New Cornell University Programs

Barn Swallow by Walter Siegmund,
Wikimedia Commons

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is looking for people with nesting barn swallows to help in conducting a study on the effect of light on these birds. Although barn swallows haven't yet returned to our area, if you usually have nesting barn swallows, you can learn more from a recent newsletter article

I'm a little late bringing this to you, but Cornell is getting ready to launch their duck ID webinar series again, as well as the shorebird identification webinars. I have taken the shorebird series and learned a lot. I am going to sign up for the duck series this time, even though I am pretty good on ducks, and they're all getting ready to leave the area again until next winter. However, I can use some help on the non-duck swimming birds (grebes, etc.) I can't wait for the crow series to come back around. They are fascinating birds.  At $10 a webinar, these are within reach of most budgets, if you take one at a time.

Good birding!

Lake Wichita on Sunday

The weather was wonderful on Sunday morning--perhaps a little too warm to be perfect, but still much better than summer. The birds were loving the weather. With the leaves falling, the birds are becoming easier to see.

My favorites Sunday were some fox sparrows in the marshy area where the chat trail intersects with the trail over the dam and a few eared grebes on the barrow pit. I also saw two late barn swallows at the spillway. I hope they plan to move on by Thanksgiving--we are supposed to get a very cold front by then. But for now, the weather is nice and there are still plenty of insects around.

I noticed the giant reed and many of the reeds near the spillway had been removed, allowing better visabilty. I was glad to see the invasive giant reeds taken down and hope whoever was responsible keeps up the good work. There were still some giant reeds standing, but they were in an area that was not very accessible.

Other birds seen: American pipit, kestrel, great blue heron, lesser yellowlegs, rng-billed gull, gren-winged teal, American coot, mallard duck, white pelican, Bewick's wren, killdeer, some unidentified peeps, white-winged dove, house sparrow, dark-eyed junco, white-crowned sparrow, savannah sparow, song sparrow, cardinal, northern mockingbrd, blue-winged teal, American goldfinch, eastern phoebe, northern shoveler, pied-billed grebe, red-winged blakbrd, blue jay, canvasback, bufflehead, double-crested cormorant, ruddy ducl, American wigeon, sharp-shinned hawk, robin, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, yellow-rumped warbler, Eurpean starling, and great-tailed grackle.

Good birding!

Spring Birds Arriving

As mentioned on the 8th, the first purple martin scout was reported a few days ago. I understand from Bob at Wild Bird Rescue that they have arrived there and were fussing to have the house opened.

I saw my first turkey vulture of the spring in Wichita Falls today and I saw my first barn swallow on I-44 between Wichita Falls and Lawton, OK this afternoon.

Good birding!

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!

Recycling the Neighborhood

Out near the Lake Wichita Spillway there is an overpass that houses a lot of pigeons underneath year around and in the summer, hundreds of cliff swallows along the outside, under the overhang of the road. The cliff swallows have headed south, abandoning their nests for the year. As soon as the cliff swallows leave, the house sparrows move in. Last winter, almost every nest had house sparrows. So far this year, it appears to be about half. I am sure the nests provide better shelter than most of the places the house sparrows nested. The openings point down, which would keep the rain off and help make the shelter less accessible to predators. However, I do note that it appears the house sparrows gravitate toward nests that have some damage (and therefore, a wider opening)--at least at first.

I originally intended to check out the tank to see if any ducks were coming yet, but youth football season has started and the park was packed, so I headed toward the spillway. In a short walk along the biking/walking trail between the spillway and Southwest Parkway, I saw a great blue heron, American phoebe, killdeer, blue jays, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, starlings, barn swallows, chimney swifts, pigeons, house sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, and an immature red-bellied woodpecker. There was also an Empodonax flycatcher I was unable to clearly identify. As usual. I also heard a belted kingfisher, but did not find him. So nothing spectacular, but the weather was beautiful and since I only had 45 minutes to spend before I had to get back to Wild Bird Rescue, it was good.

Later in the morning, I did see a green heron at Wild Bird Rescue.