An Excellent Big Sit

Turkey Vulture in Flight (Photo: Geoff Gallice, Wikimedia Commons)

More people participated in the Big Sit on Sunday morning than we have ever had--we had a total of 11 people who came at one time or another.  Peggy Browning (who wrote Saturday's article about the Big Sit in the Times Record News), Tami Davis, Jim Hensley, Sue King, Warren King, Terry McKee, June McKee, Chris Peterson, Katherine Smith, and Chuck Thueson watched birds with me from 7:30 - 10:00 AM.

We thought this would be a lackluster year because of the drought and predicted rain. The location of the Big Sit, behind Wild Bird Rescue has been dry for a while and is now a good distance from any water. We did not have nearly the number of ducks and shorebirds we could have because the birds were too far to positively identify, even with a scope. However, in spite of that, we did have a very good count. The weather was also very pleasant, although none of us would have been upset if it had been pouring rain.

One of the highlights of the morning included a continuous series of kettles of migrating turkey vultures. A total of 147 vultures passed overhead during the 2.5 hours we were observing. The sight was even more impressive given that the vultures don't take to the air until later in the morning when they can catch a good updraft.

Another highlight was the sighting of 4 species of woodpeckers. Usually we are lucky to find one or two species. We had a red-bellied woodpecker, two northern flickers, a pair of downy woodpeckers and a hairy woodpecker, a less common woodpecker.

Altogether we 29 species--not bad considering the conditions and the limited time the Sit took place. We did have some birds we were not able to identify for one reason or another (usually too short of a view or poor lighting.)

Here is a complete listing of birds seen:

Canada goose
White pelican
Northern shoveler
Great blue heron
Greater yellowlegs
Long-billed dowitcher
Double-crested cormorant
American avocet
Killdeer
Turkey vulture
Downy woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Northern flicker
White-winged dove
Mourning dove
Rock pigeon
American robin
Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Yellow warbler
Northern mockingbird
Northern cardinal
Blue jay
Ruby-crowned kinglet
European starling
Eastern meadowlark
Red-winged blackbird
Great-tailed grackle
House finch

Many thanks to Katherine Smith of Wild Birds Unlimited for donating a goodie bag to all of the participants.

All in all, a great morning.

Good birding!

Upcoming Birdwatching Opportunities

I have not been posting much lately. I would like to say it's because I have been so busy watching birds I haven't had a chance to write, but that wouldn't be true--unfortunately. However, there are some opportunities coming up in the near future to watch birds with others. This is a great way for new birders especially to learn more about birds. Novice or experienced, birding together is an enjoyable way to pass the time.

Saturday, October 12, 8:00 AM, is the Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Terry McKee is leading the walk this month as I have another commitment. Meet at the firewood shed in the first campground on the left after you enter the park. This is a walk, although the way terrain is fairly flat. We are in migration season, so there should be some good shorebirds and perhaps some warblers. The length of the walk depends upon the weather, the birds, and the desires of the group. It's usually 1 - 1.5 hour.

Sunday, October 13, is the Big Sit on Lake Wichita behind Wild Bird Rescue, 7:30 AM - approximately 10:00 AM. This is a sedentary birdwatching event. Bring a lawn chair, binoculars and something hot to drink. Dress in layers--we've had rainy and/or cold weather at nearly every one of these events. Rain is forecast. Since we are still in an extreme drought, I am perfectly fine with getting wet. The photo to the left was the view last year when there was still some water at the end of the lake where we conduct the watch. It is dry now, so we will see what birds we can see.  The Big Sit is officially a 24-hr event, but we have traditionally just watched for a few hours. It is not necessary to be there the entire time--this is a come and go event.

A little further out is the Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club on December 14. This is an all day census of all birds seen. The club divides the count circle into three parts, each birded by a separate person/group. Typically we bird from sunup until we cover our area thoroughly (usually around 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM) then we head home to clean up and head to the count potluck dinner to compile the report with the information from all of the teams. I have headed up the Lake Wichita segment of the count the last few years. Other teams cover Lucy Park and much of the city of Wichita Falls and another does the area closer to Iowa Park.

A little further out is the Wild Bird Rescue Big Day fundraiser on January 4. This event runs 12 hours: 7 AM - 7 PM. This is a hard day of birding. We have traditionally had one team--it would be great to have more than one--perhaps an out-of-town team? If you don't want to bird this one, you can follow the team(s) on Facebook and Twitter during that day. Of course, we'd love to see you donate for that event to support Wild Bird Rescue.

If you want more information on any of these events, contact me at txbirds@gmail.com. I'd love to see you at some of these events.

Good birding!

Pledge to Fledge Update

Well, I got to meet one new birder during my impromptu Pledge to Fledge weekend, so I feel it was worthwhile.

On Friday, I went out to the chat trail. No one came that I noted, but I have that old anal-retentiveness about time left over from my military days, so at 7:35 I was birding and may have missed someone. I didn't do it on purpose, but I get out of the truck with my binoculars and if I see a bird, I'm off.

I didn't have a lot of time, since I did have a lot of work to get done, but spent about 45 minutes and saw some decent birds--the best being the white-eyed vireo although I also enjoyed the spotted sandpiper and black-necked stilts.

The birds seen included: Canada goose, mallard duck, lesser yellowlegs, killdeer, snowy egret, spotted sandpiper, Mississippi kite, turkey vulture, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, red-bellied woodpecker, American robin, blue jay, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, yellow-billed cuckoo, eastern phoebe, white-eyed vireo, chimney swift, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, great-tailed grackle and house finch.

I did see a few hummingbirds zip by, but as quickly as they passed, I wasn't ready to commit to an identification.

On Saturday I went back out. I did hang out around the entrance to the chat trail for a little longer than on Friday, since I chastised myself for my speedy start the day before, but again after a bit, took off on my own. However, a little later met up with Dana Swann from Lawton, who came down to Wichita Falls for this, and I had a great time with her.We went down the chat trail, around the barrow pit and then over near Murphy's Mound to look for shorebirds.

I really wanted to be able to get her the black-necked stilts and the vireo as they are both very pretty, but she did get a clear view of a yellow-billed cuckoo (normally a very shy bird) and a Bullock's oriole, so all wasn't lost. We did see some shorebirds, some of which I had to take notes on and come back to determine what we saw--I am still no shorebird pro (but improving.) Here is my list for the morning: mallard, great blue heron, lesser yellowlegs, greater yellowlegs, killdeer, pectoral sandpiper, long-billed dowitcher, avocet, Mississippi kite, mourning dove, white-winged dove, Eurasian collared dove, red-bellied woodpecker, yellow-billed cuckoo, eastern phoebe, northern mockingbird, western kingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, northern cardinal, blue jay, Bullock's oriole, common grackle, and house finch.

Overall, a good weekend.

Good birding!

Pledge to Fledge

This weekend is Pledge to Fledge, an international effort to introduce people to birdwatching. I wish I had heard about this event sooner, to try to set up a coordinated event, but there's next year.

Due to the short notice (like, today), I am just going to make the following offer: anyone who wants to do a little bit of birding can meet me at the entrance to the Chat Trail in Lake Wichita Park at 7:30 Friday morning (August 23) or 7:30 Saturday morning (August 24.) I can only stay out an hour on Friday (I do have to work after all) but can spend 2 - 3 hours on Saturday, if anyone has an interest. I am not available this year on Sunday. Where's the Chat Trail? Take the first entrance to the park off Fairway (next to the football fields) and drive to the end of the parking lot. The chat trail is the gravel (chat) trail that is at the back corner.

You don't have to worry about knowing anything about birds. This is just an introduction. Open to children and adults. So, c'mon out!

Good birding!

Not a Good Time to Be a Bird

The pressure on our birds is becoming downright oppressive.  Pesticides (some of which are on bird feed), habitat loss and some plain stupid legislation (and proposed legislation) is making it harder and harder for birds to successfully live and breed. This is potentially a huge loss for everyone--not just those of us who love to watch the birds.

I thought I would share some recent reports and news articles to illustrate the points.

Birds are very dependent upon private land owners. More than 60 % of land in the U.S. is privately owned--in Texas it is more like 90%.  As long as private land owners continue to preserve habitat, birds have places conducive to breeding. The annual State of the Birds report talks about just how critical private land is. If you want the condensed version, here is a fact sheet.

Congress is certainly not helping the situation, especially the House of Representatives, which seems to have lost any hint of rationality. The Senate passed a decent Farm Bill, but the House failed to produce any legislation, letting themselves hold the legislation hostage over food stamps. Although I often have heartburn over many of the items in the Farm Bill, we stand to lose a lot more if something doesn't pass. For a good summary of what birds and other important conservation programs may lose, read "Farm Bill Disappointment" in the July issue of The Birding Community e-Bulletin. As if that is not bad enough, you can follow that up with a review of the evisceration of most of our federal natural resources conservation programs as proposed in the House. If these programs are important to you, these proposed pieces of legislation are likely to make you cry. Your representative is home now on a break, so it is a good time to let him know how you feel about the House's action. However, let it be known that Congressman Thornberry did NOT go along with his fellow House members in the case of the Farm Bill, so I would express appreciation to him on that score if you have the chance. I don't know his feelings on the proposed appropriations bill for the Interior Department. You may want to ask him.

These actions illustrate how short term political gamesmanship can act as a nuclear option to wipe out programs that have had enormous long term benefit for our country.

I don't often talk politics in this blog, but if you love birds (and other wildlife), you need to start watching our elected representatives more closely because they have been mixing something with the Kool-aid there in Washington and it is affecting brain cells (and not in a good way.)

Good birding!

Birthday Birding

Today is my birthday, so I decided to do some birding at Lake Wichita and made some extra stops at Crestview Cemetery and Stone Lake.

Spillway is to the left

Looking toward the floating pier

I started the morning about 6:50 AM at the chat trail in Lake Wichita Park. I walked back to the barrow pit, which was completely dry. There was a little bit of damp dirt, but no water, and subsequently, no birds. But the chat trail was productive as always. There were two surprises there today. One was two white-eyed vireos. The yellow spectacles, white throat, wide-eyed look and distinctive wing bars on a black wing make it recognizable once you can actually get a look at it. I spent several minutes tracking the quick-moving birds through the trees. I also saw two or more black-throated green warblers. This is very unusual according to the North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club checklist. However, I don't see what else it could be. A yellow face with a black eye-stripe with a black throat was my first glimpse. With a little more watching, I noted a plain chest and belly which was basically white, a dark back and two distinct wing stripes.

Along that little bit of trail, I saw: great blue heron, cattle egret, Canada goose, mallard, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, mourning dove, northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, Carolina chickadee, robin, turkey vulture, Mississippi kite, great-tailed grackle, red-winged blackbird, barn swallow, black-chinned hummingbird, eastern phoebe, great crested flycatcher, northern mockingbird, orchard oriole, scissor-tailed flycatcher,  black-throated green warbler, white-eyed vireo, downy woodpecker, Eurasian starling, house finch, and house sparrow. I also saw probably the biggest turtle I have ever seen in this area--it's head was as big as my fist--in the drainage ditch along the chat trail. I haven't seen a turtle that big since some large snapping turtles growing up in Indiana.

Old pier almost completely out of water

I then drove over to the spillway. There is no water anywhere near the spillway. It's depressing to look out over the lake and see basically a mud flat.

There were a lot of black-necked stilts, killdeer and a solitary sandpiper. Several mallard were hanging out near the old pier. Two blue-winged teal were a surprise. They are very common here in the winter, but unusual in the summer, although I have seen them in the past on rare occasions.

 Since I was close, I decide to drive through Crestview cemetery. This is one of the better places to bird ordinarily as there are two ponds on the property. However, with the lack of rain the ponds are almost gone. The main pond near the front had more water in it than the last time I was there. There weren't a lot of birds, but a little blue heron, a solitary sandpiper and some Mississippi kites were nice birds.

Stone Lake egrets

I decided to check out Stone Lake since I was close. It is posted no trespassing, but since it is right on the road and the sidewalk passes by it, you can see the birds on the front side. There weren't as many birds here as you can often see in the winter, but there was an egret roost adjacent to the lake (you can see it in the picture to the right--not a great picture, but it was taken from a distance with a cell phone.)

Altogether a nice couple of hours. Here's a complete list of the birds seen this morning:
great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, little blue heron, cattle egret, Canada goose, mallard, blue-winged teal, black-necked stilt, solitary sandpiper, killdeer, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, mourning dove, northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, Carolina chickadee, robin, turkey vulture, Mississippi kite, great-tailed grackle, red-winged blackbird, barn swallow, black-chinned hummingbird, eastern phoebe, blue jay, great crested flycatcher, northern mockingbird, orchard oriole, scissor-tailed flycatcher,  barn swallow, cliff swallow, black-throated green warbler, white-eyed vireo, downy woodpecker, Eurasian starling, house finch, and house sparrow.

Overall a great birthday!

Good birding!

Nice Morning at Lake Arrowhead

Saturday was the monthly bird walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Only June showed up to bird with me this morning, but we had a pretty good morning. Not great, but good. I had a Mussel Watch scheduled with the Texas Master Naturalists at 8:30, so we had to watch the time.

The lake remains critically low.  However, we have had some intermittent rains to keep the plants greener than usual for August, just not enough to run off into the lake.

Birds seen: Canada goose, mallard, double crested cormorant, killdeer, Baird's sandpiper, solitary sandpiper, little blue heron, green heron, great egret, snowy egret, great blue heron, red tailed hawk, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, downy woodpecker, northern mockingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, Bewick's wren, yellow-billed cuckoo, Eurasian starling, common grackle, red-winged blackbird, house finch, and lark sparrow.

Next month we'll change to winter hours (start 8 AM) for the bird walk--perhaps more people will attend.

Good birding!