[texbirds] Bastrop County 19-Nov-12
- From: Jake McCumber <jake_mccumber@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 07:43:07 -0800 (PST)
Yesterday I was doing grassland focused bird surveys in northern Bastrop
County. Just to get it out of the way up front - the property is absolutely
NOT accessible.
There was not a ton of activity, but a few things of note:
Lincoln's Sparrows are back and apparently trying to make up for last year's
paucity with relatively huge numbers.
We had one Sprague's Pipit, which was the primary focus of the day's efforts.
It was great to find it, but I expected (and typically find) more. The habitat
looked perfect.
We found a single (though possibly two) Short-eared Owl and had amazing looks
both in flight and on the ground. After its initial flight it was harried by a
harrier into a second and much longer flight and quite a show. I've been
looking for that species at the particular location we found it for years with
this being the first success. Amusingly, I had heard a cryptozoologically
inclined wildlife report from that location several years ago and figured it
must have been a Short-eared Owl, thus my occasional efforts to document it
there.
We also had a Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk circling right overhead and very close
to where I found one two winters ago.
Other stuff was generally expected for a great day working the native
grasslands. Ammodramus presence was lower than hoped for. Savannah sparrows
were everywhere and flushing like grasshoppers.
Again, the area is not accessible, but I did want to pass on the things of
interest for what they're worth.
Cheers,
Jake McCumber
Austin
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