Our group of Texas Master Naturalists had a good day at Hackberry Flat yesterday. I am terrible at shorebirds--just haven't had enough practice--so I know I missed a lot of birds on ID. I need good views and lots of time to come up with identifications.
The buzz when we got there was a red-necked phalarope. No luck finding that bird, but we did see hundreds, if not thousands of Wilson's phalaropes.
The highlight of my day was 2 peregrine falcons in the field as we were preparing to leave. We had earlier seen a falcon-like bird pursuing flocks of shorebirds but hadn't been able to get a good look at the bird to make an ID due to the distance. We were vacillating between merlin and peregrine falcon and finally had to let it go when the bird flew out of sight. Perhaps it was one of the same birds on the ground later.
In addition to the many shorebirds we weren't able to identify, I had the following: dickcissel, killdeer, lark sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, eastern meadowlark, great-tailed grackle, mourning dove, black-necked stilt, American avocet, red-winged blackbird, comomn grackle, semi-palmated sandpiper, common nighthawk, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, gadwall, mallard, great egret, red-tailed hawk, whimbrel, white-faced ibis, and snowy egret.
Terry McKee identified a Baird's sandpiper, but I didn't see it. Going to and from Hackberry we saw numerous cattle egret, although not much else.
So it was a very good day--I'd like to get out there more often to become better at shorebird ID.
Good birding!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Hackberry Field Trip
The Texas Master Naturalists are going on a field trip to Hackberry Flats tomorrow, Saturday, May 8. Members are meeting at 8:00 AM at Atwoods at the intersection of Hwy 287 and Loop 11 to carpool. Usually we bird for a few hours and then find a place to eat before heading home. This is a good time of year for shorebirds. I will post sightings this weekend.
Good birding!
Good birding!
Local Bird Checklists for Texas
The TEXBIRDS listserv today had reference to a website with copies of local bird checklists for Texas. If you're planning a trip to bird, this may be a good way to determine what birds you might see in various locations.
Good birding!
Good birding!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
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!
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!
Vera, TX
I had to go to Lubbock, TX for a conference. The trip down Thursday evening wasn't very eventful--the wind was horrible and I was just trying to get there. Coming home on Saturday was better. I'm not much on car birding, because you can't see much at 70+ mph (hey, it's west TX--there is NOTHING out there) and I know I missed a lot of little birds that were gone before I could get a decent look at them.
As I was leaving Lubbock Saturday afternoon, I saw some avocets in a flooded field. Along the way, I did manage to ID a few birds that are easy to identify on the fly: European starling (yippee), great-tailed grackle, American coot, Swainson's hawk, crow, rock pigeon, mourning dove, American kestrel, cattle egret, cliff swallow, eastern meadowlark (heard at roadside park), house sparrow, turkey vulture, scissor-tailed flycatcher, mockingbird, red-tailed hawk, red-winged blackbird, barn swallow, mallard, brown-headed cowbird, lark sparrow, great egret, Eurasian collared dove, and killdeer.
Fortunately for me, I had to slow down in Vera, TX. As I was coming out of town, I noticed a flooded area that had some shorebirds on it. Since I wasn't going as fast, I could see they would be interesting and stopped. Seven Wilson's phalaropes, 5 blue-winged teal and 6 long-billed dowitchers made for a great stop.
Good birding!
As I was leaving Lubbock Saturday afternoon, I saw some avocets in a flooded field. Along the way, I did manage to ID a few birds that are easy to identify on the fly: European starling (yippee), great-tailed grackle, American coot, Swainson's hawk, crow, rock pigeon, mourning dove, American kestrel, cattle egret, cliff swallow, eastern meadowlark (heard at roadside park), house sparrow, turkey vulture, scissor-tailed flycatcher, mockingbird, red-tailed hawk, red-winged blackbird, barn swallow, mallard, brown-headed cowbird, lark sparrow, great egret, Eurasian collared dove, and killdeer.
Fortunately for me, I had to slow down in Vera, TX. As I was coming out of town, I noticed a flooded area that had some shorebirds on it. Since I wasn't going as fast, I could see they would be interesting and stopped. Seven Wilson's phalaropes, 5 blue-winged teal and 6 long-billed dowitchers made for a great stop.
Good birding!
Monday, April 26, 2010
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!
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