[texbirds] Galveston to Brazoria today, 200+ loons, 1,000+ golden plovers

From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 17:40:18 -0500
I started the day on 61st street before sunrise and counted between 200 and
225 loons way down there towards the Colonel mooring at Moody Gardens.
Moved down there and the loons were still way off to the north side of the
bay.
However, there were 4 or 5 grasshopper sparrows right around the boat
entrance walk and 2 landed down in the ditch in the open for a good look.

While watching the sparrows about 200 golden plovers took off from the
airport and headed north across the bay. I drove down there and counted
maybe 800 more golden plovers on the back corner of the airport but found
no uplands or doughbirds. Another 60 golden plovers were further down the
island in one field.

Settegast Road had guinea hens. Lafitte had a small group of warblers
including yellow-throated, parula, black and white, myrtle, and
black-throated green. The downy woodpecker and ladder-backed woodpecker
were together with the ladder-backed doing all the drumming. One of them
called and sounded like a hybrid or at least a call half way between the
two normal species calls.

Down near the west end of the island there was a feeding frenzy along the
beach with terns, gulls and pelicans getting small fish and shrimp almost
in the surf. The food was moving east and followed by the birds.

Crossing san luis pass, there were more golden plovers and some redheads on
the Brazoria side.  the nature trail had Lincoln's sparrows and incoming
upland plovers up high.

Drove almost all of Follett's Island beach and had almost nothing except
for sanderlings moving east as well as brown pelican flocks going the same
way. Beautiful beach though in contrast to Bryan beach which was covered
with debris all the way from the bridge to Brazos mouth and also had no
birds other than 2 each gulls, willets and sanderlings.

Found scissor-tails in Surfside and eastern kingbirds were at dos vacos.
Neotropical at Quintana had parula and hooded warblers. 2 phoebes in the
Quintana area. Also bronzed cowbirds harassing a mockingbird pair.
Shovelers and coots at Brazoria plus a few other birds.

Ospreys and kestrels were the only common hawks for the day. Only 1 of
other species and most were sitting.

I had thought that more birds would be moving but the small low that went
by south of here with rain during the pm and into the evening would have
cut off any migrants as did the north wind.

I do not know if the golden plover were new arrivals but some did leave for
the north. The only other certain arrivals were the uplands and 2 grounded
cattle egrets on the Quintana beach. But the plover flock made the day and
would make any day.

-- 
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx


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[texbirds] Galveston to Brazoria today, 200+ loons, 1,000+ golden plovers

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