[texbirds] A surprisingly good August day along the Canyon Lakes of Lubbock

From: Anthony Hewetson <terrverts@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "leas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <leas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:27:22 -0700 (PDT)
Greetings All:


I spent eight hours along the Canyon Lakes of Lubbock today: 2.5 hours along 
the river between Lake Six and Loop 289; 1.5 hours at Lake Six; 1 hours at Mae 
Simmons Park; 1.5 hours at MacKenzie Park; 1.5 hours at Aztlan Park.   The last 
couple of weeks of August are usually good for early migrants such as 
contopids, empids, and the earliest of the warblers but today was quite 
extraordinary with a good showing across the board.

Highlights from the river corridor below Lake Six: 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers, 2 
Western Wood Pewees, 4 Willow Flycatchers, 1 Least Flycatcher, 1 Northern 
Waterthrush, 2 Yellow Warblers, 1 Yellow-breasted Chat - so far, so good; a 
nice list was gathered but nothing extraordinary.

This changed a bit during my exploration of Lake Six.  The highlights included 
2 Gadwalls, 1 male Cinnamon Teal, 3 Snowy Egrets, 2 American Avocets, 2 Spotted 
Sandpipers, 1 Solitary Sandpiper, 2 Black Terns, 1 adult LEAST TERN, 2 adult 
and 1 subadult Forster's Terns, 2 Northern Flickers (1 Yellow-shafted, 1 
Red-shafted), 3 Western Wood Pewees, 3 Willow Flycatchers, and 3 Yellow 
Warblers.

This is the first time that I have seen these three tern species in a single 
day in Lubbock County - and at a single site!  Also a funny story.  The first 
one I saw was the adult Least Tern, sitting confidently upon a chunk of 
styrofoam.  I was puzzling over the identification a bit (not used to seeing 
this species around here) when a Spotted Sandpiper came along and landed on the 
chunk of styrofoam (which made the identification pretty bloody obvious).  This 
seemed a bit crowded but both birds tolerated each other for a bit.  Then the 
subadult Forster's Tern came in for a landing.  This did not work out well!  
The chunk of styrofoam essentially flipped and all three birds scattered; the 
subadult Forster's Tern returning a bit later to enjoy the precarious perch 
alone:)

The highlights from my walk in the woods at Mae Simmons Park: 1 Snowy Egret, 1 
Spotted Sandpiper, 1 Western Wood Pewee, 1 Least Flycatcher1 vigorously singing 
Carolina Wren, 1 Black-and-white Warbler, 1 female and 3 male Common 
Yellowthroats, and 1 female Indigo Bunting.  Nothing staggering but surprising 
to be up to five species of warbler around here in August.

My hike at MacKenzie Park kicked out some more goodies: 1 Great Egret, 2 Snowy 
Egrets, 1 VIRGINIA RAIL, 1 Northern Flicker (heard only - shaftedness unknown), 
3 Western Wood Pewees, and 1 first fall female TOWNSEND'S WARBLER.  This is 
quite early for a Townsend's Warbler hereabouts - and six species of warbler in 
a single August day is probably the best I had ever done.

Yes the word 'had' is appropriate in that last sentence because my coverage of 
Aztlan Park kicked out a female Wilson's Warbler - seven species of warbler in 
an August day in Lubbock - WOW!!

Also at Aztlan Park: 2 Long-billed Dowitchers, 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers, 5 
Western Wood Pewees, 2 Willow Flycatchers, 1 Least Flycatcher, 1 DUSKY 
FLYCATCHER, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 1 Northern Waterthrush, 1 male Common 
Yellowthroat, 6 Yellow Warblers, and 1 male Western Tanager.

Also of note: Belted Kingfishers have returned in a big way and I managed to 
tally 12 along the route - a surprising number of this species in our region so 
early in the year.

I will, sooner or later, post the full list from the day's adventure.  I just 
wanted to get this out in case some of the local folk might want to chase some 
tasty stuff at the lakes.

Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
[texbirds] A surprisingly good August day along the Canyon Lakes of Lubbock

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