Report Out Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count was February 16 - February 19. I took part all four days, although I would have liked to have been able to get to more locations. But we do what we can, right?

The drought is obvious along the chat trail

 Day One

You don't often see the beavers, but you can see they've been busy!

The first day of the count was not promising. The temperature was in the low 80's the day before and the first day of the GBBC was low 40's with a bitterly cold north wind. I decided the Chat Trail in Lake Wichita Park would be my best bet as it has some shelter from the wind. But there wasn't much happening--the birds apparently had more sense than I. I only spent 45 minutes on the trail and at the end of the barrow pit.

Fourteen species:
Ring-billed gull
Canada goose
Gadwall
Downy woodpecker
Northern flicker
Red-tailed hawk
American robin
Northern cardinal
Blue jay
Fox sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
Spotted towhee
Dark-eyed junco
Song sparrow

I went home and did a quick, 15-minute count at my own feeders: white-winged dove, Eurasian collared dove, house finch, American goldfinch, orange-crowned warbler.

Day 2

We had a little rain overnight and it seemed to make all the difference. It was a little warmer and there wasn't a lot of wind. I went out to Lake Arrowhead State Park and had a great couple of hours. The birds were out enjoying the beautiful morning. This is really a good time of year to bird. Some of our local birds are beginning to sing (most notably cardinals, eastern bluebirds, and Bewick's wrens) and there aren't many leaves in the trees, making it easier to find the birds. I ran into Robert Mauk, a local wildlife photographer, and he told me he had seen a golden-crowned kinglet on the Dragonfly trail, so I added that to my area (and found it!)

Forty species:

Red-tailed hawk
Killdeer
Ring-billed gull
Great blue heron
Lesser yellowlegs
Canada goose
Double-crested cormorant
Mallard
Northern pintail
Blue-winged teal
Northern shoveler
American coot
Pied-billed grebe
White pelican
Red-bellied woodpecker
Ladder-backed woodpecker
Northern flicker
Northern cardinal
Northern mockingbird
Carolina chickadee
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Golden-crowned kinglet
Orange-crowned warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Common yellowthroat
Bewick's wren
Eastern phoebe
Eastern bluebird
American pipit
Harris's sparrow
Song sparrow
Field sparrow
Fox sparrow
Eastern meadowlark
Dark-eyed junco
White-crowned sparrow
Red-winged blackbird
Great-tailed grackle
European starling
House finch

Day 3

On Sunday, the Rolling Plains Chapter Texas Master Naturalist scheduled a public GBBC event. Apparently, those that went on the trip to Hackberry on Saturday were worn out. When I arrived, no one else was on the overlook behind Wild Bird Rescue. All I have to say is, "You snooze, you lose." I spent only 45 minutes there and had 21 species. I would have liked to stay longer, but it is the end of the semester for one of the universities I teach for, so duty called. My 21 species:

White pelican
Double-crested cormorant
Black-crowned night heron
Great blue heron
Killdeer
Ring-billed gull
Mallard
American coot
Canada goose
Pied-billed grebe
Sharp-shinned hawk
Eurasian collared dove
White-winged dove
Red-bellied woodpecker
Belted kingfisher
Northern cardinal
House wren
Red-winged blackbird
European starling
House finch
Goldfinch

Day 4

Overlooking the Wichita River

Construction of the next trail section underway

Monday was another beautiful morning. I didn't have President's Day off work, but did play hooky for a bit on the Wichita Falls Bluff Nature Park trail. This is my favorite park because it is intended to remain a nature area. I started out in a bit of a bad mood. When I parked, I noticed people are already trashing the park. I picked up beer bottles, a plastic water bottle, plastic shopping bag, and a hamburger wrapper before I even started my walk. I picked up napkins, a Whataburger bag and other assorted odds and ends when I returned to the lot at the end of my walk. Fortunately, the trail itself was clean. I spent an hour and a half enjoying this trail, which is not the level flat walk of most of the Circle Trail. They have started work on the next section of the trail, between the end of this one and Loop 11. Right now, it looks terrible, but when it is done, it should be another nice section along the river.

At the end of the current trail, where I took the pictures, there were a pair of red-tailed hawks on the other side of the river. It looked like they might be building a nest. I'll keep an eye on things.

Twenty species:

Canada goose
Turkey vulture
Red-tailed hawk
Rock pigeon
White-winged dove
Northern cardinal
Northern mockingbird
Blue jay
American robin
Bewick's wren
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Yellow-rumped warbler
Dark-eyed junco
Song sparrow
Field sparrow
Spotted towhee
American crow
Great-tailed grackle
Red-winged blackbird
House sparrow

All-in-all, a great Great Backyard Bird Count. I still need to upload my counts into the database, but that's happening in a few minutes. Put this event on your calendar for next President's Day weekend.

Good birding!