Owl Serenade

I haven't been birding much over the summer. I hate hot weather, and the birds aren't thrilled with it either.

I finally decided I was going this morning. It was sprinkling and looked like the rain could get heavier, so I decided to go to the Chat Trail in Lake Wichita Park instead of the Nature Bluff section of the Circle Trail. The good thing about going birding when there is a little rain is you have the parks to yourself--Wichita Falls people don't go out in the rain.

The decision to go birding turned out to be a good one. I didn't see a lot of birds on the Chat Trail, but I saw some good ones.

When I got out of the car at the parking lot, I saw a large bird perched in some dead branches in the top of a tree a good way down the trail. It was a great horned owl, so things were starting out pretty nice. I am including a short video clip. I took it with my phone, so the picture is not the greatest. I also didn't do a very good job of holding the phone steady. If you listen carefully, you can hear him calling. But that wasn't the best part. I didn't catch it on video, but there was a second great horned owl in the wooded area behind me that occasionally called back.

Great horned owl

I was pretty stoked about this, but I walked further down the trail, near the bridge and heard another great horned owl in the wooded area over by the dam. Then heard another behind me again. All of a sudden, the one behind me flew over my head toward the owl calling by the dam. I got my binoculars on the one in flight and saw it fly into the trees and flush out the other owl.

That was four great horned owls. I don't think I have ever seen that many in one small area, ever. When I was coming back to the parking lot, the first great horned owl was still on the exposed branches, but he had been joined by an immature Mississippi kite and a Cooper's hawk. I was surprised by the Cooper's hawk, as it is a little early for them. The birds finally flushed the great horned owl and chased it back across the trail toward me, and there was a second Cooper's hawk in pursuit as well.

I didn't see a lot of birds this morning, but then I didn't stay out long--the rain did get a little heavier while I was out. I'm glad I decided to go. Here's the complete list.


Great egret
Green heron
Snowy egret
Canada goose
Double-crested cormorant
Black-necked stilt
Great horned owl
Mississippi kite
Cooper's hawk
Black-chinned hummingbird
Eurasian collared dove
Mourning dove
Rock pigeon
Belted kingfisher
Blue jay
Cardinal
Northern mockingbird
Barn swallow
American robin
Red-winged blackbird
House finch

Good birding!

Good Birding on the Circle Trail

I have been out of town (another post on that later), so haven't had a chance to bird much lately but decided if I was going to do any birding in May I had better get out this morning. I decided to bird the section of the Circle Trail between Lucy Park and Williams Park. It runs along the Wichita River and is one of the prettier sections of the trail completed so far. It isn't very long, but is nicely wooded. I spent about an hour and a half walking the path, enjoying the birds.

Although the water in the river was very low, there were some good birds, to include the only belted kingfisher I have seen for a while--this drought is not kind to a lot of bird species. I watched this one for a while. He left his perch to hover above the water several times, but I never saw him dive to catch anything. I hope he is finding some fish.

I also came across a robin's nest out in the open where it is easily seen. One of the parents had just come back to feed the nestlings when I passed by--two little heads were up above the edge of the nest, begging for food.

Altogether a good little walk. The birds seen included: mallard, green heron, snowy egret, great egret, white-winged dove, Eurasian collared dove, mourning dove, rock pigeon, Mississippi kite, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, chimney swift, belted kingfisher, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, blue jay, western kingbird, tufted titmouse, black-crested titmouse, Carolina chickadee, robin, eastern phoebe, red-winged blackbird, European starling, great-tailed grackle, common grackle, house finch, and house sparrow.

Good birding!

Cold Front and Birds

Saturday was our monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. I predicted really good birding because of the strong front that came in Friday night.  Well, I was right and wrong. We didn't have a very good day at Lake Arrowhead, but Lake Wichita was another story.

I met up with Fernando Barrera at Lake Arrowhead State Park at 7 AM. Fernando is the new education coordinator at the park. Unfortunately, Fernando and I were the only people there. However, it was a beautiful morning, so we decided to bird. Overall, we didn't get many birds: Great egret, snowy egret, cattle egret, great blue heron, killdeer, Canada goose, ladder-backed woodpecker, red-winged blackbird, mockingbird, cardinal, common grackle, scissor-tailed flycatcher, yellow warbler, eastern bluebird, and lark sparrow.

When I left the park, I decided to make a quick trip by Bridwell tank. Due to the drought, the front portion of the tank is completely dry and there wasn't much water in the back half of the tank. However, there was a good flock of lark sparrow and my first northern harrier of the season.

I then drove down to the boat ramp and picked up some turkey vultures, double-crested cormorant and my first ring-billed gull of the season, looking a little worse for wear.

On the way back to Wichita Falls I decided to make a quick stop at the Lake Wichita spillway. I'm glad I did as the front appeared to have brought in the first wave of winter ducks. There have been some white pelicans on the lake for a few weeks, but as of Saturday morning, there were well over 100 birds on the lake. Greater and lesser yellowlegs, black-necked stilts and a few avocets were also present. Several female/immature northern shovelers were the first for me of the season as well as a large number of gadwall. A flock of 21 blue-winged teal were also moving around the lake. A small group of coot stayed over the summer, but it appeared larger numbers had come in. The stop was rounded out with a belted kingfisher, turkey vltures, great-tailed grackle, snowy egret, great egret, great blue heron, red-winged blackbird, mallard and three black terns.

Overall, a very good morning. This is a great time of year to be out birding. It's cooler and birds are moving, so there's always the possibility of a surprise.

Good birding!

Labor Day Birding

I spent Labor Day morning at Lake Wichita. I went first to Lake Wichita Park and then over to the spillway.

My favorite bird of the morning was a spotted sandpiper at the spillway. I like this shorebird, because it is easy to identify, even if you don't see it well. It teeters constantly. I did see some other peeps at the barrow pit, but was unable to identify them.

Another highlight was a belted kingfisher. The bird appeared to be an immature one in the short glimpse I had. I used to see a kingfisher almost every morning along the chat trail at Lake Wichita Park, but haven't seen one in months. However, Monday morning I was lucky. I am glad one has taken up residence in this area again.

Ducks are beginning to congregate again. Along with several mallards, there were 15 blue-winged teal on the barrow pit. From the spillway, I was able to see two large flocks of great egrets and snowy egrets as well as a number of individual birds (well over 100 birds.) They are getting ready to leave for the winter.

Lots of birds and wonderful weather. A great birding morning. Birds seen: Mississippi kite, Eurasian collared dove, cardinal, blue jay, scissor-tailed flycatcher, chimney swift, great blue heron, white-winged dove, mourning dove, turkey vulture, robin, red-winged blackbird, great egret, killdeer, blue-winged teal, double-crested cormorant, European starling, mallard, belted kingfisher, barn swallow, house finch, snowy egret, and spotted sandpiper.

Good birding!

A Weekend Outside

It was a hot weekend, but the Master Naturalists had two events--fortunately in the morning. We went out in search of horned lizards in Saturday morning out near Dean. We were skunked on horned lizards, but were able to document a box turtle and took some pictures of a walking stick bug. On Sunday, I had a mussel watch at Lake Wichita and Lake Arrowhead. I did find some mussels at Arrowhead, to include a live yellow sandshell, but it wasn't the best day I've had for mussels.

But as in all outdoor events, there was an opportunity to do a little bit of birding. On Saturday, I thought my best birds were lark sparrows. They have a pretty song and although they are fairly common in the county, I don't see them in town.

On Sunday I saw a lot of birds. There was a belted kingfisher fishing at the Lake Wichita spillway. There was also a small flock of snowy egrets. One of the birds was still in breeding plumage and he was giving all of the others a tough time--chasing them around, jumping on them and squawking. He is a little confused--it's time to start getting ready to leave. Breeding season is over. I was waiting for the others to gang up on him, but they were just trying to stay away from him. My other highlight was a singing Bewick's wren in the bottom of a bush. He was just pouring his heart out. I watched him for several minutes.

Good birding!

Big Sit

The North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club sponsored the annual Big Sit Sunday at Lake Wichita, adjacent to Wild Bird Rescue. Most of us have participated in several Big Sit events over the years, although we did have a couple of new participants and one new birder, who was able to identify some lifers. That added a lot to the morning for all of us. It is always fun to have a new birder, who is excited by the common birds the more jaded of us don't pay enough attention to.

It was a beautiful sunrise, which quickly turned to steady high winds, leading to white caps on the lake. Shortly after sunrise, the red-winged blackbirds came up out of the reeds in clouds all around the lake. This is a sight only seen in the fall and winter. The birds begin with a loud chorus that builds up in volume. Then the group goes silent, and the flock starts pouring out. It is definitely a sight to see.

As always, there were some treats. First was a pair of Belted Kingfishers which flew by several times and frequently perched on easily visible branches. A Greater Yellowlegs flew directly over our heads and had the courtesy to call, making a positive ID much easier. A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers alighted on a tree just a few feet from our group, allowing a good view. An American Phoebe was also very cooperative, sitting on a post not far from us.

There were some things we expected, but didn't see. Most mornings the white pelicans fly in an undulating row over the lake. Although we saw 2 pelicans, it was not the show we expected. Recently a large group of Canada Geese have been flying past our overview in the morning. However, on Sunday, although we heard a couple of far off Canada Geese, we sited none.

We did have the usual high numbers of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, but we were not treated to the display we had some years ago.

We were able to watch the resident beaver going back and forth from the inlet out into the main lake, swimming right in front of us. The beaver cut dow the tree behind the spot we use for the Sit. I have put in an order for him to take down the tree that is right in front of our area. It was small the first year we had the Sit, but is now obstructing the view of the lake. So if he needs a tree, I suggest he go for that one.

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.