Greetings All:
After yet another heavy thunderstorm - which dumped well over an inch of
rain into the neighborhood surrounding Clapp Park in surprisingly little
time - I headed on over to see if there was anything to be rescued from the
situation. I figured that my best bet, with the park as flooded as it is,
would be an oddball wader.
I spent an hour and a half at the park, picking up 32 species of bird with
the following highlights: 1 Blue-winged Teal, 4 Snowy Egrets, 2
Yellow-crowned Night Herons, 1 American Avocet, 2 Least Sandpipers, and 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
The shorebirds were amusing. The avocet flew over the biggest lake,
emitted some horrible noises, and headed southwestward - without dropping
in. The water was probably too high:)
The two Least Sandpipers were flushed from a puddle in the lawn near the
kids 'driving' village. The puddle was swarming with mosquito larvae and I
wondered (hoped, really) that they were noshing on mosquitoes.
Also of note: all the egrets/herons noted were perched by the main inflow
snacking on stunned fish as the waters continued to pour in. It was
interesting to see all four of these species packed so tightly together -
and now I know how this ephemeral body of water gets restocked with 'trash'
fish.
The Least Sandpipers were the only new species for my Clapp Park quest this
year, bringing my list for the site for 2015 to 141 species of birds.
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
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