[texbirds] Katy Prairie and Bear Creek Park today, hawks to greater pewee with Couch's Kingbirds thrown in

From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2012 19:58:58 -0600
I started the day along Porter Road with out much around but the resident
mockingbirds and shrikes plus lots of savannah sparrows. Along the middle
stretch of the road, there is a grassy area to the west in contrast to the
brushy growth elsewhere. That area had both grasshopper and leconte's
sparrows happy to perch up.
Went around the corner on Longenbaugh without much luck until on the way
back, the ferruginous hawk was pointed out way out there on a dead snag.

Made another trip by on the way home and the ferruginous was having a great
altercation with 2 crested caracaras that forced the hawk from the top. He
perched below and screamed and the pair and then tried dive bombing. They
dive bombed back. The hawk then left whereupon the caracara left after
winning the game of capture the tree. The hawk eventually vanished way back
to the north. It was great to learn the ferruginous hawk call.

Going west then on Sharp, the woods at the corner of Katy Hockley have a
number of red-headed woodpeckers. A group of harris's sparrows was just to
the west and near the warning sign of the stop sign coming from the west to
the corner was a single couch's kingbird.

In general hawks were good but very few harriers for the day. Many many
caracara with 8-10 at a couple of spots. Eventually headed up Blinky out in
Waller County and had another good group of harris's sparrows where they
were last year. At the corner of Blinky and Baeth, they were mowing and
cutting hay which attracted a great number of hawks.

There was a dark red-tail, a krider's red-tail and several real red-tails
along with 3 different versions of white-tailed hawk. A single ferruginous
hawk made a pass at the other hawks (the ferruginous has been here in the
past). 9 caracara were catching grasshoppers and whenever a hawk grabbed
something larger the caracaras flew in to share. The white-tails grabbed
things actually being tossed out of the mower. I spent about 1/2 hours
there watching. Lots of swooping, diving, and talon swinging going on. The
white-tails would gang up on the red-tails.

Had another white-tail on Clay inside Fry road where they have been for
several years and 3 near the airport on sharp where they were also
harassing a red-tail.

Going on out Harper's Church road, the sod farm was the only green spot
around. They were closed for the holidays so there was no watering or
wetness and almost no birds. Just to the west of the farm, 2 more couch's
kingbirds were very noisy. All 3 birds were eating tallow berries which
they take on the fly. 1 bewick's wren was out there making 3 for the day,
all way out in Waller County. 2 may have been the western subspecies as
they called different than all the birds from last winter. I heard none
calling like a year ago.

The only ladder-backed woodpecker of the day was at Bell and Schmidt. Only
1 orange-crowned warbler and no common yellowthroats for the day. Not a
whole lot of sparrows but lots of great food. May have had more harris's
than white-crowns.

Coming home, I stopped at Bear Creek Park and waited a while and walked
around some. Had the usual nuthatches, both kinglets, brown creepers and
several pine siskins which were actually perched in a tree rather than
flying overhead. One almost landed on my head and another head but gave up
with only a foot to spare.

About 3:30 the greater pewee showed up just south of restroom 9 coming from
east of the road. It did its flycatching from the tops of bare trees in the
area for about 20 minutes and finally perched directly over my car where it
left a souvenir of its visit on the car roof. It moved off to the northwest
stopping for a bit to the west of the sidewalk leading into #9 restroom and
then again northwest across the drive. It pipped softly while flycatching
but not any other calls. Much softer note than the note it gave back when
it arrived. Perhaps molting some as the crest is less evident than way back
when I first saw it way off in a treetop.

Lots of little birds around when it arrived and it left in the direction of
the other little birds. Lots more birds in the park than on Monday
including a couple of large american pipit flocks and more pine warblers.
Afternoons really work after lots of no-shows in the morning but it did
take a good bit of waiting before the good show. And I will park in that
spot from now on.
It is really dry out in the country with some spots that had water last
fall now dry. Almost no ditches with even damp spots. Most of the rice
areas west of 359 were dry too but a couple had shorebirds, long-billed
dowitchers and dunlin. It is much harder to find birds this year than last
year but there are always birds to be found. And birds that were not there
the last time around.

-- 
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx


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[texbirds] Katy Prairie and Bear Creek Park today, hawks to greater pewee with Couch's Kingbirds thrown in

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