[texbirds] Ellis County Rough-legged Hawk, Lapland and McCown's Longspurs

From: Ted Drozdowski <muddykayak@xxxxxxxxx>
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:36:21 -0600
I went searching for a Short-eared Owl this morning based on an ebird
sighting from three weeks ago.  I did not find the SEOW but instead found a
light morph female type Rough-legged Hawk.  The bird was found about one
mile northwest of the town of Bardwell in southern Ellis County.
Directions: after passing south through the small town of Bardwell on Hwy
34, make a right onto Roach Road. Drive about a mile until you come to a T.
Make a left on FM 984, once you past the next road, which is Slovak Road,
pull over and scan to the south.  This is where I saw the bird perched in a
scraggly 20 ft. tree.

 I would recommend driving the following loop to best try to find the bird:
Continue southwest on 984, when the road curves right make a left onto
Bacak Road. After a quick curve on Bacak Road, make a left onto E.B.
Lane.  Take
E.B. Lane about a mile to Hwy 34 and make a left now heading back towards
the town of Bardwell.  Before you get to Bardwell make a left back onto
Roach Road and repeat.  There is a lot of territory for raptors out here,
so feel free to explore if you feel so inclined.   This tract of land
contained within this loop however, seems to have a few features that make
me believe the bird would favor this area, so I would recommend driving
this loop a couple of times before branching off.

I found the RLHA at 7:18am, after a few minutes it flew to a tree farther
away giving good views in flight.  This looks like excellent habitat for
raptors and I found plenty of Red-tails, Kestrels, and Harriers.

                Side note: I had a run in with a local in this area a few
years ago, so just be sure to park well  away from houses.  With that being
said, the traffic is light here, the viewing is very good, and there is
ample room to pull off onto the shoulders.  I will surely be returning here
at dusk to look for Short-eared Owl when I get a chance.

I also had 125 LAPLAND LONGSPURS not too far from here on Farmer Road,
which runs southeasterly from Hwy 34 between EB Lane and Roach Road.  From
Hwy 34 turn onto Farmer Road and drive .7 miles. You will see a red & white
for sale sign (417 acres) close to the road.  The birds were seen on both
sides of the road after this sign.  The flock appeared to be straight
Laplands. This is not too far away from where Greg Cook found a large flock
of Laplands (with some McCowns) about five years ago. To get to this spot
continue south on Farmer Road. Make a right onto FM 984, the road will
curve to the left and along this road a little ways down is where the
Laplands were a few years ago.  (Worth checking if youre already on Farmer
Road.)

                After leaving the Bardwell area, I headed northeast about
fifteen miles on Hwy 34 to the Cut-Off Road Sod Farm where I had some
Horned Larks and six McCOWN'S LONGSPURS.

To get to Cut-off road: Drive northeast out of Ennis on Hwy 34. (Traffic
moves very fast.)  Travel about ten miles from Ennis and Cut-off Road is on
the right.  The birds were found 1.2 miles down this road on the right.  This
is a big place but we have found Laplands and McCowns here several
times.  Please
stay on the road here, do not wander off the road.  The owner of the sod
farm is friendly but he wants birders to stay on the road.   This is a very
low traffic area and the road is very wide.  There are some dogs that will
chase your car but the dogs will not bother you once you are away from the
trailers (that I presume is the sod business.)

**Cut-Off Rd is the last right you can make in Ellis County before passing
over the Trinity River and into Kaufman County.

                Waxahachie Creek Park was closed, which I had never
witnessed before.  Not sure what the deal is there.  Kind of stinks as I
was planning on looking for another ebird phantom:  Red-headed Woodpecker
from several weeks ago.

                If anybody locates the Bardwell Short-eared Owl or any
other birds of interest in this area, I would like to hear from you.  The
Patagonia Picnic Table Effect is a wonderful thing.

Ted Drozdowski

Midlothian, Ellis County

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
[texbirds] Ellis County Rough-legged Hawk, Lapland and McCown's Longspurs

Other related posts:
