You'll Never Guess What Was Species #550

It was my third trip to the Rio Grande Valley this year.  John and I started our travels with a trip to Texas in January.  Then in March while John was in Cuba I returned to try for some of the rarities and specialties that had been seen.  Now we were zooming into the valley from Laredo.  We made a stop near Zapata where I had gotten Red-billed Pigeon in March.  John looked around for the pigeon while I tended to a cellphone call.  When the call was finished, I took a look where my pigeon had perched in March and there he was, possibly the same bird.  So John got a catch-up bird.  Then it was off to Salineno where I had spent many hours in March looking for Muscovy Duck.  We drove down to the river which was very high, probably because the sluices at Falcon Dam had been opened.  And there in the high water over the boat launch ramp was a pair of Muscovy Ducks (web photo).  I was so completely unprepared for this happening that I didn't have a camera at the ready and missed the photo that should headline this posting.  Ah well.  Tis better to get the bird than its photo.  On to Bentsen SP where we found a couple of Groove-billed Anis, several Brown-crested Flycatchers, plus many of the Texas specialties that we had seen before.  We drove on to Brownsville where we visited the dump for half an hour trying to find a Tamaulipas Crow, but seeing only Chihuahua Ravens and tons of Laughing Gulls.  We tried a couple of locations nearby for Botteri's Sparrow, but the 20mph wind was a little too much for success.  We did, however, have stunning looks at a pair of uncountable Aplomado Falcons conducting some sort of courtship flight.  At that point we decided to point the Prius toward Virgnina and head home.  We're in Sinton TX tonight and should be in Staunton by Wednesday evening.  At dinner tonight we were let in on some local drama with a conversation between two tables.  There was a deadly car crash, how Abilene contributed to infidelity, a grandmother 20 years out of high school who should have re-upped and gone to England instead of marrying a mama's boy.......With the three new birds today, the year's total is now 552.  The Muscovy Ducks were bird #550.