Lake Wichita Park on Sunday

I hope the weather is as clear as it was on Sunday for the Chirstmas Bird Count next week. The morning was bright and sunny. A heavy frost covered the ground and trees when I started down the chat trail, but soon burned off.

At the entrance to the chat trail were seven white-tailed deer who stood for a few minutes checking me out before they ran into the wooded area to the right.

I only walked down to the the barrow pit and across the birdge up to the dam, so not a long walk at all. I saw Canada geese, cardinals, double-crested cormorants, white-winged doves, robins, red-winged balckbirds, bufflehead, song sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, great blue heron, coots, ruddy ducks, ring-billed gulls, canvasback, downy woodpecker, meadowlark sp, mourning dove, white pelicans, killdeer, gold finches, and house finches.

Good birding!

December 12 at River Bend

We had a nice bird ID workshop Saturday. We had some new Wichita Falls residents come. One couple had lived near San Franscisco for many years, so this habitat is new. Two others just moved from Nebraska. After the indoor workshop, we walked the trail at River Bend. Even though it was rather late for a bird walk, we did see a few good birds: white-winged doves, goldfinch, house finch, slate colored juncos, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, cardinal, Carolina chickadee, Eastern phoebe, and blue jay.

Many thanks to Wild Birds Unlimited at Smith's Gardentown for donating door prizes.

Good birding!

Don't Forget!

Don't forget bird identification workshop tomorrow at River Bend Nature Works, 2200 Third Street, Wichita Falls, TX. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM. Free to River Bend members/Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalists; $3 all others. At the conclusion of the presentation, those interested can walk the trails to practice.

North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club Meets December 15

The monthly North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club meets Tuesday, December 15 at 7 PM at the NALC Building on Southwest Parkway (next to Wichita Valley Nursery near the corner of SW Parkway and Barnett.)

This is the annual Christmas meeting, with food, games and presents. We will also be finalizing plans for the Christmas Bird Count the following weekend.

Come meet a few of the local birders and learn more about the organization.

Good Birding!

Big News of the Retail Variety

Katherine Smith of Smith's Gardentown told me she is adding a Wild Birds Unlimited store to her nursery. I am excited--there will now be a place in Wichita Falls I can find good quality bird seed. Of course, there will also be a place where I will be tempted to blow much of my discretionary income, which I am sure will please Katherine.

Katherine tells me she hopes to have some products in the store before Christmas (see the previous post on gifts for birders) with a grand opening to coincide with the Home and Garden Show on 27, 28 Fenruary 2010. She is bringing in a speaker from Wild Birds Unlimited for the event, so watch for that.

This will be a nice complement to the nursery. Good luck, Katherine!

Good birding!

Brrrrrr!

My blood is thinning out since moving to Texas. I am cold! And today it felt like the temperature dropped during the day.

The birds and the squirrels are cold too. I have had a full house at the feeders today while everyone tries to top off for the night. I had 4 squirrels at once this morning and have had dozens of birds eating their heads off pretty much the entire day. We're at the edge of a winter storm moving this way. It appears all we will get it the added cold and none of the snow and ice, but it appears the birds aren't taking any chances.

Most of the birds have been white-winged doves and house sparrows, but I have seen the cardinals, blue jays, spotted towhees, juncos, house finches, Inca doves and chickadees as well.

Good birding!

Cold Weather Means Feeder Overflow

Cedar waxwing in rehab. Photo courtesy of Wild Bird Rescue.

We have some cold, wet weather coming through, with some snow possible overnight. Even if I didn't hear it on the news, I would know it by the numbers of birds at the feeders today--the birds are absolutely mobbing them. This is normal behavior before a cold front.

Usually, I don't see cedar waxwings at the feeders. Technically, I didn't today, but I did have one at the bird bath near the feeders. The bird bath was also full of birds bathing. You have to wonder about getting wet when it's cold, but bathing keeps feathers in good condition and good feathers are absolutely essential to survival.

I don't usually see just one cedar waxwing either--there is usually a flock. So I did look out front in the tops of my trees and there was a small flock of 7 in the oaks. When it started raining, the cedar waxwings were enthusiastically showering and preening.

Good birding!