A New Local Opportunity to Go Birdwatching!

Willcook3, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Exciting news! The Wichita County Health Department is sponsoring a bird walk to encourage better health. Not only does birdwatching get people outside and moving, it helps reduce stress. For those who have a hard time getting to Lake Arrowhead State Park for the monthly outing there, this will be more convenient.

Our inaugural walk will be at Lucy Park on Wednesday, October 7, at 8:30 AM. We'll meet up at the Sunset Drive entrance to the park. This will be a leisurely walk--after all, we're there to see the birds--and will last about an hour. There is no charge to participate. I expect it will be a small group. We plan to continue these walks every month on the third Wed. Hope to see you there!

Good Birding!

Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park

I'm a little late writing this post as the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park was Saturday, January 12 (well, okay, a lot late.)

Bonaparte's gull, photo by Dick Daniels
Wikimedia Commons

Forster's tern, photo by Dick Daniels
Wikimedia Commons

It was a cold day, but Lynn showed, so she and I checked out the birds. Admittedly, we didn't go as slowly as usual and finished the walk in just over an hour. That being said, we found some good birds. The best birds from my point of view were the Bonaparte's gulls and Forster's terns.


We had only one woodpecker, a northern flicker, seen within just a couple of minutes of me saying, "I haven't seen any flickers this winter."

Birds seen (not included on this list is a Wilson's snipe that Lynn caught on camera that I don't recall seeing--one of my favorites):

Canada goose
American coot
Northern shoveler
Gadwall
Double-crested cormorant
White pelican
Pied-billed grebe
Ring-billed gull
Bonaparte's gull
Forster's tern
Kildeer
Greater yellowlegs
Lesser yellowlegs
Western sandpiper
Northern flicker
Northern mockingbird
Northern cardinal
Eastern phoebe
Bewick's wren
Harris's sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
Orange-crowned warbler

Not a bad hour on a cold morning.

Don't forget the monthly bird walks at Lake Arrowhead SP are on the 2nd Saturday of each month, starting at 8 AM. Park entry fees apply--get there a little early as the ranger station won't be open yet, so you'll need to make out your fee envelope. We meet at the dump station area (2nd left after you enter the park, then the first right, on the left). Kids and novices are welcome.

Good birding!

Winter Birds

As long as it has been since I posted, you would think I gave up birding. Not true! I just haven't been good about sharing with others. I will say I haven't done as much as usual--between a never-ending respiratory infection and work, I haven't been out as much.

I thought I would give a summary to catch up though. I haven't seen a lot of birds, or unusual birds, but they have still been enjoyable. I continue to lead bird walks at Lake Arrowhead State Park on the second Saturday of each month. However, I have noticed that Texans are not fans of cold weather. In January, it was cold and windy and in February it was cold and there was some fog. Both months, I was the only person who showed. I birded anyway and saw some good birds--not a lot of birds, but some good ones.

Fog over Lake Arrowhead
View from the "swim beach" area

Yesterday, it was a little foggy and cold enough that I had a smattering of ice crystals on my glasses. That was not very helpful. The picture to the left is very poor, but you can see the fog laying over the lake, reducing visibility of the birds on the water or the opposite shore of the lake.

A group of about 20 white pelicans trying to stay warm

I didn't see a lot of species of birds, but I did see some of my favorites, so that was nice. I also managed to run a mesquite thorn through the bottom of my shoe and (somehow) slice my finger. I am just a walking accident. Here is a picture of one group of white pelicans that were gathered in a huddle to keep warm. It is amazing to me that my phone, at 4X magnification on the camera, still takes pictures that look further away than the birds were.  This is one of two groups that were in a sheltered inlet--around the group further away and not in this picture, was a raft of some 200 or more ring-billed gulls. It's possible there were a few other gulls mixed in, but very few took flight while I was observing them. I scared up two Wilson's snipe moving in to take this photo.

Yes, there is a deer in this picture!

I did see some white-tailed deer. It amazes me that these large animals can be standing in the open and unless they move, or you get lucky, we just don't see them. Take the picture below for example. You may not see anything, but if you look carefully right in the middle of the frame, a white-tailed deer is looking right at you. There was a group of four right there together.

There were an unusually large number of eastern bluebirds out and about this month. I saw nine. Here's a complete list of the birds I saw yesterday:

American coot
Gadwall
Northern shoveler
Northern pintail
Ruddy duck
Mallard
White pelican
Canada goose
Pied-billed grebe
Wison's snipe
Killdeer
Ring-billed gull
Great horned owl
Ladder-backed woodpecker
Northern mockingbird
Northen cardinal
Eastern bluebird
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Carolina chickadee
Dark-eyed junco
White-crowned sparrow
Harris' sparrow
Eastern meadowlark


I did take part in the Christmas Bird Count. There were three of us supposed to go in my group to bird the Lake Wichita segment of the CBC circle. I ended up the only one who went from my group and was sicker than a dog. One of the others was also sick and the third had never done the count before and didn't want what I had (and I don't blame her a bit.) Usually, I walk around 5 miles during the count, but not this time--I think I walked about 2 miles. It was cold and windy. Not a great day for birds. But the three teams turned in a respectable count. I think my favorite bird of the day was a white-throated sparrow.

Other than that, I have been taking part in Project Feederwatch. This is my 20th year taking part. I am finally starting to see a little payoff to the yard improvements I have been working on--there have been a few species this year I haven't had in this yard before--I have been watching an orange-crowned warbler on the suet block quite a bit. This is the first year I have had a ruby-crowned kinglet. I did have my first Bewick's wren in the yard, but he didn't check out the feeders, so I couldn't count him for this project. If I could get my neighbors to plant for the birds, it would be even better!

So,  you see, I have been birding--I just need to do a better job of sharing!

Good birding!

Saturday Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Lincoln's Sparrow

Photo courtesy: Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren

Wikimedia Commons

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day to be out watching the birds. The only downside was the wind, which became increasingly blustery as the bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park progressed. By 9:00 AM, there were whitecaps on the lake. Windy days aren't the best for finding birds. Consequently, it wasn't the greatest birding morning ever, but it was still better than cleaning house.

On the way out to the park, it was obvious the scissor-tailed flycatchers are back. This was the first day I had seen any, and they were everywhere. I easily saw over a dozen along FM 1954 between Hwy 281 and the park entrance. When I was filling out my park entry paperwork, a Carolina chickadee was singing in the tree at the park entrance. That was the only chickadee I saw or heard all morning.

Debra Halter was the only other person to show that morning, so we took off on our usual route. There were a few times Debra said, "We haven't seen XXX bird this morning." No less than three times, we saw the bird right after she mentioned it. The first was the white pelicans. There are usually good number of pelicans on the lake, but this is right around the time they leave. Sure enough, right after we saw a group of around 15 across the lake. As we were leaving, a group around that size flew over our heads and joined up with another group to make about 50 birds, circling over our heads before flying off. Migrating? We've had a small group of 5 or 6 stay at Lake Arrowhead for the summer the last couple of years. No indication they are breeding.

Debra and I spent several minutes watching a couple of sparrows in the underbrush. We finally decided one was most likely a Lincoln's sparrow. Debra had her camera and loaded the picture into iNaturalist, where that ID was confirmed. I have included a clearer picture from Wikimedia Commons.

Overall, here is a list of the birds we saw on the bird walk inside the park:

Northern shoveler
Blue-winged teal
American coot
Double-crested cormorant
White pelican
Killdeer
Least sandpiper
Great egret
Dowitcher (couldn't determine long-billed or short-billed)
Turkey vulture
Mourning dove
Eurasian collared dove
White-winged dove
Red-bellied woodpecker
Carolina chickadee
Northern mockingbird
Northern cardinal
Eastern phoebe
Cliff swallow
Common grackle
Great-tailed grackle
Red-winged blackbird
Brown-headed cowbird
European starling
House finch
White-crowned sparrow
Harris' sparrow
Lincoln's sparrow
Song sparrow
Bewick's wren
Roadrunner

When I left the park, I decided to take a couple of detours on the way home. First, I drove down to a little marshy area on FM 1954 toward Hwy 287 just outside the park. Added a great blue heron and a northern harrier to my list. I turned around and took W. Arrowhead Rd down to the public boat ramp. I saw another northern harrier and added a loggerhead shrike and an eastern bluebird.

Overall, not a bad morning. Don't forget, the bird walk at Lake Arrowhead state park is the second Saturday every month, beginning at 8 AM. It is an easy walk, lasting about an hour and a half. If the weather is unpleasant, we may complete the route in an hour. If the birds are great, we may go two hours. Come out and join us! New birdwatchers are always welcome.

Good birding!

Lifer! Long-eared Owl

Long-eared owl at Lake Arrowhead SP

I have been offline for awhile. A car accident, a new grandbaby and then getting sick kept me barely keeping up with work--and not too well, at that.

But I wanted to catch up with some good birding. As you know, I usually lead the bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park on the second Saturday of each month. February 11 was a very good day--I got a lifer! But not during the bird walk.

After the bird walk, several of us stuck around to work on the butterfly garden near the ranger station  at the entrance to the part. We noticed some owl pellets under a live oak tree adjacent to the garden, but we didn't see an owl in the tree at that spot. A little later, Debra McKee found a long-eared owl on the other side of the tree. My photo is to the left. I took it with my cell phone, so it isn't the greatest, although it is clear enough to identify. This was a life bird for me, so I was excited. In fact, it was a life bird for most of us who saw it that day. It is continuing to draw many visitors to the park. As many as 5 owls have been seen at one time. If you decide to go to the park to look for it, please be quiet and as unobtrusive as possible to keep the birds from being stressed.

Like I said, overall, it was a very good day for the bird walk. Here are the other birds we saw the same day:

Great egret
Great blue heron
Ring-billed gull
Double-crested cormorant
Canada goose
White pelican
American coot
Gadwall
Northern pintail
Mallard
Pied-billed grebe
Wilson's snipe
Killdeer
Least sandpiper
Greater yellowlegs
Black vulture
Northern harrier
Long-eared owl
Eurasian collared dove
Mourning dove
Rock pigeon
Ladder-backed woodpecker
Yellow-shafted flicker
Northern cardinal
Northern mockingbird
Eastern phoebe
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Bewick's wren
Meadowlark species
Savannah sparrow
Song sparrow
House finch
Red-wingred blackbird
Great-tailed grackle
Brown-headed cowbird
European starling

The next bird walk is scheduled for March 11, at 8:00 AM.

Good birding!

Some Weekend Bird Events

Two things coming up this weekend.

Saturday, 10 December, 8 AM - 9:00 (or 9:30, if we're seeing good birds). Lake Arrowhead State Park Bird Walk. Park entry fees apply. Meet at the firewood shed/dump station in the first campground on your left. (Take second left, first right, on left--look for the black pick up). I suggest you dress warm.

Saturday, 10 December,  11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Owl Be Home for Christmas. At Wild Birds Unlimited. Meet the some of the educational birds from Wild Bird Rescue. A $30 donation to Wild Bird Rescue will get you a $15 gift certificate to Wild Birds Unlimited. A win-win!

Just as a reminder, don't forget the Christmas Bird Count on December 17.

Good birding!

November Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Flock of pied-billed grebes

Photo courtesy of Debra Halter

Closer photo of pied-billed grebes

Photo courtesy of Debra Halter

Last Saturday was the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. We had a pretty good showing, with 6 people showing up, a couple of whom are new birders. It is nice to have new people because it helps me remember to enjoy the common birds that are not so common to the beginner. The walk doesn't get advertised very well, so it is unusual to have that many people come.

I'll lead with the good stuff. We had the largest flock of pied-billed grebes any of us had ever seen. I have seen as many as 5 or 6 at a time, but this group was more like 30 in number. Debra Halter was kind enough to take some pictures as I am sure there will be some push back from the eBird editor with a number that high.

The picture above is a good view of most of the flock (yes, the two birds in the foreground are coots, not grebes.) The picture to the right is a closer look at a few of the birds to show they are definitely pied-billed grebes. These are cute little birds--always nice to see them.

The weather Saturday was absolutely gorgeous, although a little more chilly than recent temperatures--upper 40's. The winter birds are definitely beginning to show up.

Here is a complete list of the birds we saw:

Great egret
Great blue heron
Double crested cormorant
Canada goose
American coot
Pied-billed grebe
Mallard
Gadwall
White pelican
Ring-billed gull
Tern species (we couldn't get a good enough look at them to positively identify, although best guess is Forster's)
Ladder-backed woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Yellow-shafted flicker
Red-tailed hawk
Turkey vulture
Mourning dove
Northern mockingbird
American robin
Northern cardinal
Bewick's wren
Cedar waxwing
Yellow-rumped warbler
Orange-crowned warbler
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Eastern phoebe
Harris' sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
Song sparrow
House finch
Great-tailed grackle
Meadowlark species (no song)

Driving home, still in Clay County, I had a very good view of a Swainson's hawk and a couple of American kestrels.

Why not join us in December? Our next walk is December 10 at 8 AM.

Good birding!

Birdy Weekend Coming Up!

It's October and a weather front passed through last night, so it should be an awesome weekend for birding. It's a happy coincidence there are multiple bird events happening.

The monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park will be Saturday morning, October 8, starting  at 8:00 AM. We start at the firewood shed. Take the second left inside the park, then the first right. There is a firewood shed and dump station on your left. Look for a black pick up--that will be me. We usually take about an hour to an hour and a half walk. It is an easy, slow walk of about 1/2 mile total.

A line of pelicans flying over Lake Wichita during a previous

Big Sit (taken with my cell phone, so not a great picture.)

Another option this weekend is the Big Sit. On Sunday morning, beginning at sunrise, members of the local North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club will be hosting a sedentary bird watching event on Lake Wichita on the little area behind Wild Bird Rescue (4611 Lake Shore Dr.) You'll be able to see cars parked at the back side of the parking area. Dress in layers and bring a lawn chair. You may also want to bring something warm in a thermos. Generally, we bird until around 10:00 - 10:30, depending upon the birds and the weather. You don't have to stay for the entire event--it is come and go.

Both of these are fun for both new birdwatchers and experienced birders. I hope to see you at one or both of these activities.

Good birding!

Not-So-Fair-Weather Birding

Saturday, Jan 9, was the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park (2nd Saturday of each month.) The forecast was for a mixture of rain and snow with little or no accumulation and this time, the weather forecast was spot on. However, the further out of Wichita Falls I drove, the more rain and less snow. As you can see by the photo to the right, there wasn't much accumulation at 8AM when the walk started, and what little there was, was gone by the end of the walk at 9:30.

Although I had posted on Facebook that the walk was a go, I thought it unlikely anyone but me would show, and I was right. Texans are definitely fair weather birders. All I have to say is, "You snooze, you lose." It was a pretty good morning with some decent birds. On the drive out to the park, I saw a flock of wild turkeys in someone's front yard on FM 1954 (Archer Co.)

Overall, I saw the usual birds, although there were some special moments. Dozens of white pelicans were following one another over the lake--there was a large pod of white pelicans and cormorants fishing. Periodically, a group of  pelicans would take off for another part of the lake, flying low over the water.

Marsh wren, Wikimedia Commons, Allan Vernon

I had a close-up view of a Loggerhead shrike. There were several ruby-crowned kinglets--these little inquisitive birds would alight on branches right in front of my face, making sure I got a clear look. A marsh wren was also checking me out, so I had the chance to get a very good look. There were two birds I wasn't able to identify because I caught only fleeting glimpses--one was a warbler (not a yellow-rumped or orange-crowned) and the other was a larger bird flying through the trees.

Birds seen: double-crested cormorant, white pelican, Canada goose, gadwall, American coot, mallard, pied-billed grebe, great blue heron, killdeer, ring-billed gull, red-tailed hawk, red-bellied woodpecker, northern flicker, mourning dove, Bewick's wren, marsh wren, northern cardinal, dark-eyed junco, European starling, meadowlark, Loggerhead shrike, northern mockingbird, eastern phoebe, American goldfinch, ruby-crowned kinglet, American crow, song sparrow, and white-crowned sparrow.

On the way home, I made a quick drive past Stone Lake, just to check for ducks. In addition to more mallards and coots, there was a lone male shoveler and some lesser scaup.

Overall a good morning.

Good birding!

Decent Birding at Lake Arrowhead This Morning

Debra McKee, Mike Cavett and I met at Lake Arrowhead State Park for the monthly bird walk. I initially had great hopes for the walk, thinking we had a good chance for winter ducks. On that score, I was disappointed.

Because birding was a little lackluster, we went off trail to track some small dickey birds in the brush that we would not have gone after on a better day. One of those side excursions paid off with a pair of ladder-backed woodpeckers, some Harris' sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, juncos, a small flock of five ruby-crowned kinglets, a yellow-rumped warbler, a Bewick's wren, a field sparrow, and a very tame mockingbird. That little patch certainly helped our list for the walk.

We didn't have many ducks. There were a large number of American coots on the lake, mixed with a couple of gadwall, a couple of other unidentifiable ducks (too far and too choppy), a couple of white pelicans, several pied-billed grebes, and the ubiquitous Canada geese. We did see some least sandpipers and a greater yellowlegs with the killdeer along the shoreline.

After the walk, I decided to drive around to see if anything was on the Bridwell tank--I discovered coot.

Debra had mentioned seeing about 15 turkey and a few hundred pintail in a flooded area on her way in from Henrietta, so I headed that way. The turkey were not in evidence, but hundreds of northern pintail certainly were. There were at least 300 birds. They are my favorite duck because they look so elegant. There were also some northern shoveler and at least 100 mallards.  The stop also yielded a song sparrow and a loggerhead shrike.

Pair of Northern Pintail. Photo courtesy of JM Garg, Wikimedia Commons

Some roadside birds traveling between stops included red-tailed hawks, kestrel, northern harrier and some eastern bluebirds.

My park list for the morning included: double-crested cormorant, Canada goose, American coot, gadwall, white pelican, pied-billed grebe, ring-billed gull, killdeer, least sandpiper, greater yellowlegs, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, northern harrier, eastern phoebe, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, Harris' sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, junco, house finch, meadowlark, yellow-rumped warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, American robin, field sparrow, Bewicks' wren, great-tailed grackle, and European starling.

Outside the park, I added northern pintail, northern shoveler, mallard, loggerhead shrike, song sparrow, eastern bluebird, red-tailed hawk, and kestrel.

Upcoming Birding Opportunities

The fall is a great time to bird and there are a few opportunities coming up to bird with others, which is a great way to learn more about identifying birds in the field.

Saturday, October 10: Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. 8:00 AM - (approximately) 9:00. We bird longer if we are seeing good birds and people want to. This is one of a continuing series of bird walks that takes place on the second Saturday of each month. $3 admission to the park applies. Meet at the firewood shed in the first camp ground to the left after entering the park (second left turn, first right, on the left--look for a black pickup.)

2014 Big Day 

Sunday, October 11: Big Sit. Sunrise - approximately 10:00 AM. A sedentary birdwatching experience on the shores of Lake Wichita behind Wild Bird Rescue. Bring a lawn chair, a drink and your binoculars and enjoy a leisurely morning of birding, hosted by the North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club.

Saturday, December 19. Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club will again sponsor the CBC. This is an all-day bird count that has been going on for over 100 years, contributing a ton of data on bird populations. Our count is broken up into three areas and are a mixture of driving and walking. At the conclusion of the count, participants are welcome to the count supper (a spaghetti pot luck) where the teams compile their information into a single report. Contact Penny at txbirds@gmail.com or Terry at dgm59@aol.com
if you would like to participate with one of the teams.

In addition to these birding activities, be sure to bring the kids out to the Wild Bird Rescue Owl-O-Ween on Saturday, October 10, 4:00 - 11:00 PM. This is a fundraiser for our local bird rehabilitation facility. Lots of games, crafts and candy. The education birds (especially the owls) will be present to meet the visitors. $5 entry/$20 for a family of 4 or more.

Lots of interesting and fun bird-related activities, so be sure to take part!

Good birding!

Birdy Weekend

A little slow getting to this post, but I wanted to post a summary of the birds last weekend.

Saturday, January 10, was the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Jenny, June and Mike came. It was a chilly morning out at the Park--I was surprised so many came out. The morning started out with some good sightings, but then tapered off.  But for an hour walk, we did well on birds. I think we all enjoyed the eastern bluebirds most. We watched a flock of 10 - 12 for some time. Birds seen included: Canada goose, hooded merganser, bufflehead, white pelican, double-crested cormorant, ring-billed gull, ladder-backed woodpecker, northern mockingbird, cardinal, eastern bluebird, white-crowned sparrow, eastern meadowlark, junco, and red-winged blackbird.

On the way home, I noted an American kestrel on the wire.

On Sunday, I had Wild Bird Rescue, so while feeding the birds there, did see a few birds. A male ladder-backed woodpecker was calling and working hard at excavating the mulberry tree. I am hopeful that means he might decide to nest there. In addition, the feeders hosted dozens of goldfinch, house finch, house sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, red-winged blackbird, starling, Eurasian collared dove and white-winged dove. I did not see my Inca dove, which was disappointing.

Leaving Wild Bird Rescue, I decided I would check out the Nature Bluff as I haven't gotten there since a dirt trail was put in. Well, I still haven't had a chance to walk it--a construction sign greeted me when I arrived and the trail was torn up and muddy. If I had been birding with someone, I probably would have just struck out cross country, but the terrain is very uneven and my balance is very poor. Another day. The only birds I saw from the parking lot were a great-tailed grackle and a cardinal. So I decided to go to Lucy Park.

For the most part, local birders have written off Lucy Park since the city tore out all of the excellent habitat as an attempt at flood control. Although it is true that Lucy Park is not near the birding hotspot it was a few years ago, it is still as good or better than many of the other local places. If you don't remember it as it was, you can still have a decent morning birding. There are still a lot of nesting sites for cavity nesters, so it is still a good spot for woodpeckers and titmice. However, I noted a lot of the best trees for cavity nesters are marked for removal, so I expect the habitat decline to continue.

Pair of common goldeneye (you'll have to enlarge the pic--I am not good at
editing photos on my new computer yet.)

The highlight for me was a very shy pair of common goldeneye on the river. The list of birds there included: mallard, common goldeneye, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, northern flicker, white-winged dove, northern cardinal, blue jay, American robin, tufted titmouse, house finch, goldfinch, eastern phoebe, spotted towhee, junco, and song sparrow.

Although I didn't have a lot of time to bird this weekend, the time I had yielded some good birds and I had a good time. All in all, no complaints.

Good birding!

Flat Day at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Eastern Phoebe, Photo by Andy Reago and
Chrissy McClarren
Wikimedia Commons

Our monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park on December 13 wasn't one of our better months in terms of the birds seen, but hey, a bad morning birding is better than a great morning doing most anything else.

Walk regular, June, came as well as Mike, who has participated the last few months. This month we also had a newcomer, Sharon. It is always extra nice to have people relatively new to birdwatching along as almost any bird is going to be a good bird. We did have a few decent birds, most notably very good views of an eastern phoebe. These often appear fairly drab little birds, but in the right light like we had on Saturday, they are really very pretty.

I was hoping for a lot of ducks so we could work on duck identification, but that didn't work out for us. The only ducks we saw were gadwall. But we did see a nice raft of white pelicans on the water, although further away than I would have liked.

Here's the list of our birds for the morning: Canada goose, gadwall, double crested cormorant, white pelican, ring-billed gull, killdeer, great blue heron, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, yellow-shafted northern flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, mockingbird, eastern bluebird, cardinal, Bewick's wren, eastern phoebe, brown-headed cowbird, great-tailed grackle, red-winged blackbird, junco, eastern meadowlark goldfinch, house finch.

The walk next month will be January 10, 8:00 AM.

Good birding!

Saturday at Lake Arrowhead

On Saturday I attended the Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. We had some out of town guests (David, Jonathon, Eilene) from New Mexico and Arizona as well as Terry, June and Paula.

It was unseasonably cool for mid September, which I was very happy about. I expected a lot of shorebirds, considering the numbers of shorebirds at Lake Wichita that past couple of weeks. Other than a few killdeer, the shorebirds were not to be found on Saturday. However, we did have some decent birds.

When you go on a bird walk, the expectation most people have is the "leader" is going to be an expert and be able to identify every bird seen. I am very conservative. If I am not absolutely positive about the ID, I don't make one. I do take note of field marks and try to research the bird later for a positive identification. We had three mystery birds when we stopped the walk--two of which I feel comfortable making an identification call.

The first was a small group of dickcissel that perched out in the open for a long time. When I initially

Dickcissel at LASP. Photo courtesy of Paula Savage

got a good look at them, I identified them as dickcissel and then for some reason, talked myself out of the ID. Paula Savage took the photo accompanying this post and as soon as I opened her email, the dickcissel identification was obvious. Thank goodness for a photographer among us.

The second mystery bird remains unidentified. It looked a lot like an oriole. One of the members of our group leaned toward a Bullock's oriole. I was reluctant to go there, as there was no white patch on the wing--it was more like a pair of wing bars. Really, it looked more like a tanager, but they tanager it looked most like hasn't been recorded anywhere close to our area. That doesn't mean it is impossible, just not likely. We did not get a photo of this bird, so it remains unidentified--those that were there can decide to record it as they wish.

The third mystery bird was an Empidonax flycatcher. These birds are notoriously difficult to identify without a song clue, which we didn't get. The most noticeable field mark was the olive tint to the plumage, to include the wing bars,which were obvious, but not sharply distinct. I also wrote down a bi-colored bill and some very light streaking on the throat and upper breast. Based upon those notes and comparing all of the species accounts, my best guess is an Acadian flycatcher.

One of the best birds of the morning was an adult male red-headed woodpecker. We don't get to see these as often as we used to, so it is always a treat. This was a lifer for Paula. We had another lifer for one of our out-of-town visitors--a scissor-tailed flycatcher. We took time to really look at and enjoy these birds. It's a fact that we see so many of common birds such as the scissor-tailed flycatcher that we don't take the time to really look at and appreciate just how beautiful they are.

The birds seen in the park Saturday were: killdeer, great egret, great blue heron, snowy egret, Canada goose, double-crested cormorant, turkey vulture, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, Bewick's wren, red-headed woodpecker, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, scissor-tailed flycatcher, Acadian flycatcher, dickcissel, orchard oriole, lark sparrow, and yellow warbler.

On the way home, I stopped at the Chat Trail in Lake Wichita Park in hopes of catching sight of the redstart seen and photographed a few days before by Paula Savage. No dice on that. In fact, it was very quiet on the Chat Trail for this time of year.  We were there for just about 20 minutes and saw the following birds: Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, chimney swift, hummingbird sp., scissor-tailed flycatcher, great-crested flycatcher, blue jay, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, robin, eastern phoebe, house finch, savannah sparrow, and house sparrow.

Overall, a nice morning of birding.

Good birding!

Local Bird Events Coming Up

I received an email this morning from Katherine Smith of Wild Birds Unlimited of Wichita Falls with some upcoming bird-related events happening in the local area, reminding me I needed to get the word out. You wouldn't think I need that reminder as I am involved with most of them, but apparently that's the case.

Saturday, September 13, 8:00 AM: Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Meet at the firewood shed in the middle of the first campground on your left. There is a $3 entry fee to the park. Shorebird migration is in full swing, so I would expect us to see some good birds.

Saturday, September 13, 10:00 AM: Bird Program at Wild Bird Rescue, 4611 Lake Shore Drive. There is no admission, although donations are always appreciated. Chris will have either hawks or owls and will give an informative talk on their beautiful birds. This is the first of a continuing series of programs at  Wild Bird Rescue. Here is a list of the programs scheduled so far, as well as one or two special events happening at the Center:

Sat., Sept. 13, 10 a.m.

Sun., Sept. 14, 1 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 11, 10 a.m.

Sun., Oct. 12, 7:30 – 10:30 a.m. – The Big Sit Bird Count

       1 p.m. – Feeding your Winter Birds

Sat., Nov. 8, 10 a.m.

Sun., Nov. 9, 1 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 13, 10 a.m.

Sun., Dec. 14, 1 p.m. – Birds in Christmas Traditions

Thurs., Jan. 1 – Big Day for Wild Bird Rescue team birding competition and fund raiser

Sat., Jan. 10, 10 a.m.

Sun., Jan. 11, 1 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 14, 10 a.m.

Sun., Feb. 15, 1 p.m. – Birds in Love; Interesting Mating Behavior in Birds

Sat., March 14, 10 a.m.

Sun., March 15, 1 p.m.

Sat., April 11, 10 a.m.

Sun., April 12, 1 p.m. – Wildscaping your Yard to Benefit the Birds

Sat., May 9, 10 a.m.

Sun., May 10, 1 p.m.

Saturday, September 13, Noon, Wild Birds Unlimited Store: This is the one year anniversary of the Wild Birds Unlimited store opening in its Market Street location. There will be a big sale Friday - Sunday, but on Saturday, beginning at approximately noon, I will have some birds from Wild Bird Rescue to meet the customers. I expect to be there for about 2 hours.

The North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club will have their meeting at the Wild Birds Unlimited store at 7 PM on Tuesday, September 16. Katherine Smith will be showing pictures from her recent birdwatching trip to Peru.

Don't forget the trip to the Hummingbird Festival in Rockport, TX, September 17 - 21. Some people have dropped out at the last minute, so you can probably still get a seat on the bus, departing Thursday morning. I for one, am looking forward to the trip.

On Tuesday, September 23, 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM, there will be a Pollinator Workshop at River Bend Nature Center. Did you know that some bird species pollinate wildflowers? Well, they do. Come learn about providing good habitat for the birds and other pollinator species. Free.

If you would prefer to just get out and go birding, Lake Wichita has had some awesome numbers of shorebirds passing through on migration. Since I am taking part in almost all of the programs listed here, I plan to take a couple of hours Friday morning to head out to the spillway with a scope to check out the shorebirds.

Good birding!

Blue Grosbeaks at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Male blue grosbeak, Wikimedia Commons, Dick Daniels

Saturday was the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. June, one of the regular participants showed at 7 AM, so it was just the two of us for the walk this time.

Those of you who thought about coming to the bird walk, but decided it was too early, missed a treat. June and I were walking along and I heard an unfamiliar call from the mesquites near the dining hall. We followed the call in to the trees and I noticed a bird at the top of the tree that looked to be in about the location the call was coming from. Of course, as often happens, the bird was between me and the sun, so we had to circle around to get a better view. The first thing I noticed other than the general shape was blue. I knew it wasn't a blue bird, so my first thought was an indigo bunting, which I see in the Lake Arrowhead area now and again. But when I was able to get a good look, it was obvious that is not what we had. The cardinal-like beak is the first clue. The russet stripes on the wings another. We had a male blue grosbeak! Another grosbeak flew in. I thought it was a female, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an immature grosbeak. Dad took him a big fat insect for breakfast. I saw the male again later singing in a tree across the parking lot.

This was our best bird, but by no means the only good bird of the morning. Apparently, the egrets/herons are getting ready to migrate. We saw several flocks of snowy egrets (one flock was between 25 and 30 birds) and great egrets. We also saw parent bluebirds feeding their fledglings in the camping area.

June left about 8:30. She had asked me about dickcissel and I told  her I have heard them in the park--they tend to start calling a little later in the morning though. We didn't hear one before she left. I had a mussel watch for the Texas Master Naturalists, so stayed for that and added a couple of other bird species she wasn't with me to see--one of them being a dickcissel about 9 AM. Other birds that morning included: Canada goose, white pelican, great egret, great blue heron, snowy egret, greater yellowlegs, killdeer, turkey vulture, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, golden-fronted woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, barn swallow, cliff swallow, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, orchard oriole, red-winged blackbird, American robin, scissor-tailed flycatcher, dickcissel, eastern bluebird, common grackle, European starling, and house finch. I also saw a peep that I was not able to identify.

Overall, a nice morning bird walk. Next month, the bird walk reverts back to 8 AM, for all of you who like to sleep in a little bit on the weekend.

Good birding!

Pledge to Fledge

As some of you know, I support Pledge to Fledge, which is really nothing more than helping new birdwatchers learn more about birds. However, every year the Global Birding Initiative designates the last weekend in April for an international event. I did it last year and did meet up with a new birder--had a great time.

This year I am going to be in Austin attending a convention over the Pledge to Fledge weekend. But just know that if you're a new birder and want to learn to identify birds, contact me at txbirds@gmail.com and we'll find a mutually agreeable time to get out and watch the birds. No special event required.

In the meantime, don't forget the Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park on the second Saturday of each month. Usually I lead the walk. When I cannot, Terry McKee has been kind enough to step up.

People are often intimidated by the number of birds and feel overwhelmed at first. But all of us learn our birds one at a time. Whether you can identify one bird or hundreds, it is more important to enjoy and appreciate them than it is to know their names.

Feel free to contact me any time to meet-up to bird.

Good birding!

Nice Morning at Lake Arrowhead State Park

I am just now getting around to writing a summary of our morning at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Saturday, April 12, was the monthly bird walk at the park. A beautiful morning, although a little cool and nippy. One of my regular walk attendees, June, came as well as Karen, one of the new class of the Rolling Plains chapter Texas Master Naturalist. Robert Mauk with Inland Fisheries stopped by for a few minutes, although he was in the park primarily to take some nature photos.

On my way to the park, I noticed my first flock cattle egret of the year in Archer county and then came across a small flock of black vultures around a carcass on FM 1954 in Clay county.  That was a good start for what turned out to be a decent birding morning. Several summer birds have arrived--both snowy and great egrets were around the lake and everyone's favorite, scissor-tailed flycatchers, were everywhere. The highlight was probably the large group (probably easily 300 birds) of white pelicans massing over the park. A front was moving into the area, so perhaps the birds were preparing to head north. No sign of any gulls, so they have apparently all left--I haven't seen any around Lake Wichita for several days now. Some winter birds are still around--most noticeably the white-crowned sparrow.

We spent two hours birding. The birds cited included: Canada goose, white pelican, double crested cormorant,  killdeer, great egret, snowy egret, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, Carolina chickadee, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, eastern phoebe, eastern bluebird, red-bellied woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, cliff swallow, scissor-tailed flycatcher, Bewick's wren, red-winged blackbird, eastern meadowlark, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle, lark sparrow, savannah sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, and house finch.

Overall a pleasurable couple of hours.

Good birding!

Upcoming Bird Events

Chimney swift nestlings at Wild Bird Rescue

We're coming into migration season again, so birding will be especially good the next couple of months (if it will just rain, it could be great.)

Here are some upcoming bird-related events you don't want to miss:

- Saturday, March 8, 8:00 AM: Bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. First campground on the left after you enter the park (which is the 2nd left turn). We meet at the firewood shed. Park admission applies.
- Tuesday, March 18, 7:00 PM: North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club. National Association of Letter Carriers. 5310 Southwest Parkway (next to Wichita Valley nursery.)
- Sunday, March 23, 10:30 AM: Wild Birds Unlimited will have birding expert, Joe LeFleur lead a bird walk to help learn to identify birds.
- Sunday, March 23, 12:00: Mr. LaFleur will give a talk in the store at Wild Birds Unlimited.
- Saturday, March 29, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Wild Bird Rescue Open House. Baby shower to kick off baby season. This is the only day of the year the facility is open to the public for tours, so come on out! Lite refreshments will be available and the Avian Ambassadors will be on hand. The public is encouraged to attend and to donate a wish list item or cash to this worthy organization. Gift shop items, to include a new T-shirt featuring Stevie, the great horned owl, will be available.

I hope you can attend one or more of these events.

Good birding!

Upcoming Birdwatching Opportunities

I have not been posting much lately. I would like to say it's because I have been so busy watching birds I haven't had a chance to write, but that wouldn't be true--unfortunately. However, there are some opportunities coming up in the near future to watch birds with others. This is a great way for new birders especially to learn more about birds. Novice or experienced, birding together is an enjoyable way to pass the time.

Saturday, October 12, 8:00 AM, is the Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Terry McKee is leading the walk this month as I have another commitment. Meet at the firewood shed in the first campground on the left after you enter the park. This is a walk, although the way terrain is fairly flat. We are in migration season, so there should be some good shorebirds and perhaps some warblers. The length of the walk depends upon the weather, the birds, and the desires of the group. It's usually 1 - 1.5 hour.

Sunday, October 13, is the Big Sit on Lake Wichita behind Wild Bird Rescue, 7:30 AM - approximately 10:00 AM. This is a sedentary birdwatching event. Bring a lawn chair, binoculars and something hot to drink. Dress in layers--we've had rainy and/or cold weather at nearly every one of these events. Rain is forecast. Since we are still in an extreme drought, I am perfectly fine with getting wet. The photo to the left was the view last year when there was still some water at the end of the lake where we conduct the watch. It is dry now, so we will see what birds we can see.  The Big Sit is officially a 24-hr event, but we have traditionally just watched for a few hours. It is not necessary to be there the entire time--this is a come and go event.

A little further out is the Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club on December 14. This is an all day census of all birds seen. The club divides the count circle into three parts, each birded by a separate person/group. Typically we bird from sunup until we cover our area thoroughly (usually around 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM) then we head home to clean up and head to the count potluck dinner to compile the report with the information from all of the teams. I have headed up the Lake Wichita segment of the count the last few years. Other teams cover Lucy Park and much of the city of Wichita Falls and another does the area closer to Iowa Park.

A little further out is the Wild Bird Rescue Big Day fundraiser on January 4. This event runs 12 hours: 7 AM - 7 PM. This is a hard day of birding. We have traditionally had one team--it would be great to have more than one--perhaps an out-of-town team? If you don't want to bird this one, you can follow the team(s) on Facebook and Twitter during that day. Of course, we'd love to see you donate for that event to support Wild Bird Rescue.

If you want more information on any of these events, contact me at txbirds@gmail.com. I'd love to see you at some of these events.

Good birding!