Birds in and near South Padre Island, Texas
In January we spent a week on South Padre Island, Texas, and in the Rio Grande Valley nearby. I saw a lot of birds, especially water birds. Although everywhere I went I saw Great-tailed Grackles -- lots of them!
Here is a list of the water birds I saw on January 24th in the SPI Birding and Nature Center and Alligator Sanctuary:
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks
Blue-winged Teals
Northern Pintails
Great Blue Herons
Roseate Spoonbills
Mottled Ducks
American Coots
Redheads
Mallard hybridized with Mottled Duck
Tricolored Herons
Common Gallinules
American Widgeons
Great Egrets
Elsewhere by Laguna Madre I saw:
Osprey
Brown Pelican
Snowy Egret
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Common Loon
Laughing Gull
Forster's Tern
Birds I saw on Jan 23rd in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and the Sabal Palm Sanctuary were:
Green Jay
Audubon's Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Common Nighthawk -- so many scattered feathers -- one must have gotten preyed upon.
Northern Shoveler
Greater Kiscadee
Turkey Vulture or Black Vulture
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Comments
That sounds like it was a lot of fun!
Susan, H
Huge flocks of the Great Tailed Grackles have taken over some sections of Floresville, Texas, just southeast of San Antonio. This has been going on for at least 2 years now. I have documented it a few times here in INat. Floresville is about 300 miles from South Padre Island.
Hey @ken-potter, it was indeed a lot of fun -- I wish our visit could have been longer!
Thanks for your note @rtwhitson3 -- there were certainly plenty of Great-Tailed Grackles wherever we went.
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