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.

Winter Birds Returning

Went out to Lake Wichita Park this morning as it is on my way to Wild Bird Rescue, where I volunteer on Sundays. Fall migration is well underway and the winter sparrows are beginning to show up as are other winter residents.

Some of the winter birds I saw this morning for the first time included several northern flickers (some red-shafted, some yellow and a few I couldn't tell for sure), a ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrows, a song sparrow and some green-winged teal.

I noted some migrant mourning warblers as well as another pretty warbler that unfortunately didn't stay in place long enough for me to make a positive ID.

Many summer birds are still around: barn swallows, chimney swifts and scissor-tailed flycatchers for example. The scissor-tails are beginning to mass in good numbers. I watched a couple of dozen hawking the area between the barrow pit and Lake Wichita. Hopefully, they will still be around for the Big Sit next weekend.

Overall, it was a good hour. In addition to some good birds, the beavers were pretty active along the chat trail. A list of birds seen: great blue heron, greater yellowlegs, killdeer, American wigeon, green-winged teal, mallard, redhead, American coot, Red-tailed hawk, Eurasian collared dove, rock pigeon, downy woodpecker, northern flicker, barn swallow, chimney swift, mockingbird, blue jay, robin, cardinal, scissor-tailed flycatcher, phoebe, ruby-crowned kinglet, Carolina chickadee, great-tailed grackle, red-winged blackbird, mourning warbler, song sparrow, savannah sparrow, and house sparrow.

This is a great time to bird this area.

Good birding!

Pretty Spring Morning at Lake Wichita

Ruby-crowned kinglet. Photo courtesy of US National Park Service

Spring is definitely here, although I do wish we were getting the "spring showers" spoken of in the little ditty. However, the trees and shrubs are beginning to leaf out. This is the excellent time of year when the birds are singing their heads off and the nascent foliage allows you to get a good look at birds. Judging from the change in my yard from one day to the next, I would say, those good views will be gone in a week, even without rain.


Yesterday was a little overcast and breezy, but it was still a good morning for birds at Lake Wichita. One of my favorite sightings of the day was a ruby-crowned kinglet in one of the live oak trees at the corner or the football field. Although ruby-crowned kinglets are very common over the winter, this little guy was getting ready for mating season. He was singing his heart out, and I got an excellent view of his ruby crown--usually, the crown isn't visible.


I also had a flock of 25 -30 sandpiper-type birds fly over my head. I initially thought Wilson's snipe, but they seemed a little slender. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good look to be certain of their identification, but it was still an awesome site--I don't think they were much more than arm's length above my head.


There were still a number of different types of ducks on the barrow pit, although not large numbers of any particular species. The ducks will be heading back north soon, so I enjoy seeing them while I can. There were still several cinnamon teal on the water.


I then drove past Wild Bird Rescue and was pleased to see a purple martin on the wire--hopefully, they are moving into the popular marting house there.


Sightings Sunday included: American coot, ruddy duck, bufflehead, ring-necked duck, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, gadwall, northern pintail, mallard, northern soveler, Canada goose, ring-billed gull, killdeer, turkey vulture, northern harrier, hairy woodpecker, northern flicker, rock pigeon, mourning dove, white-winged dove, Eurasian collared dove, tufted titmouse, ruby-crowned kinglet, American goldfinch, cedar waxwing, American robin, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, blue jay, Eastern phoebe, Carolina wren, yellow-rumped warbler, red-winged blackbird, great-tailed grackle, brown-headed cowbird, white-crowned sparrow, song sparrow, savannah sparrow.

Good birding!

The Bird Bath a Happening Place This Morning

Well, my birdbath (left) has been a happening place this morning. In less than an hour since sun up I have had a cardinal, several juncos and a robin. When I went out to take this picture, I startled a little ruby-crowned kinglet when I walked up on the bath. I didn't even see him until I was focusing the camera. You can see the sides of the bath where the water has been thrown. I'll have to go out later and refill.

Bird baths and other water features can be a huge draw for birds. In our area, they often draw as many birds as the feeders do. And some birds who don't eat at feeders will come to the water, so it is another good way to add variety to your birdwatching experience.

However, most bird baths are too deep. My husband and kids got me the birdbath in the picture as a gift, but I added the sloping piece of rock to allow better access to smaller birds. You can also add rocks to the bottom of the bird bath to create shallow pools for smaller birds to bathe. I find the larger birds like robins enjoy the deeper areas and the smaller birds use the edges and the rock for their ablutions.

If you don't have a bird bath of any kind, think about getting one!

Good birding!