We did it ! ! !

Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Mon, 16 Nov 1998 18:14:55 -0500


WE DID IT ! ! ! !

This is a summary report of Norm & Fran Saunders' 9-day trip to the Lower Rio 
Grande Valley, November 7-15, 1998.  Fran and I stayed in Harlingen, central to 
almost all of the locations we visited and we were registered participants in the 
5th Annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.  We can't say enough good 
things about the Festival and the people behind the Festival, especially Father 
Tom Pincelli, who took the time to draw map after map and outline strategy after 
strategy for finding the birds on our target list.  Thanks, Father Tom!

Target birds for our trip:  (27 species, we saw 23)
	Least Grebe (got it, Santa Ana NWR)
*	Muscovy Duck (wasn't reported by anyone; we missed it)
	Hook-billed Kite (got it, Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park)
	White-tailed Hawk (got it, Santa Ana NWR)
*	Aplomado Falcon (around at Laguna Atascosa NWR, we missed it)
	Plain Chachalaca (got it, Santa Ana NWR)
*	Red-billed Pigeon (around at Saleneno, we missed it)
	White-tipped Dove (got it, it was everywhere)
	Red-crowned Parrot (got it, downtown Harlingen)
	Green Parakeet (got it, downtown San Benito)
	Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (got it, King Ranch)
*	Elf Owl (wasn't reported by anyone, we missed it)
	Pauraque (got it, King Ranch)
	Buff-bellied Hummingbird (got it, downtown Harlingen feeder)
	Ringed Kingfisher (got it, Santa Ana NWR)
	Golden-fronted Woodpecker (got it, it was everywhere)
	Great Kiskadee (got it, Santa Ana NWR)
	Tropical Kingbird (got it, Harlingen Bird Sanctuary)
	Couch's Kingbird (got it, it was everywhere)
	Green Jay (got it, it was everywhere)
	Brown Jay (got it, Chapeno)
	Mexican Crow (got it, Brownsville Dump)
	Sedge Wren (got it for Fran, King Ranch)
	Long-billed Thrasher (got it, Santa Anna NWR)
	Olive Sparrow (got it, all over the place)
	Altamira Oriole (got it, Santa Anna NWR)
	Audubon's Oriole (got it, Chapeno & King Ranch)

Unanticipated life birds: (2 more)
	Sprague's Pipit (got it, King Ranch)
	Le Conte's Sparrow (got it, King Ranch)


Now, before Phil Davis can jump in here, we know that the Aplomado Falcon (the 
released birds at Laguna Atascosa NWR) and the Green Parakeet are not 
currently on the ABA list.  Nonetheless we wanted badly to see them to round 
things out a bit.  We dipped on the falcon but had a great display put on by a 
largish flock of the parakeets when they were dive-bombed by a Merlin.


Where we birded the past nine days:
	Downtown Harlingen, various locations
	Lon C. Hill Park
	Hugh Ramsey Nature Park
	Santa Ana NWR
	Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary
	Brownsville Dump
	Brownsville Zoo
	South Padre Island
	Salaneno
	Chapeno
	Falcon Dam Spillway
	Falcon Dam State Park
	Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park
	Harlingen Bird Sanctuary
	King Ranch
	Laguna Atascosa NWR


Our Statistics:
	Birds for the trip:   177 species
	Lifers:   25 for Fran, 24 for Norm

Major Milestone:
	Norm & Fran both surpassed 600 species for their N.A. Life List!

Fran and I will be working on a more detailed writeup of the trip.  If there are 
specific questions, however, don't hesitate to write us off the list.

Glad to be home...
Norm

===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net