[texbirds] Local patch challenge - Austin
- From: Dan Smith <dan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 15:09:21 -0500
This morning I first checked out Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park off North Lamar
Blvd. in Austin, a park to which I had not been but that is in my patch. It
looks quite promising but if far too active with people and dogs on a weekend
morning. Still, a fence line along a field on the west end of the park yielded
11 species including the largest flocks of House Sparrows (about 200 feeding
heavily on grass seeds) and Grackles I have seen not in an HEB parking lot at
dusk.
After a brief stop there, I went along to the Walnut Creek trail under
development east of HWY 183 at 51st street (the Y) and walked it to well south
of where it passes under MLK. I spent about 2.5 hours and logged 42 species
including, drum roll please, a Hairy Woodpecker. This bird was identified by
both sight and voice, with what Sibley calls "tweeks and sputters" somewhat
between those of his examples from NY and CA. Not as fast as NY, but faster
than CA. The bird was about 1/4 mile south of MLK in fairly heavy and tall
woods to the east of the trail.
Beyond that, the whole walk was pretty birdy. I encountered several foraging
groups of warblers and one of Orchard (2) and Baltimore Orioles (4 at least).
The 10 warblers I found along the way included 3 B&W, 3 Nashville, 2 Mourning,
1 Common Yellowthroat, 1 American Redstart, 5 Yellow, 2 Black-throated Green, 3
Canada, 2 Wilsons, 1 Chat. Crows were harassing something out of sight south of
MLK, and after a bit a Barred Owl came along trying to get away from the noise.
The first time I was there I flushed a Barred Owl in about the same area. Had 2
Chimney Swifts, a group of 7 Mississippi Kites, a Broad-winged Hawk, and 2
Red-tailed Hawks.
It must have been a tough day to be a gnat on that trail because I counted 15
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers all foraging eagerly. There were numerous other tiny
foragers up high that I never got a full look at. Had both Carolina (5) and
Bewick's (1) wrens. And 2 of my first Clay-colored Sparrows of the fall in the
tall grass along the hill down to the creek by the golf course. The Hairy
Woodpecker brings me to 228 for the patch.
Dan Smith
dan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
512-451-2632
http://www.wordsmithofaustin.com
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