[texbirds] Anahuac to Texas City today, oodles of eagles, purple gallinule, fulvous whistling ducks, mountain plover

From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2015 19:07:36 -0600

I got going a little bit late today and so only had a tail end view of a
last eagle leaving the roost/nest area on 562 heading for Anahuac for a
coot breakfast. Two more birds were along the access road heading east. The
big bunch was 13 birds along the west side of shoveler pond. 8 perched
where they have been sitting on old mushrat houses etc. While counting 7
young and 1 adult eagles there, 5 more flew up in a territorial argument
from further west where they could not be seen sitting for a total of 13 in
sight at one time. 2 more were down at Skillern for a total of 18 bald
eagles. One of the Skillern birds appeared to pounce on an egret and then
attracted a harrier and caracara that wanted to share.
Birds stayed sitting in the cold until later in the day. Most ibis got up
around 8am but the great egrets sat until about 9am. Compared with my last
visit a month ago, there were lots fewer ducks but most species were still
around. A big group of black-bellied whistling ducks were on their usual
berm roost but there were only 3 fulvous whistling ducks. A surprise were
brown pelicans feeding in the roadside ditch, perched on the road, sitting
on berms etc. A quick look in the distance made one think of another eagle
but after the early eagles all big blobs were brown pelicans.

I had a purple gallinule molting into adult plumage from the gray with a
tinge of green youngster that migrate out of here in the fall. First time I
have seen a bird like it. While looking through the view-finder a bird
fluttered by that looked like still immature plumaged gallinule but it was
not seen again whatever it was.

The vermilion flycatchers were feeding on the ground and one was using the
new building for a perch. Not many red-tailed hawks about but there were 3
merlins, many northern harriers and several cooper's hawks. The ibis in the
roost would flush with harriers but the herons stayed put.

I did not find the hummingbirds at high island but the vegetation did not
look well.

Drove beaches on bolivar and found little. The tide at Rollover was really
far as were the birds.

Made it to Bolivar flats hoping for the mountain plover and it was there on
a sandbar just after turning west on the sand. It fed with and like snowy
plovers, grabbing flies and pulling stuff out of the sand. Later it was on
the upper beach and also fed like a snowy plover and found much prey down
in the sand. Only got a picture of something on the way down the hatch but
could not identify it.

I was able to walk dry-footed within a short distance of the jetty way out
past where I have rock-hopped. Did not go the last little bit as the
pelicans started to stand up. Not many birds on the flats or pools but
there were godwits, curlews dunlins, plovers etc. Two piping plovers were
banded and I found a nice roost of sleeping snowy plovers.

The ferry at the Bolivar end has a huge flock of Forster's terns with
Bonaparte's gulls joining the frenzy. Could not dig out any goodies.

Ended up at the texas city dike but should have gone home. only 3 fishermen
and almost no fish-eating birds either. Several loons, buffleheads and
mergansers. Great day but the clouds were moving in and some showers close
to home.

-- 
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx


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[texbirds] Anahuac to Texas City today, oodles of eagles, purple gallinule, fulvous whistling ducks, mountain plover

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