Greetings All:
With a couple of lessons learned from my efforts along the Canyon Lakes of
Lubbock this past year, I have decided to chase and photograph critters in
Hockley County (the county just west of Lubbock County) this year. Again,
I am setting ambitious goals: 50 species of butterfly, 5 species of
amphibian, 10 species of reptile, 200 species of bird, and 10 species of
mammal with 90% of the species identifiably photographed.
Hockley County is roughly 100% agriculture or oilfield but there are some
very interesting hotspots, generally near the few towns and one city in the
county. Sundown has a park/golf course/water treatment facility complex
and an incredibly well-planted school/cemetery complex - both warrant eBird
hotspot status, in my opinion. Smyer has a well publicized feedlot playa
just west of town. Levelland has a tree-rich city park, a tree-rich
college campus with decent butterfly gardens, and at least two good
playa-centered parks. Road birding can also be surprisingly good in the
county with abandoned homesteads, woodlots, and a plethora of playas
readily viewed and photographed from roadside. There is a particularly
good stretch of brushland and woodlots available along FM 597 in the
northwest corner of the county - with any luck and any weather this should
be a real hotspot.
December was pretty good, given the extremely limited time (due to
Christmas Bird Count duties) to actually put in visits. I stumble across
four new species of bird for the year list (managed to photograph two of
them) and, finally, determined the two nemeses for the year.
NEMESIS THE FIRST (LIST DIP): I did not locate a single Green Heron in the
county during the year, despite repeated visits to all available water ...
including several spots that are known to be good for the species.
NEMESIS THE SECOND (PHOTOGRAPHIC DIP): This is a tie between Common
Yellowthroat and Spotted Towhee. I spotted both species, on several
different occasions during the year, but could not lay a lens on a single
Common Yellowthroat or Spotted Towhee.
I got in three fairly short visits to the county - and racked up 0 species
of butterfly, 0 species of amphibian, 0 species of reptile, 85 species of
bird, and 3 species of mammal, bringing me up to 56 species of butterfly,
10 species of amphibian, 15 species of reptile, 220 species of bird, and 15
species of mammal in the county for 2016. This brings me 112%, 200%, 150%,
105%, and 150% of the way towards my goals with regards to taxa. Of the
306 species seen so far, I have identifiable photographs of 285, dropping
me to 93% for species photographed - closer than I ever got to the 90% goal
during my 2015 game.
Without further ado, the list with *s for species that are new for the year
and (y)s for species photographed.
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Scaled Quail
Northern Bobwhite
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunnerl
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Ring-billed Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Barn Owl
Great Horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
Short-eared Owl*(y)
Belted Kingfisher
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Prairie Falcon
Say's Phoebe
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
Blue Jay
Horned Lark
House Wren
Winter Wren*
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Curve-billed Thrasher
Brown Thrasher*
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
House Sparrow
American Pipit
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Field Sparrow*(y)
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Desert Cottontail
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Mule Deer
I have already started my 2017 photographic game but ... that is a topic
for a separate post. Keep yer eyes peeled:)
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
