The Wichita Falls Big Sit, was as usual, chilly. Before sunrise, there was no wind and it wasn't bad at 45 degrees. However, once the sun came up, the wind picked up, which made it feel colder. Although it was overcast, we didn't get any rain. I took the picture to the left with my point-and-shoot camera over Lake Wichita when a line of pelicans was flying past.
I had to leave early so I don't have a final tally (I'll post it when I get it from the official recordkeeper, Terry McKee.) When I left about 8:45. we had seen: Northern mockingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, mourning dove, Winter wren (we spent a lot of time searching for this little guy in the reeds in front of our circle), great-tailed grackle, mallard duck, great egret, white pelican, barn swallow, ring-billed gull, Canada goose, great blue heron, white-winged dove, red-winged blackbird, double-crested cormorant, belted kingfisher, yellow-throated warbler, northern cardinal, ketrel, Eastern phoebe, blue jay, and killdeer. I am sure the group saw more birds before disbanding for the day.
A special treat was the pelicans. They winter in this area. Just as the sky was lightening, a long line of pelicans flew across the lake. Although awkward looking when you see them standing on the rocks and piers, they are very elegant in flight. Later a large flock of well over 100 pelicans rose up from the water. It is always surprising to me that a large flock of these distinctive birds can be floating on the lake and you hardly notice them agains the water unless they are herding fish or take wing.
Good birding!
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