[texbirds] Black Phoebes confirmed nesting and adult Zone-tailed Hawk flying over Anzalduas County park today
- From: SeEtta Moss <seettam@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:27:42 -0600
Today I observed a Black Phoebe repeatedly gathering and carrying nesting
material to a suitable nest site at Anzalduas County Park. This is a very
early nesting even for deep So Texas according to Texas Breeding Bird
Altas and knowledgeable locals. This Black Phoebe was associating with
another one that is it's apparent mate. I also observed a 2 more Black
Phoebes at Anzalduas that were perching and foraging in close association
that are also apparently an active pair. Later this afternoon I found a
third apparent active pair of Black Phoebes about a mile from Anzalduas.
This seems to indicate that there may be more Black Phoebes nesting soon or
even now (as I didn't have time to do the necessary observation of all 3
pairs to look for breeding behavior). I am providing my information to Dr.
Tim Brush so he can follow up with this unusually early nesting. I got a
photo of the Black Phoebe with a beakful of nesting material in it's bill
that I have posted onto my Birds and Nature blog.
While walking around an area of Anzalduas with a lot of trees a Zone-tailed
Hawk flew in quite low and I got a good though brief look including 2 of
the white tail bands. Later another birder spotted a Zone-tailed Hawk
flying in over Anzalduas and 4 of us got views of it. I got my first
photos of a Zone-tailed Hawk in flight that I have also posted onto my
Birds and Nature blog.
Five of us birders also observed a Royal Tern that was found before today
by another birder. Apparently this is a rare species for the Rio Grande
Valley. I will have a couple of photos of it up on my blog later tonight.
I failed to note about my earlier visit to Anzalduas this week several
species of interest to many and I saw them again today. I believe they
are often found in this and other locations in the Rio Grande Valley. They
are male Vermilion Flycatcher, White-tipped Doves, Great Kiskadee, Green
Jays, multiple House Finch (today 15). Also today I saw Nashville Warbler,
one Pine Siskin (with at least 25 Am Goldfich) and 3 Savannah Sparrows in a
tree(bad year for sparrows).
For those who are not familiar with Anzalduas County Park, it is free on
week-days and costs $5 a day on week-ends. Note that week-ends tend to be
crowded with those having picnics, etc.
SeEtta Moss
Colorado birder staying in Pharr
Blogging for Birds and Blooms magazine @
http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/author/seetta-moss/
Personal blog @ BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
Other related posts:
- » [texbirds] Black Phoebes confirmed nesting and adult Zone-tailed Hawk flying over Anzalduas County park today - SeEtta Moss
