Just be careful you don’t get too close to the geese…
They’ll get you. And if you turn to walk away, then they’ll really get you…
They’ll get you. And if you turn to walk away, then they’ll really get you… Verdin
A cool little gray bird with a yellow face. He’s shy. It’s hard to get a good photo.
I almost got one this time, but for that darn branch in front of the camera. But this guy. Different story. Not spooky at all. I could get as close as I wanted…
I almost got one this time, but for that darn branch in front of the camera. But this guy. Different story. Not spooky at all. I could get as close as I wanted… The Great Laredo Seedeater Hunt
It had everything but seedeaters. We enjoyed our visit to Laredo. I marked our places on a map. Google has improved their maps though, so I don’t know if sharing a link like this still works. We’ll see. https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zRXJT6qqTEFI.keIN84ldqfrg The weather turned cold and misty today. It’s only going to be cold for one day, but we decided to go on back to Sandpipers anyway. We’ll be here when it warms back up. It’s supposed to be 70 tomorrow, then 80 for several days in a row. We’re ready for that. Yours truly, #397
You just never know
We gave the white-collared seedeater every opportunity. Up at 6am, well before dawn. We birded three different locations around Laredo, all with prime seedeater habitat: river cane and tall grass. Zip. Zero. Nada. Nice walks. Lots of birds. But no seedeaters. There is an even more rare bird here in Larado right now though. Slaty-backed Gull. It’s mostly a northern pacific bird with spotty lower 48 U.S. sightings, but has no business being in South Texas at all, …and it was reported the day before, right at the lake we’re staying at. We looked for that bird too and missed it. There were several cars of people driving around the lake looking for it without success. Came home, done for the day, got our shoes off, ….and got a text from Jon in Port Aransas. He just got notice that there was someone at the lake looking at the gull at that very moment. We piled back in the car and searched the lake; not for the gull this time, but for people at the edge of the lake looking at the gull. Found a carload just leaving on the other side of the lake. We asked if they were the ones, and they were. They got back out of the car and helped us locate him way out in the middle of the lake. We could locate him with binoculars and make him out well with the scope. Lifer! We had lots of help on that one. Jon from Port Aransas, a couple from Saratoga, Wyoming who are staying at Falcon State Park for the winter, and a couple from Weslaco, down in the Valley. You just never know…
Lake Casa Blanca International State Park
Laredo, Texas. Strange for a state park. It’s right in the middle of the city. Nice enough though. Big lake. Big campground.
White-collared seedeaters are the primary reason we’re here. Had a little trouble finding the seedeater spot in Laredo. Didn’t even get there until 5pm. It’s right along Zacate Creek, where it meets the Rio Grande. Not in a neighborhood anyone would expect to be birding. In fact we found the spot early on, couldn’t believe that was really the place and didn’t even get out of the car. Met a border patrol guy later on, described where we were, and he confirmed, yes that is the place for the bird. We went back. Didn’t get the bird today. He was probably already asleep. We’ll try again tomorrow morning.
White-collared seedeaters are the primary reason we’re here. Had a little trouble finding the seedeater spot in Laredo. Didn’t even get there until 5pm. It’s right along Zacate Creek, where it meets the Rio Grande. Not in a neighborhood anyone would expect to be birding. In fact we found the spot early on, couldn’t believe that was really the place and didn’t even get out of the car. Met a border patrol guy later on, described where we were, and he confirmed, yes that is the place for the bird. We went back. Didn’t get the bird today. He was probably already asleep. We’ll try again tomorrow morning.