Green Jay!!

Say's Phoebe

Finally!  I’m in Harlingen, Texas, and the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival kicks off in the morning.  My first field trip begins at 5:00 AM and doesn’t end until about 4:30 PM.  We’re heading west toward Zapata and Webb Counties in search of the White-collared Seedeater.  The trip is being led by Julie Zickefoose.  I’ve read many of her articles in Bird Watcher’s Digest, so I’m looking forward to meeting her in person.

The drive from Gainesville was exhausting.  I drove for 13 hours on Monday and another 7 or so today.  There was no time for birding yesterday, but today was a different story.  I knew that I had plenty of time to make it to the festival registration by 5:00 PM, so I used an extra hour or two for birding along the way.   I was able to see a nice little collection of “drive by” birds as I worked my way south – all without endangering myself or others.  The best of the roadside birds was a White-tailed Hawk, the first lifer of the trip. 

Vermilion Flycatcher

One stop was at a cemetery in Kingsville.  Actually, I had hoped to bird at Dick Kleberg Park, but it had no birds.  The Escondido River was all dust and no water, and there were no birds along the riverbed, in the trees, or on the fields of the park.  A cemetery was nearby so that became the new target.  Good call!  There weren’t a lot of birds, but the few that I saw were wonderful.  Among them were a Say’s Phoebe, a Vermilion Flycatcher, and a few Eastern Meadowlarks, all of which displayed vibrant colors.

Another birding locale was the famous Sarita Rest Stop on US 77 south of the town of Sarita.  All I can say is, “Oh my God!  Green Jay!”   In fact, there were four of them.  The pictures below can’t really capture what this bird looks like.  It’s an other-worldly experience to see something so beautiful and that I’ve waited to see for 12 years.  They were so compelling that I have to admit practically overlooking the Bronzed Cowbirds with those magical red eyes that strutted around the area.  Instead I chased the Jays from tree to tree and followed them as they fed along the ground.  All I could manage was a few inarticulate phrases like, “Wow!” and “Oh my!”  I spent over 40 years teaching writing, and that’s all I could muster.  

Green Jay

"Wow ... Oh my!"

The Big Red Van pulled in to the festival headquarters at 4:34.  I got registered, bought a souvenir hat and t-shirt, and headed back to the car.  I grabbed my bins and went for a quick stroll under the trees across the street.  On top of one tree I found the day’s third lifer, a Golden-fronted Woodpecker. 

So it’s early to bed and up early in the morning for the first field trip of the festival.  Come back tomorrow evening and see how I did.