[texbirds] Ellis County shorebirds - Cut off Rd. holding shorebirds 16 sp

From: Ted Drozdowski <muddykayak@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 12:25:56 -0500
Hello,
     I wasn't planning on going back out to the Cut off Road Sod Farm this
morning due to my car being in the shop today, (and a long list of chores),
in preparation for visitors tonight. Also, I needed to be back by 10am so
my son could get to work.  So, I borrowed my youngest son's car and got out
there as the sun was coming over the horizon.  I'm glad I went.  There
seemed to be more birds today than yesterday and the wind was very light.
     Most of the same birds were there but some had left: Marbled Godwits,
all but one Dunlin, all but two dowitchers.  The Hudsonians were still
there and there were more Stilt Sands and White-rumps today.
     I heard an Upland Sandpiper in the tall grass a little farther down
towards the trailers.    Also, two Buff-breasted Sandpipers were way in the
back of the sod farm near the treeline, near the tallest part of the
treeline.  They were far out but the light was good with no heat sheer.
After I put the scope in the car to leave I found two Baird's Sandpipers
with a Least sand in tow rather close to the road and so I took some photos
of those.
     Here is the list:
*30 species (+1 other taxa) total*

*Blue-winged Teal      20*

*Northern Shoveler    1*

*Great Blue Heron      1*

*Great Egret    1*

*Cattle Egret   1*

*Green Heron  1*

*White-faced Ibis        9*

*Red-tailed Hawk        1*

*Black-necked Stilt     2*

*Killdeer           6*

*Greater Yellowlegs   1*

*Lesser Yellowlegs    10*

*Upland Sandpiper     1*

*Hudsonian Godwit   6*

*Stilt Sandpiper          19*

*Dunlin 1*

*Baird's Sandpiper     2*

*Least Sandpiper        11*

*White-rumped Sandpiper    25*

*Buff-breasted Sandpiper     2*

*Pectoral Sandpiper   13*

*Semipalmated Sandpiper    2*

*Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher                        2*

*Wilson's Phalarope  29*

*American Crow         3*

*Cliff Swallow 50*

*Lark Sparrow                        2*

*Savannah Sparrow   2*

*Dickcissel      8*

*Eastern Meadowlark                        1*

*Red-winged Blackbird         3*

This sod farm is large - three times the size of the one on Wolf Springs
Road.  Birds just seemed to keep coming in as the morning wore on.  If you
go, stay on the wide dirt road.  I have talked to the Sod Farm owner in the
past and he is friendly to birders, just stay on the dirt road and leave
room for the machinery to get through. There is usually little traffic on
this road but the sod farm was busy with activity this morning. There was a
white work truck that went back and forth past me a couple of times.  He
obviously was having a busy morning on the sod farm because he drove past
me very fast and I nearly got dusted a couple of times. I don't know if
they work weekends, just a heads up.
   I left out of there later than I should have and the teenager was still
asleep when I got home.  So I was cool with getting back late, (he was late
because he didn't get up in time, right?)  The people at Starbucks can wait
for their coffee.


      Good birding,

     Ted Drozdowski
     Lake Waxahachie,
     Ellis County


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[texbirds] Ellis County shorebirds - Cut off Rd. holding shorebirds 16 sp

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