Hi, all!
Headed out this morning with my muffin (to save time), and still got to
Townsend Rec Area as it was starting to get light, so no night birds.
Surprisingly a guy pulled up behind me who was getting ready to do some
kayaking and joked about whether or not there were any dry envelopes in the
iron ranger! J After he left a big Pileated Woodpecker yelled and then took
off through the trees, and as I was hoping he'd sound off again, his mate
started making some real odd flicker-like sounds! Either Pine Warblers or
Chipping Sparrows were trilling all over, but no one showed themselves; what
did call sounded like bright warbler chirps, so I'm assuming most of them
were Pines. Down by the water I heard a distant cou...cou...cou that I'd
call a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in the Valley, but it was sure a weird place for
one, I thought (although apparently they do come through here about now)!
The campers from yesterday weren't driven away by the previous night's
storms (Huntsville, where I had been yesterday, apparently got clobbered so
badly that the university there was flooded out), but the water was still
pretty high! Over at the boat ramp my friend was getting ready to put in,
and as I scanned the lake yet another boater pulled up to put in while
another guy puttered by out in the lake - popular place! I was hoping to
catch sight of a Bald Eagle, but the only water bird I picked up there was a
croaking Great Blue Heron. However, an Orchard Oriole singing in the Day
Use area was nice, along with the day's only Parula, and as I was leaving
the boat ramp area a Rose-breasted Grosbeak picked and flew over! Driving
out of the park I pulled over to listen about a half mile out and heard a
sickly-sounding crunch; hoping it was just a pine cone I ran over I was
dismayed to discover that some fool had tossed a glass bottle into the grass
(where you couldn't see it, naturally)! But the Lord was merciful and
protected the tire throughout the day - that's one place you don't want to
get stuck with a flat tire!
Started the BBS Protocol on the dirt roads after that, planning to cover all
of FR 300 and 300A, along with all the little side roads in the WMA. I
actually ran out of time before I could finish the route, which surprised
me, because I covered a lot more territory last year when I "BBS'ed" the
part of Angelina NF south of Sam Rayburn Reservoir that included Boykin
Springs and looped around to all those little "parks" along the lake's edge!
And this route was considerably less birdy as well, but I have a tendency to
want to explore new areas, and Bannister was reported to have the "Big
Three" of the Pineywoods according to the Wildlife Viewing Map, so I thought
I'd give it a try. Only got one of the three (Brown-headed Nuthatch, which
is always the easiest), but there was some habitat that looked great for
Bachman's Sparrows, and I indeed heard some suspicious sssping coming from
the underbrush around the pines, but they just wouldn't come out (I was
surprised they weren't singing yet). Again, I saw very little, but besides
the "trillers", the bird that won the prize for numbers was Carolina Wren,
with Cardinals and titmice in a tie for second place! One rather clear area
had some unique birds for the day, including a Yellow-breasted Chat and the
first Flicker of the trip! I had to stop for a potty break and was amused
by a Broad-winged Hawk that decided to announce to the forest what I was
doing (if you know the call, you'll get the bad joke. J)!
As I mentioned yesterday, the roads were passable, but pretty adventurous,
so after checking FR 301 I decided to take the paved roads around to FR 300
instead of backtracking. FR 300 south of SR 147 seemed to have all the
Hooded Warblers, plus a flyover Cooper's Hawk. The plan was to check out FR
307, then come back and finish 300, but like I said, by the time I finished
307 it was already past 11:30 (and taking FM 705 and FM 83 all the way
around to FR 300 would take too long), so I let it go at that. But one of
the best roads was little 307A, as at the end there was a lot of ode and
butter action! Most of the little guys were Carolina Satyrs, but this one
spreadwing skipper settled down that I thought was a Silver-spotted at
first, but looking at the book, he really doesn't match: the white is along
the trailing edge of the hindwing, and the gold spots on the forewing are
very strong and shaped differently! I'm hoping someone will be able to give
me some feedback on that guy! Also a striking dragonfly let me get some
nice shots, and I was hoping it would be something new, but it was just a
Sulphur-tipped Clubtail, which I've seen in the Valley (at least that's the
best guess). Along the roads the big black butters were trying to "mud":
most were Red-spotted Purples (I ran into a mess of 'em yesterday during the
rain), but one turned out to be a beautiful Spicebush Swallowtail!
Headed towards Crosby after that to see if I could find this new location
for the Swallow-tailed Kites. Found the neighborhood fine and cruised up
and down Aweigh (hoping no one would call the cops on me J) then noticed
this little trail going back into a small woods. I pulled over and prepared
to check it out when this little gal in a motorized cart pulled up and asked
if I was looking for the "fork-tailed hawks"! That little trail was indeed
the place, and she was confident that I'd get great looks as they had been
"showing well" all week! So I waltzed in, tiptoeing around the little kid
trying to learn to ride his bike (and being coached by dad down the sidewalk
J) but never seeing any kites. I made several loops, figuring I at least
needed the walk, and did see a pair of nesting bluebirds, and kept hearing
this strange song that sounded like one of those Australian gerygones that
turned out to be a House Finch! But on lap #3 one of the kites did indeed
make a swoop by one of the trees, dropped down, and was never seen again! I
got a good look and a "proof shot" (Donna McCown knows what that's all about
J), so I don't think I need to go back again (especially after the hairy
drive to get to Humble, where I'm staying for the weekend, from there. L).
So that leaves Monday free!
Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus
Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii
Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
Killdeer
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons
Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
Purple Martin Progne subis
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
Brown-headed Nuthatch Sitta pusilla
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Hooded Warbler Setophaga citrina
Northern Parula Setophaga americana
Pine Warbler Setophaga pinus
Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens
Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
47 SPECIES
SO FAR: 171 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
miriameaglemon.com
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