April 8, 2008: Birding South Texas (Sabal Palms Audubon Sanctuary)

We spent the morning today at the Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary, just outside Brownsville, right on the Rio Grande River bordering Mexico. This is a really cool place! We started off the morning with a minor liftoff of resting migrating raptors! We walked most of the trails here and got some really cool photos.

This outstanding sanctuary is at risk because of the proposed US-Mexican enhanced border fence. The fence would run north of here, cutting it off from the rest of the U.S.! (Large PDF-9MB of proposed fence map). If you agree with me that this is a bad idea, write your Congressperson or Senator! (More info on the Border Fence here) (Anti border-wall site)

This Broad-Winged Hawk had roosted at the sanctuary
Black-Bellied Whistlind duck perching on a tree
Golden-Fronted Woodpecker
Green Jay
Plain Chachalaca

Olive Sparrow

Paper Flower

American Coot (big foot!)

Northern Shoveler

Mottled Ducks

Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks

Some nice Sabal Palm shots:

Blue Grosbeak

Couch's Kingbird

Below: a few photos of Chachalacas

Some shots of Green Jays at the feeders:

White-Tipped Dove

Long-Billed Thrasher

Looking across the Rio Grande at Mexico

Prickly Pear Cactus

Sabal Palm

Spanish Moss

Unidentified flower

Blue-Winged Teal

Gadwall

Red-Eared Sliders above and below

Least Grebe

Below: White-Tailed Kites

Aerial view of the Resaca at Sabal Palms, courtesy Microsoft Bird's Eye Imagery

Location of Sabal Palms (Interactive Map)