Winter Ducks Arriving

Photo of Wilson's Snipe by Cephas, Wikimedia Commons.


I took a short walk in Lake Wichita Park this morning looking for migrants. It was a cool morning--it finally feels and smells like fall.

At the entrance of the chat trail was a herd of 6 white-tailed deer that watched me very closely for several minutes until they got too nervous and turned tail back into the woods.

The ducks are beginning to come in. On the barrow pit the were hundreds of waterfowl: American coot, redhead ducks, American wigeon, mallard ducks, pied-billed grebes, and a single Wilson's snipe (one of my favorite birds.)

The turkey vultures are also on the move with a few dozen birds flying over this morning.

I also saw my first northern flickers of the fall--two yellow-shafted flickers flying over and another flicker perching on the lights of the football field.

Other birds seen this morning: scissor-tailed flycatcher, blue jay, cardinal, red-winged blackbird, great blue heron (an immature that caught two fish while I watching), Eurasian collared dove, mourning dove, robin, double-crested cormorant, killdeer, common grackle, great-tailed grackle, and European starling.

Good birding!

Snipe Hunting at Lake Wichita

When I was growing up in Indiana, "snipe hunting" was a euphemism among teenagers for parking on a dark country road. Although I was a hobby birdwatcher even then, I didn't know there really was a snipe (and yes, their distribution includes Indiana, although I doubt one would see them at night.)

So, when I moved to Texas I was a little skeptical of reports of snipes. But sure enough, there is such a thing as a snipe. In Texas, the Wilson's snipe. They are here in the winter and are one of the birds I especially enjoy seeing. Although fairly common, you don't see them everyday. I often see them on the east end of the tank at Lake Wichita park (pictured above). I saw my first of the season today. I cut around the end of the tank where I normally will find them if they are present, and stopped to watch a pair of White Pelicans take off and fly over my head. If I had not stopped for that minute, I would have missed my first of season (FOS) snipe coming out of the reeds as I it would have passed behind me. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. A lot of ducks on the tank this morning.

Another special treat today was a small flock of 3 wild turkeys at the entrance to the chat trail.

In addition to the birds noted already, sightings this morning included: European starling, great-tailed grackle, Eurasian collared dove, blue jay, sharp-shinned hawk, northern cardinal, killdeer, great blue heron, green-winged teal, coot, white pelican, American wigeon, pied-billed grebe, red-winged blackbird, brown-headed cowbird, and song sparrow.

Good birding!