[texbirds] Hill and Bosque Cos., Lake Whitney, etc. - 5/28-30.
- From: Chuck Sexton <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: TexBirds TexBirds Posting <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 15:27:54 -0500
TexBirders,
I spent all of Wednesday and half of Thursday checking out Lake Whitney in Hill
and Bosque Cos.. Today was spent wandering home through Bosque and Hamilton
counties. Although waterbirds were very sparse, I still managed to find a few
unexpected things. With the water level still way down, the wetlands in the
upper end of the Lake Whitney may be very good from Late Summer through Winter.
Best moment was Wednesday evening when I stumbled upon a foraging flock of 150
shorebirds of 7 species at a protected cove at Steele Creek Park (Bosque Co.;
see below). By the next morning, they had all departed. Migrant passerines
were almost non-existent but included an Olive-sided Flycatcher, 2 Yellow
Warblers, and 1 Common Yellowthroat.
One must-visit patch of woods is along CR 1104 Loop in the NW corner of Bosque
County adjacent to the Nolan River (and the nearby park of the same name).
There is a 0.5-mi stretch of bottomland pecan-cedar elm-live oak woods arching
over a quiet gravel county road. I had nothing special there on Wed. afternoon
but it should be a good spot in migration and winter. I was particularly
annoyed to find out that many of the U.S. Corps of Engineers Parks around Lake
Whitney are restricted to campers only, no day use. What an unfortunate
restriction of access.
Some highlights of this 2-1/2 day trip:
Canada Goose - about 12 presumed wild (?) residents along margin of Lk Whitney,
5/28, contrasting with a pair of presumed feral (domestic) birds at a small
farm pond in Hamilton Co., 5/30.
Neotropical Cormorant - 4 or 5 birds scattered around margins of Lk Whitney,
including one adult in breeding plumage; no DCCO.
Tricolored Heron - one early (?) bird in breeding plumage at Lk Whitney SP,
5/28-29.
Lesser Yellowlegs - one in the shorebird flock at Steele Creek Park, 5/28.
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 8 (some in breeding plumage) at Steele Creek Park,
5/28.
(Oddly, I couldn’t find a Least or Western Sandpiper among all the peeps at
Steele.)
White-rumped Sandpiper - 75 at Steele Creek Park, 5/28; a few others widely
scattered around the edges of Lake Whitney.
Baird’s Sandpiper - at least 4 at Steele Creek Park, 5/28.
Stilt Sandpiper - 30+ at Steele Creek Park, 5/28.
Wilson’s Phalarope - 30+ at Steele Creek Park, 5/28.
Forster’s Tern - 3 birds on 5/28: a winter-plumaged bird headed downriver below
Lk Whitney dam and two breeding-plumaged birds on the lake off McCown Valley
Park.
Least Tern - two on Lk Whitney off McCown Valley Park, 5/28.
(Missed Black Tern!)
Olive-sided Flycatcher - one on the Leon River in Hamilton Co., 5/30.
Tree Swallow - at least one adult off Steele Creek Park, 5/29, around flooded
timber.
Cedar Waxwing - a late flight of 12 in Bosque Co., 5/28 (N of Valley Mills).
Louisiana Waterthrush - one apparently territorial bird singing at Riverside
Park below Lk Whitney Dam (5/28, Hill Co.), down dirt trail beside river at
first side ravine.
Golden-cheeked Warbler - VERY hard to come by: Two counter-singing males at
Meridian SP, 5/30 (from 6 hrs of hiking through good habitat). Missed at
Cleburne SP and Dinosaur Vy SP. Vast areas of Bosque, Hill, and Hamilton
counties have a heavy infestation of juniper budworm. That was undoubtedly
hard on the drought-stressed junipers (up until this week) but it may provide a
late Spring food resource for Golden-cheeks and many other species.
Cassin’s Sparrows - singing in suitable pasturelands in Bosque, Hamilton, and
Hill counties. Missed Grasshopper and Field (?) everywhere and found just a
single Rufous-crowned.
Bronzed Cowbird - photographed a pair at Steele Creek Park, 5/28.
Chuck Sexton
Austin
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