Back from the Lower Rio Grande Valley

Can’t believe we missed it…. co-birder Darlene and I decided to combine a visit to Denis and Katy, Tucsonans in temporary exile in New Braunfels, with a speed-of-light trip to the Lower Rio Grande in Texas. We stopped to pick Denis up and headed to Hornsby Bend to look for the Fork-tailed Flycatcher that has been seen by just about everybody recently (catching that note of bitterness here?). The flycatcher didn’t show, but we did see a nice Least Grebe, the first of many we’d enjoy over our stay.

In the Valley we were looking especially for Hook-billed Kite and White-collared Seedeater, and didn’t get either. But it’s hard to be disappointed when you’re among birds like Altamira Oriole and Green Jay. My favorite experience on this trip was also with relatively familiar birds: at San Ygnacio, where we dipped on the seedeater, we ate lunch at a quiet water drip in the shade, watching Painted Buntings and Clay-colored Robins bathe and drink. It was hot, the sandwiches weren’t especially good, and I couldn’t imagine anything better in the world!

A great bonus for me was getting to spend the last evening in Texas with my sister Vicki, her husband Bob, and Josh and Lizzie. And then it was up and to the airport, where we added our last species for the trip: a parking lot Blue Jay.