Brackenridge Park, San Antonio.

My second morning in San Antonio I asked Mystery & Enigma if we could visit Brackenridge Park near the San Antonio Zoo.  I had seen some good birds mentioned on eBird and hoped we could track them down.  What I had not known beforehand was that there was a Cattle Egret rookery there!


As you can see, Great Egrets joined in the egret mass.


It was pretty crazy- so many birds flying around, making noise, hanging out, etc.


I've never stood directly below a rookery before.  It smells.  A lot.



Also joining in the madness were Little Blue Herons!



Another heron I was happy to find in the park was the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron!  We had seen one the night before while we walked along the riverwalk but using the flash made for weird photos:


Mystery & Enigma pointed out that it was pretty cool that we found a Night-Heron at night though...  True, and catching cockroachy things to boot.  Too bad this bird was located dangerously close to an extremely chatty old man.

The herons at the park were rather chill...



So awesome!  Along the water were lots more Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and a couple of their exotic friends I cannot identify...



Look at those giant pink legs!  Gross!

Ok, the waterfront was just one attraction of the park.  We also walked the dogs along some of the trails in the wooded parts, so do not fret!  I have a couple of mystery flycatchers for you!

Hmm... 

Different bird, yet maybe the same...  

I saw lots of titmice in the trees and I was really hoping to find a Black-crested...  This almost looks like one but I'm afraid it's just the lighting?


This other one looks more like a regular Tufted, though fairly uniform in grayness...


[eBird has confused the timouse situation for me even further by only offering three options for reporting titmice at this location.  1. Tufted x Black-crested Titmouse hybrid.  2. Black-crested Titmouse 3. Tufted/Black-crested Titmouse. ]

I wasn't able to find a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, but this Ladder-backed made up for it:


There were lots of other regular birds around like House Sparrows, cardinals, mockingbirds, and my first robin since arriving in the southwest..

Northern Cardinal

I might not choose to visit this park on Cinco de Mayo again, but it was still pretty awesome.  And hot.  And humid.  Texas.  That evening we went to the artsy celebration thing, Luminaria.  It was a fun time with lots of music and exhibits and five dollar cans of Corona.

                             Mystery & Enigma checking out colored balls of light

The best exhibit had to be the Pac-man lights...



Oh yeah, and it was the night of the supermoon too!


Good times!!!!

Comments

  1. Love those Cattle Egrets. And the Pac Man lights.

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  2. Those Cattle Egrets are something special.
    I think those exotics friends there with the Whistling Ducks are Egyptian Geese, so named because of their preference for...San Antonio? I think most of their populations are escaped, but they'll be added to the official ABA lists eventually, so it's good you got some!

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  3. Jen, another great outing. The Cattle Egret rookery is cool and I love the cute Whistling ducks, they are one of my favorites. The Luminaria is beautiful. Great photos and post. Happy Birding!

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  4. That park sounds fully legit. A rookery? So sick. The roach-heron is epic. Your flycatchers are definitely pewees, but thats as far as I go.

    I miss doing things on warm nights. Like raging.

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  5. Great Night heron photos!! Seems so odd to see Eastern birds on your blog... an Eastern Wood Peewee, is what came to mind when I saw it-
    THE call is normally how I ID' these guys when they're around.
    Great post Jen!

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  6. I saw a pair of those long-legged Ducks walking around in Greenacres Florida been here for about 2 weeks now ... I've never seen ducks like this before I'm not sure they're even a duck?

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