2021-05-10 National Butterfly Center

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24 Photos

Altamira Oriole - Icterus gularis — **Altamira Oriole**
*(Icterus gularis)*

**Description:**
Altamira Orioles were weaving a nest overhead from our observation circle. As part of The Great Texas Birding Classic, The National Butterfly Center held a “Big Sit” event on Sunday. They invited me to join the team, and in between shifts, I walked the grounds in search of photo opportunities.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:04:25 8:30

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
121.40 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6000

**File Name:** AltamiraOriole_D5X1300-NationalButterflyCenter

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Pin It — **Altamira Oriole**
*(Icterus gularis)*

**Description:**
Altamira Orioles were weaving a nest overhead from our observation circle. As part of The Great Texas Birding Classic, The National Butterfly Center held a “Big Sit” event on Sunday. They invited me to join the team, and in between shifts, I walked the grounds in search of photo opportunities.
Read More

**Date Taken:** 2021:04:25 8:30

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
121.40 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6000

**File Name:** AltamiraOriole_D5X1300-NationalButterflyCenter

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Blue Grosbeak - Passerina caerulea — **Blue Grosbeak**
*(Passerina caerulea)*

**Description:**
This bird was lookin’ for love. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:10 10:27

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6000

**File Name:** BlueGrosbeak_D5X8264_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Clay-Colored Thrush - Turdus grayi — **Clay-Colored Thrush**
*(Turdus grayi)*

**Description:**
I met this species last year, but these were the first I could photograph on my 2021 Texas Expedition. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 17:47

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3000

**File Name:** ClayColoredThrush_D5X7800_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Couch's Kingbird - Tyrannus couchii — **Couch's Kingbird**
*(Tyrannus couchii)*

**Description:**
Because these birds vocalized, I could tell they were Couch’s and not Tropical Kingbirds. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 19:14

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800

**File Name:** CouchsKingbird_D5X8208_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Golden-Fronted Woodpecker - Melanerpes aurifrons — **Golden-Fronted Woodpecker**
*(Melanerpes aurifrons)*

**Description:**
There are but two woodpecker species in the Lower Rio Grande; the Golden-Fronted and the Ladder-Backed. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 18:29

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1500

**File Name:** GoldenFrontedWoodpecker_D5X7973_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Long-Billed Thrasher - Toxostoma longirostre — **Long-Billed Thrasher**
*(Toxostoma longirostre)*

**Description:**
Long-Billed Thrashers seemed to be all over the grounds during my visit. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
Read More

**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 18:14

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800

**File Name:** LongBilledThrasher_D5X7923_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Olive Sparrow - Arremonops rufivirgatus — **Olive Sparrow**
*(Arremonops rufivirgatus)*

**Description:**
Olive Sparrows are a South Texas specialty, and is the only location in the USA where they live. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 17:55

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1500

**File Name:** OliveSparrow_D5X7806_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Plain Chachalaca - Ortalis vetula — **Plain Chachalaca**
*(Ortalis vetula)*

**Description:**
The NBC’s chachalaca contingent seemed to me more tame than other reserves I visited. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
Read More

**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 18:41

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800

**File Name:** PlainChachalaca_D5X8019_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Red-Winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus — **Red-Winged Blackbird**
*(Agelaius phoeniceus)*

**Description:**
Breeding male bird. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 18:13

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000

**File Name:** RedWingedBlackbird_D5X7917_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Texas Tortoise - Gopherus berlandieri — **Texas Tortoise**
*(Gopherus berlandieri)*

**Description:**
This ten-inch tortoise, if left alone, might reach 3 feet in size. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:10 11:03

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3000

**File Name:** TexasTortoise_D5X8326_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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White-Winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica — **White-Winged Dove**
*(Zenaida asiatica)*

**Description:**
These doves were shyer than most other birds attending the feeders at the NBC. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 18:17

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000

**File Name:** WhiteWingedDove_D5X7940_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Wood Stork - Mycteria americana — **Wood Stork**
*(Mycteria americana)*

**Description:**
The birding highlight of my visit was a flyover by four Wood Storks. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
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**Date Taken:** 2021:05:09 18:51

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000

**File Name:** WoodStork_D5X8073_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Yellow-Billed Cuckoo - Coccyzus americanus — **Yellow-Billed Cuckoo**
*(Coccyzus americanus)*

**Description:**
It seemed to me there may have been a half-dozen pairs of cuckoos setting up territories on the NBC. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.
Read More

**Date Taken:** 2021:05:10 10:45

**Location:**

National Butterfly Center
Mission, Texas
United States
124.68 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3000

**File Name:** YellowBilledCuckoo_D5X8319_NationalButterflyCtr

© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Click map markers to reveal further information

Altamira Oriole

Icterus gularis

Altamira Orioles were weaving a nest overhead from our observation circle. As part of The Great Texas Birding Classic, The National Butterfly Center held a “Big Sit” event on Sunday. They invited me to join the team, and in between shifts, I walked the grounds in search of photo opportunities.

Altamira Oriole

Icterus gularis

I watched this nest at its earliest stages of construction. Because of the Big Freeze last February, this tree did not leaf out, and the birds abandoned this nest and built elsewhere. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Blue Grosbeak

Passerina caerulea

This bird was lookin’ for love. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Blue Grosbeak

Passerina caerulea

This bird was lookin’ for love. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Blue Grosbeak

Passerina caerulea

This bird was lookin’ for love. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Blue Grosbeak

Passerina caerulea

This bird was lookin’ for love. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Clay-Colored Thrush

Turdus grayi

I met this species last year, but these were the first I could photograph on my 2021 Texas Expedition. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Clay-Colored Thrush

Turdus grayi

Clay-Colored Thrush

Turdus grayi

Clay-Colored Thrush

Turdus grayi

Couch's Kingbird

Tyrannus couchii

Because these birds vocalized, I could tell they were Couch’s and not Tropical Kingbirds. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Golden-Fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes aurifrons

There are but two woodpecker species in the Lower Rio Grande; the Golden-Fronted and the Ladder-Backed. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Long-Billed Thrasher

Toxostoma longirostre

Long-Billed Thrashers seemed to be all over the grounds during my visit. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Olive Sparrow

Arremonops rufivirgatus

Olive Sparrows are a South Texas specialty, and is the only location in the USA where they live. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Olive Sparrow

Arremonops rufivirgatus

Plain Chachalaca

Ortalis vetula

The NBC’s chachalaca contingent seemed to me more tame than other reserves I visited. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Plain Chachalaca

Ortalis vetula

Red-Winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Breeding male bird. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Texas Tortoise

Gopherus berlandieri

This ten-inch tortoise, if left alone, might reach 3 feet in size. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

White-Winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

These doves were shyer than most other birds attending the feeders at the NBC. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

White-Winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Wood Stork

Mycteria americana

The birding highlight of my visit was a flyover by four Wood Storks. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

Wood Stork

Mycteria americana

Yellow-Billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

It seemed to me there may have been a half-dozen pairs of cuckoos setting up territories on the NBC. Before leaving the Lower Rio Grande Valley and travelling west, I stopped at the National Butterfly Center in Mission to see friends there.

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