The Bird

When we arrived at Bentsen Palm RV Resort, we were told that a very rare bird had made it’s home in the park.  The “black vented oriole”  is a native to central America and is not usually seen this far north.  The weather immediately turned cool, overcast and rainy so we didn’t have an opportunity to get out and search for the bird.  The park offered a “Birding 101”  program, taught by Les Hall, a resident birder, which I decided to attend.  Just before the session, I asked Les about this famous bird.  He described it as a typical oriole, with bright orange under-side and a black upper.  The wings are all black, with no bars.  The distinguishing feature is the vent, which is all black.

Les told me that this sighting was so rare that news of it was spreading over the internet on various birding web sites.  Les pointed out a gentleman in a yellow rain-suit and binoculars, standing in the drizzle looking for the elusive one.  He told me that this dedicated birder from Chicago, caught a flight to San Antonio, where he rented a car and drove almost three hundred miles to the park just to see the bird.  “I’m not that dedicated!”, Les said.

During the last few weeks during our walks in the park, we saw an endless stream of birders coming into the park.  It got so bad that the management had to lock the access gates and requested all birders to report to the main office for directions. Yesterday, after our walk we had stopped at the library located in the clubhouse, to pick up some books.  As we were leaving a number of the birders were getting extremely excited with their cameras and binoculars focused on the surrounding trees.   And there it was.  The Holy Grail of Birds, (exaggeration) the black vented oriole.   One guy with his 2 foot long lens seemed to be getting some excellent pictures with the bird turning  upside down around the red flowers.  So, Janet and I, got to experience a bird that many birders may never see.

Here is a You Tube video showing the acrobatics of the black vented oriole.