[texbirds] Houston patch: Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bald Eagles, etc
- From: "John O'Brien" <j26.obrien@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:49:18 -0600
As luck would have it I had to stay home from work this morning with a slightly
sick child, so we decided to wander in Russ Pitman park while it was warm and
sunny. We did not happen to cross paths with the Calliope Hummingbird that is
still present, but among the at least 3 Selasphorus hummingbirds, one was a
Broad-tailed. This was an immature, possibly a male, visiting the shrimp plant
directly in front of the nature center. I later heard it in the hedgerow just
to the south of there. Of the other Rufous/Allen's types, I could not make out
the ID.
When we were at home eating lunch, a hummingbird flew in to the feeder in our
back yard, even though it was covered with bees. This was another immature
Selasphorus, but I could see enough rufous in the back to surmise that it was
an immature male Rufous. I had seen a hummingbird briefly a couple of days
ago; the first hummingbird to visit our yard this winter.
When my wife traded places with me, I went in to work. Being in the medical
center and right next to Hermann Park, I made a brief stop at the golf course
to look for the Bald Eagles that Larry Lander reported there yesterday, not
really expecting to see anything. Well, I'll be darned but there were two
adult Bald Eagles in trees in the golf course right where Larry described.
They were fairly vocal as well. While watching those, two adult Peregrine
Falcons of clearly different size flew over in parallel headed for downtown
Houston. While less extraordinary than the Bald Eagles, this was nice to see
as well.
Both of these spots are well within my local "patch," as defined by David's new
game. As luck would have it, or perhaps because we choose not to commute long
distances, my "patch" is essentially 100% urban and >95% developed. There are
no large bodies of water, no large woodlands, no open agricultural area, no
tidal creeks, virtually no shorebird habitat and little duck habitat. Still,
my own activities produced 163 species in this area last year without any
specific effort, and public hotspots produced ~230 species (per eBird).
Whatever this urban patch can produce is a testament to the value of green
space in our cities. So we will see. I think my total is 65 species for the
first two weeks of this year. I hope to make about 200 for the year.
John O'Brien
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