We just back from a ten day birding trip to South Texas. Texas is interesting with respect to birds, because it has both Eastern birds and Western birds. The Rio Grande Valley also has tropical birds. We went to Corpus Christi, Rockport, Kingsville, Harlingen, McAllen, Zapata, and Laredo. The weather ranged from cold, windy and rainy, to hot and humid.
We went on a boat to see the Whooping Cranes, and it was in the 40s and windy. Later, down in the Rio Grande Valley, it was up in the 80s and humid. As we got further inland, it got hotter, but drier. I think the hottest it got was about 90.
My husband always does a lot of research, so I knew how cold it could be on the boat, and took long underwear, fleece, Nanopuff vest and jacket, a Goretex jacket and pants, gloves and a warm hat, and I was fine. There were some on the boat that were freezing, though.
3. I used this waist pack every day for my wallet, phone, and lip balm. I had it for several months before I realized it matched my backpack.
4-7. What I wore nearly every day: Tilley hat, North Face wind breaker, Columbia Anytime nylon pants, Salomon shoes or boots, and a cotton tee shirt. The Salomon boots were newish and very comfortable. The windbreaker was good in the mornings until it warmed up. I also used a lot of sunscreen and insect repellant. We started using towelettes, and they worked very well.
Here is some of what we saw:
8. Cattle Tyrant - this bird has been hanging around Corpus Christi for several months. He is a nonmigratory South American bird. So how did he get there? That’s the mystery. He was very friendly and got within a couple feet of us.
9. Laughing Gulls - they had found a big lump of lasagna noodles and all wanted it.
10. Whooping Cranes - this family of three includes offspring from last year. There are an estimated 500 left in the world.
11. Roseate Spoonbill - these are my favorite birds.
12. Snowy Egret - they nearly went extinct when ladies wore feathers on their hats.
13. Alligator
14. Aplomado Falcon - these falcons have been reintroduced to Texas.
15. Roadside Hawk - this hawk is primarily found in Mexico down to South America
16. Eastern Screech Owl
17. Yellow Headed Parrot - this is likely an escapee, but had joined a large flock of red capped parrots. We also saw parakeets.
18. Green Jay
19. Black Bellied Whistling Duck
20. Chachalacas
21. Wild Turkeys
22. Osprey
23. Altamira Oriole
24. Long Billed Thrasher
25. Pyrrhuloxia
26. Greater Roadrunner
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