Mesquital Migrant Trap

Out with a client for a couple of hours in the morning, John from Texas. John is a relatively new birder but a good one, and it was great to show him a few new species. We spent our time standing around at the Mesquital Migrant Trap in the Avra Valley, a reliable spot for Bendire’s Thrasher and a good bet for a surprise.

The thrashers played hard to get for a while, but eventually got bored and came out to feed on the road behind the eponymous restaurant. The biggest excitement for me was the discovery that the owners of the house immediately west of the Mesquital have gone into birdfeeding in a serious way. Their yard was absolutely full of sparrows, including numbers of Rufous-winged Sparrows hopping around in the grass under the feeders. As expected, Brewer’s and White-crowned Sparrows were the most abundant and conspicuous emberizids, but now more than ever this is a place to keep an eye out for a rarity.