Today started as another driving day, this time from Rockport to South Padre Island. We paused at a rest stop along the way, and saw the amazing sign on the right. Never mind that they mean “venomous,” not “poisonous,” but what halfwit is going to walk their pet after reading such a warning? Only in Texas. Lots of boat-tailed grackles here, and this was the first time we heard their outrageous squawking. They can make the most hellish, unbirdlike sounds imaginable. That must be why they’re called “niños del diablo.” (I just made that up.)

We drove south on Route 77, a raptor hotspot, and sure enough, we spotted a CRESTED CARACARA and HARRIS’S HAWK in short order. Pole got to claim them first because she saw them longer and knew what to look for. But we saw more of both before long, so I got to check them off, too. In fact, the Harris’s were all over the place.

Today’s star attraction was a mouthful: the Langoria Unit, Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area, which is northwest of Harlingen. A long name for a little unit. Though it has some tall trees, it’s mostly a dry place with barren soil covered by shrubs and bushes. The most verdant spots are around the fountains — just hoses, really — that the managers have installed. Of course, it was hot as Hades. We walked around the loops a couple of times, and saw the following birds:

GREEN JAY
GREAT KISKADEE
COUCH’S KINGBIRD
COMMON GROUND DOVE
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER

Pole saw the jay without me, and she also got a good look at the cuckoo, which I only glimpsed. But the woodpecker was all mine. I had a nice, long look at it, but Pole couldn’t find it in the trees. It’s not often I spot something she doesn’t, so good for me. We also kept running across a family of javelina, who had two cute little piglets (javelinitas?).

After about an hour, we were pretty knocked out, and our parched gullets were desperate for some liquid. Not far from the place we found a little sno-cone stand. We both had a lemonade shake-up, and Pole unwisely ordered a coconut sno-cone as well (which was blue, for some reason). She paid for her gluttony later by being sick.

It was getting late by now, but we’d thought we’d make a quick stop at Laguna Atascosa NWR. We got lost getting there, but on the road just before th refuge we saw BRONZED COWBIRDS and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. Best of all, just before the entrance gate we saw a pair of GREATER ROADRUNNERS flirting crazily with each other. What a nice bird. We got to watch them — along with a couple other cars full of perverts — making sweet roadrunner love. Beep! Beep!

We didn’t stay long, and the only new bird we saw was an OSPREY atop a radio tower. On the short trip to South Padre, we also managed to spot a WHITE-TAILED KITE. A lot of traveling today, but we nailed 13 new birds for Little Year, 11 of them lifers.