Hello,
Late this afternoon I headed over to the Crayfish farm on the
Ellis/Navarro County for the evening fly-in. (This spot is on Hwy 85 about
13 miles east of the City of Ennis.)
When I got there around 4:40, I found upwards of 8000 white Geese
including a large number of Ross's (1500+) roosting on the north side of
the highway in Ellis.
Around 5:45 these birds started stirring and flying across the
Highway. Nearly half these early birds were Ross's, hundreds of them.
Around 6:15, large flocks poured in from the north and the west and by 6:50
it seems the last of the birds had come in. It was getting pretty dark and
optics were not much use as the last of the geese dropped in. The birds
were spreading out in three large groups, all coming from Ellis, but all
roosting in Navarro. One group spread out nearly a half mile on the
ground. In total, I estimate 30,000+ birds with Ross's comprising no less
than 5000, but possibly a good bit more. The last two flocks were very
large and there was just no way to accurately estimate, no less count and
separate the swirling masses. If you could count them, I wouldn't be
surprised to find upwards of 40000+ white geese.
There are lots of ducks here also, divers and puddle ducks on both
sides of the highway. This is also a good spot for Bald Eagle and
especially caracara.
There are ponds and wetlands on both sides of the road. Pull all the
way off the shoulder. The birds in Navarro can be pretty far off. If its
sunny, then late morning and early afternoon is tough light in Navarro
County. Birding is from the road only but there are many vantage
points and ponds in which to scope out. If you are a county lister, you'll
want to study the county line before hand. Its a tricky county line here.
There are a lot of birds here right now.
Ted Drozdowski
Lake Waxahachie
Ellis County
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