The Rio Grande Valley experienced it’s first snow since 1895 and it’s first white Christmas ever as one inch of the fluffy white stuff coated practically everything. Temperatures dipped as low as 28 F and spent at least 12 hours below the freezing mark. It looks like we’ve lost our papayas at our house but over all plants and animals seemed to have weathered the ordeal relatively well.

My wife, Honey, and I were able to find one male Crimson-collared Grosbeak and I was able to get a poor pic through my binocs. We aslo heard the Dusky-capped Flycatcher and saw Gray Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Clay-colored Robin, and Wilson’s, Yellow-rumped, Black-and-white, Black-throated Green and Oranged-crowned Warblers. We didn’t see a lot else and numbers seemed a bit down after the cold weather.

The Crimson-collared Grosbeak invasion continues with no end in site. This morning (12/22) I birded Frontera Audubon Thicket in Weslaco, Texas with hopes of photographing the Dusky-capped Flycatcher. I eventually found the bird and got a few shots but I don’t think they will be too good. While seaching for the flycatcher I constantly heard the high pitched “seeezzz” call of Crimson-collared Grosbeaks. Several brilliant males were seen zipping through the woods or perching on shrubs munching leaves. One birder later told me he had seen three males. That was new. Thus far we had only seen two males and three female/immature birds. Could the immatures be aquiring adult plumage? One birder said that one of the males was flitting its wings and acting like a young bird.

Meanwhile another birder had just arrived from the Williams residence in Pharr. She had seen three female/immature Crimson-cllared Grosbeaks along with a Rose-throated Becard all in her binocs at one time. Now there is also a pair at Sabal Palm Sactuary in Brownsville. Another one was found dead in Brownsville after flying into a window. And finally Selena King, the manager of Frontera saw a male in her yard which is at least a mile from the Thicket.

So let’s add them up. Thirteen Crimson-collared Grossbeaks have been seen in the Rio Grande Valley this fall. Before this year there had only been eight accepted records. The first was in 1977 and the last was 1988 (invasion of five single birds). There has been a few single observer sightings (not accepted by TOS) since then. Why the big invasion? Is it the result of a good wet summer in northern Tamaulipas after ten years of severe drought? Dose the mild fall season have something to do with it?. Lots of questions and the winter vagrant birding season is just starting. Stay tuned!

Other birds seen today and yesterday include Gray Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Green Kingfisher, Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers, Clay-colored and American Robins, Hermit Thrush, Tropical Parula, Ovenbird, Hooded, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, Myrtle, Orange-crowned and Wilson’s Warblers, Blue-headed Vireo and Summer Tanager.

My wife and I walked over to the Frontera Audubon Thicket this morning in an attemp to add a few count week birds for the Weslaco CBC. Of course our first bird was one of the male Crimson-collared Grosbeaks. The Valley total for this mega-rarity is now an incredible nine individual birds. Next a pair of Summer Tanagers refused to let us go by without admiring them. The male even broke into a whisper song.

A bit farther down the trail I found a couple of kinglets and patiently tried to coax something else out of the woods. What I got came as a real surprise. A beautiful east Mexican form of Dusky-capped Flycatcher flew in about 20 meters away. The dark crown, light throat and petite (for a Myiarchus) bill ruled out the more expected Ash-throated or Brown-crested Flycatchers. I felt better when I got it to answer my whistled Dusky-cap “wheer” imitation. Bright rufous edging to the flight feathers, wing coverts and rectrices and light yellow underparts helped contribut to really sharp looking bird. The Dusky-caps that people commonly see in southeast Arizona are so drab compared to their more tropical cousins.

Other interesting birds for Frontera included flyover Gray Hawks (2), Long-billed Curlew and Osprey. Also seen were Yellow-throated, Black-throated Green, Myrtle, Orang-crowned, Hooded, and Wilson’s Warblers, Indigo Bunting, Hermit Thrush and Solitary Sandpiper. I had a good look at what I think was an immature Broad-winged Hawk. It was perched and I was not able to see it in flight. Birding was super and we added several neat birds for the CBC count week

Yesterday (12/18) my wife and I had the pleasure to cover the Llano Grande area south of Weslaco for the Weslaco Christmas Bird Count. This choice area includes part of the central valley flood channel, agricultural fields with irrigation ditches and some populated areas of Mercedes and extreme south Weslaco. Sunny, cool weather and lots of birds made the time pass quickly and by the time we were finished we had amassed a total of 101 species all by ourselves.

Birds includes Black-bellied Whistling Duck (6000), Roseate spoonbill (8), Long-billed Dowitchers (250), Stilt Sandpipers (80), Eurasian Collared Dove, Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird, Vermillion Flycatcher, Sprague’s Pipit (6), Northern Waterthrush, Black-throated Green Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler and Yellow-headed Blackbird (10). Nothing super rare but a really fun day!

Last Sunday my wife Honey and I spent the morning scouting for the upcoming Weslaco Christmas Bird Count. I pestered Martin the compiler till he gave us the area south of town, north of the Military hwy. This includes the Llano Grande wetlands and the central floodway. So we spent a warm, windy morning fighting the dust as we drove along agricultural fields and levees. The water conditions were perfect with lots of mudflacts for the wintering White Pelicans, Double-crested and Neotropic Cormorants, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (thousands), American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Stilt and Western Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers. We even had a Roseate Spoonbill. Despite the great conditions and large numbers, diversity was a little low. We’re hoping more stuff blew in with the front this past week.

Land birds were a bit difficult to find with the strong wind. We heard lots of Common Yellowthroats and saw a Swamp Sparrow. Best birds were nine Sprague’s Pipits that flew up from the grass along the levees. Though she is a beginning birder, Honey recognized the unique flight pattern of the pipits thought I had not said anything about it. Several of them landed on the levee in front of us giving us great looks. There were also lots of American Pipits, Horned Larks, and Savannah Sparrows in the plowed fields. Looked like a great place for lonspurs.

Weather forecast looks great for this weekend so I’m itchin’ to get countin’. Then the next day we’re doing the dirt roads up on the Falcon Dam count. It’s going to be fun looking for desert stuff and sparrows.

Sunday (Nov 28) morning my wife and I decided to get away from our local patch and it’s now FIVE!!! Crimson-collared Grosbeaks and head over to Santa ana NWR for a little birding. It was a pleasant, sunny cool morning and there was lots of activity around. We walked the B trail to Pintail Lake (dry) and saw a couple of Swamp and Linclon Sparrows in the brush and heard our first American Robins of the fall. Travelling flocks were made of gnatcatchers, ruby-crowns and Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers. At the juction of B and C trails our pishing turned up a nice male Tropical Parula.

Not much was seen around the old headquarters area so we walked A trail on the north side of Willow Lake. They were just refilling the lake and there were no birds on it. Continuing on the dirt portion of trail A we called in a nice flock containing a very cooperative female Rose-throated Becard. When I fist glimped the fat rufous colored body I immediatedly tghought of Black-headed Grosbeak, but was peasantly surprised to see a female becard. This is probably the same bird that has been seen several times during the past few months. Is it the same single female that built the nest two and three summers ago? Who know’s. We finished the morning with my fist ever Red Rim at the butterfly garden.