First good bird of the day was an early perched broad-winged hawk on 562
south of Jackson road and north of the church. A few birds have nested up
and down that wooded stretch in recent years.
Got down to shoveler pond for sunrise and had a really nice day at the
refuge. The area did not get the heavy rains of late may that inundated
Houston and some areas are actually going dry. There edge appearing around
shoveler pond and the herons are having a field day with the fish being
concentrated. The area to the west of the pond has great shorebird habitat
but the only lingering shorebirds was a flock of 9 western sandpipers.
In some areas the water is down more than a foot and 18 inches in others.
Without a good water influx, the drying areas will really make food
available to more and more birds as they finish their nesting.
Black-bellied whistling ducks have young out and about. Several pairs of
blue-winged teal are on the refuge, along 1985 and down on Bolivar. The
nest I found last week had cows standing on it and the birds gone to the
next pond.
The bird of the day was seaside sparrow with lots perching up and singing
all morning.
The really big beak is a key id mark compared to other sparrows of the
marshes. The yellow shoulder mark is shared with grasshopper sparrows and
is sometimes not present or hidden.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396558
The white throat is also a good mark
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396569
Note that the tonsils are pink instead of orange as is the case with some
other sparrows
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396555
The seaside sparrows are sharp-tailed sparrows like many skulking sparrows
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396419
Note that the heavily barred tail is too indistinct to id the birds in the
field
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396418
The white young from last year of the little blue herons are starting their
molt into blue herons
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396246
Many are present in shoveler pond
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396248
Some of the older dead reeds no longer make for good perches for larger
herons
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396249
But still work well for the smaller least bitterns. While driving the roads
to frozen point and the main boat launch I counted 18 least bitterns
perched in the open. Others were seen flying and around shoveler pond.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396244
A pair of purple gallinules was escorting a single common gallinule out of
their territory
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396253
The ponds on 1985 west of Anahuac east and east of Pear Orchard remain full
of water. Not sure if they will have late rice or are for birds this
summer. They do have blue-winged teal and whistling ducks.
Checked out the beach east of 124 and the pond to the north had a lingering
gadwall, 7 white-rumped sandpipers, semipalmated plover and 1 sanderling on
the beach.
Not a good year for lingering shorebirds. Rollover pass had 1 avocet, 2
sanderlings and 2 semipalmated plovers and a fairly good edge.
Rollover pass did have my first magnificent frigatebird of the year
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396239
And an osprey was bringing a fish in from the gulf
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/160396240
A second osprey was on a pole on the loop in Port Bolivar near the bridge.
There was also good mud at Bolivar Flats with 3 sanderling flocks merging
into 1 group of 30 working along. 2 ruddy turnstones, 1 long-billed curlew,
2 marbled godwit and 7 western willets joined 14 local Wilson's plovers,
none of which sounded like they were territorial.
Going back around due to a really long wait at the ferry, I stopped at
rollover and had the frigatebird right overhead. It had apparently been
stealing bait and had a line streaming from its beak with a popping cork
bouncing up and hitting the bird on the tailbone each time it twisted or
turned. Lots of twisting and turning. The frigatebird was last seen heading
straight out into the gulf at full speed.
Anahuac is really worth a visit now as the nesting birds start to fledge
and move around to the food. And there are always the dickcissels to watch
and listen to the song variations.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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