Greetings All:
I spent close to eight hours in Hockley County and had a great time.
Highlights - in order of site visited - were: 2 Cinnamon Teals, 1
Canvasback, 1 American Avocet, and 3 American Pipits at the Smyer Playa; 1
Red-naped Sapsucker at Levelland City Park; 9 Blue-winged Teals at
Brashears Park; 1 Greater White-fronted Goose, 52 Snow Geese, 2 Ross's
Geese, 22 Blue-winged Teals, 14 Cinnamon Teals, 4 Redheads, 4 Black-necked
Stilts, 6 American Avocets, 2 Snowy Plovers, 7 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Lesser
Yellowlegs, 2 Long-billed Dowitchers (confirmed by call notes), 1
Short-billed Dowitcher (confirmed by call notes), and 2 American Pipits at
the Bison Road Playa; 1 Scaled Quail along Alamo Road; 1 Merlin and 2 Say's
Phoebes just south of Sundown; 4 Blue-winged Teals, 5 Cinnamon Teals, and 1
Say's Phoebe at the Sundown Water Treatment Pond; 3 Pine Siskins at Sundown
City Park; 2 Scaled Quails just south of Petit; 3 Say's Phoebes in Pep; 1
Say's Phoebe north of Levelland; 1 Sage Thrasher at the Smyer Cemetery.
All three dowitchers were in 'winter' plumage. Call notes correlated with
back shape (hunched in Long-billed versus flat in Short-billed) while
actively feeding. Other than back shape (which seems a very strange trait
to me - I would like to see some paper on the anatomical basis for this
distinction) and call, I would not have been able to assign these birds to
species - and perhaps more 'winter' plumage inland dowitchers should not be
assigned to species unless voice is heard?
The Reese Center Playa was also kicking with highlights including 9
Blue-winged Teals, 2 Cinnamon Teals, 2 Redheads, 1 Ring-necked Pheasant, 2
American Avocets, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Wilson's Snipe, and 1 American
Pipit.
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
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