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Was down in the Lower Rio Grande Valley for a staff meeting with the other urban wildlife biologists. Had such a great time -- temps in the 80's! This day was the field-trip day, and Tony chose some awesome places to explore. An awesome ending to the day was seeing the parrots roost at this park in Brownsville. Saw a few other things beforehand, but the icing on the cake was these four species of parrots coming in. Way cool.
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Seosan
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This mockingbird was seen in the afternoon, perched on a yucca that is growing in UTEP's Desert Garden. It sang many different phrases and calls while perched on top of the yucca, then hopped down to a lower part of the plant (as seen in the pictures) and performed several wing displays. As it did not seem to be searching for food, it may have been a territorial gesture or a sign of feeling threatened. The bird then sang a few short phrases and flew to another perch, where it could be heard singing again.
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Vagrant, but even more surprising, there were two of them. House Sparrow in the shot for comparison. The Dickcissels were hanging out with the House Sparrows.
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Least Tern, Sternula antillarum, is a common tern in Texas. In recent years, it was noticed that several individuals are nesting at University Beach, on Ward Island, Corpus Christi Bay in the early summer. A portion of the beach was closed to protect the nests.This little bird protects its nest fiercely, and will dive bomb anyone who comes near the nesting area (even far away). See more about this species at the Biodiversity of the Gulf of Mexico (BioGoMx) database at: http://gulfbase.org/biogomx/biospecies.php?species=Spp-77-0231
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Second brood
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Another banded one.
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perched on a window sill of the Mount Albert Research Centre
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