Rio Grande Valley TX

March 17 – 24 2014
Of the two weeks I spent in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in TX I think I only had four days without Wind, Rain, Clouds, Storms or all of the above. They have had a strange winter and it looks like it may be a strange spring. I checked out a couple of the same places I visited two years ago. I am about two to three weeks earlier this trip. When I was here before almost every day was sunny and very warm.
Here are some of the critters I managed to find in my limited time outdoors.

Common Pauraque - Estero LLano State Park TX
Can you find me?

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - Estero LLano State Park TX

Green Kingfisher - Estero LLano State Park TX

Common Gallinule - Estero LLano State Park TX

Golden-fronted Woodpecker - Estero LLano State Park TX

Great Kiskadee - Estero LLano State Park TX

Inca Dove - Estero LLano State Park TX

Brown Thrasher - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Couch's Kingbird - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Eastern Screech-Owl - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX
Making a home in a ventilation tube at the visitor center

Great-tailed Grackle - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Green Jay - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Plain Chachalaca - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Wild Turkey Male - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Northern Cardinal - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Northern Cardinal - Laguna Atascosa NWR TX

Reddish Egret - South Padre Island TX

Least Sandpiper - South Padre Island TX

Willet - South Padre Island TX

Falcon State Park and Salineno Texas

March 4 – 10 2014
A little update for my birding friends. Falcon State Park TX no longer has their bird feeders out. The volunteers have been told they can only have one feeder per RV site. No one seems to be too happy about it. They were also told that any employee or volunteer that visited the Salineno bird feeders would no longer have a job. They were told it was unsafe. I got this from the Salineno volunteers. Also starting next year the Salineno feeding station will be run by Texas fish and game. Two of the volunteers will return to volunteer, but the other two will not.
Sounds like a bunch of poopy is going on.
I spent a day at Salineno and found the usual plethora of birds.

Altamira Oriole - Salineno TX

Audubon's Oriole - Salineno TX

Audubon's Orieole - Salineno TX

Great Kisskadee - Salineno TX

Green Jay - Salineno TX

Ladder-backed Woodpecker Female- Salineno TX

Ladder-backed Woodpecker Male - Salineno TX

Orange-crowned Warbler - Salineno TX

Orange-crowned Warbler - Salineno TX

White-tipped Dove - Salineno TX

Greater Roadrunner - Falcon State Park TX

Inca Dove - Falcon State Park TX

Northern Bobwhite - Falcon State Park TX

Pyrrhuloxia Female - Falcon State Park TX

Langtry TX

March 4 2014
On my way to the Rio Grande Valley I stopped by the historical little town of Langtry TX. I’m sure you have all heard of Judge Roy Bean, the man who made this town famous. They also have a great visitor center here and I needed to pick up the Great Texas Birding Trail maps for areas I will be visiting.
There is way too much to say about this place for my blog but you can check it out on the web.
http://texaspecostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/judge-roy-bean-visitor-center

The Famous Saloon/Courthouse - Lantry TX

Old Photo Hanging in the Saloon - Langtry TX

Sign Hanging in the Saloon - Langtry TX

The Bar and Boot Rail in the Saloon - Langtry TX

State Historical Sign - Langtry TX

It's still a very small town. Only the very end of the building is the PO.
The rest of the building is an snack shoop. - Langtry TX

Feb 27 2014
I left NM today and followed NM highway 9 all the way to Texas. I then drove to Davis Mountain State Park. It is located in the Davis Mountains not far from the McDonald Observatory run by the University of Texas, Austin. They put on astronomy programs at the observatory for the general public. They fill up fast and if you should decide to go you will need to order your tickets well in advance. There is also a National Historical site in the town of Fort Davis.
I had a good time sitting at the bird feeding stations with my camera. I was disappointed to find that the feeders at the entrance station have been removed. That is where I spotted a group of Montezuma Quail two years ago. I didn’t find any in the park and no one I talked to had seen any. I did find a few other birds.

Black-crested Titmouse - Davis Mountain State Park TX

Canyon Towhee - Davis Mountain State Park TX

Chipping Sparrow - Davis Mountain State Park TX

Ladder-backed Woodpecker - Davis Mountain State Park TX

White-winged Dove - Davis Mountain State Park TX

View From Skyling Drive - Davis Mountain State Park TX

View From Skyling Drive - Davis Mountain State Park TX

If you look real close you can see my campground down in that patch of green - View From Skyling Drive - Davis Mountain State Park TX

Pancho Villa State Park New Mexico

Feb 24 2014
Today I drove to Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico. I visited here in 2012 with a couple of friends of mine. My friends are avid birders and they pointed out several parks between here and the southern tip of Texas. These parks are truly a birders paradise.
This park also has a great museum that explains the story of Pancho Villa and some of his followers that raided this little town of Columbus NM and the US Army fort that was located here. 

White-winged Dove - Pancho Villa State Park NM

Great Horned Owl Female Sitting On Her Nest - Pancho Villa State Park NM

Great Horned Owl Male Watching Me Photograph His Mate - Pancho Villa State Park NM