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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jos Stratford" data-source="post: 3354421" data-attributes="member: 12449">21 December. Salineno & Falcon Dam.I had been in the lower Rio Grande for just three days, a pretty incredible three days that had added 27 birds to my ABA list, rather more than I had expected. Now however was time to move - my next planned destination was the legendary Big Bend National Park, a drive of 1050 km to the west. I had initially planned to do this jump in a single overnight haul, but eventually modified my plans to do it over two days with prolonged stops at Salineno, Falcon Dam and Amistad Reservoir.Famed for quite many years for its feeders, Salineno is basically a nondescript patch of scrub tucked up against the Mexican border. Here, some years back, a couple established feeders that soon became a magnet for birders across the U.S. Attracting not only the typical specialities of the Rio Grande, the site also hosted up to three species of oriole and, more importantly, Brown Jays - the last ever locality to hold them in the United States. Unfortunately, the range of Brown Jays has continued to contract and, as of 2010, the species no longer occurs at Salineno, thereby becoming extinct in the U.S.Fortunately, other than the Brown Jays, the feeders still attract many other birds. To an unexpected overcast sky, I arrived at Salineno about an hour after dawn, first exploring the banks of the Rio Grande - no wintering Red-billed Pigeons this year, but a good medley of riverine birds including Ringed Kingfishers, Neotropic Cormorants, Pied-billed Grebes and Spotted Sandpipers, plus Black-crested Titmice and Blue-grey Gnatcatchers in the scrub. Just up the slope, the feeders were a treat indeed - settling onto the provided chairs, a spectacle unfolded metres in front - a flurry of action at a dozen or more feeders and scattered chunks of fruit: Green Jays and Great Kiskadees a couple of dozen apiece, 60 plus Red-winged Blackbirds, several Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, a handful of Black-crested Titmice, White-tipped Doves and White-winged Doves both plodding the ground, plus occasional Long-billed Thrashers, Olive Sparrows and Orange-crowned Warblers. House Sparrows and Great-tailed Grackles both abundant.The undoubted stars of the site though are the orioles - Altamira, Audubon's and Hooded all possible during the winter. With at least six present, Altamira Orioles were very easy to see, almost non-stop feeding on the citrus fruit. The other two were more problematic - Hooded was basically not present, an occasional being seen every couple of weeks or so, while a pair of Audubon's were visiting two or three times a day, though generally elusive. So, I sat back to wait, the bustle of the feeders quite a pleasure, a Sharp-shinned Hawk emptying the site on a couple of occasions as it came hurtling through, overhead Crested Caracaras having no such impact. After an hour or so, with no joy on the alternative orioles, I decided to have have another look along the river, maybe I could find one of the orioles there. And that is exactly what I did - a quarter hour on, I found a male Audubon's Oriole feeding in a big riverside willow. The bird however was moving fairly fast ...directly towards the feeders! I doubled back and plonked myself on one of the chairs at the feeders just in time for the bird to arrive, a nice double act of one male Audubon's Oriole feeding to my immediate right, one male Altamira Oriole feeding to the immediate left!Next stop, just a handful of miles further, Falcon Dam. No real targets here, just a stroll around the arid hillsides abutting the large reservoir. One very photogenic Greater Roadrunner on arrival, one skittish covey of Northern Bobwhites also. I parked in the picnic area and then walked a trail that looped round the slopes ...a typical bunch of species seen, Harris Hawk, Inca Dove and Eastern Bluebird included, also Bewick's Wren and a nice flock of mixed sparrows - five species at least, Savannah Sparrows most, but Cassin's, Chipping, Vesper and Lincoln's Sparrows all also present. Also found my only snake of the trip - a long black Indigo Snake that slithered into a hole - and, almost back where I had left the car, a rather nice pack of 12 Collared Peccaries. One Black-tailed Jack Rabbit too.Thereafter it was a long drive westbound, a brief stop at a pool in Zapata failing to produce hoped-for White-collared Seedeaters (but resulting in a Green Kingfisher). As dusk fell, approaching the city of Del Rio, the ghostly shapes of two Great Horned Owls appeared on roadside posts, the birds dueting to each other. Checked into a hotel in Del Rio, the large Amistad Reservoir nearby for morning exploration.</blockquote>

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