Tundra Swans in Wichita County

Photo (left) courtesy of E.B. Hawley.

I reported earlier today there was a TEXBIRDS report of a large flock of tundra swans out near Kamay. E.B.Hawley went in search of the birds and found them with several other neat birds. She sent me some pictures and gave me permission to post one of her photos here. Thanks, Elizabeth!

I am happy to know some people who are much better photographers than I (not that it would take much!) to help spice up this blog a little. I plan to try to get out to see them late this week. It will probably be Friday, so I hope they are still there.

Good birding!

New Year's Big Day Planning Continues

Well, we are moving forward with plans for the Wild Bird Rescue Big Day fundraiser. We have a small team and some pledges, so the day will be a good one.

You can follow the team through the Wild Bird Rescue page on Facebook or by following the Twitter feed through @birdwithpenny, #WBRBigDay. If you don't have a Twitter account, no worries, as the feed is shown on the home page of this blog.

TEXBIRDS reported tundra swans out near Kamay this past weekend--hope they are still there when the Big Day comes around. For those who may wish to see these beautiful birds for themselves, they were reported to be on the west side of FM 2846, near the intersection with FM 1180. The observers counted 32 birds, which is a large number--they should be noticeable.

Good birding!

Yes! Tundra Swans

Six tundra swans were still hanging out at the far end of Bridwell tank on this cool, wet and windy morning. They are big enough to get a reasonable look with a good pair of binoculars, but a scope would have been nice.

It was good to see them. In addition, there were a few other birds hanging around the tank or on the other side of the road in Lake Arrowhead: gadwall, mallard, Canada geese, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, white-crowned sparrow, American kestrel, red-tailed hawk and American coots. I also drove around to the boat ramp on the west side of Lake Arrowhead and picked up a couple of white pelicans. On the drive out and back, also saw numerous meadowlarks, great-tailed grackle, mourning doves, as well as a couple of killdeer and a northern harrier.

I got back and had a Harris's sparrow cleaning up under my feeders at home. I have seen this bird a few times now in the yard, but it appears I have only one. Darn it! There was also a white-winged dove perching on a swinging suet feeder, pecking at the suet. I have never seen them try suet before, but I am beginning to think those birds will try anything.

Good birding!

The Best Laid Plans

My intent this morning was to head out to Clay County to look for the tundra swans near Lake Arrowhead after I stopped in to care for my charges at Wild Bird Rescue. During the winter we don't have a lot of birds, but some good ones--currently, we have 2 screech owls, a barred owl, red-tailed hawk and of course, Missi, our educational Mississippi kite.

However, when I got up, the fog was thick--knowing the area the swans were reported is well back from the road, I knew there would be no chance of seeing the birds at that distance with this much fog, so a change in plans was needed.

When I got to Wild Bird Rescue, I decided to walk down to the little inlet and see just how bad the visibility was over the lake. I couldn't see more than about 15 yards with any clarity. In spite of that, the 5 minutes I spent there yielded some good birds, to include several hundred red-winged blackbirds coming up out of the reeds for the day, a Cooper's hawk, a couple of coots, a pied-billed grebe, a marsh wren, a belted kingfisher, and six great blue herons that were spaced every few yards along the bank.

I got very close to the Cooper's hawk. I think he was concentrating on the red-winged blackbirds and contemplating breakfast. He was fairly low in a tree along the bank, so I wasn't more than 5 yards from him and had a chance to get a good look before he decided to move to a taller tree across the inlet.

The marsh wren was a special treat. I hear them occasionally, but they tend to stay in the thick of the reeds and when they pop out, it is only for a second or two. This morning, the wren was scolding and hopping around on top of the reeds, then flew across the path, right in front of me, so I had the opportunity to get a good look.

All in all, a very fruitful 5-minute investment. Right now, I am keeping an eye out on my feeders for Project Feederwatch, waiting for the fog to burn off so I can head out on my swan quest. The little ruby-crowned kinglet as usual, cannot resist the suet cake.

Good birding!

Whooping Crane Photo

Many thanks to Wayne Holbert for allowing me to use his photo of the whooping crane out near Electra. There weren't many folks who were able to get a reasonably good photo.

Now I understand tundra swans have been seen in Clay county near Lake Arrowhead. There was a great hue and cry a few years ago when we had some tundra swans in Wichita County. I was able to see them and hope to have a chance to find the tundra swans this time as well.

Good birding!