Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park, and After

Indigo bunting. Photo courtesy of Kevin Bolton, Wikimedia Commons.

Four people met me this morning for the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. It was cool and overcast. Overall, the walk wasn't the best birding I have had at LASP, but neither was it the worst. We started over behind one of the camping areas, made our way near the swim beach and then drove over to the area around the group pavillion/nature trail area. I was hoping for a good migration bird day, but it didn't pan out. We did see some migrants; just not as many as I had hoped.

I think the only bird I saw before the others arrived that we did not see subsequently were some double-crested cormorants. Other than that, here are the birds we heard/saw: Canada goose, mallard, great blue heron, little blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, cattle egret, green heron, killdeer, spotted sandpiper, mourning dove, northern bobwhite, Bewick's wren, barn swallow, cliff swallow, purple martin, yellow-billed cuckoo,  northern mockingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, yellow warbler, Bullock's oriole, red-winged blackbird, great-tailed grackle, house finch, lark sparrow, dickcissel, and great crested flycatcher.

We also sighted one other bird that to me looked like a male orchard's oriole. I think the rest of the group was convinced it was just another sighting of the Bullock's as we saw it very briefly just before the Bullock's showed. However, I am going to stay true to my ID--there is too much difference between the two. I will admit the look was very brief, however.

The yellow warblers and Bullock's orioles were thick. We saw several of them. Sue and Warren wanted very much to see the yellow-billed cuckoo we heard, but we weren't successful at finding him. (Sorry guys. I did see one fly across the road in front of me on W. Arrowhead later.) We ended our outing about the time a rain shower started around 8:45. Although we only heard bobwhite in the park, I did see one on W. Arrowhead and then again later on FM 368.

After the rest of the group left, I did some of my mussel watch at an inlet between showers. There I added turkey vultures and American coot to my LASP list for the day.

Leaving the park, I decided I wasn't ready to go home, clean house and grade papers/final exams for my classes, so I decided to try out the Bridwell tank on W. Arrowhead Rd. I walked around along the road in that area and didn't see anything special. I got back in my truck and took off and what do I see on the fence? An indigo bunting! It didn't stay up long, which is normal, but it did provide a good look.

I drove down to the boat ramp and then circled back. Once again on FM 1954, I made my way to FM 368 and then over to Hwy 277 and home. Along the way, I did pick up a few more good birds, mostly in Archer Co, to include: upland sandpiper, yellow-crowned night heron, black vulture, kestrel, American crow, loggerhead shrike, Western kingbird, eastern phoebe, eastern bluebird, American robin, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle and house sparrow.

Along FM 1954 I encountered a large flock of blackbirds. I thought at first it was a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds. However, I didn't see a male among them. I did pull off and take a good look. There were five or six female yellow-headed blackbirds mixed into a flock of brown-headed cowbirds. I am lucky there were no males. I might have driven right by instead of stopping. If I had driven past, I wouldn't have picked up the two upland sandpipers.

On FM 368 I encountered a huge flock of migrating Bonaparte's gulls. The must have been nearly 100 birds in the flock. When I returned to Wichita Falls, there was another flock of well over 100 at the intersection of FM 369 (Southwest Parkway) and Barnett Rd. Fortunately, the light was red, so I could stop and put some binoculars on the flock circling overhead.

Overall, a good morning.

Good birding!

Archer County This Morning

I did a short (1.75 hr) birding trip in Archer County today, trying to increase my numbers for my Texas Century Club list for that county. Don't know that I added more than one or two species, but there was rain, so no complaints. Not a lot of rain, but more than I was seeing at the house, and much needed. Altogether I saw 33 species driving the roadways, with a few short stops.

 At Lake Archer, there was a mixed flock of turkey and black vultures perching on the dock and a nearby tree I was able to get fairly close to. Once again, I left  my little camera at home and had to use my cell phone camera, so the pictures are not the best.

I also saw a small flock (11) of ruddy ducks on the lake.

I mostly saw the usual birds, but some special ones (in my book) were a golden-fronted woodpecker that flew across the road in front of my car on Hwy 25, a Bullock's oriole in the Hollliday cemetery and a yellow-headed blackbird on Hwy 277, just before the county line into Wichita.

My list: killdeer, rock pigeon, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, mourning dove, cattle egret, great egret, great blue heron, snowy egret, Canada goose, ruddy duck, gadwall, turkey vulture, black vulture, golden-fronted woodpecker, northern cardinal, blue jay, American robin, scissor-tailed flycatcher, Western kingbird, Bullock's oriole, northern mockingbird, purple martin, cliff swallow, chimney swift, eastern meadowlark, common grackle, great-tailed grackle, yellow-headed blackbird, red-winged blackbird, brown-headed cowbird, European starling, house sparrow.

Altogether, a nice start to the day.

Good birding!

Finally! Yellow-headed Blackbirds

Picture from Bob Lindsay, Wild Bird Rescue

Every spring I try to be sure to be in the field for the few weeks yellow-headed blackbirds are migrating through. These are such beautiful birds, I don't want to miss them. I was out last weekend looking for them at Lake Wichita with no success and then received pictures from Bob at Wild Bird Rescue that they were having daily visits by a large flock. He sent some pictures--all from a distance, but you can see two of the birds in the photo to the left.

I was there Thursday afternoon and saw a large number, and today I have seen many of them while volunteering at the rescue center.

If you get a chance to get outdoors, you might be lucky enough to see some. They will be leaving soon and you won't have another opportunity for awhile. I would think they would be hightailing it out of this area as quickly as possible with all of the wildfires going on right now.

Good birding!

A Brillant Morning at Lake Wichita

It was a gorgeous morning on Lake Wichita and a great day for birding. I decided to start at the spillway, cross the dam and then bird the chat trail and the barrow pit.

When I got out of the car at the spillway, I knew it was going to be a great morning, even if I didn't see another bird. I heard dozens of clay-colored sparrows as soon as I got out of the car and as soon as I looked into Holliday creek, there were 12 snowy egrets. Things continued to get better with a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds at the top of the dam.

Even a poor day birding is a good day, but some days you remember for a long time. Today was one of those days. The thistle plants were all going to seed along the dam and there were hundreds (and probably thousands) of chipping and clay-colored sparrows rising up all around me as I walked. In fact, sparrows were good all the way around: in addition to chipping and clay-colored sparrow, I saw house sparrow, song sparrow, lark sparrow, savannah sparrow, and white-crowned sparrow.

A couple of first of season birds: yellow-billed cuckoo and male orchard oriole.

Here's my bird list for the two hours this morning (51 species): common grackle, great-tailed grackle, European starling, mourning dove, house sparrow, cliff swallow, killdeer, great egret, red-winged blackbird, snowy egret, great blue heron, Canada goose, eastern meadowlark, scissor-tailed flycatcher, yellow-headed blackbird, white pelican, chipping sparrow, song sparrow, Western kingbird, Savannah sparrow, American coot, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, barn swallow, chimney swift, double-crested cormorant, cedar waxwing, mallard, cardinal, turkey vulture, robin, house finch, blue-winged teal, ruddy duck, brown-headed cowbird, white-crowned sparrow, mockingbird, eared grebe, spotted sandpiper, red-tailed hawk, white-winged dove, blue jay, rock pigeon, American pipit, white-faced ibis, Eurasian collared dove, Carolina wren, orchard oriole, American goldfinch, yellow-billed cuckoo, and lark sparrow.

Good birding!

Home Again

This past weekend I went to San Marcos, TX for the League of Women Voters of Texas state convention. Had a great time. The wildflowers were in bloom. I took a picture of the gaillardia (Indian blanket) at the left at one of the picnic areas along Hwy 281. While there, I watched a pair of Bewick's wrens in a very large yucca. The male was singing his heart out and had gotten the attention of a female.

As usual, I didn't have a chance to see many birds, but in addition to the black vulture sighting mentioned in the last post on the way down, I did see both a yellow-headed blackbird (Jack County) and an Eastern bluebird on my way back, in addition to the usual "road birds."

Good birding!

Gorgeous Morning on the Chat Trail

Sunday I walked from the chat trail to Murphy's Mound and back. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning and being Easter, the trails were relatively empty.

I was hoping to see some yellow-headed blackbirds, as it is just getting into the time frame they migrate through our area. I was also hoping to see some warblers as well. We don't always get what we want, but that doesn't mean we don't have a great time. No blackbirds and only yellow-rumped warblers. I went by Murphy's Mound to see swallows as they were numerous in that area last year. However, no luck on Sunday morning.

It sounds horrible to say "only" yellow-rumped warblers when they are such pretty birds. And there were dozens of them along the chat trail. However, they have been common over the winter and I was hoping for different sorts of warblers migrating through.

There were still some winter ducks and some winter sparrows, while some summer birds have returned (scissor-tailed flycatchers).

It was also a very good morning for frogs. I heard several cricket frogs and scared two bullfrogs into the drainage ditch.

My birding morning included: mockingbird, cardinal, great-tailed grackle, yellow-rumped warbler, Robin, Carolina wren, blue jay, rock pigeon, house sparrow, European starling, mallard, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, mourning dove, bufflehead, American coot, song sparrow, ruddy dick, Canada goose, killdeer, red-winged blackbird, pied-billed grebe, scissor-tailed flycatcher, northern shoveler, white-crowned sparrow, brown-headed cowbird, white pelican, northern harrier, turkey vulture, and double-crested cormorant.

Not a bad couple of hours.

Good birding!

More Yellow-headed Blackbirds

I was coming home on 281 today between Windthorst and Scotland at the feedlot and saw a cloud of blackbirds rising from the ground. When I got close enough to see the birds more clearly, they were yelow-headed blackbirds--easily over 100 birds.

Good birding!

Yellow-headed Blackbirds

Every sping for a few weeks, the yellow-headed blackbirds come through on migration. Sometimes I miss them altogether--although there may be large groups of them, they seem to be sporadic in occurrence. But this morning at Wild Bird Rescue's feeders, there were two of them, mixed in with the usual red-winged blackbirds.

Good birding!