Texas Trip :: Day 4 – Estero Llano Grande State Park

By day 4 of our trip (our last full day), we had already had a gerat time despite some tough conditions. Now we had to figrue out what we wanted to do for our last full day – our last chance to wander far and wide in the area. We considered tryign Santa Ana NWR again or going to Bentsen-Rio Grand National Park. Instead, we followed the recommendations of many of the kind people on the TEXBIRDS mailing list and tried out a relatively new state park just south of Weslaco, TX – Estero Llano Grande State Park.

about ESTERO LLANO

Part of the World Birding Center, this state park is a relative new-comer in the region, opening in 2002. Covering almost 200 acres and containing 3 miles of trails, the park has undergoing upgrades since it opened, including a beautiful new visitor center. The visitor center was a great introduction to the quality of this site, offering a great store/office and attached classroom; even the bathrooms were immaculate (and anyone who visits state parks knows that is usually not the case. And the actual park is pretty nice, offering a mixed habitat of marshes, ponds and wetlands bordered by some grasslands and near-desert locales.

hitting the TRAILS

We started out on the observation deck at the visitor center, and were immediately treated to a bevy of great birds. Blue and Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, American Coots and Pied-billed Grebes abounded, as well as a number of less-well-represented species like Mallards and Mottled Ducks. A variety of shorebirds hung out on the far side of the pond (maybe 50′ across) that turned out to be an assortment of species: Stilt Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Short- and Long-billed Dowitchers. After a little while and a bunch of pictures, we followed the Llano Grande Hiking Trail around the pond and toward the back of the Ibis Pond. There, I got to add a lifer for me as numerous Black-necked Stilts were enjoying the feast of the marshes. We were talking to another NJ couple there when we saw another lifer – a group of White-faced Ibis moving in and out of the reeds. There must have been 8 or 9 of them in all, with one of them deciding to see if the eating was any better close to us, something that I enjoyed.

After sitting there for a bit, we headed up the rest of the trail past the grasslands to an unfinished trail that led to the levee on the edge of the Llano Grande, where we saw a bunch of American Avocets (lifer number 3), some cormorants, some more stilts and a phalanx of Amerian White Pelicans, including some males that still had their prehistoric-looking horns on their bills. After wandering a bit, scaring up some herons but figuring out that we were just a bit too far for good photos, we trekked back to the park another unfinished trail that brought us to end of the Camino de Aves trail en route to Alligator Pond.

Alligator Pond – so named because of the two LARGE alligators which reside there – was a great vista for much of the day. Aside from the reptilian behemoths, the pond held numerous bird species, including Double-crested and Neotropical Cormorant, Anhinga and a bunch of wading birds and waterfowl. At the end of the trail was a small deck overlooking a large portion of the pond. Across the way was an Eastern Screech Owl hanging out of a nest box, as well as a bunch of other smaller birds flying in and out of the brush. Around the bend from the deck was a smaller, unoffcial viewing area where we were treated to a Snowy Egret, a resplendent Common Moorhen in full breeding plumage and a magnificent 1st-year White Ibis. Waterfowl hung around for some close-ups, and we were later buzzed by both a Belted and Ringed Kingfisher (lifer #5 at this point). Numerous raptors also hunted the park, including osprey, Northern Harrier and Swainson’s hawks which were always way too far to get shots of.

Eventually, we left to get lunch, and took the trail out toward the disguisingly-named Maintenance Road. Strangely, it – and the drainage ditch next to it – provided quite a habitat for a number of things including some birds and a lot of butterflies and dragonflies, as well as cornucopia of lizards which were rushing about ahead of us. Among the things we got to see were more rose-bellied lizards, a Prairie 6-lined Racerunner and a Texas Spotted Whiptail, which is a really cool and colorful little lizard. Insect-wise, we were treated to Little Yellows, Giant and Palomedes Swallowtails, and a new dragonfly for me: a Variegated Meadowhawk, which is among the most beautiful species I have seen.

On our way back from lunch, the maintenance road provided more great sightings, including male and female Red Saddlebags and Wandering Gliders. But it was the Grebe Marsh that gave us the highlights of our post-lunch day. When we got there, a tri-colored heron and snowy egret were already lurking about, along with more coots and moorhens. But then a novelty arrived – a White-morph Reddish Egret (#6) which hung around and provided for a ton of photographs. I also saw a Spotted Sandpiper, who despite his patience, I still never got a great shot of, even from only about 4m away. While we were there, a bunch of other birders from around the country stopped by and we all chatted about what we were seeing, what we were looking for, migration stories, etc. By the time we were done, light was failing and we decided to head back to the observation deck and Ibis Pond for one last look around. I’m glad we did.

A Tri-colored Heron gave us a great view, coming within 2m of us and letting us take picture after picture after picture of him fishing. We took pictures of him, and the multitude of blue- and green-winged teal, shovelers, killdeer and shorebirds that were all over the place. An off-hand comment from one of the few other people there let us know that there was a Cinnamon Teal in the pond somewhere – and I convinced Shari to take a quick look where we found him getting ready for the evening’s rest. Lifebird #7 – check.

As we were leaving, we came across a snake in the middle of the walk, laying motionless. I thought he might be dead, seeing as how red ants were crawling all over him. Looking back, that was a stupid thought, since he was holding his head off of the ground – a gentle nudge and he raced back into the brush. I would find out later that he was a threatened species – the Black-lined Snake – which is mildly venomous and has a limited U.S. range. Pretty cool.

So, our last full day ended with a great one – lots of good pictures (I shot over 900 that day), and a lot of fun. Sadly, we knew that the next day would be our last – and that would be abbreviated, since we had to get to the airport by 7 p.m. for our flight home. Little did we know that it would turn out to be one of our most exciting days of the trip…

Bird Tally

ESTERO LLANO GRANDE STATE PARK

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