Please permit me to provide an elaboration on Erik Breden's excellent
report on our birding trip together today, elaboration in regard to the
location of the fields that we birded. It is true, as Erik said, that the
fields are west of Hargill, but let me provide additional details. The
fields are west-southwest of McCook. They may be accessed by driving west
on FM-490 from the highway intersection in McCook for what may be about 2
miles until one sees on one's left a gas-compressor station (has several
large fan-like units housed therein). One then turns left (south) onto the
unpaved road that is immediately past the compressor station. Continue,
then, southward for about 1.8 miles and then turn right onto a dirt road
that is just beyond a standpipe on the right. After that turn, the fields
in question are on one's right, and they extend to the end this road at a
"T" intersection with a much poorer-condition road. (The furrowed fields to
the north of this traversal road, where Mountain Plovers recently have
been, have young plants growing in them; the fields on the south side of
this road contain a much more advanced crop of what may be corn or sorghum.
Also, one will see on one's right a tall tower, well up the road, with four
red balls near its top.)
Despite intensive searching we did not find any Mountain Plovers there
today. I do not know whether this is an indication that the Mountain
Plovers have migrated out of the area or whether they might have left it,
perhaps temporarily, on account of the presence of the two raptor species
(Prairie Falcon and Swainson's Hawk) that Erik and I found there today. We
were unable to photograph the Prairie Falcon, but readers may wish to
access Erik's photos of the handsome adult Swainson's Hawk that we found on
these fields today.
Wishing everyone very rewarding spring-migration birding,
Rex Stanford (Weslaco)
On Thu, Mar 17, 2016 at 9:34 PM, Erik Breden <erik.breden@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
TexBirders,
Today (Thursday March 17th) Rex Stanford and I visited the fields west
of Hargill where Mountain Plovers and American Golden-Plovers have been
recently reported. We did not find the plovers, but did find a number of
other shorebirds by driving around to the many small ponds in the area.
The highlight of the day was raptors:
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
Crested Caracara
Swainson's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Harris's Hawk
A few photos of a Swainson'a Hawk "hunting" on the ground can be seen at:
www.otterside.com/spring2016
Enjoy!
Erik Breden
Weslaco, Texas
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
