[texbirds] Elgin & Hornsby Bend
- From: MiriamEagl@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:26:05 -0500 (EST)
Hi, all!
First of all, a big Thank You to Darrell Vollert for solving the Funky
Sparrow mystery: it was indeed a half-hearted Fox Sparrow, along with the
chortling of a Harris' Sparrow in between Foxy's song (today I was able to
capture a Harris' doing his song and chortle by himself)! Thanks also go to
Eric Carpenter for cottoning me onto the fact that all titmice in this area
are intergrades, dubbed the Dixon's Titmouse I found out somewhere else.
Today was cold, windy, and started out misty (temps never got above 37
according to Bippy's thermometer), so I did almost all my birding from the
car! Did the Elgin Road Route and pulled over to listen as often as I could
safely (and without having anyone call the cops on me for perhaps parking
where I shouldn't...), but just couldn't kick up any longspurs (although
almost every other "field bird" seemed to show up in numbers). That woodland
along Carlson Lane was wonderful, however, and although I couldn't scare up
the sapsucker, the Eastern Towhee DID pop up for me after a bad Screech Owl
imitation (along with a bunch of other sparrows)! Got a Flicker for the
trip here as well.
Hornsby Bend was the afternoon destination, and ironically I found none of
the target species *I* was looking for, but ran into the two rarities that
are common birds where I live: Vermilion Flycatcher and Buff-bellied
Hummingbird! The latter was at his reported spot by the feeder along the
River
Trail at the end of Platt Road, and the flycatcher was near where the auto
route goes by some buildings. I ran into two cars full of guys; the first
gentleman had seen the goldeneye and told me where to look, but by the time
I got back there I couldn't find her. I had earlier found a Canvasback
that the second carfull was very interested in, however! While hiking the
trail a couple of Caracaras flew over (feels weird seeing them when it's 30
degrees out...), and at the main building, a group of White-winged Doves was
feeding under one of the big trees, and amongst them was a "chocolate"
(melanistic) bird!
Photos and recording are here:
_http://miriameaglemon.com/Trip%20Reports/Austin%20Area/Elgin.html_
(http://miriameaglemon.com/Trip%20Reports/Austin%20Area/Elgin.html)
Bird List (new for the trip are in CAPS):
Gadwall Anas strepera
AMERICAN WIGEON Anas americana
NORTHERN SHOVELER Anas clypeata
GREEN-WINGED TEAL Anas crecca
CANVASBACK Aythya valisineria
RING-NECKED DUCK Aythya collaris
LESSER SCAUP Aythya affinis
BUFFLEHEAD Bucephala albeola
RUDDY DUCK Oxyura jamaicensis
PIED-BILLED GREBE Podilymbus podiceps
EARED GREBE Podiceps nigricollis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK Accipiter striatus
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK Buteo lineatus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
American Coot Fulica americana
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
LEAST SANDPIPER Calidris minutilla
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD Amazilia yucatanensis
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER Sphyrapicus varius
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
NORTHERN FLICKER Colaptes auratus
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
VERMILION FLYCATCHER Pyrocephalus rubinus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
âDixonâsâ Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor x
atricristatus
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
American Robin Turdus migratorius
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
American Pipit Anthus rubescens
Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
EASTERN TOWHEE Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
Harris's Sparrow Zonotrichia querula
White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta
Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus
Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
House Sparrow
63 SPECIES
So far: 91 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
_www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/)
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