[texbirds] Today's Highlights from South and East of Lubbock

From: Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx>
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, leasbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 25 May 2014 22:55:21 -0500
Greetings All:
My entire region had received 2-3 inches of rain, as of this morning, over
the last two-three days.  I felt that, even though we are rather late into
the migratory season, this might bode well for a birding trip and, what the
heck, I really wanted to see some rivers with water in them:)  I decided to
check out Lynn, Garza, and Crosby Counties with a back up plan of squeezing
in a few Lubbock hotspots at the end.

In general it was, as suspected, rather late in the game for migratory
shorebirds (I only saw two species during the day that definitively fall
into the migrant category for our area) but there was a surprisingly decent
diversity (and even some decent numbers) of definitively migrant songbirds
about.

The trip would have been worth it even without the birds as it was an
utterly fantastic day to be a toad, a spadefoot, a cricket frog, a chorus
frog, a narrow-mouthed toad, or a frog - the anuran din was absolutely
deafening at every water-filled low spot in the four counties and, between
captures, sightings, and call notes I tallied eleven species, missing only
a couple of our rarest toads.  It was also, and this was confirmed visually
at several sites, a fantastic day to be a Western Hog-nosed Snake.

It was, however, a very bad day to be a Cave Swallow.  A true accounting of
the numbers of this recently-arrived species could be had by driving the
roads featuring flooded culverts.  Line after line of drenched and
bedraggled adult Cave Swallows above what must have been former nest
sites.  I have been charting the spread of the species through our region
during the last decade and I can only hope that this was early enough in
the breeding season that these birds will have time for renesting.

Highlights from 2.5 hours in Lynn County: 1 male Indigo Bunting at the
Tahoka Rest Area; 2 Black-necked Stilts, 2 American Avocets, 2 Snowy
Plovers, and 3 Long-billed Dowitchers at the now filling salt playas south
of Tahoka; 1 MacGillivray's Warbler at the surprisingly not-filled Skeen
Playa; 2 Black-necked Stilts, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 1 Willow Flycatcher, 1
MacGillivray's Warbler, 1 Yellow Warbler, 1 male Western Tanager, and 1
Lesser Goldfinch at the Tahoka Cemetery/Playa complex; 6 American Avocets
and 2 Black Terns at a large playa just east of Tahoka; 1 Swainson's
Thrush, 1 female American Redstart, 2 Yellow Warblers, and 1 Wilson's
Warbler in a flooded woodlot well east of Tahoka.

Highlights from 2 hours in Garza County: 2 Verdins, 1 female Common
Yellowthroat, and 1 Yellow Warbler west of Post; 6 Cackling Geese, 7 Canada
Geese, 1 American Avocet, and 2 Purple Martins at Post City Park; 1
Black-throated Sparrow, 1 Yellow Warbler, 2 Eastern Phoebes, 1 Bell's
Vireo, 1 male Bronzed Cowbird, and 2 Pyrrhuloxias in order of appearance as
I drove along FM 651 from Post to the Garza/Crosby County line.

Highlights from 3.5 hours in Crosby County: 9 Blue-winged Teals, 3
Double-crested Cormorants, 3 American White Pelicans, 2 Black Terns, 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher, 1 Bell's Vireo, 1 Warbling Vireo, 4 Purple Martins,
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 1 MacGillivray's Warbler, 2 Yellow Warblers, 2
Yellow-breasted Chats, and 1 Green-tailed Towhee at White River Lake; 1
male Indigo Bunting just west of White River Lake; 1 female Vermilion
Flycatcher just as FM 651 crests the Caprock Escarpment headed north
towards Crosbyton; 1 Great Egret and 4 Yellow-headed Blackbirds in
Crosbyton; 2 American Avocets near Ralls.

Highlights from 2.25 hours in Lubbock County: 2 American Avocets near
Idalou; 1 Western Wood Pewee and 1 Yellow Warbler at Lake Six (which was
far too crowded by flood onlookers for parking - necessitating a very short
visit); 2 Cattle Egrets, 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers, 2 Willow Flycatchers, 1
Hammond's Flycatcher, 1 mystery empid, 1 male Common Yellowthroat, 1 Yellow
Warbler, 1 Wilson's Warbler, 1 Chipping Sparrow, and 1 female Indigo
Bunting at Clapp Park.

Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock


Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at 
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds

Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission 
from the List Owner
[texbirds] Today's Highlights from South and East of Lubbock

Other related posts:
