Feb 17 2009
Weslaco Rarities
Monday was an odd day. It was very uneven weather-wise, with off and on rain and lots of cloud cover, but also some tentative breaks of semi-sun. We spent most of the day in Weslaco, first visiting Estero Llano Grande State Park, then the Frontera Audubon Thicket. These refuges are newly accessible, having opened to the public within the last few years and thus wonderfully expanding the opportunities available to local and visiting birders, butterfliers, and so on.
Both spots have stellar records for hosting rarities in the short time they’ve been open. This winter, Estero Llano Grande has been graced by a very unusual bird indeed, this handsome Black-throated Magpie-Jay. It’s not a wild bird, but it’s still cool.
How do we know it’s not wild? The species is native to West Mexico, doesn’t migrate, and is frequently kept in captivity–three major strikes against a natural origin. When it first showed up here, it apparently was missing its long central tail feathers, another clue that it might have been recently caged.
In the presumed wild column, the Frontera Audubon Thicket is yet again hosting a Crimson-collared Grosbeak. This Northeast Mexico endemic has at least a minor penchant for wandering north into South Texas, delighting birders whenever it does so. We enjoyed seeing this female–here’s hoping we see a male or two in Mexico, where we’re heading next.
In Mexico–at least once you get a hundred miles or so south of the Rio Grande–many of the drooled-over rarities of South Texas become commonplace, including species like Rose-throated Becard. A first-year male has been spending the winter at Estero Llano Grande in the general vicinity of the magpie-jay.
These young dudes have a somewhat ragtag appearance that combines the brown tones of females with the dusky and red plumage of adult males.
This morning, we’re heading south into the true tropics, to the tiny mountain town of Gomez Farias at the edge of the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve. Internet access there is likely to be as rare as Collared Forest-Falcons are here, so it may be Sunday or Monday before I’m able to post again. Hasta luego!
