Sunday, November 22, 2009

A Tiny Surprise at Lake Wichita This Morning

A cool morning at Lake Wichita Park today. I was watching the ducks on the tank and saw a little bird zip by me. My first thought was, "swallow;" my second, "not possible." Fortunately for me, the little guy stayed in my area, circling over and around me for several minutes. It was definitely a lone barn swallow. According to the North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club checklist, barn swallows are common through the end of October. No sitings are listed for November (but I have an older checklist.) I hope the little guy was finding some bugs--there weren't many moving at ground level.

I also saw my first buffleheads of the winter. Such an ugly name for such beautiful ducks.

Also seen this morning at Lake Wichita: American Coot, Spotted Towhee, Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Mockingbird, House Finch, American Widgeon, Canvasback, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, White Pelican, Ring-billed Gull, Great-blue Heron, Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-rumped warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Phoebe, Mallard, and Killdeer.

I also continued to scout my CBC route. Not repeating sitings I had at Lake Wichita, I stopped in Rosemont Cemetery and saw a large flock of Blue Jays and three Wild Turkeys. I also went to the spillway and saw several Green-winged Teal, a Kestrel, meadowlarks, and a small flock of peeps (that's little shorebirds that you can't identify.)

Overall, a good morning.

Good birding!

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