South Padre Island isn’t just popular with birders and girls gone wild, it’s also big with escaped convicts and murderers. The day we got there, some concerned citizen claimed to have seen escaped murderer Richard Lee McNair hanging out among the tourists. He was all over the web a week or two ago in an extraordinary police video. You get to watch McNair convince the hapless cop who pulled him over that he’s got the wrong man. Amazing. Anyway, we didn’t see nothing and we ain’t saying a thing.

In today’s birding news, Pole and I headed off to the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary, which is south of Brownsville, near the Mexican border. A very lush place, but — you guessed it — hotter than hell. Lots of paths and walkways, and lots of birds, too. It was even more uncomfortable than our trip to High Island, where we burned beyond recognition. Our system today was to go out for short expeditions and then return, panting, to the water fountain at the visitor center.

Near the center, Pole spotted a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD at the feeders. I missed it this time, but caught it later in the day. We spent most of our time hanging around the lake, either pacing the walkway, or walking the paths nearby. We saw a pair of LEAST GREBES, and, in a large tree, a LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER and a LESSER GOLDFINCH. Pole spotted the last two, but I wasn’t able to get the goldfinch because it flew away before I could get a good look. The most frustrating bird I missed, though, was the GRAY-CROWNED YELLOWTHROAT, which Pole saw in the exact spot they told us to look. She got to watch it for about 20 seconds, while I had only a fleeting glimpse as it dropped into the reeds. It’s an extraordinary rarity, and I don’t know if I’ll get the chance to see it again for the rest of my short, yet deeply fulfilling, life. We went back to the spot repeatedly, but it refused to show up again. Damn prima donna rarities. Also saw the black-bellied whistling duck pictured above.

Back at the feeders, we saw three lifers in five minutes: a BLUE GROSBEAK, a WHITE-WINGED DOVE, and an OLIVE SPARROW. On our final walking loop, we saw a bird we had been looking for all day: a female RINGED KINGFISHER. A huge bird, the most spectacular of the day, with a bill that never stops. Then, just before we left, we spotted an exquisite ALTAMIRA ORIOLE at the visitor center feeders. This was another bird we’d been searching for throughout the day. We told a guy who worked there about our disappointment, and as we were getting ready to go, he came out excitedly and pointed it out to us. He had heard its song while sitting at his desk. What a nice man. As we drove out of the refuge, we saw one more lifer: a LARK SPARROW, exactly where another birder told us it would be.

Our next stop was Boca Chica beach, which runs just north of the Rio Grande and the Mexican border. Like Bolivar Flats, they have no problem with people driving on it. There was lots of garbage all over the place, but what was odder were the dozens of people parked in their cars, barbequeing or fishing or swimming. Why would anyone want to hang out on such a disgusting beach? And if it’s used for recreation, why doesn’t the government keep it clean or patrol it in some way? Where’s the Lamar Women’s Club when you need them? Typical Texas. We did see one Border Patrol car parked on the beach, but the guys inside didn’t seem to be doing anything. We drove the two and half miles to the river, and saw cars parked across the water, some with Texas plates, some with Mexican. Go figure. We did see quite a few birds, two of them new for the year: a PIPING PLOVER and a LEAST SANDPIPER. Even though the beach was ugly, it was nice to be in the air conditioning after out ordeal at Sabal Palm.

As we drove back to South Padre, we took Old Port Isabel Road. This dirt road is a little-used short cut that the guide said was good for birds. Sure enough, we saw some lifers, including a HORNED LARK, a BROAD-WINGED HAWK, and a CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN. A good, if physical grueling, day. Totals were 16 for Little Year, 14 lifers for Pole, 12 for me.