02.27.19 Rio Grande Valley Birding - DeWind's Yard

One of the most exciting place to bird was at the feeders of the DeWind's Yard, Salineno Wildlife Preserve. We watched some gorgeous orioles and green jays, woodpeckers and a species favorite the titmouse.


This is a picture of Pat DeWind. The land is now a part of the Salineno Wildlife Preserve but they maintain an active feeding sire for the birds, which is enjoyed by many.

Here are several of my favorite birds and photographs.


We were greeted by several lesser goldfinches.








Curved bill thrasher with peanut butter treat.


Red winged blackbird. When I was in college I did my ornithology report on the behavior of this bird.



A green jay enjoying a peanut butter breakfast.








Altamira orioles. Magnificent colors.



One can never watch too many kiskadees! Beautiful bird with a lovely call.




And I could never tire of watching the green jays either.







Northern cardinal, male.






Although not as colorful as the male, the female Northern cardinal is still a magnificent bird to observe with her lovely orange bill. They have such a beautiful and distinctive call.




The much overlooked house sparrow. Common, yes, introduced yes, but he has lovely markings.








Audubon's oriole enjoying peanut butter.







A shy bird, the house wren. She was definitely overshadowed by the more colorful orioles and jays and cardinals.











Another very shy and hard to photograph burd, the black crested titmouse. They are found only in Texas in mesquite and oak-juniper scrub.

What can flush any bird away from the feeder or other area?

Cooper's Hawk. All of the birds flew from the area quickly when the alert was sounded that the hawk was near. Here it landed in a tree close to the feeding area.




We will continue with DeWind's Yard and the beautiful woodpeckers. They deserve their own page.

02.26.19 Rio Grande Valley birding Salineno Wildlife Preserve

We are continuing on our journey along the Rio Grande River, moving westward towards Zapata and San Ygnacio.. Enjoy these beautiful creatures, the scenery, and flowers.





Couch's kingbird. Very hard to see far off in the distance. A good bird to see on this birding trip. This is why guides are so important. We might be able to spot the bird, but almost impossible to identify it if you are unfamiliar with the species.


The cows were very much interested in the group birding along this farm road.

Next we ventured to Salineno Wildlife Preserve.



Salineno Wildlife Preserve was absolutely beautiful. A beautiful river and many birds to see at the tree tops. The weather was initially very cold but warmed up considerably to make this one favorite birding sites.





The mist made it magical.
















Views of the Rio Grande River in the early morning  hours.



The sun shine warms and illuminates the opposite shore.


The sun is shining on the opposite bank and the colors were really warm in the sunshine. Finally our side of the river warmed in the sunshine. Do you know what bird is sitting on top of the branch on the dead tree?


Here he is a little larger - an osprey. Watching, watching, watching. And grooming in the sunshine.


We all should know this little bird - the Northern cardinal. He was singing high up in the treetops on the opposite bank. This was a long distance shot!


We also found an Altamira oriole in the treetops.


Can you find the bird?


Here is a beautiful Audubon's oriole also perched high on the treetop. Closer views and photographs were taken later in the trip.


Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman? OK, I couldn't resist. This is a red billed pigeon. Very hard to find and see. He flew quickly down the river and I was fortunate enough to get a quick snap of him in flight. If  you look close, you will see the white tipped bill. This area is its range, thick forests and woodland borders, often near water and not generally found outside of the US-Mexico border river region. A good spotting.




 
Cactus wren. Also far off on a tree top. Looking left, looking right. Showing off his powerful bill for a little bird.








These last three photographs of the cactus wren were taken with my Blackberry camera through the telephoto lens of the spotting scope. It is a great technique for photographing distant birds, but this practice was not encouraged on this trip. The cactus wren had a beautiful song which he shared with us for quite a while.





The cactus wren and the mockingbird share a treetop.


Muerta.



Ash throated flycatcher singing in the bushes.



Looking up in the blue sky we observed a white tailed hawk. What a beautiful creature!









More birds in the next pages - close ups of some colorful feathered friends. Hope you are enjoying this adventure birding with me.