Day 2 of the South Texas trip started with bright sunshine, temps in the low 50s and a jaunt down a dirt road known as the "Sparrow Road" past oil wells, ranches, and farm fields.   I had the road all to myself except for the occasional F350 trucks barreling down the road at 65 mph leaving dust clouds in their wake.  As if I needed to be reminded I was in Texas.

The day started with a pair of White-tailed Hawks surveying the surrounding fields.

This immature Lark Bunting was the second 'lifer' of the trip.  A very showy adult would have been great but, you take what you can get.

The sparrow road also yielded Greater Roadrunner, Peregrine Falcon, American Pipit, Curve-billed Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike and  Savannah, Black-throated and Lark Sparrows.  I also observed my first Pyrrhuloxia outside of Arizona.  It looks like a cardinal with its beak smashed in.

I also had the photo blinds at Resaca de la Palma to myself.  Here I picked up the third 'lifer' of the trip - a Tropical Parula.  The life list has grown to 540.  The park ranger indicated folks had been looking for this bird in a couple stands of trees and brush near the visitor center. That sounded like work to me.  So, I opted for the photo blinds behind the visitor where I hoped the bird would make a visit to the pools of water there.  Et, voila...

Needless to say, the Parula was not happy with the Orange-crowned Warbler trying to sneak a peak while it took its bath.

The blinds yielded excellent photos of several other species including the Altamira Oriole.

Green Jay

Olive Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

And the appropriately named Black-crested Titmouse.

Another species observed was neither a Turkey nor a Chicken.  It was a Plain Chacalaca and a gosh darn nuisance at bird feeders.

Finally, with more than 900 species of birds in Costa Rica, many with crazy shapes, colors and sizes, the humble Clay-colored Thrush is their national bird.  

The trip yielded 3 lifers and 57 new species for 2025, bringing the YTD total to 179.   Almost 100 total species were observed during this quick, two day trip.  

It's back to several days of heavy-duty yard work before we head to North Carolina next week followed by visits to Barnegat, NJ and the Sax-Zim bog in Minnesota with a target list of 91 species of northern and maritime birds.

Today's South Texas birding effort started with temperatures in the low 40s with clouds, wind and hint of drizzle.  Even so, I think I'll take that over the 101 degree heat that South Texas typically has to offer.

I had massive Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park completely to myself with the exception of a few park employees, the birds and some rogue javelinas.

The javelinas really like the orange peels the birds knock to the ground. Unfortunately, some of the javelinas are chasing the folks who fill the feeders, prompting some of the feeders to be shut down for now.  None of them - the javelinas or the park employees - challenged me to a race on the bicycle I rented which is good because they all probably would have won. It was a crummy bike but, it saved me from having to walk about 4 miles this morning.

In all, I observed 70 species today with 36 new for 2025.  The first lifer of 2025 was this Common Pauraque.  Similar to a Whippoorwill, it sleeps by day and hunts by night.  Had the park ranger not been kind enough to point it out, I would never have found it.

The ranger also pointed out a McCall's Eastern Screech Owl.  See if you can spot the owl the way I had to looking through 30 yards of tangled undergrowth.

Another super find was the Audubon's Oriole.  This is the first time I have seen one.  I have only ever heard one previously.

And, while not a lifer, this is my best photo opportunity with a Gray Hawk.  Normally, I just get a fleeting glimpse as they soar quickly above the trees.  This one is sporting fashionable bird bands.

Today's effort moves the January YTD total to 158 which exceeds last January's previous best of 152.

Oh, and the owl?   It's perched in the fork of the tree.

The immoderate weather this week with cold temps, wind, and clouds have made birding a challenge.  But, the YTD total has increased to 120.

This Pileated Woodpecker was obliterating a rotten tree branch, feasting on the insect larvae contained within.

Bald Eagles are a fairly common sight in this part of Florida.

And the Florida Scrub Jays were busy finding acorns to bury in the sand.  There are 15 species of birds that are endemic to the United States, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world outside of this country.  The Florida Scrub Jay is endemic to Florida.  I am always happy to check this Federally threatened bird off my list because there is no chance of finding it anywhere else.

Now it's back to Key West for a few days to oversee the installation of our backyard and build a deck and pergola with swing that will likely become a daily go-to for the man cubs with their Grandma.  Also in the mix next week is a quick trip to South Texas for some Tex-Mex birding along the Rio Grande River to finish up the January birding agenda.  As I have noted before, there are no days off when you're retired.

 

The temps were in the 40's as Day 1 of the central Florida birding swing got under way this morning. The effort yielded 22 new species for the year, raising the 2025 YTD tally to 114.

Wilson's Snipes were everywhere at Merrit Island near Cape Canaveral.  If you have ever been snipe hunting... this is what you were looking for.

At the Orlando Wetlands, this Common Yellowthroat was in its early nest-building stages.

This Anhinga was enjoying fresh catch of the day...

... While a Tri-colored Heron was searching for a fresh catch of its own.

To this Purple Gallinule, the swamp is just one gigantic salad bar.

Until it's not.

A Little Blue Heron was simply soaking up the bright January Florida sunshine.

We are back in Key West for a few days to do some early season birding.

Shelling at Sanibel on day 2 went from slow to spectacular as an onshore current started pushing cones, tulips, nutmegs and conchs onto the beach with almost every wave.  It was a challenge to pluck them off the beach before the next wave came crashing in to pull them back out again.

Some of the nicest finds...

Birding was so-so for the week.  The best birding spot at Fort Desoto was a no-go as the park is still dealing with damage from last fall's hurricanes.  So, we finished the first trip of the year with 86 species including the diminutive Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.  This species rivals chickadees and nuthatches for its acrobatics.

We also ran into a swarm of Nanday Parakeets and Brown-headed Cowbirds crushing the feeders at the Celery Fields in Sarasota.

On Clearwater Beach we found a variety of gulls and terns relaxing before their nighttime feeding sorties including this small Forster's Tern.

I'm counting on Henry to help me push the YTD total well past 90 this week before we head to Port Orange on Friday.  Next week I will visit several Central Florida locations ahead of my trip to South Texas where I can help with the border wall while getting some birding done.

We 'eased' into the new year by hitting the beach at dawn for some "shelding" on a very foggy Sanibel Island.  Shelding... Shelling one minute.  Birding the next.  Both outcomes this morning were so-so.

From there, we headed to Cape Coral to locate the Bald Eagle nest where Monk Parakeets are building a nest of there own in the bottom of the eagle's nest.  Given the wide restricted area around the eagle's nest and, with the eagle sitting in an adjacent tree, the situation was more of a curiosity than a great photo opportunity.

The Burrowing Owls on Cape Coral never fail to answer the bell.  This one was guarding its burrow.

In Fort Myers, we stopped by a new location at Harns Marsh picking up several additional species including Snail Kite and Limpkin.  The colorful Gray-headed Swamp Hens were also present.

And, as a reminder to my good buddy Judson and everyone else...  Remember that objects in your rear view mirror are closer than they appear. This Little Blue Heron was hunting its lunch unaware that the alligator was hunting its lunch as well.

Yes, the alligator did strike.  Yes, the alligator missed.  The Little Blue Heron spent the next half hour telling anyone who would listen about its near-miss with the gator from the safety of its perch high in a tree.

In all, we tallied 53 species toward our goal of 500 for 2025.  Tomorrow, its off to the celery fields near Sarasota for more birding after what we hope will be a productive morning of shelding on Sanibel.