up another Rio Grande delicacy, Green Kingfisher, an emerald gem of a bird but surprisingly easy to overlook on a concealed perch. Amid the hubbub of wildfowl and shorebirds, there were Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Common Pauraque Black-crested Titmouse much-sought Least Grebes and Mottled Ducks to pick out from the Blue-winged Teal and countless American Coot. Suddenly, the already buoyant mood went up several notches. Julian was on a Hook-billed Kite. The list-hungry Americans went into a frenzy. This was a lifer for many of them, a real doodledandy of a bird for those who had travelled from New York, Washington state and California to see Texas’ finest. On paddle-like wings, it soared effortlessly over the dense stands of moss-covered ebony trees, avoiding the attentions of a passing Harris’s Hawk, before disappearing from view. The hawk had no doubt found a supply of its favourite food – tree snails. One day’s Texan birding, a notebook littered with asterisks denoting lifers, and the adventure was only beginning. Mike Weedon TEXAS Mike Weedon Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge Two hours upstream of the festival headquarters, Salineno, with its population of 302, is unlikely to feature on many tourist itineraries, but for American birdwatchers, the views this hummingbird of a hamlet provides over the Rio Grande has made it a place of legends. The dusty shoreline is pockmarked with tripod feet and engrained in the memories of all those have made a pilgrimage here over the years to see truly wild Muscovy Ducks. I had to make do with three species of kingfisher. Belted and Green were quickly under the belt, but a copper-breasted Ringed Kingfisher, a brash, bruiser of a bird that has ‘gone large’ with the bill order, was simply mesmerising as it disintegrated the Rio Grande’s tranquil somnolence with its raucous calls. A soaring Zone-tailed Hawk, shining out amid a huge flock of Black Vultures, followed by a ghostly Grey Hawk, quickened the pulse to such an extent that some people needed a sit down. There was only one place in town: the nearby winter feeding station with its amphitheatre seating plan to allow perfect viewing of more RG – I was now using the local language – specialities. Among the ostentatious Green Jays and blazing Altamira Orioles, squabbling over strategically positioned orange slices, diffident Olive Sparrows lurked. A Black-crested Titmouse, a recent split from its Tufted relation, and superb Altamira Oriole, another Mexican speciality with a restricted range in 2 World Birding 2016
SPONSORED BY Great Kiskadee Mike Weedon Exclusive online content birdwatching.co.uk/ worldbirding Black-necked Stilts Mike Weedon Flycatchers from taking up squatting rights on virtually every post. Next was a three-hour coach journey to the legendary frontier town of Laredo. The gunfighters have long gone. Perhaps they were driven out of town by the seedeaters? These birds sure are mean. The Rio Grande’s reedy river margins are the only place in the USA to see White-collared Seedeaters, though even in the thin ribbon of habitat, they are as skulking and secretive as any Locustella or Acrocephalus warbler. We searched and searched. A whisper trickled through the group: seedeater showing. Even with 20 trans-Atlantic trips under my belt, the RGVBF provided me with 26 lifers. They included: Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Tropical and Couch’s Kingbirds, a best-by-call identification challenge, Long-billed and Curve-billed Thrashers, Clay-coloured Thrush and, remarkably approachable – though camouflaged – Common Pauraques. Altamira Oriole Mike Weedon With thanks to: Bird Watching attended the festival, courtesy of Nancy Millar, director of McAllen Convention & Visitors’ Bureau. web: mcallencvb.com A great place to stay in the valley is at the Alamo Inn B&B, a few minutes’ drive from Santa Ann National Wildlife Refuge. Visit alamoinnbnb.com Mike Weedon Texas, kept the life list rolling. Cattle country came next. The festival programme’s exhaustive trip itinerary had me venturing into Kleberg County. Shorebirds, never waders the other side of the Atlantic, took advantage of a rolling landscape dappled with pools as they arrived fresh from the Arctic tundra. Peeps Caption – for Western, on a Semipalmated and Least picture Sandpipers – scuttled between the legs of lanky American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. Stilt Sandpipers looked on with a suspicious air, wary of any marauding raptors. There were plenty to fear. Northern Harriers seemed to be patrolling every field, outnumbered only by the American Kestrels on top of each telephone pole. Crested Caracaras and delectable White-tailed Hawks were a reminder that we were in deepest Texas. A huge flock of American White Pelicans, numbering at least 5,000 birds, turned the famous Texan ‘big skies’ into a monochrome kaleidoscope with their abstract shapes set in the pale, milky afternoon sky. Only the purple-painted fence posts provided an incongruous dash of colour. The reason for the colour wash was chilling: purple denotes a land owner’s right to shoot first, ask questions later. Worrying, indeed, but it failed to deter the migrating Scissor-tailed NATURE DX 8X25 Even if you’re taking a full-size pair of binoculars on your travels, a pair of compacts is a good back-up to have handy in all situations, and the Nature DX 8x25s, which are waterproof, offer great optical performance in a small package, producing a bright, sharp, natural image with a user-friendly design. At just £113, they’re not going to break the bank, either – for more details see celestron.com birdwatching.co.uk 3
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