[texbirds] Austin Co. - Sat., May 3

From: Chuck Sexton <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: TexBirds TexBirds Posting <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 3 May 2014 22:18:45 -0500
TexBirders,

I made a fairly thorough canvass of Austin County today, wandering 145 mi in an 
11-hour effort from one end of the county to the other.  I sampled the prairies 
and open oak woods in the area N of Bellvile, did some urban birding in 
Bellville and Sealy, hiked a couple of miles in (busy) S.F. Austin State Park, 
then wandered around on county roads on the coastal plain S of I-10 for most of 
the afternoon.  Before bird highlights, I’d like to mention one new (to me) 
“HotSpot” which definitely should be on anyone’s Austin County agenda:

“FM 1458 Wetlands” (my name).  This lake and marsh is on both sides of FM 1458, 
5.2 mi SE of I-10 or 8.0 mi by roads N of Wallis.  Latilong is at 29.7175N, 
-96.0597W.  I can find no other local place name for the area.  There is a 
small freshwater lake on the west side of the road and an extensive marsh (30+ 
ac, a few hundred yards wide and stretching nearly 0.5 mi to the northeast) on 
the east side, marked right now by blooming spider lilies, false dragonhead, 
etc.  It is the only extensive freshwater marsh of its kind that I encountered 
today, although there could be other areas like this somewhere in the county.  
I cannot find mention of this site in any of the TexBird archives.    Afternoon 
viewing of the marsh on the east side is recommended due to sunlight angles.  
CAUTION:  It is somewhat difficult to access due to very limited roadside 
parking.  The entire segment of road adjacent to the marsh currently has 
knee-high to waist-high brome, oats, dewberry, etc., and the bank is quite 
steep—so DO NOT try to park adjacent to the marsh itself.  I parked at the 
first mailbox to the north, about 0.2 mi from the marsh and walked back.  There 
might be small areas to park a bit south of the marsh but please be respectful 
of private gate entrances.  There was a moderate amount of high-speed traffic 
on the road (not light) on this Saturday afternoon.  Perhaps this roadside will 
get mown in the next month or so but it will still be treacherous.

In a careful 50-minute late afternoon scan of the marsh, I found about 30 
species including at least one Purple Gallinule, a few shorebirds, possibly 
nesting Black-necked Stilts, a few dozen Blue-winged Teal, a few dozen herons, 
egrets, and ibis, and a singing Yellow-throated Vireo.  Cliff Swallows nest 
under the culvert connected the two sides, with a few Cave Swallows mixed in.  
A territorial pair of Red-shouldered Hawks were noisy in the nearby treeline 
and a Mississippi Kite or two were wandering around.  This spot will 
undoubtedly turn up some good stuff (bitterns? rails? Masked Duck?) in future 
visits.

As I expected with the high pressure dome over Texas, passerine migration was 
again very limited (a few warblers and some kingbirds moving), but I ended the 
day with a decent 92-species list due to the diversity of habitats in the 
county.  Other highlights:

Bald Eagle - an adult circling over the Brazos River at SFA State Park.
Shorebirds - a nice collection of species in the drying potholes in the 
Beckendorff Road region SW of Sealy, particularly at a pond on the N side of 
Milton Road (west of Beckendorff Rd).  Also found one field with 40+ Upland 
Sandpipers along Orange Hill Road and another field along Johnson Road near 
Wallis with 66 Buff-breasted Sandpipers (and a few Uppies).  Both sites were 
heavily grazed, short-grass pastures.
Red-headed Woodpecker - an immature near Lynn Rd x Kramer Rd in the north part 
of the county and an adult at SFA State Park.
Pileated Woodpecker - one along Kramer Rd.
Cassin’s Sparrow - one singing in weedy prairie along Centerhill Road north of 
Bellville.  Another late in the day along FM 2502 in SW Washington County on 
the way home.  Hard to pick these out from the cacophony of Dickcissels in such 
areas.

Chuck Sexton
Austin, TXEdit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at 
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[texbirds] Austin Co. - Sat., May 3

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