[texbirds] Re: Hill and Bosque Cos., Lake Whitney, etc. - 5/28-30.
- From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: gcwarbler <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 15:51:10 -0500
Have always found Whitney tough to bird but don't try often...Was there in
the winter and had the same problems.
**********************************************************************
Brush Freeman
503-551-5150 Cell
120 N. Red Bud Trail. Elgin, Tx. 78621
http://texasnaturenotes.blogspot.com/
Finca Alacranes., Utley,Texas
On Fri, May 30, 2014 at 3:27 PM, Chuck Sexton <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> 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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