[texbirds] Anahuac to Texas City yesterday, least and vermilion flycatcher and hawks

From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2013 10:20:57 -0600
Shook off my lethargy from the holidays yesterday and looped around the
bay. Really nice day to be out and good birds too.
Started at Anahuac with lots of hawks on the entrance road as well as in
the refuge. Just past the visitor center, 4 red-tails were perched in the
same bush with 2 being krider's. Lots of light colored hawks about as well
as one dark bird. A couple of merlins and a peregrine was harassing pipits
down at the bay. A couple of merlins on the way in and lots of harriers,
kites etc too.

On arrival, there were lots of geese and ducks in the Oyster Bayou tract
which has water now. On my last trip in December, it was bone dry. Great
change for the better.

A coyote was out in the water hunting for wounded geese. Great technique.
Just run around splashing a lot and hope that something cannot fly. No luck
with the effort though.

As it warmed from a starting point of 35, the mosquitoes showed up and with
them tree swallows. A single cave swallow was with them near the entrance
gate as was an adult male vermilion flycatcher.

Note that photographers that jumped out of the car and ran toward the hawks
and geese got rid of most of the birds near the road. The car is a blind
and it really is not needed to get out. In California it is illegal and can
result in fines and banning from the refuges.

Went on over to the Skillern tract and was greeted by a partly red
vermilion flycatcher that even sang a couple of times to celebrate the
glorious day. It also interacted with another flycatcher which I initially
passed off as a phoebe. Coming back to the car it was still arguing with
the vermilion and I looked a found a least flycatcher.

The least stayed low along the edge to the north of the restroom and would
drop down below the trail and out of site. Could not get it back up but
Mike Austin went back a while later and it was out again. It wagged its
tail up a lot so I had visions of a better bird but the tail only went up
due to interference with a branch. It never called or said pip.

Only stopped in High Island for a few minutes but the herd of red-breasted
nuthatches were calling away.

I had hoped to find lots of waterbirds along the gulf but they were really
scarce and the wind had a good chop up too. Drove for miles along the beach
in crystal beach without seeing anything other than a few gulls and terns
which did include a few bonaparte's gulls. No shorebird of any sort. The
beach at Bolivar flats did have 1 sanderling, one long-billed curlew and 2
laughing gulls.

Looking from the jetty, there were lots of birds way out there. Large
flocks were arriving from the west but went way out too. A mostly white
great-tailed grackle was feeding along the jetty path and certainly made
for eye candy.

Frenchtown Road has high water in the pond but there were 41 adult
black-crowned night herons out in the exposed oyster shells in the bay. The
white-tailed kites were not in their usual tree which was usurped by a
red-tail. The ferry had the usual customers including a peregrine going
overhead as I was getting off in Galveston.

The texas city dike had zero loon, grebes and ducks and almost no gulls and
terns. Several large doggies out for their exercise though. Driving down
the levee, a white-tailed kite was trying to swallow a small rat whole
without much luck. Hard perching in the wind did not help.

Great day for birding too.

-- 
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx


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[texbirds] Anahuac to Texas City yesterday, least and vermilion flycatcher and hawks

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