[texbirds] Lake Travis & Granger Lake
- From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2013 21:28:41 -0500 (EST)
Hi, all!
With all the reports of longspurs reasonably close to home I decided to
spend vacation in the area immediately north and east of Austin, including
Lake Travis, Granger Lake, the "longspur roads" near Elgin and Sayersville,
and Bastrop State Park. Arrived in Cedar Park yesterday (experiencing my
first "Parking Lot" since leaving San Diego was a trip), and poked around Lake
Travis this morning, hoping to at least hear some of the more "western"
birds reported there. The Rock Wren was still at the boat ramp at Sandy
Creek Park, but managed to get the Spotted Towhee at Cypress Creek Park
(dipped
on the reported Scrub Jay). Windy Point park was by far the best (and
probably why they have it on the Wildlife Viewing Map), where the Canyon Wrens
along the trail were very cute and cooperative, and a Song Sparrow barked
from the nearby vegetation. At the boat ramp I scared off a Merlin and a
Harrier, and at the lake overlook had three Common Loons being harassed by a
group of Ring-billed Gulls while an Osprey sailed by below eye level!
Totally dipped on Rufous-crowned Sparrow, but a Common Raven sailing over the
road was nice, and Carolina Chickadees at several places were a nice
addition. There were tons of White-winged Doves flying past early on as I
stopped periodically along Lime Creek Road.
Scouted out Granger Lake after that, and while I didn't see any Whooping
Cranes at Sore Finger I DID see several duck hunters hunkered down with their
decoys! This was more of a scouting trip as I wanted to figure out a
route where I could get out and listen occasionally tomorrow morning (the
habitat looked wonderful for sparrows, but it was really too cold and windy to
try and pish anything up), but the various parks were great: had Vesper
Sparrows jump up along one road, Western Meadowlarks were out the yin yang,
and a mob of Snipe fed right next to the road! Picked up a Red-bellied
Woodpecker on one road, and I looked through a huge flock of blackbirds for a
Rusty, but then read later that they prefer more wooded, boggy areas.
Photos are posted here:
_http://miriameaglemon.com/Trip%20Reports/Austin%20Area/Lake%20Travis.html_
(http://miriameaglemon.com/Trip%20Reports/Austin%20Area/Lake%20Travis.html)
Bird List (the six additional species were picked up on the way, like
White-tailed Hawk and Golden-fronted Woodpecker...):
Common Loon Gavia immer
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
American Coot Fulica americana
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Eurasian Collared Dove
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested caracara
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Merlin Falco columbarius
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
Common Raven Corvus corax
Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus
Rock Wren Salpinctes obsoletus
Canyon Wren Catherpes mexicanus
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
American Robin Turdus migratorius
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
American Pipit Anthus rubescens
Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus
Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta
Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
51 SPECIES
So far: 57 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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