Roadside Blues

"Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel," Jim Morrison instructed helpfully as I nosed down I-10, passing exit 537 for Boerne, Texas. The rain had begun to let up, but recent construction meant no shoulder and cement barriers on either side of the highway. Barriers that felt uncomfortably close. I appreciated Jim's help all the same, though I was more concerned with him providing his usual luck in helping me see the bird I was travelling 800 odd miles to see (and avoid hitting a deer at 80 miles per hour). Perhaps a more apt song choice would have been "Riders on the Storm."

"I'm going for the Roadside, gonna have a real. Good time!" I pantomimed. It may be superstitious, but there are certain "lucky" songs I've grown accustomed to playing while chasing birds. In observance of what has now become a ritual of sorts, I listened to the songs like old friends while the pavement pounded rhythmically under my tires. "let it roll, baby roll," Jim continued as I drank another gulp of tepid coffee. I'd been travelling for about 7 hours, and while I felt quite alert, I knew the hardest part (navigating San Antonio) was yet to come. Lucky for me it would be no earlier than 10:00pm by the time I reached the city of The Alamo, and traffic was light.
"All night long," I helped him finish, bobbing my head with the flourish of notes on the keyboard and wailing of the harmonica that followed.

After snatching about 4 hours of sleep (not bad for a Valley chase) I arrived at the "spot" to stake out the Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) that had been reported nearly daily here since mid-November. The sky was wet and gray. A fine misting rain fell off and on in the dim overcast dawn light.

Levee behind (south) of the Border Patrol Stables. Heavy construction noise was audible from nearby the entire time I was present, and while it wasn't directly related to the construction of a the "border wall," in just two short months those same machines will be turned to the coastal scrub habitat that now borders the Rio Grande in this area. 

Dec. 7, 2018

Long story short, my first day staking out the border patrol stables and levee between the National Butterfly Center and Bentsen-Rio Grande SP was decidedly not a real good time. I spent the entire day traipsing back and forth on the levee, periodically checking the snag behind the stables. It was a wet and blustery morning. By noon I was sodden and my boots were caked in a dense layer of mud. While I did manage to find a few good county birds (including Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa), I did not see the Roadside Hawk or any Hook-billed Kites despite searching for 9.5 hours. I decided to return the next morning and just stake out the snag behind the stables all morning if need be. My theory is that the bird never came to its "typical" roost tree because of the rain that lasted from dawn until about 10:30am. I saw several other raptors (an immature Broad-winged (Buteo platypterus) and Gray (Buteo plagiatus) Hawk both took the perch later in the morning). The relatively few other obsevers (it was a Friday) may have also played a role.
I couldn't complain too much though. I was finished with my penultimate semester at New Mexico State University and was birding in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

While not my target, it was nonetheless nice to see this immature Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) perched nearby

Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR (Border Patrol Corral and Levee), Hidalgo County, TX

Dec. 7, 2018

By the end of the day I was exhausted and beginning to get worried. I had thought I'd heard the hawk, and perhaps glimpsed it briefly, but I wasn't going to count it. The last time I chased a bird in the LRGV in December I got a winter snow storm and dipped on a Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax pervostii) for my troubles. Was I destined to have poor luck once again in December? I quelled my growing unease and arrived once again at the stakeout site at dawn on Saturday morning. This time I walked down Military Road to a spot where I could clearly see the bird's preferred snag behind the Border Patrol Stables. There were a few others present. I had gotten a tip from my friend Bob Friedrichs that the bird often perched in the snag between 8:00am and 8:30am. With that in mind I had decided to be patient and wait. It beat marching back and forth on the levee anyway. Another person present mentioned hearing that the hawk "actually likes to show up between 7:00am and 7:30am," to roost. I nodded silently. Regardless, I was resolved to watch the snag.

While it was more than a hundred yards away, it was pretty easy to observe all of the pertinent field marks of this obliging Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris)

Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR (Border Patrol Stables and Levee), Hidalgo County, Tx

Dec. 8, 2018

7:30am had come and gone and several people present were getting antsy. I may have mentioned this before, but there are certain rules and rituals I like to abide by while I'm birding, especially chasing. Rule #1 is "never leave." There is some nuance here, and one should still try to be savvy when anticipating what a bird is going to do, but if you're staking out a bird and know its probably still around, don't leave the site. Don't leave for lunch, don't look for a different bird somewhere else and come back, don't leave the area unless you're giving up. You've expended all of this effort to look for a bird, so why would you leave the area where its being seen?
This rule is related to the so-far-unnamed phenomenon in which the target bird often appears shortly after someone looking for it has left.

It was about 7:40am, and one woman present said she wanted to walk the levee "since the bird hasn't come." I was largely ignoring this exchange as another birder was saying they should exchange numbers in case the bird did appear. As if on cue, I saw a dark raptor swoop in and land in the snag. There was some momentary confusion among the birders present as to whether it was the bird (it did look pretty large when flying in, but the tail looked too long to me to be any Buteo). Once the bird was in a scope however, the identity of the hawk was obvious.

The longish banded tail, dark coloration across most of the underparts (with distinctive heavy vertical streaks on the upper breast and finer horizontal barring on the lower breast and belly), prominent white supercilium terminating shortly behind the eye, and the thin, almost whiny call notes all sealed the deal on this Roadside Hawk. It was kind enough to sit from 7:42am to 8:14am before descending into the scrub behind the stables to hunt.

I can't help but describe this hawk as anything but "cute." Like a mix between a Buteo and an Accipiter, the longish banded tail and small head and bill (as well as the small size) give it a distinctive structural appearance.

Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR, Hidalgo County, Tx

Dec. 8, 2018

After watching the perched Roadside, I spent another 2 hours walking on the levee hoping to see one of several Hook-billed Kites (Chondrohierax uncinatus) that seemed to be hanging around this area as well. This species has been the most difficult of the "regular" LRGV species for me to track down (as I imagine it is for many birders). I didn't see any kites by the time the sky decided to open up and a persistent rain began to fall. I took this as my signal to leave and began heading northeastward.

My plan was to reach Victoria, Tx before nightfall, but first I wanted to hit Delta Lake in Hidalgo County. I was within 15 species of 200 in this county and still needed several water bird species. I was fortunate enough to run into Dan Jones while scanning the lake, allowing for some idle bird conversation while the rain misted from the heavy clouds above. My 200th species came mere yards from the Willacy County line as I continued north, a Western Meadowlark jetting across the road. This was my first Texas county to break 200.

My next stop was less than a mile east of Ricardo, Kleberg county on FM 1118. Here I relocated a Whooping Crane (Grus americana) feeding with a small group of Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) less than 25 feet off the road. I couldn't help but lament that I was watching one of North America's rarest birds, and silently thanked Robert Allen. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Allen is largely responsible for saving the remaining wild Whooping Cranes in the 1940's and 1950's. If it weren't for the efforts of this individual, it is unlikely I would have been afforded the opportunity to see this majestic species nearly eight decades later. More people have come since Allen, and I owe them gratitude as well, but Allen is the one who started the momentum. A similar story can be told of the efforts to recover the Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus). While it is easy to be pessimistic when considering the state of wildlife and conservation both globally and nationally, encounters like this one are reasons for optimism in my mind. Whooping Cranes are by no means out of the woods yet, and the hubristic tendencies of humanity continue to endanger far more species than we have "saved." That said, I think its important to recognize the success stories of wildlife and conservation which lend validity to other attempts to recover imperiled species. To me the saddest day is not necessarily the day a species actually passes the threshold and slips past the event horizon in the vortex of extinction, but rather, it is the day we collectively stop caring about losing the species. I concede that extinction (whether it is of a species, or a population) is a natural process and to recover species is, in effect, disrupting this process. Human-caused extinction is, by definition, just as "natural" as a nameless species winking out on a random island in the Pacific Ocean, but for whatever reason it just feels different.

One of the rarest birds in North America and my choice for a National Symbol

Whooping Crane (Grus americana)

Ricardo- FM 1118, Kleberg County, Tx

Dec. 8, 2018

Continuing northward, I stopped in the town of Beeville for gas. I was disappointed to find the Veterans Park was closed, but I managed to add some county birds nonetheless (I had never birded in this county before). I had much better luck at Branch Nature Park in Goliad, also a new county. Here I was interested to find a female Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) calling and working some Live Oaks. I had imagined I was approaching the eastern edge of this species range. Looking at an eBird occurrence map after the fact I discovered that Victoria appears to be the eastern edge of the species' regular range in this portion of the state.
I noticed a few Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) as I entered Victoria county, filling in those three empty spaces on the Texas Counties map.

Next dawn found me at San Bernard NWR. I managed to see 80 some species in Brazoria county back in March during my Spring Break trip and I was hoping to break 100 in the county on this trip. I was able to relocate a Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) that had been reported over the past few weeks near the observation deck on the Moccasin Pond Loop, which was a Texas state bird. I left the refuge via the Rail Pond road which yielded a nice mixed flock. I was surprised to find a bobbing Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis). A flyover American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) as I was leaving the refuge was Brazoria County bird 100.

Spartina spp "meadow" on either side of Crab Road in Surfside, Brazoria County, Tx

Dec. 9, 2018

My next stop was Surfside. I not only needed quite a few marine water bird species for Brazoria, and I was hoping to add at least two birds to my Texas List. Following a lead kindly provided by Bob Friedrichs, I made my way to Crab Road in Surfside where I parked and began walking. It was overcast, cold, and quite blustery. I was having a hard time hearing anything but I walked up the road, pishing and watching for any sparrows that might pop up from the dense patches of Spartina grass on either side of the road.

I was about halfway down the road and the wind was disheartening. I had noticed one or two sparrows diving into the grass but the views were too brief to identify the birds to species. As I was contemplating turning back I happened to glance down in front of me to see two Nelson's Sparrows (Ammospiza nelsoni) flitting around a few feet from me in the grasses. This was not only a Texas State bird, but it was also the first time I'd seen the species since seeing my life bird in San Diego back in 2014. I very much enjoy the "Ammodramus" tribe of sparrows, not only because of the inherent difficulty in detecting them, but they are also quite prettily patterned in their own (often subtly) way. I cringe every time I hear someone dismissively use the phrase "Little Brown Job," especially when projected towards this group. To me it projects laziness on behalf of the observer. I don't expect everyone to appreciate every group of birds the same. I for one am not hugely interested in raptors, and while I can certainly appreciate the variability of Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) races and subspecies, I do not feel inclined to delve into the peculiars of every Red-tailed I see. Even so, I would never dismissively call a Red-tailed a "Big Brown Hawk," and ignore it entirely.

Subtle but gorgeous Nelson's Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni) 

Surfside- Crab Road, Brazoria County, Tx

Dec. 9, 2018

After enjoying the contrasting cold gray and warm buffy tones of the Nelson's, I turned my attention to the Surfside Jetty. I had hoped to take advantage of what seems to be a great fall/winter so far for Black Scoters (Melanitta americana) on the coast of Texas. While it was cold and windy, it didn't take me long to pick out a group of at least 5 Black Scoters (3 female/immature types and 2 males) forming a small flotilla on the north/east side of the jetty. Not only was it nice to have found my own Black Scoters, but these were Texas bird #440.

I then turned northward, stopping for gas in the town of Brazoria, allowing me to add a Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) in Brazoria County. I ended with 121 species in Brazoria.
Continuing north I stopped at Brazos Bend SP to bird Fort Bend County for the first time. It was here I was able to find my first "woodland" species for the trip, including Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) and Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor). I managed to make it to Columbus, Tx by dark.

Morning found me driving through Bastrop County where I was able to pick up a handful of species, my first for the county. After fighting my way through traffic in Austin, I found myself at Commons Ford Metropolitan Park, where I had hoped to find a LeConte's Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii). After only a few minutes of searching I noticed one, and then two, and then three perched near the tops of several Bluestem grasses within the restored tallgrass prairie portion of the park.

A life bird, this gorgeous LeConte's Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii) sat up for several minutes, calling all the while. The soft contrast between the lavender blush of the nape and the golden wash across the face was even more impressive than I expected.

Commons Ford Metropolitan Park, Travis County, Tx

Dec. 10, 2018

Seeing LeConte's means the only regular U.S. sparrows I haven't yet seen are Henslow's (Centronyx henslowii) and Saltmarsh (Ammospiza caudacuta). I also managed to find several calling Sedge Wrens (Cistothorus platensis) within this small grassland patch. I was unable to locate any Eastern Towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) or the Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus) that had been reported here recently, though I found scant in the way of directions on most eBird checklists, and having never been to this place before I wasn't really sure where to look. Despite this I ended the morning with nearly 50 species and started to hustle towards Lubbock, Tx. While I had most of the counties between here and the NM state line at Clovis covered, there were a few that I had still never reported any birds from, so I took the opportunity to fill in those gaps on my way north. This included a stop at Richard's Park in Brady, McCulloch County. I was greeted by a freakishly friendly pride of young cats that someone may have recently dropped off (or were just used to being fed by ill-informed but good-meaning citizens). Despite the feline predators I found quite a few birds.

I always find it interesting how the break down of "eastern" : "western" : "southern" species falls out in different areas within the central portion of Texas. However, as I continued north I noticed the increasingly cultivated areas compared to oak-juniper woodland. Eventually I seemed to break out into the proper plains habitat (mostly agriculture and oil/gas development) in Taylor and Nolan counties. I made it to the town of Post by sunset.

Lubbock sunrise from Clapp Park, Lubbock County, Tx

Dec. 11, 2018

 A fiery sunrise illuminated about two inches of snow blanketing the town of Lubbock, Tx. I was lucky to have missed the large storm that dumped the frozen precipitation a few days earlier. I worked my way around Clapp Park for the better park of an hour. I found many of the "expected" panhandle species, though was disappointed to find the pond largely frozen. I still saw several waterfowl circling overhead (apparently having roosted elsewhere during the night). I was unable to locate the Gray Catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis) that had been seen for several days, but I ended up with about 30 species and it was nice to see snow again. I also checked Maxey Park, which had a pond that, for whatever reason, wasn't frozen. Here I found a sizable raft of Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus), Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis), and two Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). 

The remainder of the drive to the New Mexico state line was relatively uneventful. I added my first species to both Hockley and Lamb counties, which was nice. I also found my 443rd Texas State bird, a Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) calling near Laguna Park in Littlefield. This apparently represents a first record for Lamb county on eBird, though I am sure they are at least somewhat regular in this area in the colder months (at least if records from nearby counties are any indication). With this Solitaire, my 2200 mile circuit produced 176 total species, 7 Texas state birds, and 2 life birds. I added 12 new counties, broke 100 species in Brazoria, and hit 200 species in Hidalgo (my first Texas county to do so).

I had hopped to find my Texas state Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) on this trip through the panhandle, but I was still surprised to find this noisy Townsend's Solitaire

Laguna Park, Littlefield, Lamb County, Tx

Dec. 11, 2018

While I suppose there is a slim chance I may end up back in the Lone Star state before the end of 2018, I don't expect returning until after the New Year. With that in mind I was able to come up with the following statistics summarizing my efforts in Texas for 2018 as of mid-December:
Texas State List: 443
New Species added to Texas State List in 2018: 73
Life birds seen in Texas in 2018: 27
Total Texas counties with at least one bird recorded: 130
Total Texas counties with 100+ species: 10
Total Texas counties with at least one bird seen in 2018: 74
New Texas counties added in 2018: 49

I think I probably ended up driving about 10,000 miles in Texas over the course of 2018. I was able to observe (seen and/or heard) 373 species. I spent about 15 days birding in Texas this year, which is more than I have in previous years. I look forward to trying to break at least 450 Texas species in 2019 (all time).