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Archive for the ‘Weslaco’ Category

Estero Llano Grande State Park

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

See the bird in the above picture and how well it blends into the background? Estero Llano Grande State Park, one of the World Birding Center sites in South Texas, is the only place I’ve seen a common poorwill. One was pointed out to me when I was here a few years ago. On this visit I looked in the same area I had seen it before…and there it was. It is right next to a walking path. It doesn’t move or open it’s eyes when you walk near it. With my eyes, I will probably never see another one, unless it’s pointed out to me.

Common yellowthroat

Curved-billed thrasher

Golden-fronted woodpecker

Chachalaca

The rv park I’m staying at doesn’t do much to attract birds, but to my surprise, there are some black-bellied whistling ducks there and a loggerhead shrike perches right next to my rv. The ducks are often having disputes. Someone is putting out some birdseed and I think they are fighting over it.

Posted in Alamo, chachalaca, common poorwill, common yellowthroat, shrike, State, thrasher, Weslaco, woodpecker | Comments Off

Frontera Audubon Thicket

Saturday, January 8th, 2011

Always enjoy visiting the Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco, Texas. It is on 15 acres that used to be a grapefruit ranch. There are still many grapefruit trees that provide fruit for the birds. The curved pathways through the thicket provide a meditative walk. It is a small area, but you can feel like you are lost on your first visit there. There are several feeding stations, with grapefruit, birdseed, and hummingbird feeders put out for the birds and chairs for people to sit and watch them. You hear the sounds of plain chachalaca’s running through the bushes.

The two warblers above are two I’ve never seen before. They both took advantage of a small stream to bathe. The top picture is a black-throated green warbler and the bottom one is a Wilson’s warbler.