[texbirds] Matagorda County - Oyster Lake Rd (CTC 008)
- From: Bob and Ruth Friedrichs <twofried@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 17:55:57 -0600
This afternoon, an immature intermediate Swainson's Hawk was perched on a fence
post along Oyster Lake Rd in Matagorda County. This is likely the same bird
found on the Mad Island CBC by Brad Lirette. It was very cooperative, allowing
long looks from about 20 yards away. Unfortunately, the camera was at the
house :-(
There was also a young Krider's Red-tailed in the area as well as White-tailed
Hawks and the other expected raptors. There are lots of light and dark geese
as well as Sandhills along this road as well. Most of the ponds at the shrimp
farm are currently dry, being prepared for the next batch of post-larval
shrimp. The few ponds with water held the expected ducks and waders.
The road along the bay up at Collegeport had a raft of RB Mergansers and some
Common Goldeneye, Buffleheads and a few Scaup. While on the east side of the
Tres Palacios Bay, I looked for the Long-tailed Duck but he has not been seen
since the 19th. Duck numbers are down in the bay over the last 2 weeks so he
could have moved on. The hunters have also been quite active the last week or
so....
At Collegeport and down at Oyster Lake, the tides are running well below normal
so Willet, Dowitchers, Dunlin, Plovers and other peeps were actively probing
the soft mud for something to eat.
The local farmers are in the field discing and plowing and there are good
numbers of Grackles, Blackbirds, Sparrows (mainly Savannah) and Pipits foraging
on the freshly overturned ground. We didn't find anything unusual by there
were lots of birds.
Overall, a nice outing on a dreary day. Happy New Year to all and good birding
in 2014!
Bob Friedrichs
Palacios for the holidays....
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