A South Texas Specialty

I have to say, getting a couple of really good night’s of sleep in these last few days has felt really good. Two days of 8+ hours of sleep each when you have been living on 4 to 5 for close to a month feels like a vacation in paradise ha. Best of all, the ankle swelling is definitely subsiding which will please my therapist. Still some work to do to get all the haunt items put away and autumn always brings with it an annual list of homestead work (living in the woods is wonderful until the trees start shedding leaves and nuts), but there is some time while the props finish drying and no sense getting started too early on the leaves when there are plenty more to fall. That means I have some time to get some posts out before November comes calling. Continuing from the last post, we are back in southern Texas with a perennial favorite.

Hit the jump to see a few more shots of rather colorful Oriole

Back in January of 2023 my personal bird tracker (read as Linda), alerted me to a potential lifer at the National Butterfly Center located in Mission, TX – just down the road from Bentson-Rio Grande Valley State Park which has been featured many times here at Intrigued. Admittedly, I did question this opportunity being that my lifer list is for birds and not butterflies. Linda assured me there were multiple reports of an Audubon’s Oriole being seen at that location.

There were also some concerns as that place was basically going through a ridiculous amount of QAnon conspiracy hoaxes which caused them to shut down for a period of time in 2022 and then install new security protocols when they did open back up. Not going to give any recognition to what that was about, you can look that up on the Internet if you are curious about it – pure stupidity. They are open now, but they still have security positioned at the entrance and at times manually unlocking the door for guests.

On our 2023 visit we were “duped” for a long period of time by an imposter (hybrid) that the locals called “Smudge”. It was the result of an alcohol and cocaine fueled one night stand between their rock star Audubon and a local Altamira groupie. Smudge had the more orange coloring of the Altamira but the fuller hood look of the Audubon. Spent the afternoon chasing Smudge only to find out later that I had been deceived and had to go back and track down the real target – when looking through the shots later, did discover that I had tinned one or two shots of the Audubon that must have swapped with Smudge when I wasn’t paying attention. Note, the good news is the Audubon has since made it through rehab and has put those wild nights behind it.

On the 2024 visit I knew exactly what I was looking for and Ron and I managed to tin both Smudge and Audubon. Not my best shots as they were hanging out in the tree canopy which Orioles often do. Decided to skip featuring those here hoping I would execute better in the following year. Pleased to say…and show.. you a much better set from our trip back in March 2024. Just to dispense with any suspense, we also tinned it this year during our January visit.

Linda and I did not find the Audubon on our first visit there back in 2024. The center is not a very large place, but it is full of large, mature trees along the back levee. Still a challenge to locate a single bird even when you know generally where it likes to hang out. We couldn’t even find Smudge that day and that love-child sticks out like a sore thumb among the normal Altamiras that hang out there. After a quick check with the volunteers there, we came back better prepared a couple of days later.

One of our golden rules at Intrigued is “Get to Know Your Birding Hotspot Volunteers”. They know the background on all the specialty targets and can help get you on point – they also know the feeding schedule ha! If you want to get the best look at the birds at the center, be there by 8:00am when the workers put out the fresh seed/fruit.

On that second day, we timed it perfectly and followed the volunteers out to their main feeding station located in the back right of their center. When we arrived, the Audubon was patiently waiting on a nearby perch. Needless to say, the absolute best looks I have ever had at this particular species. It wasn’t until I was processing the pictures in the digital darkroom did I notice how weathered its tail feathers were. I sure hope it isn’t back on the coke and hanging out in the gutters again – those white lines near its nose are very disconcerting.

Well, it seems I have made it through the pictures in this series quicker than I expected. Need to get you some interesting facts about this southern Texan before we get you back on the road. The Audubon is non-migratory, so unless you get a chance to make it down to the southern part of Texas, you are not likely going to encounter it. There is a larger residence down into Central America. The Audubon’s used to be referred to as the Black-Headed Oriole due to its hood (the only New World Oriole with a full one), but according to Cornell it was changed back in 1983 due to confusion with members in the Old World family). Cornell also mentioned they are common victims to those asshat Cowbirds (the Bronzed in particular) who keep dumping their eggs in their nests – “in Texas, more than half of all Audubon’s Oriole nests have Cowbird eggs in them”. Bastards I tell you, pure bastards. I can also confirm they tend to hang out in heavy vegetation and can be secretive when they want to be – find those volunteers and ask them their feeding times.

Will wrap it there, time for the third ankle exercise session of the day. Take care everyone and hope you enjoyed one of our must see birds whenever we make it down to our favorite Texas stomping grounds.