November 12 - South Padre Island blitz

My last morning of this Texas trip and I was able to squeeze in 2 hours of very productive birding at the South Padre Island Convention Center & the Valley Fund Lots.

The highlight has to be the Long-Eared Owl at the Convention Center. I understand it's one of the very few records of this species over the 18-year history of the Rio Grande Birding Festival !

Another treat, for this region, was a Fox Sparrow, which may be just the 2nd ever record for the entire Rio Grande Valley...Also a Winter Wren put in a brief appearance & a Magnolia Warbler showed well for everyone to see.

Over at Valley Fund lots, I had a Rufous Hummingbird which is quite uncommon. Also seen were sparrows of White-Crowned, White-Throated, Lincoln's, and Swamp.

The trip total is 180 birds seen this week with 4 life-birds (White-Tailed Hawk, Franklin's Gull, Sprague's Pipit, and the Ferruginous Owls. I wish I could come here every year!