I had planned a January business trip to Houston going way back to mid December. As the plans were coming together, I checked the TX RBAs and NARBA to see if any chaseable rarities were being around. Sure enough, a couple Golden-Crowned Warblers were being seen in the Lower Rio Grande Valley – a possible new Lifer for me. So I added a couple days to my trip, and an extra round-trip to and from McAllen, TX. Now I had to cross my fingers that birds being seen when I made my reservations would still be around when I got to TX weeks later. As the trip neared, one of the warblers seemed to be somewhat reliable (at Frontera Audubon), while the second bird was no longer being reported. So I was hopeful. And a few others that would be TX statebirds (but not lifers) were also being seen. The key target was the warbler, so I was willing to spend many hours over the 2 days at Frontera to look for it.
With plans all complete, I started my day of flights to south TX. On a layover I checked the listserve and saw that a Blue Bunting was recently reported – another possible lifebird. So while on the last leg I developed new plans to go immediately to the bunting location, then try for the warbler the next day. I arrived at the bunting spot to find 2 other birders already there – though they had not been successful after several hours of searching. Habitat was extensive, and access was limited, so you’d have to be really lucky to find the bird. I spent the last 2 hours of daylight there but with no luck. But I was able to talk with the birders and get some advice on the warbler – one said it was easy if you hear its call, and the other said it was not easy at all (one birder had given up after a 4-hour try).
The next day before heading out I downloaded calls off Xeno Canto to help me know what to listen for. I arrived at Frontera Audubon a few minutes before the 8 AM opening time. At 10 of 8 the gates were opened and I headed right to the spot where the warbler was most often seen. Within a minute or two I started to hear a series of soft “chet” call notes that sounded a lot like the on-line file. Sure enough there was the Golden-Crowned Warbler! I had given myself 2 days to find it and I had it before 8 AM on the first day. I spent the next couple hours birding the Frontera thicket, and was able to refind the warbler both times I went back to the original area just by listening for the call. In both cases I pointed it out to birders who were there just for the warbler – helping more than 25 birders get a lifer.
In other stops over the weekend I got only one more statebird – a stakeout Mountain Bluebird at Santa Ana NWR. But mostly I spent the weekend just enjoying the local birdlife. That included 3 hours watching a feeder station at Bentsen SP seeing the stakeout Black-Vented Oriole – likely the exact same bird I saw almost exactly a year earlier just a mile away. The feeding station was covered with birds like Green Jays and Altamira Orioles – I don’t think I’ll ever say that I’ve seen enough Green Jays. Interestingly the woodlands had few landbirds - fewer than I remember seeing on any winter trip to the Valley. Maybe the extensive TX drought has something to do with it.
One stop during the trip was to a plowed field area where Mountain Plovers winter. For the second year in a row I stopped there without luck for Plovers, but saw several Sprague’s Pipits. I also had a longspur in with a group of Horned Larks – but only a brief view as the flock flew away. Any longspur would be a good species in the lower Rio Grande, but unfortunately my view did not allow for identification (though the plowed field habitat might be best for McCown’s).
The Golden-Crowned Warbler was ABA #724, and #706 in the lower 48. My state bird map for Mountain Bluebird is copied in below. The location is Frontera Audubon where the Golden-Crowned Warbler has been seen.
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