Ani good birds around?

Tuesday was the best weather day we have had yet. Blue skies, sunshine and warmer weather. We went to Sabal Palm sanctuary first and walked the trails of the jungle like setting. A beautiful hooded oriole was working the trees above the feeder near the visitors center among 15 green jays. A yellow throated warbler put on a nice show right after I spotted a great horned owl hiding in a palm. A small flock of warblers worked the edge of the resaca including a northern parula, but not its tropical cousin I was hoping to find. A loud call note caught our attention and after searching for a minute we located a dusky capped flycatcher on a bare limb. The bird almost immediately took off to a more secluded area but I momentarily had great looks. We spent some time watching a family of least grebes move around the lake as great kiskadees continuously chattered all around us. We decided to walk the native trail where we had our first good Looks at the Rio Grande of the trip amazingly enough. There were plenty of birds on the opposite bank. Mexico life list? Not yet. Lol. 

The trail wound through an open wooded area where a large black bird sailed into the brush. Groove billed ani. We waited it out and two more joined it. One bird perched on top of a shrub giving us great looks and photos. Finally a life bird on this trip. It only took 6 days. Ha

Next we headed out to Old Port Isabel Road. It's been some I've been on this drive but I didn't remember it being quite so rural. The "road" was basically two tire tracks though a mud slide. Although mostly dry, some areas were quite thick and a little unnerving. We stopped before it got too ugly and immediately a cactus wren popped up to scold us.  The angry little fella perched up, believe it or not, on a cactus of all things. A covey of bobwhite darted across the road in front of us as we were getting ready to turn around to find more suitable pavement since the road ahead of us seem to be deteriorating rapidly. We tried to enter the road from the opposite and but it was also a complete pit of mud so we headed out to South Padre Island. 

We decided to go walk the boardwalk's at the convention center to see what kind of birds were around.   Clapper rails were sitting around in the sun, reddish egrets and tricolored Herons gave close up looks and laughing gulls and black skimmers cruised the shore. Virginia rail and sora were also walking around in the marsh but no purple gallinule that had been seen there. 

From there we decided to try Laguna Atascosa NWR. Things have changed since the last time I was there. The wildlife drive that was 15 miles is long no longer open to the public. Since a few assholes decided to run over and kill two ocelots. 

Inside the visitor center we talk to a very nice man and an incredibly strange woman. Now mind you, we have been driving around most of the day and most of the week for that matter, so we are all a little slaphappy and tired. You know how when something is funny and you are tired it makes it even more funny? Well this was one of those moments.  The nice lady at the refuge is about to give us some information about going to find aplomado falcon when she paused and began licking her lips and sticking her tongue out faster than any reptile I have ever seen. Her tongue was moving so fast that it was almost a blur but the sounds that she was making were so loud that it was impossible not to notice. Normally I would not make fun of somebody ( that is a lie) and I tried my best to hold it together without looking at my buddies, but one little poke from shawn and it was all over. I managed to hold my composure as the two of them walked away hysterically laughing, but once we got outside I completely lost it. It will be one of those things that we laugh about for a long time to come. 

So we headed out, parked near a gate and walked out into the refuge. After searching for a little while 2 Falcons were spotted on fence post about a quarter of mile away. Aplomado Falcons. We watched the birds through the scope for a while chasing off northern harrier's and white tailed hawks. We tried to jockey to get a better view but they were not visible from the road. Some crappy digiscoped photos were taken just to record our sighting though.  The sun had set and it was time to end of the day. Wednesday we will explore some border towns seeking a few more rarities....