In the first few hours after the plane landed in Harlingen, that one phrase from Kingbird Highway “This is the west,” seemed to go through the minds of the team as we began to become familiar with the common avifauna of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.  Our lone westerner probably noticed long before the three easterners that this part of the country was not actually the west, but closer to the tropics.  The familiar Red-bellied Woodpecker was replaced by its southern counterpart, the Golden-fronted.  Ladder-backed Woodpecker looked and sounded a little bit like the common Downy Woodpecker found throughout the country.  The titmice down in the valley had black crests unlike the usual Tufted Titmice back home.  But the kingbirds out here were not the Western Kingbirds of the American West, they were Couch’s Kingbirds, our first real sign of the tropics. 

After the initial shock of being in a new area, scouting for the competition we would participate in on Saturday began.  We traversed much of the southern part of the Lower Rio Grande nailing down specialty birds like Tamaulipas Crow, a write up bird for the state of Texas, at a nest, Tropical Kingbird, almost identical to he much more numerous Couch’s, and a few other birds in the Brownsville area on Wednesday afternoon.  Before the sun got too low, we hit South Padre Island, a well know migrant trap, one that can show off the oranges of orioles, reds of tanagers, yellows of warblers, one that can get birders several inches from feeding migrants, a place that can leave a man speechless and teary-eyed.  By the time it got too dark to see we had racked up a good list of migrants familiar to the easterners, but completely new to our lone member from the west.  Scarlet Tanager and Baltimore Oriole were among our favorites as we attempted to convey our feelings over dinner.

The next two days revealed more tropical species at famous spots like Bentsen State Park and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.  Tropical species- Chachalacas, Kiskadees, Green Jays, birds that look nothing like our common North American birds.  On a big day, all birds are worth the same number of points, so we also spent time finding common winter ducks, southwestern desert species, and migrant shorebirds.  As the big day approached we felt good about the route.  Index cards were made to help us remember which birds we needed to get at specific sites.  Basic timing for the route was written down on another card.  Energy drinks and junk food made it into the coolers before we knocked off for a few hours then awoke, hit a Whataburger, and parked at Bentsen before a preset alarm went off at 11:59.

Like predicted, Common Paraque started off the list shortly after midnight, then after many failed attempts at various owls, Ferruginous Pygmy-owl and Eastern Screech-owl sounded off before we left.  Lesser Nighthawk and Barn Owl got ticked off the list.  Doing very well on time, the team headed towards the dawn spot a few hours up river.  Common Poowill was the only new nocturnal species, but in the desert several passerines like Verdin, Curve-billed Thrasher, Bewick’s Wren, and Black-throated Sparrow began to vocalize long before twilight.  As the first waves of sunlight bent over the horizon, more birds began to sing.  Pyrrhuloxias, Cardinals, Cactus Wrens, and Ash-throated Flycatcher were added to our small day list.  As the sun peeked into view, the team was already in a new habitat overlooking the Rio Grande and adding tropical birds to the day list.  Common species, Kiskadee, Chachalaca, and Altamira Oriole were joined by river hugging species Muscovy Duck, Red-billed Pigeon, and Ringed Kingfisher.  Before leaving a flock of Mississippi Kites took off from their roost and began circling in the air on their way north.  A quick run to the car allowed a few minutes to stop back in the desert habitat to pick up Scaled Quail, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, and Greater Roadrunner.  The distinctive high pitched music of a Cassin’s Sparrow was heard on the way to Salineño.

            Salineno held many new species more restricted to a suburban habitat.  Hooded and Bullock’s Orioles flashed their colors off along with more Altamiras, a small black and yellow Lesser Goldfinch saved us worrying for later in the day, as did our first ground and Inca Doves.  On the river, a few immigrants were surprised to see our SUV speeding down to where they were landing.  Luckily for us they had scared up a vocal Green Kingfisher on the American side of the river.  A staked out Chipping Sparrow was our last addition before heading to our last northern spots.  A quick bathroom break at a county park produced a stunning male Vermilion Flycatcher.  Falcon Pond held some key ducks that we would not see later in the day, a female Lesser Scaup, several Ring-necked Ducks, as well as more common Gadwall and Blue-winged Teal were scoped and the buzzy song of a Clay-colored Sparrow was given before we packed up for our hour drive south.

            The lengthy drive south was made even longer by short stops to see birds spotted out the windows.  Chihuahuan Raven, Harris’s Hawk, and Chimney Swift were some of the more important species.  Most importantly, we had very few birds that were not seen by all members of the team.  A rule of the competition only allows 5% of birds to be seen by less than all members of the team.  Most of the index cards had been thrown away as the checklist was updated and revealed a species count of about 85.  A shortcut to Bentsen produced an incredibly easy Black Phoebe.  The team ran through the state park ticking the common Long-billed Thrasher and Indigo Bunting off the list before focusing on the high priority species.  Northern-beardless Tyrranulet and Gray Hawk were heard after some effort, but Clay-colored Robin, a bird we had three of in scouting, was nowhere to be found.  Without getting caught up in one miss the team decided that a ten minute stop for an easy Least Grebe at Anzualduas was worth the effort.  The grebe was a quick tick and go.  Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge was the last inland spot to give a large boost of species to the list.  Arriving with a little over 100 species the team ran back to Pintail Lakes adding Painted Bunting at the feeders on the way out.  The lakes held Black-bellied Whistling Duck, White-faced Ibis, and a very well hidden American Wigeon.  On the return trip Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned Hawks and Northern Harrier were seen circling overhead.  One last desperate attempt for Clay-colored Robin failed to give the target species, but did bring out the pee-a-wee of an Eastern Wood-pewee.  One last bathroom break at the visitor center allowed time to wait for a Buff-bellied Hummingbird to come to the feeders. 

            For the first time of the day the team pulled away from the river in a quest for shorebirds at Llano Grande and La Feria sod farms.  Llano Grande held a lone staked out Ruddy Duck, a few Green-winged Teal as well as new shorebirds Wilson’s Phalarope, Long-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper.  A new addition to birds seen along the big day route was a Fulvous Whistling-duck mixed in with the Black-bellieds.  Despite the difficulty of viewing shorebirds at La Feria, Baird’s, Western, and Buff-breasted Sandpipers were added to the growing list.  Golden-plover was an obvious miss at this point. 

            Brownsville was sort of a blur in scouting, so the team did not completely know what to expect.  Tamaulipas Crow, Tropical Kingbird, and Green Parakeet were birds found in scouting.  It turned out that these were pretty much the only new additions to the list in the city.  A detour right to the boarder for Red-crowned Parrot failed, but since the day was going along so well it did not bother the team as they pushed on to the airport to add their only crow to the day list. 

            The last stop for the group was the coast.  Probably the most biodiversity of any area.  A spot for a large number of day birds.  The coastal plain gave the team White-tailed Hawks soaring over the pastures, Long-billed Curlews flying over fields, and once a large body of water was seen, ten new species got on the day list.  Skimmers, willets, terns, gulls, sanderlings, godwits, and several more.  Once out on South Padre Island more difficult shorebirds were found.  An American Oystercatcher was on a nest just south of the causeway, Whimbrel and Wilson’s Plover, both species missed in scouting were seen on mudflats on the way out to the jetty.  Since Sandwich Tern and Ruddy Turnstone were found earlier, there was not too much hope of new days birds.  A few minutes of sea watching and scanning the harbor came up with nothing, but while leaving a Pomarine Jaeger was spotted not too far offshore.  The migration spectacle pick back up in a few lots on the way up to the convention center.  Baltimore and Orchard Orioles fed on oranges, a Dickcissel was right where it was left two days prior, a Swainson’s Thrush was a new trip bird, and right before loading up the van a Merlin flew over, almost completing the list of hawks and falcons for the day.  At the convention center there were more teams than warblers.  Nashville, Tennessee Warblers, Ovenbird, and American Redstart helped out the day list, but a total of seven warblers seemed inexplicably low.  The checklist was added up, and 200 seemed well within reach.  The team began to count down.  The identity of Western and Scarlet Tanagers seemed more important than their flashy colors.  A Brown Thrasher, familiar to the easterners, was a very welcomed surprise.  Numbers were shouted out after each new day bird.  They might not have been accurate, but the team did not care.  Brown Thrasher- “Seven,” Piping Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper- “Ok guys, only three away, we still have Clapper Rail, Night Heron, and something else, we can do this.”  Franklin’s Gull was a peculiar miss at that point.  Other than dusk species, most of the convention center birds had been spotted.  The winds were good, so the team hit the beach in search of pelagics.  Fifteen minutes gave nothing but distant white specs, probably gulls or terns.  Then a bird was spotted, a day bird.  “GANNET,” was shouted out.  “That just passed through my scope.” “Wait, something is not right, a booby? All dark, long wings, gray under wings, not flapping.”  Seeing our confusion and the possibility of a rare bird our leader jumped in and identified the bird as a Sooty Shearwater, a bird the team had almost no experience with and not expected in the gulf.  A good effort allowed three of the four team members views of the distant bird.  Even with the excitement, the team was able to concentrate and identify some of the distant white birds as Franklin’s Gulls.  “One”  The time was right for dusk species, so the team returned to the convention center.  Two hundred was the ticking of a Clapper Rail that was later seen from a very close distance as it attempted to camouflage itself.  Scissor-tailed Flycatchers put on a show coming to roost by the dozens.  A feeling of the end came over the team.  Yellow-headed Blackbirds, abundant in scouting, flew over the marsh making their first appearance of the day.  The team pushed as far above 200 as they could.  A least bittern was flushed for only three members of the group.  Desperately trying to relocate it for the fourth member, nobody could find the bird.  Pushing onward, another Least Bittern walked out into the open allowing the whole group to just sit and stare at the tiny creature.  Instead of moving on with a rushed pace, the team watched.  The juvenile brown bird walked along the water in the fading light looking for fish and bugs through its pale eye.  After motionless for some time, the bird lunged forward and grabbed a dragonfly.  The hurried pace just a few hours before had almost come to a halt.  The last few migrants dropped in, but nothing new was added to the day list.  Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Buff-bellied Hummingbird were new to the area, but more interest was taken in savoring the last views of the tanagers before it was too dark to see the bright red of the Scarlet Tanager.  One last walk through the boardwalk satisfied the team with their last day bird, Black-crowned Night-heron.