Whew! What a day! Over 200 miles in the car, caravaning around Cameron County, Texas, with my client Mary from Austin. The water feature at Resaca de la Palma produced a male Blue Bunting, female Crimson-collared Grosbeak, and a heard Dusky-capped Flycatcher.
Next we moved on to the Gladys Porter Zoo, where the Golden-crowned Warbler is still giving crushing looks for anyone who cares to notice, a mere five feet away.
Cell phone photo of Golden-crowned Warbler
South Padre Island Birding Center had a gorgeous male “Mangrove” Yellow Warbler, a target of my client’s and also my first of the year. This bird neither looks nor sounds like a Yellow Warbler, and I'm confident that someday it will be split into its own species. New year birds for me here included Stilt Sandpiper and Louisiana Waterthrush.
Year List: 471
March 15
After another full day of guiding Mary (yet another happy Elegant Trogon viewer!), I stopped over to Hugh Ramsey Park in Harlingen, Texas, where a female Lazuli Bunting had recently been seen. I spent about an hour there, and saw a few Indigo Buntings, but no luck with the Lazuli.
March 16
I guided Bill from College Station all day; the Elegant Trogon at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco was MIA all day by all observers, but we did have a Common Nighthawk give its nasal "peert" call as it flew overhead. After finishing at Estero, we headed over to try for the Lazuli Bunting. The female is noticeably unstressed in the breast, and has white wing bars, compared to buffy wing bars on female Indigo Buntings. After about half an hour of feeder watching, it briefly came in to the brush behind the feeders. We finished our day with a Dusky-capped Flycatcher at Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen.
Year List: 473
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