Hi, all!
Well, who knew that I'd be writing this in the middle of a tornado warning
(tempted to go storm-chasing J), as all this morning it was simply mostly
cloudy with a slight breeze! But with Dan Jones' report of 20 Hudsonian
Godwits up at CR 20 (along with White-rumped Sandpipers, my two target birds
for the day), I thought that would be a good hotspot to include in the GBD!
But Estero Llano Grande SP also reported a Hudwit right off the deck, so I
went there first to hopefully get that and a variety of other things, and it
proved very productive with lots of Wilson's Phalaropes, Stilt Sandpipers,
and the Hudwit right where everyone said she'd be! The sun eventually came
out and provided great looks at everything in Ibis Pond, including a Sora
that came out into the open! Dowitcher Pond was totally dry, and a quick
look at Grebe Marsh produced no sandpipers (although I had a nice Swainson's
Thrush in the woods), so I headed back to the car, picking up a Clay-colored
Thrush on the way out. Other nice land birds for the day included Olive
Sparrow, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Groove-billed Ani.
Pat Heirs had actually seen both birds at the pond off Nittler Road, so I
headed there next, and hit pay dirt when three peeps decided to chase each
other and confirm their identity as Whiterumps! Also found her late Redhead
amongst the Fulvous Whistlers and a couple of her Buff-breasted Sandpipers,
but no Sanderling. A White Pelican was interesting, though, along with both
Least and Gull-billed Terns! Continuing the length of the road added a slew
of Dickcissels, a Painted Bunting, Lark Sparrow, and Common Nighthawk for
the day.
Having picked up my two main targets, I decided to made Delta Lake Park
Hotspot Number 3 seeing as it was close; had a pair of hovering White-tailed
Kites, a pewee, and a Bronzed Cowbird doing his Darth Vader imitation.
County Road 20 was next, and that by far was the best place of the day, as I
saw at least 15 of the reported 20 Hudwits, along with several of the late
ducks Dan had already reported. But I was thrilled to find an American
Golden Plover in full breeding plumage across the way; he almost upstaged
the Hudwits! Also had a handful of Whiterumps there as well, and five
Roseate Spoonbills were nice to see along with tons of Fulvous Whistlers and
a couple of Franklin's Gulls and Black Terns. Brushline south of 183 served
as Hotspot #5, and although there was nothing unusual (except another
flyover Golden Plover), Harris' Hawk and Cassin's Sparrow were good for the
day list.
Managed 100 species right on the nose! And all five checklists are in
EBird. A few pictures are on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/marybeth.stowe
Bird list:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor
Gadwall Anas strepera
American Wigeon Anas americana
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Northern Pintail Anas acuta
Redhead Aythya americana
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis
Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Green Heron Butorides virescens
Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
Sora Porzana carolina
Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
American Coot Fulica americana
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
American Avocet Recurvirostra americana
American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica
Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis
Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Franklin's Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan
Least Tern Sternula antillarum
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
Black Tern Chlidonias niger
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens
Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus
Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Purple Martin Progne subis
Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Cave Swallow Petrochelidon fulva
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
Clay-colored Thrush Turdus grayi
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
Dickcissel Spiza americana
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
100 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
Alamo, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com
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