Digiscoping the Rio Grande Valley Again
The Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival ended with a fantastic bang once again and the 500+ birders that showed up really made the buzz surrounding the festival a reality. There were a ton of birds and most of the oddities came from South Padre Island Convention Center as late migrants such as Chestnut-sided Warbler and "Red" Fox Sparrow dazzled the crowds. Usually we expect some crazy Mexican rarities, but this year hosted one in particular. The Black-vented Oriole that has been in the vicinity of Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park that a few participants had the privilege to see.
The host of wildlife that this region offers made for some portfolio-building digiscoping and allowed me to test out the Nikon EDG 85mm Fieldscope. I used an FSA-L2 adapter along with my new Nikon D3100 DSLR. This combination was somewhat new, but I knew what the glass of the EDG Fieldscope was capable of.
The host of wildlife that this region offers made for some portfolio-building digiscoping and allowed me to test out the Nikon EDG 85mm Fieldscope. I used an FSA-L2 adapter along with my new Nikon D3100 DSLR. This combination was somewhat new, but I knew what the glass of the EDG Fieldscope was capable of.
Yes yes, I know this is merely a Northern Mockingbird, but I couldn't resist shooting this guy at the water drip on Sheepshead Dr. on South Padre Island. This photo instilled a new found respect for this species. The smooth gray plumage, yellow eye and white, puffy underparts. This species is often knocked hard for dive bombing those close to nests and singing all day long. However, the way we could look at it is that this bird is of strong character who defends the nest with pride and has energy for days. That's a far off thought, huh? I bet some are thinking that right now. This bird was accompanied by a host of Red-winged Blackbirds, a Clay-colored Sparrow and a bunch of Inca Doves using the water to grab a drink.
This not so "Red" Fox Sparrow entertained hundreds of birders at the South Padre Island Convention Center while flipping through the Duff layer of the grass as expected. Of course, this bird has so much gray on the neck and face it looks more like the nominate species of the group iliaca. The Fox Sparrow is such a widely distributed species with many subspecies in between. Their contiguous range across the north makes for a clinal change in morphology thus meaning that birds never seem as they are in the guides. Think Red-tailed Hawk! Although, from living in Iowa for ten years I can tell you this does not look like a true "Red" Fox Sparrow. Nevermind the extensive gray but the red is usually much more bold. Either way it was cool to see this species overshoot it's historical wintering grounds by a few hundred miles. It was in the open enough to allow me to take a hundred digiscoped shots of it.
This area hosts most of the world's wintering Redhead and these birds were found with a few dozen others at the end of the boardwalk near our beloved Fox Sparrow. Not surprisingly, fellow prostaffer, Adrian Binns and I encountered a few dozen other birders taking advantage of these birds being so close to land. After viewing over 50,000 (I have no idea how underestimated that number is) at the Osprey Overlook in Laguna Atascosa NWR the day before it was hard to believe I would get this close. The birds at Laguna were distant and it would be near impossible to single a couple out since they were all jammed in together like livestock at a Midwest farm. Note the roundish head and bi-colored bill on these two. The Canvasback (most likely confusing species) has the flat forehead and an all black bill.
There were a few American Wigeon in with the group and this male preened nicely for the camera. If you haven't got to visit this festival yet I would highly suggest you get off your rear and make some plans. Rarities always show up and birds winter down here by the tens of thousands. Thanks for sharing this experience with me and good birding to all.
1 comments:
I wish I could have been there! The picture you snapped of the Northern Mockingbird was actually my favorite! heh
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