RARE Finds at Santa Margarita Ranch: A Birding Journey Through Day & Night!

[@NathanWebb-c5h]

That was great footage of the brown jays and the mottled owl.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks!

[@OrnithologyInsights]

I really liked how you were able to capture great footage of the birds even though it was night time!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks!

[@barbaracole709]

The mottled owl is so cute and you got incredible footage of him! Glad you found so many cool birds! I love the green kingfisher.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks so much!

[@protectedlands2869]

Love this channel 💕 you guys inspired me to get back into birding after years out of the hobby. Your tips are much appreciated and the fam and I are so thankful! We will be visiting the Rio Grand valley this spring and we’ll be able to support Santa Margarita Ranch due to this vid so thank you!!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

That’s so great to hear! We’re glad you enjoy our videos and got back into birding

[@wildasl1774]

I was there a couple weeks after you two visited. I had been keeping track of the Brown Jays for a while - it's a species I have wanted to see since I was a kid. It was wonderful to actually see them (seriously, I have had some major dips, ad I was worried they wouldn't show)! Thanks for sharing your trip - it was an excellent introduction for people thinking about visiting the ranch.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks for watching! Glad you got to see the Brown Jays!

[@garymeredith2441]

You guys had 3 great birds there Those Black Backed Lesser Goldfinches are in both Arizona and Texas . As for the Crested Cara😅cara's you guy's had you'll notice that the Female was so much bigger that Male was .

[@jurassic_hobbyonmyaltaccou3878]

How many birds are on both yours lifelist as of rightnow?

[@dinodefender]

Nice seeing you here

[@BadgerlandBirding]

I’m at 780 right now. -Derek

[@jurassic_hobbyonmyaltaccou3878]

@@BadgerlandBirding that’s awesome! I hope to achieve that one day

[@drakestallworth3621]

Made a trip last week to the Ranch. Unfortunately, the tiger heron disappeared the week before we got there. Also, the trip after us found a day roost for the mottled owl :/. But I can’t complain too much. I got 18 lifers on that trip, and 9 more the rest of the day. Hook-billed Kite and Elf Owl were the highlights of that day.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

I think the Tiger Heron moved a bit north because I know there were some sightings at Salineno

[@drakestallworth3621]

@@BadgerlandBirding yeah I saw that. Unfortunately, I think after spending some time up there, it left for good.

[@Velotooslow]

If you ever come back to the valley, Muscovy ducks are everywhere in parks and not so rare for us here. But you can definitely get some good shots because they’re so used to people already at parks like Dean Porter Park in Brownsville!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Those are considered “feral/domesticated” birds, so they’re not really countable for a life list. Generally if they’re on the Rio Grande, behave a certain way, and have a certain look they’re thought to be “wild”. However you can get some good lucks at the feral ones!

[@Velotooslow]

@@BadgerlandBirding Oh okay I didn’t know that! Thanks for clarifying and sorry for the misunderstanding. I’m still new to birding but I’ll take the advice and hopefully see some in the wild!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@Velotooslow no problem! It’s kind of confusing what some people consider “countable” or not 😂

[@Gigi.eq13]

So cool that you found a mottled owl!!!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks!

[@Hummingbirder1]

Hi Derek and Ryan, what a nice whole day of birding the border area in Texas. (It's a bit odd that that dratted wall seems to stand tall on American soil and not on the border. Let's leave that subject, sorry to bring it up...) I'm a bit curious what camera system you've changed to, Derek? Is it Olympus? I couldn't get a clean view.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks so much! I got to test the Olympus OM-1 with the 150-400 pro lens. It was super cool but a bit pricey for me right now! We’ll be posting more about it (reviews and such) in the future

[@brighteyedbirding]

It's incredible that you saw that Mottled Owl! What an amazing bird! And the Bare-throated Tiger Heron! Is this the same one that your tour group spotted earlier this year? Or a different one? Thanks for the awesome video as always!

[@verthosand]

What a great video thank you for sharing… absolutely love the entire trip! One question: At the 1 minute mark there is a what looks like an Amish cart or is that a bird blind?

[@BadgerlandBirding]

It’s a blind

[@quinnhamilton6383]

Im pretty sure I saw the muscovy duck very frequently when I was in Miami, I didn't know they were that rare

[@BadgerlandBirding]

In the southern U.S. there are many feral populations that aren’t considered “wild”. Right on the border of TX and Mexico you can find wild birds in the right specific habitats such as flying down the Rio.

[@quinnhamilton6383]

@@BadgerlandBirding ugh it was definitely the domestic version, I got excited at first

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Yeah 😅 they’re still cool though: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHOmcnWKd8eFq6Msi=EbhlJwgPwrcxutfy

[@raymiemiller1455]

Nice! Mottled Owl is a species I've heard (in Costa Rica) but haven't managed to see.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Still counts!

[@raymiemiller1455]

@@BadgerlandBirding I don't count them. Feels like cheating to me. Otherwise I'd have Yellow Rail twice and I'm not that good. xD

[@TheDutchBirder]

@Derek did you get a new camera and lens? 😮

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Got to test the OM-1 with the 150-400 pro lens!

[@TheDutchBirder]

@@BadgerlandBirding cool. Do we get a review video about it? And if not what was your experience with it?

[@Oltoir]

I never thought about how one would track a bird seen in another country.. I assume it just counts for where you're standing, no matter where you see the bird?

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Excellent question. For ones ABA list it counts from where the bird is. For ebird lists it’s where you are when you see it so essentially it depends lol

[@Thundermanti]

Generally if the bird is in a different county, state, or country you are supposed to count it for that area, whether or not it's the spot you're standing on. If it's a park list it's more lenient since you can count anything seen from within the park "boundaries", unless the bird is in another county, state, country from where the park is located. At least that's how majority of the birders around me list.

[@captain1697]

How can you afford to go on all these trips?? I’m so jealous!!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

We tend to go where we have family and friends we can stay with. We’re very particular about where and when we can travel.

[@TimWhalen-qv6rs]

The Featured places link goes to a same named ranch in California.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Oh, we didn’t add that in. KZbin must have. Use the link in the description.