[texbirds] GCBO Smith Point HW, 10 Oct
- From: Tony Leukering <greatgrayowl@xxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Sk8inginfo@xxxxxxx, cameronrutt@xxxxxxxxx, coturnicops@xxxxxxxxx, mikecrewe@xxxxxxxxxxx, ellendunnking@xxxxxxxxx, mpeterson33@xxxxxxxxx, bmaynard99@xxxxxxxxx, pgaede@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, fresha2411@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:30:58 -0400 (EDT)
Hi all:
Back to the hots, but the raptor flight picked up nicely. Interestingly, today
was, I think, my first visitor-less day since I've been here. I'm not
complaining; it was nice to talk to myself and work on my tan for a while.
This report will be short, as I'm running out of time here at the wi-fi.
Bird of the Day: I was sitting there minding my own business fairly early this
morning, when an odd call broke through my reverie and impinged upon my brain.
I thought, "I know that call; what is that? Oh, yeah -- Red-headed Woodpecker!"
So, I looked up and there was a Red-headed Woodpecker already going away to
the NNW. Perhaps it was an adult, but I could not see it well enough to know.
Cool, only the third one that I've seen here, and the first that I've heard
give that odd, rattly call here, and in flight, to boot. Not much later, I
looked east and there was a woodpecker strongly backlit by the rising sun.
Hmm, Red-bellied or Red-headed? I put the scope on it, Red-headed #2. I
figured it would fly soon and prepared the camera. Of course, it went on the
bad-light side of the tower, so I was relegated to going for artsy shots. Not
too much later, you guessed it, another calling Red-headed Woodpecker. It flew
around a bit, flirting with flying in front of the tower (in the good light),
but, no. Artsy shots, attempt #2. A couple worked out okay (bird #2
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/8075471607/in/photostream/ and
bird #3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/8075464724/in/photostream/).
Not much in the way of landbirds, but reasonable numbers of big, white birds:
116 Am. White Pelicans in 9 flocks and 197 Wood Storks in 2 flocks. One
Nashville Warbler
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/8075513994/in/photostream) and 24
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were most of the landbird flight today. Well, those
and 11 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. The highlight of non-raptors, non-BOD birds,
was the flock of 21 Stilt Sandpipers that bolted by in front of the tower
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/8075470759/in/photostream).
Raptors counted (count conducted by Gulf Coast Bird Observatory):
Mississippi Kite 1 juv
Osprey 2
Northern Harrier 16 (1 adult male, 2 unaged brown birds, 13 juvs)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 166
Cooper's Hawk 3 juvs (I did see an adult, but it was diving into the trees)
Broad-winged Hawk 35
Swainson's Hawk 2 (both light, 1 juv, 1 too distant to age)
American Kestrel 71
Merlin 2 (including one that might have been an adult male, as its rump look
pale, but I didn't see it well enough to be sure)
Peregrine Falcon 2 adults
Total 300
Enjoy,
Tony
Tony Leukering
Villas, NJ
http://copyeditinggonebad.blogspot.com/
http://capemaymoths.blogspot.com/
http://cfobirds.blogspot.com/
http://aba.org/photoquiz/
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