The 21st Century Matriarch

Back to the posts about our experiences at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival…Our fourth day field trip was to South Padre Island and included a bay cruise. The first stop for our bus was at The South Padre Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary. The place is two woodlots across the street from each other and surrounded by hotels and condos on South Padre Island. There are bird feeders and baths…plantings... a ‘rest stop’ for birds. It was very quiet when we first arrived; a Cooper’s Hawk had just caught breakfast and was feasting near the back. The Monarch butterflies were still active.

Eventually the birds became active – since the hawk was busy with its prey. There was a Couch’s Kingbird eating monarch butterflies: posing on the wire for photos. One of the guides had seen the birds eating Monarch’s the previous day as well. Was it the same bird? Supposedly Monarch’s taste bad and make birds sick (chemicals they absorb from the milkweed they eat at caterpillars); something is different about the butterflies or the birds.

Orange crowned warblers shared the space in the bushes and water with the Couch’s Kingbird. These are smaller birds but share the yellow color.

There was a Great Kiskadee as well…more yellow.

One has to look hard to see the Yellow-rumped warbler.

A Ladder-backed woodpecker posed on a telephone pole.

There was a Hummingbird on an agave…too far way for an excellent image but the bill is dark so probably not a buff-bellied hummingbird. Maybe a Ruby-throated hummingbird female?