June 19, 2016 - Texas - Other Birds - Part 2

At the Texas photo workshop I attended in February, we were really pleased to get good looks at a pair of Audubon’s Orioles. That’s because the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas is the only place to see them in the United States. They are secretive birds and often stay in dense cover. This is a female; the male looks very similar but is brighter in color. At 8½ to 9½ inches long, they are a little bigger than a Baltimore Oriole.

OrioleAudubon'sLagunaSecaRanchEdinburg20160218

Most warblers are brightly colored, but the Orange-crowned Warbler is quite plain looking. It does have a streak of orange feathers on the top of its head. These feathers are hidden and only seen when the bird is frightened or agitated.

WarblerOrangecrownedLagunaSecaRanchEdinburg20160217

Most warbler species migrate to Central and South America in the winter. Orange-crowned Warblers are hardier and many of them can be found in the southeastern states in winter. Their nesting range shows a preference for cooler areas as well. They don’t nest in the central or eastern United States. They do nest in the western states and it looks like they prefer mountainous areas. In addition, they nest all across Canada and Alaska.

WarblerOrangecrownedLagunaSecaRanchEdinburg20160218

This perky little bird is a Lincoln’s Sparrow. A distinctive identifying feature is the buffy chest band separating the white throat and belly. This species was not named after President Abraham Lincoln. Instead, it was named after Thomas Lincoln who collected this sparrow while traveling with John James Audubon on a trip to Labrador, Canada.

SparrowLincoln'sLagunaSecaRanchEdinburg20160217

Another lower Rio Grande Valley specialty is the Olive Sparrow. Like the Audubon’s Oriole, that’s the only place in the United States to see this bird, a native of Mexico. The Olive Sparrow is a “skulker,” preferring to stay hidden in the underbrush. We felt fortunate to get a few chances to see an Olive Sparrow.

SparrowOliveLagunaSecaRanchEdinburg20160219

This Black-crested Titmouse looks like it just had a hair-raising experience. This is a small bird, only 6½ inches long. It’s found from the far southwestern corner of Oklahoma down through the center of Texas. Its range extends into the northeastern part of Mexico.

TitmouseBlackcrestedLagunaSecaRanchEdinburg20160217

The Black-crested Titmouse was considered a separate species when it was discovered around 1850. I haven’t been able to find the date, but at some point it was declared to be the same species as the Tufted Titmouse. Then in 2002, the American Ornithologists Union (the group that decides these things) reexamined the evidence and decided that Black-crested Titmouse and Tufted Titmouse should again be considered separate species.

TitmouseBlackcrestedLagunaSecaRanchEdinburg20160218