Hey there,
I had a job up in Pflugerville this morning, and left early to do a bit of
birding. Highlights included a calling Common Ground Dove on Jesse Bohls Drive
and a male Northern Bobwhite seen well on Axell Lane. Does anyone know the
status of NOBOs up here in NE Travis Co? A landowner I ran into said they were
really common, but I thought they werent doing that well. Good numbers of Lark
Sparrows, and several encounters with Upland Sandpipers as well. When I got
home I checked Texbirds and found out about the Sabines Gull so I turned
around and headed back north. As I pulled up at Friendship Park the Killdeers
flushed, along with a Snowy Egret, 2 Forsters Terns, and the Sabine Gull,
which may have been roosting on the water. Got fair looks as it foraged for a
bit along the western shore of the lake. Thanks to Tim for finding such a great
bird, and for Chuck for getting the word out.
Oh and a pair of Least Terns flew by as I was waiting for the SAGU to
re-appear.
Both eBird reports are below.
Good birding,
Christian Walker
Granger Lake--Friendship Park, Williamson, Texas, US
Aug 14, 2015 12:55 PM - 3:00 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Comments: Birded alone for a while, then Sue and Lynn showed up. Clear, 0-5
mph S, around 90 degrees F.
20 species
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 10
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 6
Killdeer 2
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Sabine's Gull 1 Found by Tim Fennell this morning. Adult in alternate.
Good looks. Flushed at 1310 from beach with two Forster's Terns. It flew with
them over along the west shore of the lake. A little bigger than FOTE, with
obvious black wedges along leading edge of primaries, solid gray back and
coverts, large white triangular patch on wing. White tail. Could tell that it
was hooded, but at distance couldn't see gray coloration. Underside of wing had
faded out pattern of upper side, with slightly darker auxiliaries and primaries
highlighting paler triangle on flight feathers. Disappeared south along the
west shore toward Willis Creek at 1317. Sue Wright and Lynn Chapman showed up
and we watched for a while, and then I left at around 1440. It showed up again
at 1442 as I reached my car. Got brief looks as it flew above the beach off to
the west; ran down to the beach again but couldn't find it again.
Least Tern 2 A pair flying east along the north shore. Very small, mainly
white with small amount of black in primaries, yellow bill, quick floppy
bat-like wingbeats, call high-pitched but not harsh like FOTE.
Forster's Tern 3 2 hanging on bouys at beach, one in winter plumage
another in worn breeding plumage. One other seen far to the south.
Mourning Dove 7
Common Nighthawk 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
Bank Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 15
Cliff Swallow 50
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 25
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24617313
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
Begin forwarded message:
From: ebird-checklist@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: eBird Report - NE Travis Co - New Sweden/Carlson, Aug 14, 2015
Date: August 14, 2015 at 6:56:31 PM CDT
To: christian.walker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
NE Travis Co - New Sweden/Carlson, Travis, Texas, US
Aug 14, 2015 8:30 AM - 9:55 AM
Protocol: Traveling
10.0 mile(s)
Comments: Clear, 0-5 mph SE, around 80 degrees F.
39 species (+2 other taxa)
Northern Bobwhite 1 Flushed from roadside on south end of Axell Lane.
Perched in dead cedar for a minute or two and then flew north.
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 4
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Killdeer 7
Upland Sandpiper 7
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 11
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
Inca Dove 1
Common Ground-Dove 1 Calling at creek crossing on Jesse Bohls Drive
White-winged Dove 10
Mourning Dove 55
Ruby-throated/Black-chinned Hummingbird 1 f
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1 HO
Crested Caracara 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 11
Loggerhead Shrike 6
White-eyed Vireo 1 HO
Barn Swallow 27
Carolina Chickadee 2 HO
Tufted x Black-crested Titmouse (hybrid) 1 HO
Carolina Wren 2 HO
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 8
Eastern Bluebird 1 HO
Northern Mockingbird 25
European Starling 35
Yellow Warbler 1
Lark Sparrow 17
Northern Cardinal 12
Painted Bunting 1
Dickcissel 2
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Eastern Meadowlark 1 HO
Great-tailed Grackle 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 110
House Finch 1
House Sparrow 20
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24616804
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
