Elusive Costa's Hummingbird

On November 29th Pat Dwyer photographed a Costa's Hummingbird at the oasis. As soon as I learned of it, I rushed down to try and relocate it. No luck, so tried again a week later. No luck. Figured it was just a one stop wonder. 

Then yesterday Jane Tillman and her husband photographed it. So today I rushed down early this morning and spent 8 hours glued to the bush they both saw it in. Eventually, it dawned on me that if it was trying to come in, the aggressive juvenile male Rufous wasn't going to let it. Since it was policing all the feeders, the solution was to put a new feeder out of sight of the feeder area. I wasted no time in hanging one by the back water drip. I've had to do that before, but it's been quite a while. By then it was time for me to leave, so I don't know the results. Either someone else will benefit, or it won't make a difference, or maybe next time I'm there I can park myself at the outlying feeder and see the Costa's. We'll see. Meanwhile, I took way too many photos of the Rufous.

Also saw a couple of Anna's, but not much else, as all my focus was on the one goal. Pitiful little to show for eight hours, in temperatures way too cold for my comfort. It's some consolation to know that I didn't see it because it didn't come in. Better than hearing later that it came in and I missed it again. I believe it's the 51st Texas record.

Anna's female

Anna's juvenile

Tomorrow I'm going back to Balmorhea to try for a photo of the Red-throated Loon. There are a few other species that have been seen there recently that I'd like to add to my Reeves County list also.

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UPDATE: I think I know why the Costa's has been so elusive. When Jane got back home she processed her photos and concluded her "Costa's" photo was actually an Anna's. I looked at them and agreed. So I guess it was just a one day, or maybe one hour wonder!

Balmorhea birding

Not much to hold my interest around town, or at the oasis, recently, so this week I birded Lake Balmorhea... twice. The first time the wind raged and I didn't like that, but got a few nice birds anyway. Yesterday, I made sure to go on a windless day and it was a lot more fun. Highlights were my first photos of a Pacific Loon.

Also saw a lifer Red-throated Loon. Only because another birder there let me see it through his scope. Too far away for me to get a diagnostic look at otherwise. And no photo, alas!

Yesterday I took photos of as many of the gulls there as I could. I knew Ring-billed and Bonaparte's were the only gull species being reported there recently, so when I saw a different looking gull amid the hundreds of photos I had taken there yesterday while trying to sort out the loon pics, etc., I looked through my Sibley guide at every gull, as in g-u-l-l. Not finding it and eager to go through all my photos to make an ebird report, I decided it must be an aberrant Bonaparte's (without giving it any focused thought) and submitted it to ebird as such. Not long afterwards, I got an email from the reviewer that it was a Black-legged Kittiwake. I guess, technically that's a gull too, but it didn't occur to me to look in "Kittiwakes." I'm not too bright sometimes. Like the Pacific Loon, I had seen the Black-legged Kittiwake once before a couple of years ago. (To see my better photo from then you can do a blog search for that species). The one I got yesterday is terrible as I had to take it from way across the lake almost. At least it was IDable.

Also from yesterday is this pair of Common Loons.

Had a hybrid Northern Flicker (Red-shafted x Yellow-shafted) too. The sharp reviewer noticed the red patch on the back of the head, typical of a Yellow-shafted. While I didn't figure that out either, in my defense, I took a lot of photos of it because it didn't look quite right for a Red-shafted.

Now I see that it has the red malar of a Red-shafted, and the red nape patch of a Yellow-shafted. Balmorhea is always overwhelming to me. It had been two years since I'd been there. If I went more often it would get easier.  It seems so far to drive, yet it's about the same time and distance as from Alpine to the oasis.  Hoping to go again soon, like next Tuesday.

Oasis Costa's Hummingbird

Yesterday afternoon a birder friend, Pat Dwyer, visited the oasis and took lots of photos. He didn't have time to process his photos until this afternoon. One of the hummingbirds he photographed was ID'd by his Merlin app as a Costa's. So this afternoon he sent me a couple of the photos, asking my help in IDing it. It looked good for a Costa's to me, so I sent the photos to expert Kelly Bryan. He confirmed the ID. Naturally, I rushed down here, but didn't arrive until 5 PM. Although I watched the feeders until 6 PM, no Costa's showed up. Gonna try again tomorrow. Here's one of Pat's photos of the bird.

Meanwhile, I still have a juvenile Allen's in Alpine. This photo from today.

Seeing a few other nice birds lately too. Yesterday I saw a flock of Red Crossbills in Alpine, and today I watched a Zone-tailed Hawk soaring all over the town.

Late Lucifer

Having a male Lucifer Hummingbird this late in the year made me wonder how unusual that is. So I looked it up in the publication Kelly Bryan authored after finishing his banding project, which included the oasis for 8 years (2008-2016). We learned so much about the status of Lucifers in those "good ole days."

November 26, 2023

What I learned from the publication is that there were a couple of late Lucifer males. One was Dec 9, 2013 in Study Butte, and the other Dec 2-12, 2015 in that general area also. (The former was even a first US winter record.) I already knew none had been seen as far north as the oasis this late in the year.

The recent late fall rain left the "Dragonfly Pond" the greenest it's ever been.

There are also a couple of Anna's Hummingbirds and a Rufous at the oasis.

Female Anna's

In town I have an Allen's Hummingbird, but it only shows up once or twice a day when the light isn't good for photos. I have to use too long a shutter speed. He seems noticeably smaller, although fatter, than the Rufous sharing a feeder with him.

Sunny Glen

 Lovely weather today so I wanted to bird somewhere, but not drive a long way. Decided to try Sunny Glen. It's just west of Alpine a mile or two. I couldn't believe all the juniper berries dripping from the trees. Makes me think some good stuff might show up this winter. Like Lewis's Woodpeckers, Red Crossbills and who knows what else. Already a large flock of crossbills showed up in the Davis Mountains. Here's Mike Gray's photo of some of the flock. Exciting!

And here's a sampling of juniper berries from Sunny Glen. I'm not sure what species they are.

I didn't get out of my vehicle, just drove slowly along the roads there. Saw lots of Phainopeplas, and other birds eating the berries. Here's a Canyon Towhee with a berry. Terrible photo taken from inside my vehicle. Afraid if I got out I'd flush it.

Here's a pair of Phainopeplas, maybe guarding their berry territory.

I love Sage Thrashers too. I'm sure they're loving the bounty of berries.

My one sister and her daughter are finding lots of interesting flowers blooming near the oasis, and yesterday a birder saw a Lucifer Hummingbird still at the oasis. I'm going down tomorrow and sure would love to see one there.

 

Red Cyphomeris

My other sister captured this bear video on her trail cam. 

Things are "hopping!" Keeping us all on our toes. In Alpine, I documented five hummingbirds so far today of four species (Rufous, Broad-tailed, Allen's, & Anna's).

Gung-ho birding

The weather has been unseasonably warm, so I've been taking advantage of it. Birding as much as I can. Went to Candelaria with Judy Sims and had a great time. The best bird we saw was an American Golden-Plover, but we didn't know we'd seen one until processing our photos days later. It was so far away that my grainy photo didn't tell me anything. I submitted it as a Least Sandpiper, which was the best I could come up with.

The ebird reviewer told me it was a plover. At that point, I figured it had to be an American Golden-Plover. So I contacted Judy and asked her to look at her photos for the bird. She takes way more than I do, plus has a state-of-the-art mirrorless camera. She sent me what she had of it and we could see it was an American. So the fun of our trip was spread out over days.

We also stopped off at La Plata and got a Winter Wren. It wouldn't sit still at all for decent photos. Mine are horrible, but here's one of Judy's better ones.

Neither bird was a new Presidio County bird for me, but I did pick up four new county birds (Black Vulture, Northern Pintail, Sandhill Crane, and Redhead). I probably saw those species there before I started ebird, but I didn't have any documentation. My Presidio Co. list is now at 176, compared to my Brewster Co. list of 349. Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess, I've been told. LOL

Plotting my next birding venture. Some birders visited the oasis today and surprisingly saw a male Lucifer. I didn't see anything but Anna's when I went down a few days ago to service feeders. These birders also saw bear scat, so I'm hoping no damage. I'll check in a few days, I guess.

Nutting's Flycatcher success!

My third time looking for the Nutting's at Santa Elena Canyon (overlook) in Big Bend National Park was a win! I rode with Mike and Cecilia again. We were prepared to have to climb down from the overlook and bushwhack to the canyon, but hadn't been at the overlook but for a short while when we saw the pair of Nutting's. So instead of having to suffer for hours, we were left to figure out where to bird next.

I don't think my photos are really any better than the ones I took in 2012 that I had hoped to improve upon, but I think for the distance I did as well as my camera will do. No one ever thinks their photos are perfect enough, even some of the top photographers I know.

Looking slightly down from the overlook at the bird

 Next is my best one from 2012.

Looking slightly up into a tree at the bird

Here's Mike Gray's awesome photo, taken at the same time as I took mine. Sigh!

Anyway, it was great fun and I'm a happy camper. Today is supposed to be the last lovely warm day. I hate to waste it, but my body needs some recovery time and I need to catch up on things too.

Bear encounter

Upon arriving at the oasis at daybreak, I walked around to check everything out, as I always do. As I traversed the path that goes around the [dry] dragonfly pond, I startled a bear foraging on acorns from a Chinkapin Oak tree that he had just finished demolishing. The bear departed too fast for me to get a photo. I guess it's good he was afraid of me. Not all bears are. He left plenty of evidence of his visit. For starters, that oak tree is now one-third the height it had been. It doesn't even bother me anymore. That tree has been doomed for years. Bears are continually breaking limbs off it, so all that was really left to do to it was to top it.

The bear will probably return tonight and no telling what it'll do next. It got into the bear-proof ground feeder too, but can only lick a little seed out of it, as far as I can tell. The feeder was still half full.

Also ate a lot of persimmons.

I just hope it leaves the hummingbird feeders alone. I fear it's just a matter of time... Still several Lucifers around, which is lovely. Here's a juvenile male. There's an adult male there too. Wondering if he's hanging around to make sure junior migrates properly.

The oasis is remarkably green considering it's November.

All the Evergreen Sumac are blooming. Maybe they'll make winter berries for the birds.

Birding blitz

I did some heavy birding for two consecutive days. The first day I rode with Mike and Cecilia to look for the Nutting's Flycatcher. We dipped on that bird, but had a fun day and saw lots of good birds. (Candid photo of me by Mike Gray.)

Barely rested early the next day, Judy Sims and I set out to bird Candelaria Wetlands. Had a great time and saw great birds. I added nine species to my Presidio County list. The one that most surprised me was a Williamson's Sapsucker. We had made a quick stop at Shafter on our way home, and as we were leaving there Judy spotted a woodpecker on a utility pole. She was going to get out of the car to get her far-superior camera from the backseat, but upon immediately seeing that the bird was a Williamson's, I asked her to let me snap a photo through the windshield first... just in case it flushed. As it turned out, that's the only photo we got. Not good, but diagnostic.

Today was spent doing baking and housework while watching out the window regularly to see what birds were around. My husband sits on the patio all day and if he sees a different-looking bird he calls me. He saw one and called out to me, but I had the TV on and didn't hear him. So he called me on the phone. That worked. It was a Black-crested Titmouse, the first one seen at my water feature here.

That, a Gray Catbird, and three species of hummers still here, brightened my day. Tomorrow I'm headed to CMO to service feeders there. Probably do some watering too (it's been nearly two weeks since we got that big rain.) Hoping for good birds there.

Questionable judgment

Waking up today to a cold miserable world, I felt desperate to escape. So I decided to go south to Big Bend National Park and look for the Nutting's Flycatchers that had been seen there before flooding had closed the road to Santa Elena Canyon. Then it had been an eight mile walk in, and now down to one mile.  Piece of cake! Someone had walked in and seen them two days ago. And it was bound to be warmer there.

It's a tedious 2½ hour drive for me from Alpine. At the park entrance I asked if the road was open yet, and was told no, so I expected to have to walk a mile. Luckily, it was open. And luckily, I had tossed a heavy jacket and long-johns into my vehicle at the last minute.

When I got to the location (Santa Elena Canyon Overlook), it was bitterly cold and windy. I started to question my judgment. Do people with impaired judgment know they have impaired judgment? The forecast had been clear that the whole area was cold and windy; and would stay that way all day. What was the matter with me? Was I of sound mind? Flycatchers can't forage in bad weather like that. Especially rare tropical ones.

I figured the energy I had saved by not walking in would be best spent climbing down the steep slope to the trees and bushes far below the overlook to search for birds there. During that climb was when I questioned my decision-making skills the most.

After nearly two hours of not seeing a single bird, I thought maybe the canyon itself would be a more sheltered place to look. Luckily, the road to it was open too. As I approached the confluence of the Rio Grande and Terlingua Creek right at the mouth of the canyon, I thought I heard an unfamiliar call note. Was trying to remember what the Nutting's call note sounded like. Suddenly, two birds flew into the canyon. I got binos on one of them. It seemed good for a myiarchus flycatcher, brownish with yellow belly. To get into the canyon to search further would require either wading across Terlingua Creek or walking upstream along it until I could cross, which I did. 

Next, the only route into the canyon was up a gazillion stairs. There was too much surrounding vegetation for me to get a photo, but here's an old one I found online. Even if I got up the stairs, going back down would be more treacherous. My knees just do not work. Reluctantly, I turned back.

I stopped at the oasis to check feeders there. Saw three Lucifers in the short while I was there.

Plans are in the works for me to ride to Santa Elena Canyon with someone Thursday. Driving long distances, especially when I'm exhausted, makes me so sleepy. I constantly nod off, then jolt awake. But what if I didn't? Can't risk it.

I took our Bougainvillea inside at our house in Alpine before last night's freeze.

Next weekend it'll be back into the 80°s. If winter birding isn't good, I'm not going to be a very happy camper this winter. I'm optimistic though.