Great Backyard Bird Count Highlights

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) was February 13 - February 16. I was traveling on the 13th, so didn't have the opportunity to bird that day(airports don't try to attract birds.) However, I did take part in two group counts on Saturday and Sunday and did a solo count on Monday.

I was very happy to see 13 people join me for the GBBC at Lake Arrowhead State Park on Saturday. Since the Rolling Plains Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist counted this as volunteer time, it did help our numbers, and we had several members there. We had some very experienced birders with the McKees and also some very new birders. Our new birders were able to add some life birds to their lists--that always makes for a great day.

It was really a beautiful morning. During our 2-hour walk, we saw several good birds. I am sure I captured all of the species we saw, although I may have missed some of the numbers. Our list:

Canada goose
White pelican  11
Double-crested cormorant   4
Killdeer    10
Greater yellowlegs  1
Great blue heron   1
Ring-billed gull   31
Mourning dove  2
Ladder-backed woodpecker   3
Red-bellied woodpecker   1
Golden-fronted woodpecker   1
Northern flicker  1
Roadrunner   1
Northern mockingbird    5
Bewick's wren    4
Northern cardinal  10
Eastern phoebe  2
Eastern bluebird   2
American crow  3
Red-winged blackbird  2
Western meadowlark  13
Meadowlark species   9
Brown-headed cowbird   5
White-crowned sparrow  8
Fox sparrow   1
Harris's sparrow   13
House finch  15
House sparrow   2


On the way home from Lake Arrowhead, I did see a red-tailed hawk and a couple of kestrels (just nice for me--they didn't count for the GBBC.)

GBBC participants at Wild Bird Rescue trying to locate
the ruby-crowned kinglets

On Sunday, we had a group count that started behind Wild Bird Rescue. However, with no water at that end of the lake, the birding was rather flat, so we moved to the Chat Trail in Lake Wichita Park. We spent an hour at Wild Bird Rescue and another 1 hr, 25 minutes on the Chat Trail.

At Wild Bird Rescue we counted:

Canada goose   2
Mallard duck   2
Ring-billed gull    9
Killdeer    1
White-winged dove   9
Eurasian collared dove   7
Northern harrier   1
Northern cardinal  2
American robin  1
Ruby-crowned kinglet   2
Blue jay   1
American crow   6
Great-tailed grackle   1
Red-winged blackbird   5
European starling    3
House sparrow   6

On the Chat Trail we had the following birds (and I am quite sure the cardinal numbers are low--they were everywhere!)

Canada goose   6
Mallard duck  18
Double-crested cormorant  10
Killdeer  7
Turkey vulture   1
Eurasian collared dove  2
Downy woodpecker   1
Ladder-backed woodpecker  1
Carolina wren   1
Northern mockingbird  2
Blue jay  3
Northern cardinal   13
Eastern phoebe   1
Yellow-rumped warbler  3
Orange-crowned warbler   1
Ruby-crowned kinglet  1
Cedar waxwing   8
American robin   30
Dark-eyed junco  1
White-crowned sparrow   5
Song sparrow   3
Lincoln's sparrow    1
Harris's sparrow  2
Red-winged blackbird    3
Brown-headed cowbird  2
Great-tailed grackle  5
American goldfinch   6
House finch   1

On Monday, I headed to Lucy Park for a count. The temperatures took a nose dive between Sunday and Monday, so I was fairly certain that I would be the Lone Ranger for this walk, and I was right. I've noticed that Texans don't like cold weather much (which here, means anything much below 50 degrees.) My thermometer read 26 degrees when I headed out the door. However, there was very little wind, so it was a fairly pleasant morning.

How do you like the new trail signs? I think they are great--many thanks to the Parks and Recreation Department.

I didn't take the entire route I normally take as Monday was a work day and I always feel like I am playing hooky. If the birding had been stupendous, I would have sucked it up, but it was average at best, so I kept my walk down to 1.25 hour.  The birds found included:

Northern shoveler  2
Mallard duck  28
Ring-billed gull  37
Rock pigeon   14
Mourning dove  1
Red-bellied woodpecker  2
Northern flicker   4
Brown creeper  1
Blue jay   6
Northern mockingbird   1
Northern cardinal  4
Ruby-crowned kinglet  1
Carolina chickadee  4
Tufted titmouse  1
Dark-eyed junco  12
American robin  43
Great-tailed grackle  17
Red-winged blackbird  22
House finch    5

Overall, a fairly good few days of birding. I'm already looking forward to next year's count.

Good birding!

Great Backyard Bird Count This Weekend

The annual Great Backyard Bird Count is February 13 - February 16. This is a great opportunity for new birdwatchers to learn more about the birds and is also an excellent way to introduce young people to birdwatching in a painless way.

Participation can be for as little as 15 minutes. The idea is to watch birds in your own backyard--literally or figuratively. Usually I make it a point to count all four days, but will be out of town on the 13th. However, I plan to count the other days. On Saturday and Sunday there are some special events to help people get involved.

On Saturday, Lake Arrowhead State Park will host the GBBC with their monthly bird walk. The walk starts at 8:00 AM. It usually lasts an hour--more if the participants want to bird longer. Meet at the firewood shed in the first campground to the left after you enter the park (take the second left and first right--the firewood shed will be on the left.) Look for a black pickup.

On Sunday, Wild Bird Rescue and the Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalist chapter will host a GBBC event out behind Wild Bird Rescue at 4611 Lake Shore Drive in Wichita Falls, TX. Again the count will start at 8:00 and will last as long as people want to count. This is a come-and-go, so you can stay for as long or short a time as you wish.

There are no group counts scheduled for Monday, February 16, however, I will be birding Lucy Park on my own and am making an open invitation to others who might want to take part. Meet at the main entrance to the park in that first parking area to the left as you enter the park at 8:00 if you are interested in taking part. This parking area is adjacent to the picnic tables and River Bend Nature Center. If you want to contact me ahead of time, email txbirds@gmail.com. I expect I'll be birding for about 2 hours, if I follow my usual route.

Take advantage of the many opportunities to get outside and watch the birds this weekend!

By the way, this weekend is also the education weekend at Wild Bird Rescue. 10:00 AM on Saturday will be the hawk/owl program. A special program on "Birds in Love" will be Sunday at 1:00 PM on Sunday (at least one education bird will be present at this program as well.)

Good birding!

This Coming Week's Bird Events

The Big Day for Wild Bird Rescue is really happening Saturday, January 17. We had so many teams members drop out because they already had plans for the 10th, we needed to move it once again. But we are at full strength for Saturday and were even able to add a third team, so it should be a great day. The weather promises to be decent (it is January, after all!)

Next Tuesday, January 20, is the monthly meeting of the North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club at 7 PM at the NALC building at 5310 Southwest Parkway (next to Wichita Valley nursery.) We'll be discussing the Great Backyard Bird Count coming up in February.

Do you know that another way to keep up with birding events in our area is to check out the bulletin board in Wild Birds Unlimited? Katherine Smith posts details in her store.

Good birding!

Birdy Weekend

A little slow getting to this post, but I wanted to post a summary of the birds last weekend.

Saturday, January 10, was the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Jenny, June and Mike came. It was a chilly morning out at the Park--I was surprised so many came out. The morning started out with some good sightings, but then tapered off.  But for an hour walk, we did well on birds. I think we all enjoyed the eastern bluebirds most. We watched a flock of 10 - 12 for some time. Birds seen included: Canada goose, hooded merganser, bufflehead, white pelican, double-crested cormorant, ring-billed gull, ladder-backed woodpecker, northern mockingbird, cardinal, eastern bluebird, white-crowned sparrow, eastern meadowlark, junco, and red-winged blackbird.

On the way home, I noted an American kestrel on the wire.

On Sunday, I had Wild Bird Rescue, so while feeding the birds there, did see a few birds. A male ladder-backed woodpecker was calling and working hard at excavating the mulberry tree. I am hopeful that means he might decide to nest there. In addition, the feeders hosted dozens of goldfinch, house finch, house sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, red-winged blackbird, starling, Eurasian collared dove and white-winged dove. I did not see my Inca dove, which was disappointing.

Leaving Wild Bird Rescue, I decided I would check out the Nature Bluff as I haven't gotten there since a dirt trail was put in. Well, I still haven't had a chance to walk it--a construction sign greeted me when I arrived and the trail was torn up and muddy. If I had been birding with someone, I probably would have just struck out cross country, but the terrain is very uneven and my balance is very poor. Another day. The only birds I saw from the parking lot were a great-tailed grackle and a cardinal. So I decided to go to Lucy Park.

For the most part, local birders have written off Lucy Park since the city tore out all of the excellent habitat as an attempt at flood control. Although it is true that Lucy Park is not near the birding hotspot it was a few years ago, it is still as good or better than many of the other local places. If you don't remember it as it was, you can still have a decent morning birding. There are still a lot of nesting sites for cavity nesters, so it is still a good spot for woodpeckers and titmice. However, I noted a lot of the best trees for cavity nesters are marked for removal, so I expect the habitat decline to continue.

Pair of common goldeneye (you'll have to enlarge the pic--I am not good at
editing photos on my new computer yet.)

The highlight for me was a very shy pair of common goldeneye on the river. The list of birds there included: mallard, common goldeneye, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, northern flicker, white-winged dove, northern cardinal, blue jay, American robin, tufted titmouse, house finch, goldfinch, eastern phoebe, spotted towhee, junco, and song sparrow.

Although I didn't have a lot of time to bird this weekend, the time I had yielded some good birds and I had a good time. All in all, no complaints.

Good birding!

Big Day for Wild Bird Rescue This Weekend!

Because of the ice on New Year's Day, we postponed the Big Day for Wild Bird Rescue until this Saturday, January 10.

We are still looking for people to donate in support of this fundraiser and for people to fill holes on the teams that have opened up due to the change in dates.

Remember to watch the Twitter feed associated with this blog throughout the day on Saturday to track progress of the teams.

Good birding!

Big Day for Wild Bird Rescue

The Big Day for Wild Bird Rescue fundraiser is scheduled for January 1.

This is the 4th Big Day. Teams of birdwatchers will be scouring the countryside, trying to find as many species of birds possible within our Big Day time frame.

Typically a Big Day is 24 hours, but by agreement, we have always opted for a 12-hour window, from 6 AM - 6 PM. Teams map their own routes to try to cover as many different habitats as possible and as much area as possible, hitting all of the known birdy spots in the area.

Although it is possible to get 100 species at this time of year, the record for a single team on the Big Day has been 98 species. Weather plays a big part. We have a tendency to get significant winds, which is not something that helps when you are trying to hear the birds.

If you want to participate, you are welcome to form a team of your own, or contact me at txbirds@gmail.com and I will be happy to add you to a team. Although it is helpful if you are a birder, it isn't necessary. We're trying to find as many species as we can, but Wild Bird Rescue also has a mission to educate the public about wild birds, so we welcome novices as well. Besides, more spotters and people to help record species can't hurt.

Can't bird that day? Why not sponsor a team with a donation (Team #1! Team #1!)? You can drop off a check at Wild Bird Rescue or mail one to them at 4611 Lake Shore Dr, Wichita Falls, TX 76310. You can also donate on line at the website. Be sure to indicate Big Day in the memo line of your check or in the comments of your online donation. Or if you contact me at txbirds@gmail.com, I will come to you to pick up your donation if you are in Wichita Falls.

Regardless of the number of birds we find, we'll have a great time and (I hope) raise some money for this worthy organization.

Good birding!

Flat Day at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Eastern Phoebe, Photo by Andy Reago and
Chrissy McClarren
Wikimedia Commons

Our monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park on December 13 wasn't one of our better months in terms of the birds seen, but hey, a bad morning birding is better than a great morning doing most anything else.

Walk regular, June, came as well as Mike, who has participated the last few months. This month we also had a newcomer, Sharon. It is always extra nice to have people relatively new to birdwatching along as almost any bird is going to be a good bird. We did have a few decent birds, most notably very good views of an eastern phoebe. These often appear fairly drab little birds, but in the right light like we had on Saturday, they are really very pretty.

I was hoping for a lot of ducks so we could work on duck identification, but that didn't work out for us. The only ducks we saw were gadwall. But we did see a nice raft of white pelicans on the water, although further away than I would have liked.

Here's the list of our birds for the morning: Canada goose, gadwall, double crested cormorant, white pelican, ring-billed gull, killdeer, great blue heron, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, yellow-shafted northern flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, mockingbird, eastern bluebird, cardinal, Bewick's wren, eastern phoebe, brown-headed cowbird, great-tailed grackle, red-winged blackbird, junco, eastern meadowlark goldfinch, house finch.

The walk next month will be January 10, 8:00 AM.

Good birding!