New England Seabirds | Wandering Birder | Wandering North America | Texas - Rio Grande Valley 2006 Rio Grande Valley Texas Winter 2006 Drought Black-bellied Whistling Duck Bentson State Park Joel's Jay Aplomado Falcon outside Laguna Atascosas Drought I returned to the valley on January 7 of 2006. Texas and Oklahoma are suffering one of the worst droughts in years. I do not expect this winter to be as exciting for rarities as the winter of 2005. But there is always good birding in the Rio Grande Valley and I started off getting a good picture of the Aplomado Falcon sitting on a wire just outside Laguna Atascossas. What a beautiful falcon. I have already discovered that many of the shallow ponds such as the pond on Farm Road 345 outside Rio Honda are dry. The Gray-crowned Yellowthoat is back at Sable Palm, the Mangrove Warblers are breeding on South Padre Island and there are lesser numbers of valley specialities such as Buff-bellied Hummingbirds, Altamira Orioles. The Dewinn's are back and so are their Brown Jays. They also have an Eastern Screeh Owl, 2 Clay-colored Robins and three species of Oriole: Altamira, Hooded and Audubons. Santa Ana had a very cooperative Red-naped Sapsucker that worked the same tree most of the winter and the Lesser Nighthawk at first sat on the same branch as last year. Black- bellied Whistling Ducks No Fulfous Whistling Ducks this year, but across from the Harlingen library a flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are always present near the reservoir. They feed at night.   Bentson State Park You should not believe everything you hear on the birding grapevine or read on the internet. Especially do not believe that since the state has removed the campers from Bentson State Park  it is no longer worth birding. The campers with their dogs, motorcycles, radios are indeed gone. The World Birding Center has replaced them with feeders, drip faucets, mist sprays, and bird blinds. Cars no longer drive into the park, but you can walk, ride your bike, or hop on and off one of the every hour shuttles. It is now a park dedicated to bird watching and to birds. It is a wonderful place. Do not believe the negative reports and try it yourself. When you visit try and look up our very own Dr. Josh Rose who is the head naturalist at the park. Eastern Screech Owl stayed in the same hole day after day for observing birders. The tram stops right by the hole. There are also Ferruginous Pygmy Owls and Elf Owls in the park. Joel's Jay Joel is the curator and owner of the San Ygnacio Bird Reserve past Falcon Dam in San Ygnacio. Birders usually visit the refuge to see the White-colared Seed-eater and indeed I did see one there this year. Usually it requires a dawn visit and it is a three hour drive from Harlingen so I did it once and planned to call it a year. Then the jay showed up. Joel insists it is a Yucatan Jay. Other experts have declared it a San Blas Jay. We will have to wait the decision of the birding committee. It too shows up at dawn. Joel places piles of bird seed along the path into the refuge and asks birders to stay on the paved area at the top of the hill. True to reports the bird showed up at the next to last pile of seed at the far end of the path at 6:20 a.m. and fed several times. There are pictures of the bird which appears to be an immature jay. Bird books are not very specific about the immatures.