DAY 4: Bentsen/Rio Grande SP, Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, and Anzalduas CP

"Bentsen/Rio Grande State Park and Edinburg Scenic Wetlands offered  Gray Hawk, Black Phoebe and other birds, and we got better looks at many we had already seen. At Anzalduas County Park, our only Ringed Kingfisher was seen as it flew across the Rio Grande to perch on a boat house roof in plain sight... in Mexico! A Zone-tailed Hawk circled overhead, and we enjoyed a Vermilion Flycatcher."

BENTSEN/RIO GRANDE STATE PARK

E-bird List: Bentsen-Rio Grande Val. SP WBC (Mission) (LTC 069), Hidalgo County, TX
What a large and birdy park this was along the Mexican border!  Black Phoebe, Gray Hawk, and many more.  My apologies for some fuzzy photos, but I wanted to add glimpses of birds that were new for me.

Black Phoebe

A lot of Plain Chacalacas

They were big and slow and photogenic

…another Chacalaca pose

…and there are Northern Mockingbirds on the Rio Grande

Clay-colored Thrush:  The first time I've seen this bird outside a zoo.

Another great Green Jay pose photographed from a blind.  Notice the water drip.

…and Ruby-crowned Kinglets are there, too.

Black-crested Titmouse

Another Green Jay beauty

Altamira Oriole eating sunflower seeds

A perky Red Squirrel

…and pretty Altamira Oriole pose

...and one more

One more Plain Chacalaca

An Olive Sparrow, the only one I was able to photograph.

ANSALDUAS PARK

E-bird LIst: Anzalduas Park (LTC 068), Hidalgo County, TX

"Here at Ansalduas Park we saw our only Ringed Kingfisher.  It flew from the US side across the Rio Grande to the Mexican side where it landed on a tin roof and allowed us some nice looks."

Ringed Kingfisher was here and flew left to the tin roof in Mexico.  So, we saw it in the USA and Mexico.

A photo of the Ringed Kingfisher that was not willing to pose for us.

OLD HIDALGO PUMPHOUSE

E-bird List: Old Hidalgo Pumphouse (WBC) (LTC067), Hidalgo County, Texas

Beautiful Colors of bougainvillea bloomed in many places we visited.  

Water tower at Hildago, the All American City.  Do you see a bird perched there?

Ah!  It's a Perigrine Falcon

Tobacco Tree flowers

Inca Doves

Great-tailed Grackle

NEARBY NEIGHBORHOOD

E-bird List: Monk Parakeet Neighborhood
While we were at the pump house a lady who worked there told us about the Monk Parakeets in the neighborhood nearby.  We headed over and found their gigantic nest with 10 Monks on the power lines.  The lighting was so poor that no photos of the birds were taken.  While there Green Parakeets and Couch's Kingbirds were seen in the trees.

EDINBURG SCENIC WETLANDS 

E-brid List: Edinburg Scenic Wetlands WBC (LTC 061), Hidalgo County, TX
This pretty park had nice plantings and ponds, but the day was waning and time was not on our side.  We did see Neo-tropic Cormorants for the first time here.

Green Kingfisher

Smaller Neo-tropic Cormorants mixed with their larger cousins, Double-crested Cormorants.