Fort Worth Birding

Village Creek Wastewater Plant Drying Beds and Overlooking the Trinity River in River Legacy Parks

I had to be in Fort Worth for a meeting on Saturday and a conference beginning on Monday, so decided to see what birding spots I could find on Sunday morning. I posted a plea to TEXBIRDS and received a couple of responses to look at the Fort Worth Audubon Society website, along with some specific suggestions for where to go. I had time to go to two locations: the River Legacy Parks and the Village Creek Wastewater Drying Beds.

I can't say that I had excellent birding at either location, but there's a lot of potential. It's the same everywhere you bird--some days are great and some are good. But I had a great time anyway.

River Legacy Parks is in Arlington not far from the Drying Beds. The park runs along the Trinity River and has a wonderful trail system. The park was busy, even relatively early and by late morning, it was packed. Runners, walkers, bikers and a few skaters filled the trails. The park should be a great place for warblers and other songbirds--the habitat is prime. I didn't have a lot of luck, although the belted kingfishers were a treat. Either the first pair I saw followed me for a few miles along the trail, or there were multiple birds along the river. In Wichita Falls, I often wonder how the birds can make a nesting burrow--I don't see much in the way of suitable habitat along the water (although there is obviously some) but as you can see in the picture of the river above, there is a lot of river bank that looks like it would provide great nesting habitat.

I then went to the Village Creek Drying Beds where I ran into a group of birders participating in a Big Sit. Although I arrived late in the morning, I did see some good water birds. As always, the birders were friendly. One of the group (and the same person that responded to my TEXBIRDS post with the birding ideas) allowed me to view a kestrel through his spotting scope. I would have missed that bird without him pointing it out. I would love to get a scope--I have held off because I am a klutz and am sure I would break it. As expensive as they are, I would be a basket case when I dropped it (a sure thing.)

Meeting this group reminded me that the Wichita Falls group was scheduled for a Big Sit Sunday. I hope they had a great day and I look forward to learning what they saw--I'll post the results when I get them.

Good birding!