High Counts and Nighthawk Stroking

Common Nighthawk is so sleepy, it would rather be crushed than have to wake up. Willacy County, Texas.

Well friends, my time in Texas is rapidly drawing to a close. The birds have been good to me, which I attribute to the many blood sacrifices I have made to various birding deities. I still find it a bit odd though, when you get an email from one of the legends of Texas birding, requesting 3 pints of fresh plasma to be shipped to him ASAP.

The theme today? High counts. A couple lifers aside, I've just been setting personal new high counts of a bunch of different species. It feels good...it feels right. However, if you are a Texan birder, this post will probably come off as serious robin-stroking to you.

Such nostrils. The patterning on nightjars amazes me. If you don't like it, you are jaded and should quit birding immediately. Develop a troll-like online personality and haunt every birding listserv, every Facebook group, every birding forum you can, but never look at an actual bird again.

Common Nighthawks are abundant here in the LRGV now. My life is enhanced. My homeland, on the California coast, is despised by nightjars.

Have you ever gotten sick with Dickcissel fever? I highly recommend it. Another common migrant in the valley, it has been a great honor finally getting to know these birds well outside of a vagrant setting. Hidalgo County, Texas.

Fact: Dickcissels love sunflowers.

I wish I could have dropped the ISO on this image some more, but this is one of the mellower shots I got this spring. So pastoral it hurts.

Scissor-tailed Flycatchers have been my constant companions over the past months. I don't feel ashamed to say that they are superior to my usual phoebe companions. Cameron County, TX.

Mmmmmm, salmon flanks.

For about a month, I was treated to Upland Sandpipers almost every day...this is something I was accustomed to my from my time in North Dakota, but to see flocks of them on the regular was something else. I had no idea they could be so abundant. Willacy County, TX.

The vast majority of them were in agricultural areas where no sane person goes birding. This one is in a cotton field.

That's quite the eyering. An homage to Empidonax, perhaps?

Solitary Sandpiper is a truly humble bird, but I am grateful to have a small Tringid to visibly feast upon. Ramsey Nature Park, Harlingen, TX.

There aren't obscene numbers moving through the Valley or anything, but they were pretty regular for a while. Now they are far to the north of us. My time in the Aleutians has prepared me for finding a Wood Sandpiper in the Lower 48 one day, but I'm not so sure about Green Sandpiper.

Yeah, I haven't been posting many "valley specialties". You're probably pretty pissed. Well, there are a lot of Great Kiskadees around these parts. This iconic bird is very adaptable and is not hard to find. It makes me wonder how Social Flycatchers have not shown up here with more regularity...like the kiskadee, there are a shitload of them in northern Mexico and they do well in many different habitats. Ramsey Nature Park.

Ah, a BB&B first. In mid-April, it seemed the world suddenly became alive with bobwhites. While it is known that Northern Bobwhite populations are fairing poorly through much of the U.S., they seem to be pleasantly widespread in the lower valley. I just wish they would sit still for harder crushes. Hidalgo County, TX.

Bronzed Cowbird anyone? There are hella around here now. This bird is superior to its more infamous, Brown-headed Cowbird. Part of that superiority stems from a male's bloated neck. Hidalgo County, TX.

See? It's actually a pretty cool bird. They often become incredibly inflated when there is a female around, and can remain that way for a long time, even in flight, which induces much humor. Willacy County, TX.

So It Seems The Well Is Running Dry

A Red-shouldered Hawk suns itself at first light.

Do many of you write? For shits and giggles? Probably not. Those that do can probably can do it with some artistic bent, either for poetry, music, etc. I wish I could do that.....but I generally can't stand all the lyrics I write. If I write a whole song, I'll usually want to keep about two (2) lines out of everything. I'm just not cut out for it, I suppose.

And so I am relegated to BB&B and the birdwatcher niche. With extremely few exceptions, birdwatchers are pretty poor writers. And those that do write with some style and flair have to do it for the mass market, so it leaves you wondering about his/her potential....but in the end you feel cheated, because you know the work is neutered, to some extent. The octogenarian demographic is not an edgy one.

Of course, this allows us here at Team BB&B to grow and thrive so you are presented with the uberblog that you are reading right now. Surely, processing these golden words and looking at the flashy pictures is like getting a deep-tissue brain massage.



Flamingo, the "town" on Florida Bay in the Everglades, is a hotspot for southwestern birds. In a few days, I found a White-winged Dove, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and this Bronzed Cowbird all within a mile of each other. Weird.

When I'm searching far and wide for ideas of content to toss into here, I am always predisposed to the negative, i.e. news and research that points toward the idea that we are all doomed, rather than more positive anecdotes about how the Ruby-crowned Kinglets have arrived, and oh, aren't they lovely! Ostensibly, reading this blog can give one the idea that the great ornithologist Felonious Jive and I are mired in a deep malaise, which we are fated to be rooted deeply into for the rest of our lives. And you know....who am I to argue with that? I only have a vague idea of how you, my cherished readers, perceive me. I certainly feel an impending sense of doom, especially lately.....not quite like the bullshit-ridden apocalypses that many major and minor religions portend, nor any kind of bizarre Beyond Thunderdome scenario.....it's hard to put my finger on it.



Willets. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

But Jesus, who wants to read about that? I certainly don't. What a bummer. I think that since I've been sick lately my mind is more skewed that direction than normal. We should talk birds, really. I've still got scads of pictures from the fall tour that I can put up, and today we have a selection from the Everglades. Numerous signs warn you that vultures will vandalize vehicles if left to their own devices, but they left the Honda alone.....maybe they were waiting for bigger prey.....maybe a Hummer?

To be honest, the 'glades weren't quite as crippling as I imagined they would be....this can be chalked up to the rainy season I think. The huge (maddening?) concentrations of wading birds that is a part of Everglades lore were not quite there, as they were widely dispersed. When a lot of water is available, that means prey is not as concentrated as it is in the dry season....I would love to see what the place looks like in February or March. But with lifer White-crowned Pigeons, Short-tailed Hawk and Sedge Wren in the park, what am I doing complaining?



Black Vulture with Turkey Vultures sunning themselves in the background.