[texbirds] Irving, Dallas County - pond at 635 and George Bush Turnpike

From: Mary Ann Melton <mammelton50@xxxxxxx>
To: TEXBIRDS <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 23:51:46 -0500

While driving around Irving with my son and his girlfriend, we found a pond 
with hundreds of wading birds and shorebirds- great egrets, little blue herons, 
great blue heron, snowy egret, black neck stilts.  

This is near the intersection of Loop 635 and the George Bush Turnpike just 
south of Valley View Road 

There were 4 very small terns flying around that I believe were least terns. 

Toward the back of the pond were lots of small shorebirds - least sandpipers, 
probably greater yellowlegs and some others I could not see well enough to 
identify. My scope was acting up for some reason and would not focus.  

I would love it if someone would verify the least terns.  But I can’t think of 
what other tern would be that small.   The birds that my photos indicate are 
probably greater yellowlegs did not have quite the right body shape when I was 
seeing them more crouched in the water . . .  When i first saw them I thought 
they were going to be avocets in winter plumage, but the more I looked they 
weren’t.  Beaks were long, but not avocet beaks. Photos look more like 
yellowlegs - so I’m going to leave it with that ID for now. 

But I thought this site was especially good today. There are a lot of large 
dead fish around the edges. And the great egrets were getting lots of minnows. 

mammelton
Aug 10, 2014
32.9159x-96.9338 - Aug 10, 2014, 4:24 PM
Stationary
0 miles
65 Minutes
Observers: 1
All birds reported? Yes
Comments: There were other shorebirds too far away for my equipment. 
1 Great Blue Heron
52 Great Egret
1 Snowy Egret
20 Little Blue Heron -- Mature and immature
1 Tricolored Heron
1 American Kestrel
1 Killdeer
16 Black-necked Stilt
5 Greater Yellowlegs
50 Least Sandpiper
4 Least Tern
1 Mourning Dove
1 Western Kingbird
1 Northern Mockingbird

Mary Ann Melton
lives in Hutto
Birding Irving Texas today.Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at 
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[texbirds] Irving, Dallas County - pond at 635 and George Bush Turnpike

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