Bentson State Park

Green Jay was the species I most wanted to see.
They are common at Bentson. Sometimes 
five at a time would be on a feeder

 The Rio Grande Valley (RGV for now on) has dozens if not hundreds of birding locations. Arguably, the crown jewel is the Bentson- Rio Grande Valley State Park. This was the number one place for me to visit on the list. Bentson is only a few minutes from downtown McAllen. From our motel in Alamo I think it was a twenty one minute drive. 

   The park officially opens at 8 AM. You can get there before this and bird around the visitor center. Not knowing the opening, we arrived at 7:15 AM. We birded around some hummingbird feeders and also ate a snack before a long day. While we were eating a snack, a javelina crossed the road and we got to watch it. It was our first one so we were very excited to see it. 

  

At 8 AM the visitor center opens up and you can go in and pay your five dollar entrance fee and pick up a map. At 8:30 AM rangers fill the bird feeders with sunflower seeds and suet. The birds know this and they were lined up before the rangers even arrived. Plain Chachalacas were already at the feeders when we arrived. When the ranger placed the food, the place went wild. Green Jays, two species of Oriole, Two species of woodpeckers, and many others came for breakfast. There was a bird walk lead by a volunteer that morning watching the feeders. This worked well for me because he picked out a couple species I would not have been able to identify. The most notable was an Audubon's Oriole.

   Our plan was not to take any bird walks and to do the property ourselves but after spending a few minutes with John, I realized I'd see more birds if we went. No one else went on the walk except Laurie and I and another volunteer named Steve. It was a good decision. We stopped at three other feeders along the walk. The walk lasted until 11 am. The last feeder was a tram stop so we hitched a ride back to the visitor center instead of having to hoof it back.

   We only covered a mile and a half on our walk out of the eight miles of trails. In that time I got eleven life birds. I would have gotten another five had a we not stopped at Estero the night before. I think the "rarest" species we saw was Audubon's Oriole. Since everything was new to us, it didn't matter to me what was rare or what was common. Seeing my first Olive Sparrow was just as exciting. Seeing all of the colors of all of the species was incredible.

My eleven life birds were Audubon's Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Inca Dove, White Tipped Dove, Black Chinned Hummingbird, Gray Hawk (distant look), Clay Colored Thrush, Long Billed Thrasher, Black Crested Titmouse, Altamira Oriole, Olive Sparrow.

  On top of the eleven lifers  the birds I'd only seen once in my life (at Estero the afternoon before) were Plain Chachalaca, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, Ladder Backed Woodpecker, Golden Fronted Woodpecker.

Bentson #2

   I decided days before we had to come home that I would not chase lifers the last day of the trip. We would go back to a favorite spot and just relax and enjoy birds. We chose to go back to Bentson. There were multiple reasons for this. They were as follows... We only walked about a mile and a half the first time. You can rent bikes for $5 for four hours ar the Visitor Center. So we rented bikes so we could cover more ground quicker. Secondly, we knew the rangers would fill multiple birding stations. On our bikes we could visit multiple stations but also get to them before the walkers did so we could enjoy them in quiet. Third, there is a hawk observation tower above the trees that we didn't see the first time and I still hadn't gotten a photo of a Gray Hawk (I still don't).

  We arrived is a mist and light rain at 7:30 and birded until th VC opened. We paid our admission and birded for half an hour watching the feeders. I got good photos of all the species i mentioned above and also Curve Billed Thrasher. After watching the feeder we rented the bikes. 

 

Altamira Oriole

 We rode them to the next feeder which was fairly quiet so we moved on after ten minutes. At the next feeder we saw a flock of the Rio Grande subspecies of Wild Turkey. The next feeder had tons of  Green Jays and Altamira Orioles. We sat there for half an hour and the place to ourselves. 

 Our next stop was the observation tower. Though it stopped sprinkling at 8 AM it never really cleared up and the sky stayed dark and it was cool. Not ideal conditions for soaring hawks. I saw a Crested Caracara perched in a tree but other than that not even a songbird went by. 

Our last real stop was at a secluded feeder that is in an abandoned campground. This is where we saw two Javelinas feeding. There is a small pool for drinking water and I watched a Javelina bend down and tuck its front legs to get a drink. It was so cute.  We left after a few minutes to let them finish their meal.

  On our way back to return our bikes  I heard a Gray Hawk. Try as I might I never saw it. While looking for it, the little troop of Javelinas came to the feeder in the area looking for more to eat. I got a couple more photos. 

   We returned our bikes a little past noon and said goodbye to Bentson

Logistics The park opens at dawn and stays open until 10 PM. The Visitor Center opens at 8 and I guess closes at 4 or 5 PM. We only went in the mornings. Restrooms right next toVC are open even when the VC isn't. Eight miles of trails, much of it is on pavement. You used to be able to drive into the park but it is closed to all but a few automobiles. Plenty od parking in the lot.

 

Javelina (not related to pigs)

 The feeders start getting filled at 8:30. The one next to the Visitor Center is the first. There is a lot of activity at the feeders until they run out of food. This is one reason we rented bikes. Bike rental was five dollars each for four hours with a twenty dollar extra deposit that you get back after you return your bike.  You can pay the admission in cash or card but bike rentals are only with a card. 

The free bird walk was well worth our time. If you have never been to the RGV and Bentson is your first stop, you could get fifteen or more lifers. I got eleven the first time and we only explored a small portion of the park. There is a tram that comes by every hour and will bring you back to the Visitor Center or drop you off at other stops along the way. It is free I believe, it was for us when it gave us a ride back to headquarters. 

Link below

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/bentsen-rio-grande-valley

  

Parrots and Green Parakeets in Texas

 

  While not as many species as South Florida, South Texas has wild parrot species. Some are ABA countable because they have been wild breeding populations for many years. Others are not countable because they are considered escapees or they have not established breeding colonies long enough to be counted.

   There are two ways to see parrots. One is to hope one flies over you. This does happen and I saw many ebird reports of people seeing parrots. Usually this is in the evening when they go back to their colonies to roost.

   The other option  is to actually go to the colonies and watch them fly in. At sunset parrots fly back to the same roost every night. On the day we went to South Padre Island and the Palo Alto Battlefield we went to Brownsville's Olivera Park for sunset. Multiple species of parrots fly into this park to sleep for the night. Only one species is countable the Red Crowned Amazon. They are the most abundant species. You have to weed through the hundreds of them to see the others. The other two species we saw at this location were Yellow Headed Amazon and White Fronted Amazon. 

   The spectacle is amazing to see. It only lasts a few minutes and the birds fly up into the trees. Also, getting photos is tough because it gets dark quickly in the winter. Any photos in the sky suck due to the lack of light. My photos of the Yellow Headed were actually ten minutes before the one of the Red Crowned on the fence. My camera could absorb the light from the green but not the sky. 

   The other negative of taking photos is it happens so fast, you really can't enjoy the spectacle. So I made a point to put my camera down a few times and just enjoy. 

My experience with the Green Parakeets below my photos from Brownsville.

Red Crowned Amazon

Red Crowned Amazon

Yellow Headed Amazon 

White Fronted Amazon

Red Crowned Amazon

Green Parakeet is another countable species. I saw two flying while we were at Edinburg Wetlands. They buzzed right over us and they were gone in a flash. We were also told they fly over a nature center which we went to. We saw a couple but again, the flyovers were so quick I didn't even count them or do an ebird report. After a little research I found out the roost in McAllen near Tremont Street. Our last night we went to see them. Traffic was bad so we got to the spot ten minutes later than I wanted. Also, it was overcast so it got dark really quick.

   

    The roost is along powerline wires at the intersection of multiple strip malls/plazas . We parked in the Hobby Lobby parking lot and walked through the McDonalds lot. The plaza was insane with traffic so we had to be careful crossing any driveway or lot. This area also has thousands of roosting Boat Tailed Grackles so you have to weed through them to find the parrots.

 

   Thousands is no exaggeration of grackles. They are shoulder to shoulder on every wire for a mile in each direction (four directions at an intersection). There were hundreds in each small tree in the McDonalds area. Estimates go up to ten thousand. I personally have never seen so many birds.. 

It didn't take long to find the Green Parakeets. They were on wires near McDonalds. The problem was a photo since it was basically dark with an overcast sky. I got a couple proof photos and made our way to the motel to get ready to leave the next day

Green Parakeets

The Alamo

The Alamo mission

    I went to South Texas for eight days. We spent most of that time birding. We flew into San Antonio and stayed there two nights. On the first full day we went to The Alamo.

   I need to explain a little about my childhood before I go on... Davy Crockett was my hero growing up. I truly mean my hero. I would ride my bike up and down the neighborhood with my coonskin cap and toy musket. Yes, I named my musket Old Betsy. When John Wayne died in the movie "The Alamo" I balled my eyes out. When Fess Parker went down swinging at The Alamo I cried even harder. My first 45 record was "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"

   So going to The Alamo would be a pilgrimage for me. Since I was a little kid, I learned a few things that we weren't taught in our history books. For instance, Mexico was had made slavery illegal in 1822 so the Mexicans did not like seeing the newly arrived white immigrants bringing their slaves with them to Texas. The Mexican government initially encouraged settlers but slavery was illegal in Mexico. 

 

Davy Crockett
King of the wild frontier

   Secondly, my hero Davy (by the way, he hated being called Davy and preferred David) went west because he had visions of becoming president one day and he had lost an election in Tennessee. He famously said after he lost "you all may go to hell, I'm going to Texas." " He bravely died at The Alamo so I can forgive him for wanting to advance his political career.

   Okay, a brief history lesson. Texans revolted under the rule of General Santa Ana. For months before the battle the Spanish Mission which had not been used for sometime was made into a fort. Col Travis and Jim Bowie had command. Travis of the regular soldiers and Bowie of the volunteers. On Feb 23, 1500 hundred Mexicans surrounded  The Alamo. The bombarded the 180 Texans day and night for almost two weeks. On the morning of  March 6 they attacked and killed all of the soldiers fighting. A few women, children, and Jim Bowie's slave were set free after the battle. 

  A few weeks later, Sam Houston avenged The Alamo and won independence for Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. In this battle the Texans had eleven killed and forty wounded while the Mexican army had 650 killed, 200 wounded and 300 captured including Santa Ana. In return for his life, Santa Ana gave Texas its freedom.

Visiting the Alamo

    You can walk into The Alamo for free during regular hours. There are ways for them to take your money. You can rent a wand where you plug in numbers and you listen to a short history of that spot of the battle. You can take a guided tour. Also, there is a museum which is not free unless you buy the wand and a 3D experience. 

 

Col. Travis

    The famous view of the mission is not really where the battle took place. The fighting took place outside the mission along walls. The mission was considered the safest place and that is where the women and children hid until the battle was over.  Many of the walls were knocked down due to "progress" but a reproduction was put up on a couple of sides. 

  My hero was in charge of an area that was protected by a barricade of logs. This area was not breached by the Mexican army. The men that fought in this area died from Mexican soldiers that breached the wall in other places and rushed in.  

   Jim Bowie was sick and may have died before the battle even started. He gave his command up to Travis on the third day because he was too sick to fight. He was placed in a hospital bed. 

  We went into the museum and man I'm glad we did. We saw Davy Crockett's rifle and vest. The musician Phil Collins is actually obsessed with The Alamo. He had a huge collection of memorabilia and he donated to the museum. There is a diorama of the battle and he narrates the battle from beginning to end. I really learned a lot. Fess Parker's gun from the movie is also on display.

But wait, there's more! Santa Ana's ceremonial sword is on display along with his hat. Sam Houston's sword is also on display. I can not tell you how in awe I was to be inches from old Davy's gun. I mean, his DNA was probably still on it and I was looking right at it. Oh man!

Number 24 is David Crockett's gun

   
   All in all, we spent close to three hours at The Alamo before getting tacos and walking the Riverwalk. It was quite the experience and I'm sure I'll never forget it

 Below are more photos from The Alamo and museum

Statue of Jim Bowie

Jim Bowie portrait

Statue of Crockett

Santa Ana's field sword

Santa Ana's hat

Sam Houston

Houston's sword

A hand written letter from Davy Crockett to his brother

This is a wall that would have had fighting. I don't know if this is the original or 
if it is rebuilt. I put this photo up with the truck in it to give height. This wall is about six feet tall.
The brave Mexican soldiers scaled these walls using ladders. Almost certainly, the first soldier over the wall on the ladders would be killed. 

Some Resolutions and projects

   As many of us do I am  am making resolutions for the new year. I came up with a few ideas but by far the most important to me is the top one. While most New Year's resolutions come and go, I have to tell you that I am very good about keeping resolutions. I once went a whole year without soda and another without any alcohol just as a resolution. I think part of the reason why I am usually successful is because I hate starting streaks over. It is easier to go another day without a diet coke than it is to reach a streak of 200 days. Also, the OCD in me HATES having things on my list that I can't check off. 

   By far the most important thing I want to do is spend less money on material things. I bought all the rods/reels that I need and can't justify buying anymore. So I truly shouldn't need to buy any this year. I have about twenty five outfits from a three weight fly rod to my twelve foot beefstick for shark fishing. Even if I bought a reel six months from now, it would still mean I spent far less on rods and reels than I did in 2025. 

   As for tackle, I don't need any more of that either. I have a closet full of boxes of spare gear. But for the sake of argument I decide I want to spoil myself or a sale is too good to pass up, my club points and random gift cards should cover the cost of most toys.

   For non fishing related hobbies, as long as what I have doesn't break, I shouldn't need much. My biggest expense last year was a new spotting scope (mine was low quality and twenty years old) and a new tripod (mine fell apart, it was also twenty years old). Hopefully my camera and lens makes it through the year. That would be wonderful.  

   As for the other resolutions, I still need to catch a Pike and see a Red Bellied Snake. I've never tried to catch a Redfin Pickerel and I'd like to go catch another Bowfin. Sleeping outside one day a month will only be hard in January. Hopefully we get a warmish night and I can sleep on the porch in-between these old fashioned New England cold nights

2026 Resolutions

Spend less money on material things

Try to catch Northern Pike, Bowfin, Redfin Pickerel

Try for Red Bellied Snake

Sleep outside once per month

Winter Projects

   I love doing winter projects. When I lived alone I would not start them until November 1 because I knew once I started and had them listed I'd want to do them (and check them off) as fast as possible. Since I've been with Laurie, I decided to wait till the New Year. There is enough holiday stuff to keep me busy during December. January is another matter. 

   Instead of buying flies or asking for them at Christmas, this year I bought the materiel to make my own. I've made some of my own flies before such as albie flies and wooly buggers so I'm not new to it. I had much of the fly tying materiel but needed to get some hooks and odds and ends. I plan on making my four flies I use the most.

   Shark rigs cost between $10-20 each depending on the size of the hook!!! That is of course insane. So I bought all of the pieces to make my own from the big hooks and swivels to the wire. I've made a couple so far and can make them for about $3/each. I did waste about forty dollars on hooks before I found circle hooks with the gap I like. Still even with the investment in hooks, if I make a couple rigs for myself and my two buddies that investment is paid for during our first cast.

   The other projects are pretty standard for me. I always make some carp rigs over the winter and paint some weights to blend into the mud. I make leaders for surf fishing so making a couple for bait fishing with a circle hook for Smooth Dogfish is quick and fun. I always change out rusty hooks and repaint wooden eggs and poppers, at least when I have years where I went to the ocean enough for salt to get on my lures. 

    

Winter Projects

   Make flies

      10 ants

      10 foam ants

      10 Hare's Ears

      10 Pheasant Tails

   Make five homemade shark rigs

   Paint some carp sinkers

   Repaint some of my dirty poppers white

   Make some knotless hair rigs

   Make some rigs with circle hooks for dogfish

   Make leaders for surf fishing

  Change out rusty hooks out of surf bag

Things I am thankful for

 

  It has become a Thanksgiving tradition of mine to do a blog post about things I am thankful for. Sometimes it is just a collection of memories from the previous eleven months. Other times I have written about cheating death and happiness of knowing a family member that has passed. This year I was celebrating my favorite Thanksgiving of all time in New Hampshire and really didn't have time to make a post. 

   Since I hate stopping traditions I figure better late than  never...

I am thankful Laurie's broken ankle healed and we have had one full year with neither of us being injured or in pain

I am thankful for the summer Saturday's I had off from work. In a series of weekends we saw a lifer Soft Shelled Turtle, John Adam's birthplace, and Fort Trumbull in CT

I am thankful I am not doing a big year trying to see as many birds or vertebrates as I can in 2025. It was fun last year but two years in a row would be mentally exhausting

Thankful for old friends that I've fished with for twenty years (Dave), friends that I've birded with the past decade (my text group and others), and new friends at work (Adam)

I am thankful for May. My weekdays off from work I fished or went to NH. My Saturday's off I socialized with birder friends.

I am thankful for Wareham. Onset summer concerts and the picnic area at the Railroad Bridge made for a great summer

Thankful my two month long Mother Nature slump is over. I had brutal bad luck but at some point statistics say things had to change. In the past month I have seen two lifer birds, had a twenty striper day, caught a decent striper another day, and had the rain wash away enough snow in NH to safely  hike The Flume Gorge

I am thankful I am done chasing Pacific Loon and Cave Swallows

Selfishly, I am thankful for my employee discount but also matching 401K

I am thankful I caught a shark but also to experience it with James and Adam

Boathouse Row!

Smallmouth Bass and Sharks!

I am thankful I got the Scopoli's Shearwater so if I choose not to go on anymore pelagics I don't have to!

Thankful for Sue dropping everything when I can get down South County to bird

Thankful for the little Milk Snake that wouldn't stop biting me, the opossum I randomly saw, the Bean Goose, and all the nature I come across.

Thankful that you read this and that writing about my adventures inspires some of you to go on your own

Happy Holidays!

A specific Pacific Loon

 

   As I have mentioned multiple times, Pacific Loon has been one of my biggest nemesis birds of my life. I said to Sue Palmer today, it is a lifer  in not just that it would be the first one I've seen in my life but also, I've spent much of my life chasing this bird ( I may not have used the word bird but rather two words that start with the letters MF).

   Pacific Loons obviously live in the Pacific. One or two occasionally makes it to Rhode Island every year. I have either always been a day late, a minute late, or I've had to work and the loon will stick around all day. This has been going on for the better part of a decade for me. It is by far "the easiest" bird I had never seen in Rhode Island. As I said, one or two will show up a year. 

   I have chased Pacific Loon four times since early November. There was one at East Beach for a week but not the two times I was there (along with Dave M one of those days). Two weeks ago I dipped on one that had been hanging at Watch Hill Light with Sue (that she originally found)

  Today was my first day off since I last tried for the loon that wasn't Thanksgiving. So I made the ninety minute drive again. The bird has never left and I hoped it would be within viewing distance this time. 

   

Even more cropped image but you can see the tell 
tale chin strap of a juvenile
Pacific Loon

   Sue spotted the bird fairly close to shore right away and I thought I had finally seen it. I forgot my memory card in the car so I took photos with Sue's camera. However, as a true nemesis I was looking at the wrong loon. So what I thought was initial success was another couple minutes of frustration. 

   Finally! I got on the right bird. I went to my car and got a memory card and took photos of it for ten minutes. Wow! that was a tough half decade (minimum) chase. 

   After I got my fill of photos Sue and I walked around and saw a Red Throated Loon wash up to shore completely exhausted. After some deliberation and a phone call I caught it and drove it to the Wildlife rehab place on my way home. It was extremely sad and I don't think the little guy will make it but I did what I could.

   So what started out as a huge win certainly ended with a dark cloud watching this poor little Red Throated Loon suffering at the end of the trip. 

The RT Loon before we realized how bad of a shape
it was in

Ecotarium

 

Below is a post that I never published. I don't know why. We had gone in the summer so outdoor stuff may not be the same suring winter hours. 

   I've done pretty much everything within driving distance for a daytrip in Southern New England. When my son was young, when sports and fishing didn't get in the way, I took him to every zoo, historical site, and nature preserve I knew of. By the time he was ten we had done Battleship Cove, Roger Williams Zoo, and the Freedom Trail enough times that we were a little bored. I brought him to museums and aquariums, but one place that always eluded me was the Ecotarium in Worcester.

    The Ecotarium, formerly known as the New England Science Center, is a part museum of science part zoo. There aren't many animals and most of them are local. At the Eco (I can not keep writing Ecotarium over and over, so from now on it's Eco) there are Wood Turtles, Box Turtles, Owls, Eagle, and River Otters. There are a few others. 

 

 There are a lot of hands on activities much of it directed toward kids. The most fun thing I found was a wind tunnel. You get in and close the door and wind hits you up to seventy eight miles per hour. The wind tunnel is in an area about Mt Washington's climate. There are exhibits explaining how difficult it is for vegetation at that altitude. 

  There's a lot of other interesting stuff to learn about. There is a collection of shells you could find in New England. There is a section about Africa with stuffed wild animals. Outside, there are life sized dinosaurs. Also outside is a place where you can learn about bubbles. You can make huge bubbles and bubbles of many shapes. I thought that was fun.

  There is a train that goes around the property but it was closed for maintenance the day we went. For kids, there is a playground along a tiny stream where we saw a bullfrog. On the trail past the playground were a Mountain Lion and in another large cage, Ravens. The Puma's were awake. The Ravens were bouncing around eating and watching us. 

A meteorite that you can touch

   The Eco also has a planetarium and I am a sucker for a planetarium program. We went to the 2 o'clock which was about the size of the universe. There are different programs throughout the day. Unfortunately, since much of the Eco is dedicated to kids, there were a lot of kids in the program, and some of them were obnoxious. Still, the program itself was interesting. There is an additional fee of seven dollars to go into the planetarium program.

The price for an adult was $19. I have to admit it was worth it. I enjoyed the animals the best of course. I have never seen a Wood Turtle. So it was nice to see what I am looking for. We spent fifteen minutes watching the Otters. I did read a lot of the literature on the walls and learned a lot. If you have kids, there is a lot of activities to do. I actually ran into my sister-in-law and my niece and they were having a great time. Ironically, they had never been there before either. 

https://ecotarium.org/

Mineral Display

Entrance to the exhibit about Africa

A short program about Eastern Box Turtles