November 1999

by Ted Eubanks

During a recent trip to a private ranch adjacent to La Pesca, I noted the following species of particular interest:

Ross' Goose (1 in a flock of Snow Geese roosting on a laguna adjacent to the
Rio Soto la Marina)
Lineated Woodpecker (2)
Yellow-faced Grassquit (2)

I am working with a landowner in this area, and his plans potentially include nature tourism. In the meantime, attached is the list of species that we found on the ranch during a brief trip. We will return in the spring for more field work. For those who do not know this general region (Saltillo, Monterrey, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas), no area offers more diversity of habitats so close to the U.S. border. In future years, we hope to develop additional opportunities for birders.

La Pesca is situated at the mouth of the Rio Soto la Marina, about 150 miles south of Brownsville. Below is a list of the birds that I found during by brief trip to the area around La Pesca. Although we spent only one afternoon and one morning surveying, the area is impressively rich given its diversity of habitats. Future trips should expand this list rather significantly.

Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Plegadis sp. (probable White-faced)
Roseate Spoonbill
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross' Goose (one in laguna with Snow Geese near La Pesca)
Green-winged Teal
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Harris' Hawk
Roadside Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Merlin
Plain Chachalaca
Wild Turkey
Northern Bobwhite
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Common Snipe
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Red-billed Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Yellow-headed Parrot
Groove-billed Ani
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
Pauraque
Belted Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker (2)
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Green Jay
Brown Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Spot-breasted Wren
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
Long-billed Thrasher
American Pipit
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Orange-crowned Warbler
Tropical Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Indigo Bunting
Olive Sparrow
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
House Sparrow

Ted Lee Eubanks
Austin, Texas 78705