[texbirds] Choke Canyon shorebirds
- From: Chuck Sexton <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: TexBirds TexBirds Posting <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 10 May 2014 09:06:14 -0500
TexBirders,
I’m just back home from a week in South Texas, highlighted by 28 species of
shorebirds at various locations. Best sites included the Progreso Sod Farms
(Hidalgo Co.) and the difficult-to-access shoreline of receding Choke Canyon
Reservoir (McMullen and Live Oak Cos.). I wanted to describe the latter area
just in case anyone wants to try this.
On Monday afternoon the South Shore Unit of Choke Canyon SP (Live Oak Co.) had
a good smattering of shorebirds along the shoreline but seeing them may require
a walk across the salt-cedar-sprinkled margin to get to the current shoreline.
Some birds can be viewed from the boat ramp but that section is a bit rocky
with fewer birds The best area was a point of land near the west margin of the
picnic area and a cove just around (to the west) from that point. Coordinates
in the picnic area for a departure for this hike would be about 28.471N,
-98.2549W. The shoreline is 200 yards away and the point of land is another
300 yards to the west. The current Google Earth image of that area shows the
receding shoreline well. I had 7 species of shorebirds there including an
Amer. Golden-Plover missing its left foot. Also of note were Gull-billed and
Least Terns (nesting?) and one passing Forster’s.
The hike at the South Shore Unit was just a warm-up for what I attempted at the
Calliham Unit later Monday evening.
The Calliham Unit is situated in McMullen County, but as TCC folks are aware,
the Live Oak County line is just a shore distance to the east of the east
margin of that unit (i.e. offshore of the tent camping area and "75-acre Lake”.
The latter lake was down to about 5 acres this past week but held a nice
compliment of shorebirds (13 spp) which can be scoped from the lake margin.
The mud lake margin was bone dry last Monday so I was able to cautiously walk
out closer to the small pond for scope views (including looks at a rather large
alligator). (I would NOT advise walking out onto the mudflat of 75-acre lake
if it is not bone dry.) Elsewhere, the heavily vegetated island off the north
end of the main camping areas holds a large array of herons and egrets,
probably a nesting colony, and was especially active in late evening.
Choke Canyon Death March: I did something that in retrospect was completely
idiotic but it paid off. This is not for the faint of heart: From the levee
along the east side of the 75-acre lake (= the road to the Youth Group Camping
Area), I could see lots of waterbird activity far to the east on a distant cove
of the lake. Since I knew that bird activity would be countable for Live Oak
Co., I made a decision to see how easy/difficult and how far it would be to get
a closer look at the birds. With GPS in hand (critical!) and spotting scope on
shoulder, I set out hiking to the ESE from that levee towards a distant
landmark on the horrizon which marked the bird activity. There was no pathway
and I could only occasionally see my distant landmark. I was struggling
through 4 to 7-ft tall dense salt cedar and baccharis (false willow) with
occasional patches of thorny palo verde and knee-deep grass. There was a lot
of sign of feral hog (but none were seen) and I suspect snakes could have been
anywhere but I encountered none. Much of the time I could not see where I was
putting my next step. I would normally make such a hike—if at all—in sturdy
boots with snake leggings but my feet were only clothed in my now-familiar
water shoes and cotton socks. Just foolhardy. Long story short: The nearest
shoreline of the distant cove was precisely one mile away (two-mile round trip;
see Google Earth). I had started the hike at about 5:30 p.m., so was making
the return trip into the setting sun. Not smart!
Outcome: This death march netted 14 species of shorebirds including droves of
Long-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Wilson’s Phalaropes, dozens of
peeps to sort through, 3 Hudsonian Godwits, and 1 Whimbrel, along with more
Least Terns, Gull-billed Terns, herons, egrets, and both whistlling-ducks.
Franklin’s Gulls and Amer. White Pelicans came floating by. In the late
evening, the shorebirds seemed to be more intent on feeding than worrying about
my presence; on the open shoreline, I walked within 20 yards of some of the
birds.
The return hike (following compass and GPS) brought me back through even
thicker, taller salt cedar and baccharis. A machete would have been useful. I
finally struggled back onto the levee at about 7:30 p.m., exhausted,
exhilirated, and rather torn up…but with another dozen Live Oak county tics!
Overall Choke Canyon waterbird list (excl. herons, egrets):
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 25
Fulvous Whistling-Duck - 2
Mottled Duck - 2
Neotropical Cormorant - 3+
Amer. White Pelican - 8
Black-bellied Plover - 6
Amer. Golden Plover - 1 (missing left foot)
Killdeer - 8
Black-necked Stilt - 15
American Avocet - 2
Spotted Sandpiper - 3
Solitary Sandpiper - 1 (75-ac Lake)
Greater Yellowlegs - 3
Lesser Yellowlegs - 33
Whimbrel - 1
Hudsonian Godwit - 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 4
Western Sandpiper - 4
Least Sandpiper - 43
Baird’s Sandpiper - 13
Pectoral Sandpiper - 23
Stilt Sandpiper - 42
Long-billed Dowitcher - 28
Wilson’s Phalarope - 168
Laughing Gull - 1
Franklin’s Gull - 25
Least Tern - 5
Gull-billed Tern - 2+
Fortster’s Tern - 1
Chuck Sexton
Austin
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