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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hamhed" data-source="post: 3159413" data-attributes="member: 70825">Friday 26thDetermined to track down the Tyrannulet and the Pipit, we were at the Anzalduas gate early and leaving 30 minutes later after being told the Park was closed for yet another day.  We didn’t mind park employes having a holiday but there was nothing on their website nor were there dates on the “closed for the holiday” sign.  While at the gate, we  picked up a Lincoln’s Sparrow, a Song Sparrow and watched a small contingent of White Pelicans, that seemed to fly over our heads at some point no matter where we were in the Valley.  A return trip to Quinta Mazatlan, one of the closest birding locations, made sense.  There we spent much of the morning walking the trails of the 15 acre estate several times and visiting the feeders often.  A group of Kiskadees provided amusement on the on the multiplex feeder system.  Much of the seed went to House Sparrows; they came in an endless stream.   Another feeder visitor was a Sharp-shinned Hawk; we could have guessed that some accipiter was around by how edgy the birds were.  Our only Gray Catbird of the trip sat quietly in a tangle low to the ground.Taking our Subway lunch to Frontera Audubon Thicket (<a href="http://www.fronteraaudubon.org/" target="_blank">http://www.fronteraaudubon.org/</a>), we ate while watching the water feature and hummingbird feeder.  At 22 acres, it is another one of the smaller birding locations but the restored native vegetation with a record of attracting a good many songbirds and a long list of Mexican rarities.  We saw a Blue Bunting here in ’09.  This afternoon, however, was exceedingly quiet.  It was our warmest day yet, probably reaching 80 or beyond, activating a few mosquitos but having the opposite effect on the birds.  The second half of the afternoon found us at Estero Llano Grande for yet another exploration of their marshes and thickets.  The hat-stealing wind that we experienced at both Atascosa and Estero was present but the birding was still reasonably entertaining for such a warm, windy, mid-afternoon visit.</blockquote>

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