Here’s a few notes about the trip (travel, car, hotel, food) and then complete lists of what I saw.
Travel
I flew on AirTran from Boston to San Antonio. Although San Antonio was a bit of a drive, round-trip was about $250 and Mission and other nearby airports were all well over $500. I also got a chance to see my friend Jack in San Antonio (although I didn’t actually have time to see the city). AirTran was quite good. I picked it out of several airlines that were all about the same price because it had the best connections. Although I would have liked one more day, by leaving on Friday I had a noon flight where all the weekend flights were at 7AM. I also had a better layover in Atlanta (several hours) compared to barely an hour in either Detroit or Memphis.
Car
I rented the car from Hertz. Although I reserved a Ford Focus, I ended up with a Mazda 6. I have no idea if there was a difference in the cost (the Mazda was more, but the GPS was discounted and this and that) but it was a very nice car. The gas tank was huge and with good mileage I made it almost to Brownsville before I had to fill it (and then only had to fill it again on the way back and a third of a tank to return it full). It had a huge blind spot that took a bit to get used to and I never figured out how to move the wheel so it wasn’t blocking the speedometer. Otherwise no complaints (other than I hit the alarm button every other time I tried to lock the wheel while holding the keys). The cruise control was really nice on the highway (I wish it worked at 5mph so I could scan on side roads without ended up picking up speed).
The GPS worked fairly well. I noted a couple places in the trip report where it had issues, but other than not being able to find the hotel the second night none were major. It was definitely a good thing to have.
Hotels
The first night in Zapata was at a Holiday Inn Express. I had issues getting the internet to work and didn’t catch on to the pull ring for the shower but otherwise no complaints. As I mentioned in the report, the room had a view of the water which was really nice. In Mission, I stayed at the Hawthorne Suites, which was fairly nice although it was slightly out of the way and I didn’t really need a full suite. In Brownsville I stayed at a La Quinta, which was quite nice. The Best Western that I picked at random in San Benito was not as nice as the others but nothing was really wrong (wireless would have been nice). And back in Mission, I picked another La Quinta which was also very good. Other than the first night (and that may have as I had nothing that needed to go in and can’t remember now), all the rooms had refrigerators.
Food
I didn’t go out of my way for any local food. On the way to Zapata, I pulled off at a truck stop and grabbed a sub. I didn’t really bother with lunch the next day and went to Chili’s for dinner. I stopped at a grocery store for snacks, which included enough for lunch the next day. In Brownsville, I got takeout from Rudy’s, which was fairly good and had enough to save for lunch. In San Benito, I tried Whattaburger, which was adequate for fast food. I had lunch at a Wendy’s in Weslaco and then dinner at Tony Roma’s in McAllen. I was able to have leftovers for lunch and then went to a Mary Callender’s in San Antonio.
Computer
I bought an Asus EeePc for the trip. It worked out beautifully. Small enough to pack it in my backpack with everything (scope, camera, binocs, etc) but it’s a regular pc. I was able to check email every night and download photos. The keyboard takes a bit to get used to (pretty much every time you pick it up) but otherwise there’s nothing I can really complain about. For $320, it’s well worth it and will be very good on future trips.
Species lists below.
Species Lists
The following are lists of what I was able to identify. Bird and dragonfly lifers are bold, almost all of the butterflies were, so it would be pointless to label them.
Birds (118+2)
- Fulvous Whistling-Duck – good-sized flock at Estero Llano Grande
- Wood Duck – 3 at Resaca de la Palma
- Gadwall – several at Santa Ana, Sabal Palm, and Bentsen (and a few on the Mexican side at Salineno)
- American Wigeon – several at Salineno on both sides of the river
- Mottled Duck – flyby at Santa Ana, 4 at Resaca, about 8 at the ponds by LRGV NWR (presumably I’ve seen them in Florida and just didn’t ID them)
- Blue-winged Teal – present at just about every pond
- Cinnamon Teal – 1 at Estero, 3 at LRGV NWR
- Northern Shoveler – present at most ponds
- Northern Pintail – a few at Sabal Palm and LRGV NWR
- Green-winged Teal – present at most ponds
- Plain Chachalaca – found at most appropriate sites including Santa Ana, Bentsen, Sabal Palm, and Estero
- Least Grebe – present at just about every pond (including some flooded spots on the side of the road near LRGV NWR)
- Pied-billed Grebe – present at most ponds
- American White Pelican – a few in Zapata and Falcon and a big flock at Estero
- Neotropic Cormorant – a few in the Zapata/Falcon area but most cormorants (including one flock of several hundred) were too far away for me to ID
- Double-crested Cormorant – several at Estero and see comments about the large numbers at Falcon under Neotropic
- Anhinga – present at most of the lower valley sites including Resaca, Sabal Palm, Estero, and Bentsen
- Great Blue Heron – present at several sites
- Great Egret – present at most water
- Snowy Egret – present at several sites
- Little Blue Heron – 4 at Estero
- Tricolored Heron – 3 at Estero
- Cattle Egret – 4 at Estero, scattered flyovers and along highways elsewhere
- White Ibis – 4 young birds at LRGV NWR
- White-faced Ibis – flock at the hotel in Zapata and 2 at Estero
- Black Vulture – 2 on the highway in Zapata, 3 at Resaca
- Turkey Vultures – everywhere
- Osprey – singles at Zapata, Falcon, and Sabal Palm
- White-tailed Kite – one or more birds at Resaca, one or two at Estero
- Northern Harrier – one at Resaca
- Sharp-shinned Hawk – one at Salineno (several small Accipiter type birds elsewhere)
- Harris’s Hawk – at several locations including Santa Ana and Estero
- Red-shouldered Hawk – singles at most locations south of Falcon
- Red-tailed Hawk – 1 at LRGV NWR, many along Rt. 281
- Crested Caracara – all along the highways and at Falcon, Resaca, and LRGV NWR
- American Kestrel – on almost every power line along the highways, large falcon flying by leaving Bentsen the last day as well
- Sora – 2 at Estero
- Common Moorhen – many at Santa Ana, Resaca, Estero, and LRGV NWR
- American Coot – at most ponds in good numbers
- Killdeer – at Zapata Boat Ramp, Resaca, and LRGV NWR
- Black-necked Stilt – many at Estero, 1 at Bentsen
- American Avocet – many at Estero
- Greater Yellowlegs – at Estero and LRGV NWR
- Lesser Yellowlegs – at Estero and Bentsen
- Solitary Sandpiper – 4 at Resaca
- Spotted Sandpiper – 1 at Salineno and a couple at Estero
- Long-billed Curlew – 3 flying over the entrance road to Resaca and a couple flyovers leaving Bentsen
- Least Sandpiper – many at Estero and Bentsen
- Stilt Sandpiper – 3+ at Bentsen
- Long-billed Dowitcher – many at Estero and Bentsen
- Wilson’s Snipe – 3+ at LRGV NWR
- Laughing Gull – 4+ at the Zapata Boat Ramp
- Ring-billed Gull – 1 at the hotel in Zapata
- Herring Gull – 1 at the hotel in Zapata
- Rock Pigeon – all over the highways and towns
- Eurasian Collared-Dove – several in the Zapata/San Ygnacio area
- Mourning Dove – all over
- White-winged Dove – at Salineno, Santa Ana, and Bentsen
- Inca Dove – at Salineno and Estero
- Common Ground-Dove – at most sites from Falcon to Estero
- White-tipped Dove – at Salineno, Bentsen, and Estero
- Greater Roadrunner – 1 at Santa Ana
- Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl – 1 at Bentsen, probably the highlight of the trip
- Common Pauraque – several staked out at Estero
- Buff-bellied Hummingbird – 1 at Estero
- Black-chinned Hummingbird – 1 at Estero plus one other hummingbird
- Ringed Kingfisher – on along the side of 83 near La Joya
- Belted Kingfisher – at Falcon, Santa Ana, and Estero
- Green Kingfisher – 2 at Estero
- Golden-fronted Woodpecker – all over from Salineno south
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker – at several sites from Salineno on
- Least Flycatcher – 1 at Resaca
- Eastern Phoebe – at most sites from Bentsen to Sabal Palm
- Vermilion Flycatcher – at the hotel in Zapata, Falcon, and Estero
- Great Kiskadee – at just about every stop
- Myiarchus sp – 1 at Resaca
- Tropical Kingbird – 1 at Estero
- Couch’s Kingbird – 1 at Sabal Palm (and likely 1 at Santa Ana, several silent kingbirds at Santa Ana and Resaca)
- Loggerhead Shrike – 1 at Falcon, 1 at LRGV NWR
- White-eyed Vireo – at most locations
- Blue-headed Vireo – 2+ at Resaca
- Green Jay – at most locations
- Chihuahuan Raven – 3 along 83 near Zapata
- Tree Swallow – 1 at Estero
- Cave Swallow – big flock at Santa Ana, few at Estero and Bentsen
- Black-crested Titmouse – at most locations
- Cactus Wren – several at Falcon, 1 at Santa Ana
- Carolina Wren – several at Santa Ana
- House Wren – at several locations
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet – at most locations
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – at most locations
- Clay-colored Robin – 6 at Santa Ana
- Northern Mockingbird – at most locations
- Long-billed Thrasher – at most locations
- European Starling – all over
- American Pipit – 20 at Falcon, 2 at Estero
- Orange-crowned Warbler – everywhere
- Nashville Warbler – 1 at Resaca, 1 at Bentsen
- Yellow-rumped Warbler – everywhere, all I saw appeared to be Myrtle
- Black-throated Green Warbler – 2+ at Resaca
- Black-and-white Warbler – 1 at Resaca
- Common Yellowthroat – at most places with water
- Wilson’s Warbler – 1 at Resaca
- Olive Sparrow – all over at Santa Ana, Resaca, and Bentsen at least
- Chipping Sparrow – several at Salineno
- Lark Sparrow – big flock along the entrance road at Falcon, couple at Resaca
- Savannah Sparrow – several at Estero
- Song Sparrow – 1 at Falcon
- Lincoln’s Sparrow – all over
- Northern Cardinal – at most sites
- Pyrrhuloxia – many at Falcon
- Red-winged Blackbird – all over
- Meadowlark sp – many along the sides of the roads
- Great-tailed Grackle – all over, probably the most common bird of the trip
- Brown-headed Cowbird – huge flock at Falcon, few at Salineno
- Altamira Oriole – 1 at hotel in Zapata, present at most sites from Salineno to Resaca
- Audubon’s Oriole – 2 at Salineno
- House Finch – couple at Zapata boat ramp
- American Goldfinch – couple heard flying over at Sabal Palm
- House Sparrow – at Salineno and Estero
Dragonflies (14)
- Rainpool Spreadwing (Lestes forficula) – 1 male at Sabal Palm
- Blue-ringed Dancer (Argia sedula) – 1 at Bentsen
- Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) – at several sites from Falcon to Resaca
- Rambur’s Forktail (Ischnura ramburii) – at Falcon, Bentsen, and Resaca
- Common Green Darner (Anax junius) – at Resaca and Estero
- Turquoise-tipped Darner (Rhionaeschna psilus) – 1-2 males at Resaca
- Pin-tailed Pondhawk (Erythemis plebeja) – all over at Sabal Palm
- Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata) – several sites from Falcon to Sabal Palm
- Straw-colored Sylph (Macrothemis inacuta) – 1 male at Falcon
- Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea) – 1 male at Sabal Palm
- Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens) – 1 at Falcon
- Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) – at Resaca and Sabal Palm
- Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta) – all over, most common ode of the trip (one possible Black Saddlebags at Sabal Palm as well)
Butterflies (40)
There were quite a few skippers at Resaca and Sabal Palm that I didn’t really attempt to identify. Most of the Bentsen ones were on the butterfly walk, I probably wouldn’t have gotten half of them on my own.
- Brown Longtail (Urbanus procne) – several at Santa Ana, Bentsen, and Sabal Palm
- White-patched Skipper (Chiomara georgina) – Bentsen
- Sickle-winged Skipper (Eantis tamenund) – Bentsen
- White Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus albescens) – Falcon and Bentsen
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus oileus) – Bentsen and Resaca
- Laviana White-Skipper (Heliopetes laviana) – Santa Ana and Bentsen
- Fawn-spotted Skipper (Cymaenes trebius) – Bentsen
- Eufala Skipper (Lerodea eufala) – Bentsen
- Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius) – Bentsen
- Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) – LRGV NWR
- Common Mellana (Quasimellana eulogius) – Bentsen
- Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole) – Falcon
- Sleepy Orange (Abaeis nicippe) – Falcon
- Little Yellow (Pyrisitia lisa) – Falcon and Bentsen
- Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia) – Bentsen
- Large Orange Sulphur (Phoebis agarithe) – Bentsen
- Checkered White (Pontia protodice) – Falcon, Bentsen, Resaca
- Great Southern White (Ascia monuste) – Bentsen
- Silver-banded Hairstreak (Chlorostrymon simaethis) – Bentsen
- Dusky-blue Groundstreak (Calycopis isobeon) – Bentsen and Resaca
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak (Strymon istapa) – Falcon and Bentsen
- Clytie Ministreak (Ministrymon clytie) – Bentsen
- Cyna Blue (Zizula cyna) – Bentsen
- Reakirt’s Blue (Echinargus isola) – Falcon and Bentsen
- Fatal Metalmark (Calephelis nemesis) – Falcon and Bentsen
- Red-bordered Metalmark (Caria ino) – Bentsen
- American Snout (Libytheana carinenta – Santa Ana and Bentsen
- Queen (Danaus gilippus) – Falcon, Bentsen, and Estero
- Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) – Falcon
- Julia (Dryas iulia) – Sabal Palm
- Zebra (Heliconius charithonia) – Santa Ana and Bentsen
- American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) – LRGV NWR
- Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) – Falcon and Bentsen
- White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) – Bentsen and Resaca
- Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) – LRGV NWR
- Texas Crescent (Anthanassa texana) – Falcon
- Chestnut Crescent (Anthanassa argentea) – Bentsen
- Vesta Crescent (Phyciodes graphica) – Bentsen
- Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon) – Bentsen
- Carolina Satyr (Hermeuptychia sosybius) – Bentsen, Resaca, Sabal Palm