John has to give me an hour by hour run down of the pursuit before he will tell me the result. I won't do that to you. He finally saw the Rose-Throated Becard Tuesday, March 27th!
He stayed at the McAllen Motel 6, our usual base, then off to Estero Llano Grande. When he paid for his 'bracelet' he asked and was told that the bird was finally seen again the night before about 5:30. It hadn't been seen since the 13th! He spent the morning wandering around those empty trailer pads in the tropical section, concentrating on the area near a double trailer where it was seen. Not a feather.
John went over to Santa Ana NWR for a break, ticked off a Couch's Kingbird and the Mottled Duck and spent a couple of hours on the tower, continuously entertained by a loud mockingbird and baking in the sun. 8400 Broad-Winged Hawks were seen that morning from the tower. He saw one Harris' Hawk.
So he went back to Estero Grande. And back to the tropical zone/bathrooms/feeders/drip. The rest of the afternoon, he and two young men searched for the becard. At 6:20 PM, John said he was giving up and started to walk away. He got about 30 feet and the other guys called him back. At 6:25 PM he finally saw the becard! It flew back and forth over a small area, usually into heavy cover in trees, sometimes photographable. John thinks it was settling down to a night roost. One of the young men is now at 697 ABA life birds!
John commented that people he has run into along the way have been instrumental in him seeing the birds he is after. Thank you to all who have helped him and will help him in this crazy quest. He did a tally last night and is at 296 birds.
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