Started the day on the dock at 40 acre lake watching the sun come up. Not
many birds there other than herons leaving the rookery not far to the west
of the lake.
The dawn chorus was loud with most songsters consisting of Carolina wrens,
cardinals and white-eyed vireos. Heard a single field sparrow song and
there were northern parula and prothonotary warblers.
The walk out to the tower, to elm lake and back and then around 40 acre had
a total of 18 American bitterns feeding out in the open. When I took a
quick check late in the am, they were still there. Its hard for a bittern
to blend in standing in a hyacinth patch. A Nashville warbler was singing
out there in the direction of the rookery off to the north. Good mix of
herons etc. A pair of purple gallinules was fighting over ownership of the
marsh out from the tower. A few swamp sparrows were singing along with a
single Lincoln's sparrow.
I heard an upland sandpiper calling from high overhead but it did not seem
to move. The call came from the middle of a tree where a mockingbird had
the call down perfect and did not give any other calls for a bit.
A gray catbird mewed and in the thickest trees near the picnic area a
swainson's thrush was on the path in an area where inchworm droppings
sounded like rain.
Moving on to Creekfield lake, there were bank swallows over the parking lot
and an adult pied-billed grebe feeding large young that still had stripey
heads. They must have come from eggs laid back in February which is really
early. A couple broods of baby alligators were also early.
Had hoped for migrating hawks but only had one late rising broad-winged
hawk near Hale lake around 10. A distant perched red-tail was the only
other hawk for the day. High clouds made a good spotting day for hawks but
were wasted with empty skies. Even the vulture groups were hawkless.
A yellow-throated vireo was singing near a spot I think they nested in the
past.
Drove a bunch of country roads looking for hawk streams or kettles and had
none. Did not have a single wire bird the whole time but did have a singing
least grebe on Davis Estates Road.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
