Trip to South Texas

I'm heading down to South Tx between Sonora & Juno this Thurs. night. I'll be the only birder & I'm a novice. Can you give me some ideas of birds to look for this time of year down there, please?

I wouldn't go out looking for birds. I'd go out and see what I see. Take pics and we'll help you ID them.

Hack

Good advice, Hack. I'll give that a try. I wish I had a better camera, but I'll do my best.

Edwards Plateau - more west Texas than south Texas!

Look out for "Tufted Titmice", they'll be Black-crested Titmice there. And any woodpeckers resembling Red-bellied will be Golden-fronted. You'll also be in the range of Verdin and Bushtit, so keep an eye out for them.

No American Crows there, but look out for both Common Raven and Chihuahuan Raven - tricky to tell apart, but any large flocks of "crows" will be Chihuahuans, as they're more sociable than Common Ravens (which tend to be in smaller groups).

Cactus Wren, Rock Wren and Canyon Wren all worth looking for. They live up to their names; Cactus Wrens are much larger than other wrens (easier to confuse with a thrasher than another wren!). Of thrashers, look for Curve-billed, as well as Brown.

Golden-cheeked Warbler is a local speciality, but I'd doubt they'll still be there in mid October unfortunately.

Resin

Thanks, Resin !

Okay, I'm back and I've posted some pics in the ID thread, please help me ID these birds. :) The photo is just a piece of this 14,500 AC ranch.

I had a wonderful time and there were so many birds. I know I only saw a few of the many that were out there. I have a definite list and I'll be adding to it, if we can ID some more. I'll post some pics on Daily Pics, too.

1) Lark Sparrow
2) Black-throated Sparrow
3) Pyrrhuloxia
4) Greater Roadrunner
5) Loggerhead Shrike
6) Vermillion Flycatcher
7) Turkey Vulture
8) Norther Mockinbird
9) Northern Cardinal
10) Wild Turkey
11) White-winged Dove
12) Mourning Dove
13) American Kestral
14) Scissortailed Flycather
15) House Finch
16) Northern Flicker

This message was edited Oct 11, 2009 8:06 PM

I was also fortunate that the Monarch Migration was in full swing while I was there. It was magical at times they were so thick, it was like snowing Monarchs.

Wow that is neat!

Very nice Missy...looks like a worthwhile trip!! Love the Monarchs!

Neat monarchs!! I have seen the program about the Migration. Not as good as in person. We got to see part of the Hawk migration a couple of weeks ago.