[texbirds] Sayersville Road (both nuthatches)
- From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:32:17 -0500 (EST)
Hi, all!
For the last day of the trip the plan was to road-bird Brush's "Sayersville
Loop". This had to be one of the prettiest birding roads I've ever done
(after figuring out how to get to it--that's what the scouting trip is
for)! I'm not sure I covered Brush's route exactly, but after getting lost
and
turned around multiple times yesterday afternoon (my Google printout was a
hair misleading), I finally figured out a nice 16-mile route starting where
Phelan Drive connects with Sayers Road (Phelan is the first left north of
the signal at FM 1441), and then picks up OLD Sayers Road. (MapQuest seems
to have it right--Google calls EVERYTHING "Old Sayers Road" and it's a bit
confusing...) You have to turn left onto Old Sayers about halfway
through, however, and it's not well marked (the street sign was on the back of
the
stop sign); if you come to the underpass with all the colorful graffiti,
you've gone too far... I guess the best landmark for this turnoff is to
start looking for it once you're off the big cattle ranch (and that'll be
obvious). I'm going into all this detail because at least one other Texbirder
asked for it! :-)
All that to say it was an absolutely GORGEOUS drive, and the White-breasted
Nuthatch was in the wooded area near where the road parallels the Colorado
River, along with a Red-breasted Nuthatch. That particular stretch was
also Woodpecker Heaven, with five species represented (including Pileated),
and a lady Flicker giving me a great look! Singing Lark Sparrows were new
for the trip, and a wave of at least 1000 Common Grackles wafted overhead at
one point! Couldn't kick up any longspurs, but since I was stopping and
listening every half mile, I felt I covered it pretty well! But I can't
get over how much it reminded me of some of my beloved back roads of San Diego
County--I'm jealous, Brush! ;-)
I decided to use the afternoon to try and bag some of the birds around
Elgin and Granger that I missed; long story short, no longspurs at all :-( but
I DID add a flock of Cedar Waxwings and a singing Roadrunner to the trip
list along Carlson Road! So it wasn't a totally fruitless venture.
Photos and recordings are posted here:
_http://miriameaglemon.com/Trip%20Reports/Austin%20Area/Sayersville%20Road.h
tml_
(http://miriameaglemon.com/Trip%20Reports/Austin%20Area/Sayersville%20Road.html)
Bird List (new ones in CAPS):
Gadwall Anas strepera
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
American Coot Fulica americana
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
GREATER ROADRUNNER Geococcyx californianus
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH Sitta carolinensis
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
American Robin Turdus migratorius
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
American Pipit Anthus rubescens
CEDAR WAXWING Bombycilla cedrorum
Pine Warbler Setophaga pinus
Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina
Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla
Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus
LARK SPARROW Chondestes grammacus
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
Harris's Sparrow Zonotrichia querula
White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta
Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus
Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Pine Siskin Spinus pinus
American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
61 SPECIES
So far: 107 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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