Greetings All:
With a couple of lessons learned from my efforts along the Canyon Lakes of
Lubbock this past year, I have decided to chase and photograph critters in
Hockley County (the county just west of Lubbock County) this year. Again,
I am setting ambitious goals: 50 species of butterfly, 5 species of
amphibian, 10 species of reptile, 200 species of bird, and 10 species of
mammal with 90% of the species identifiably photographed.
Hockley County is roughly 100% agriculture or oilfield but there are some
very interesting hotspots, generally near the few towns and one city in the
county. Sundown has a park/golf course/water treatment facility complex
and an incredibly well-planted school/cemetery complex - both warrant eBird
hotspot status, in my opinion. Smyer has a well publicized feedlot playa
just west of town. Levelland has a tree-rich city park, a tree-rich
college campus with decent butterfly gardens, and at least two good
playa-centered parks. Road birding can also be surprisingly good in the
county with abandoned homesteads, woodlots, and a plethora of playas
readily viewed and photographed from roadside. There is a particularly
good stretch of brushland and woodlots available along FM 597 in the
northwest corner of the county - with any luck and any weather this should
be a real hotspot.
Rainfall picked up a bit in May but rain events were accompanied by
unusually cool conditions with no good nights for chasing toads and such
coming up. Lingering waterfowl and migrant shorebirds continued to show
well and migrant songbirds, evidently, found little reason to drop in for a
visit. However mixed the taxonomic bag was, though, it was a fun month and
I enjoyed every visit.
I made five or so fairly lengthy visits to the county - and racked up 19
species of butterfly, 2 species of amphibian, 8 species of reptile, 114
species of bird, and 8 species of mammal, bringing me up to 27 species of
butterfly, 2 species of amphibian, 11 species of reptile, 155 species of
bird, and 12 species of mammal in the county for 2016. This brings me 54%,
40%, 110%, 78%, and 120% of the way towards my goals with regards to taxa.
Of the 207 species seen so far, I have identifiable photographs of 201,
putting me at 97% for species photographed - closer than I ever got to the
90% goal during my 2015 game. Taking shots, however long range, of every
critter seen, however common, continues to be a good strategy. Reaching
all of my goals will depend on getting at least a couple of warm rains
(amphibians), continued wildflower awesomeness (butterflies), and a better
fall songbird migration (birds).
Without further ado, the list with *s for species that are new for the year
and (y)s for species photographed.
Common Checkered Skipper
Common Sootywings
Delaware Skipper*(y)
Nysa Roadside Skipper*(y)
Black Swallowtail
Cabbage White
Checkered White
Orange Sulphur
Sleepy Orange(y)
Dainty Sulphur
Reakirt's Blue
Monarch
Variegated Fritillary
Phaon Crescent
Painted Crescent*(y)
Pearl Cresent
Common Buckeye*(y)
Red Admiral(y)
American Lady
Barred Tiger Salamander
Spotted Chorus Frog*
Red-eared Slider
Yellow Mud Turtle*
Texas Horned Lizard*(y)
Great Plains Skink
Checkered Garter Snake*(y)
Coachwhip(y)
Gopher Snake
Common Kingsnake
Long-nosed Snake*(y)
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck*(y)
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Ruddy Duck
Scaled Quail
Northern Bobwhite
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture*(y)
Mississippi Kite
Cooper's Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Snowy Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet*(y)
Lesser Yellowlegs
Upland Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Franklin's Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Barn Owl
Great Horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
Common Nighthawk*(y)
Black-chinned Hummingbird*(y)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Olive-sided Flycatcher*(y)
Western Wood Pewee*(y)
Willow Flycatcher*(y)
Least Flycatcher*(y)
Say's Phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
Blue Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow(y)
Barn Swallow
House Wren*(y)
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler*
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Green-tailed Towhee
Canyon Towhee*(y)
Cassin's Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Blue Grosbeak
Dickcissel*(y)
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Common Grackle*(y)
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole*(y)
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch*(y)
House Sparrow
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Desert Cottontail
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Spotted Ground Squirrel
North American Deermouse
House Mouse
Coyote
White-tailed Deer
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
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