Misses, Mud, and "The Chinese"

After a fantastic few days of birding in Texas, we still had one or two birds on the target list including Ringed Kingfisher. This is another one of those birds that is regularly found in Central America but rare in the U.S. I have seen a few on our various trips to Belize, Mexico and Honduras but not in the U.S. The bird is pretty regular in a few of the parks that border the Rio Grande river. Mary took us to one park on Saturday but we didn't see the bird.

We started the day at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park. We were the second car in the parking lot. The other car was actually a van full of birders dressed in camouflage and carrying cameras with giant lenses. We found out that 2 were from China, 2 from Vancouver and 2 from Toronto - all Chinese birders on a tour of the US.

After a grueling and practically birdless 5 mile walk, we struck out on finding the Kingfisher. We did find a few Altamira Orioles to photograph.

Altamira Oriole

And found this Javelina wandering around the picnic area. He scurried away when he saw us.

Javelina

This is Plain Chachalaca. We saw many on our trip but they are usually skulking around under the trees in the shade. This one came out into the sun briefly.

Plain Chachalaca

We struck out on the Ringed Kingfisher so we headed out to our next destination to see if we could find Mountain Plovers that had been reported in a farm field. We searched and scanned and searched and scanned but not a plover in sight. The field was so large that we couldn't see the other side. The plovers must be there! So we took the Jeep and followed the service road. We were surprised to find a covy of Bobwhite!

Bobwhite

We also found a little patch of mud. The Jeep was stuck.

Muscles

A few pushes and the Jeep was free. Lori was a muddy mess. And we still couldn't find the plovers. Strike two for the day.

Mud

Barbara had to be at the airport to fly to Denver so we gave up on the plover search and dropped her off at Harligen airport.

It was a longshot, but Lori and I decided to head 2 hours north to try to see Whooping Cranes. Why not? Whooping Cranes eluded us on our last trip to Texas. We showed up 2 days after they migrated north in April. Now, in November, we hoped to catch the first few as they arrived to spend the winter. Off we went in our muddy Jeep. The speed limit in Texas is 75 MPH and we were going faster to make it to Goose Island before sunset. We were passing a lot of cars and pickup trucks and one big van. Guess who was driving? The Chinese guy from this morning! We slowed down long enough to wave and then sped off again.

We arrived at Goose Island in time to search the area for Cranes and found a few Sandhill Cranes which are gray, but no Whooping Cranes which are white. We drove to the Visitor Center to ask about the Cranes. The guy told us to look in the campground which was ridiculous so we headed back to the field to try again. Guess who we ran into at the parking area? Yup. The Chinese guys. They drove up to see the Cranes too. We laughed and chatted with them for a few minutes and then headed out for one more chance to save the day's birding.

I spent some time photographing this very accommodating Meadowlark.

Meadowlark

And then they flew in - 3 Whooping Cranes! The Chinese guys came running up because they heard the Whooping Cranes calling as they flew in. The birds settled into the back of the field for a few minutes and then lifted off again. The lighting was perfect.

Whooping Cranes

We averted Strike Three for the day and everyone was happy! Here are our Chinese friends celebrating. If you are going to Conowingo Dam next week, look for them there. They are on a whirlwind tour.

Chinese Birders

Our Gang's Secret Spot

The birding "community" is like a giant school yard full of kids. Some you know, some you don't. Some have reputations, some are shy. Some are smart. Some are not so smart. There are cliques for sure but basically, there aren't any all out schoolyard fights. We know the cool kids but we aren't in their circle. We think the cool kids have their secret spots that they don't share with the community. Well thanks to our friend Yong, we now have our secret spot. Its not so secret but it is private property that we have permission to enter for birding purposes. 

Yong has been going on his own for some time now. He found a rare bird there a few weeks ago so Harvey and I decided to join him to see if we could refind the bird last Saturday. It was hot. Here are the guys - Yong, Harvey and Steve - and Peanut too. It started out pretty easy. 

The Gang

Then the path became more challenging. We had to bushwhack through high grasses and weeds along the dike. You can barely make out Steve's hat above the grass. Forget about trying to find Peanut. 

The Path

Once we got out to the end of the path, it opened up so that we could see the mudflats that the shorebirds love. We found a tagged bird - Semipalmated Sandpiper J5U. 

SESA J5U

We also found this Wilson's Phalarope which is a pretty unexpected find in mudflats. We usually see these in more water.

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope in flight

We gave up searching for Yong's rare bird and headed back down the dike. Of course, Harvey wasn't going to give up. And of course, he found the bird - Curlew Sandpiper. I swear he is charmed with this species. Unfortunately, I was the only one that got a photo of the bird. I swear, it is in this photo . . .

Curlew Sandpiper

Peanut had a great time in the mud.  She ran out and chased some birds which wasn't cool at all. She came back pretty quick. 

Peanut

She also had fun running through the grass. 

The shorebirds whirled around just above our heads when the resident Peregrine Falcons from the last post flew by.

I have to say that the experience was great. And my gang is great. We are happy not to be part of the cool kids. We have our own fun at our own pace and even find some cool birds on our own.