Ka-Ching!

Sunday is my day to volunteer at Wild Bird Rescue. Now that we have babies in the house, there is no chance to bird on Sundays. I have been doing a lot of early morning babysitting, so just haven't had a chance to get out. The reports of migrants on TEXBIRDS have been making me antsy to get out. When I left the house, there was a small flock of cedar waxwings in the front yard--that decided me. So I decided to delay my arrival at Wild Bird Rescue for a half hour to check out the chat trail at Lake Wichita Park, normally a good place to find migrant warblers.

I wish I had gotten there earlier. I know I missed some good birds--I heard and saw them, but didn't have the time to seek them out. I also saw some sandpipers in flight (my nemesis) and didn't have the time to study them in order to sort them out. However, an eared grebe at the barrow pit (which does have a little water in it now) and several mourning warblers along the chat trail made for a very good morning. I also enjoyed seeing the white-faced ibis where the white face was obvious.

However, in spite of less than an hour on the trail, I did see some excellent birds:

American coot
Eared grebe
Blue-winged teal
Black-necked stilt
Mallard
Ring-necked duck
Northern shoveler
Gadwall
Canada geese
Spotted sandpiper
Lesser yellowlegs
Killdeer
Green heron
White-faced ibis
Turkey vulture
Downy woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Mourning dove
White-winged dove
Eurasian collared dove
Northern mockingbird
Bullock's oriole
Carolina Chickadee
Cardinal
Eastern phoebe
Blue jay
Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Barn swallow
Purple martin
Mourning warbler
Song sparrow
Clay-colored sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
Spotted towhee
Brown thrasher
American robin
Red-winged blackbird
Great-tailed grackle
Common grackle
House finch

 So, get outside--there are some great birds out there!

Good Birding!

Lifer!

I've been traveling a lot lately (sorry, nothing to do with birds) and haven't been posting regularly. I'll catch up soon--I have several items relating to my recent travels to relate. However, today's can't wait because I am excited.

I was in Amarillo, TX for work and had a couple of hours I could bird before my business meeting, so I went to Thompson Memorial Park and got a lifer! Yeah! Black-crowned night heron. Although your field guide will say that Wichita Falls is in their range, our local North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club checklist will tell you that they are accidental species in our area, with only isolated records.

Thanks to the birders on TEXBIRDS for the suggestion.

Good birding!

Mystery Bird Identified

I posted to the TEXBIRDS listserv and got several responses that the bird in my previous post is a grasshopper sparrow. That's one of the great things about birders--always so helpful.

Great birding!

Save the Date: Texas Ornithological Society Meeting

An official "Save the Date" announcement was posted to TEXBIRDS this morning about the next TOS meeting, 13 - 16 Jan 2011.

I go mainly for the field trips; evening speakers include John Defillipo, Byron Stone, and Kenn Kaufman (I just bought Kenn Kaufman's field guide for my son-in-law for his birthday--don't tell him.)

Pencil date in. Registration information should be posted in November.

Good birding!

Purple Martin Scouts South

I noticed on the TEXBIRDS listserv the last couple of days postings of the first purple martin scouts in Austin. It seems crazy, when it has been so cold, but we generally start seeing martin in mid-February, so start watching if you are putting up a martin house.

If you are interested in learning more about purple martins, check out The Purple Martin Conservation Association.

Good birding!

TOS Happenings

There was an email today on TEXBIRDS concerning upcoming Texas Ornithological Society (TOS) meetings. Here is the information posted for those who might not subscribe to TEXBIRDS or be members of TOS:


January 14 - 17, 2010 Westaco
April 15 - 17, 2010, Rockport
January 13 - 16, 2011 Ft Worth

I will not be able to make either of the 2010 meetings, but I am going to put the January 2011 meeting on my calendar now. Being in Ft Worth it is very convenient. Detailed information on the meetings will be posted to the TOS website as it becomes available.

I also received the most recent Texas Birds Annual from TOS today. Jack Eitniear and Bron Rorex did a super job on this publication. The picture of 3 species of buntings (indigo, painted and lazuli) at a feeder at the same time is beautiful, as you'd expect. And there are articles on a number of Texas birds (purple martins, reddish egrets and the northern Aplomado falcon for example.) A good read.

Good birding!

Rainy Day in North Texas

It's a rainy morning and it looks like there will be more of the same the rest of the week. However, I did go out for a short time this morning, but the birds were smarter than I, so I didn't see much beyond a few mourning doves and scissor-tailed flycatchers on the telephone wires.

I did manage to take some pictures of invasive plants for the Invaders program. Since it was not a great birding morning, I thought I would share a good listserv for Texas birders, TEXBIRDS. It is not a general discussion listserv; it is purely a place to post sitings, get ID help, and share interesting observations of behavior. I have generally found most of the participants to be very helpful. If you might be interested in signing up, you can learn more at the TEXBIRDS Reference Page.

Good birding!

Responses to Mystery Bird

I had six responses to my mystery bird TEXBIRDS post, evenly divided between Mississippi Kite and Swainson's hawk. I guess we will just have to give the little guy more time. I will see him again tomorrow and see if an ID is possible yet.

Good birding!

TOS Meetings

One of the reasons for joining a birding organization like the Texas Ornithological Society is to go to meetings and participate in field trips to learn more about birds. The TOS recently held its winter meeting in Bay City. I wasn't able to go and reading the meeting report from Ron Weeks, TOS President on TEXBIRDS was enough to make me regret the fact that I had other commitments. For those interested in what you may have missed, the full report is at http://www.texasbirds.org/_mgxroot/page_10779.html.

The next meeting is scheduled for April 23 - 25 in Austin. Of course, I am supposed to be teaching a class on the 25th, so I won't be able to make that meeting either. Sigh....

Mark your calendar now--the field trips are always fun and there are some excellent birders who can help you improve your birding skills.

Good Birding!