[texbirds] Matagorda County - Peeps

From: Ruth <twofried@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 21:56:00 -0500
This morning, I birded the Matagorda beach area and STP west road and nearby 
sod farms.
Despite tides running very high and the forecast for thunderstorms, it was a 
good morning.

At the pool just behind the Matagorda beach there were lots (40+) of 
Semi-palmated Plovers.  They kept flying in from across the channel; from the 
pennisula?  (I've always wanted to take the boat over and bird the Matagorda 
Peninsula... some day).  Also had good numbers of Skimmers, Caspian, Royal, 
Black, Forester's and Sandwich Terns.  A Greater Yellowlegs was doing it's best 
Avocet imitation, sweeping it's bill back and forth across the surface of the 
water to snag food items while racing wildly along the edge of the water.   

When the rain started, I decided to drive the beach.  Here there were Piping, 
Snowy and Semi-palmated Plovers; oddly no Wilson's.  One of the Piping Plovers 
was tapping one of it's feet in the soft sand to stir-up some very small foot 
items.  I haven't noticed the Plover or Yellowlegs behavior before.  There were 
3 Red Knots a bit further down in their gray winter plumage. There was not much 
room to drive the beach with the high tides but it was also quiet with only 3 
fisherman out on the beach.  Note sure they caught anything as the surf was 
really churning.  On the way in had my FOF Northern Harrier.  On East Gulf Rd 
there were 9 Frigatebirds cruising the Intercoastal and Gull-billed Terns in 
the flats on the north side of the road.

Along STP West road, there were still lots of Yellow Warblers but no other 
warblers.  Also present were Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo and 
White-eyed Vireo, Blue Grosbeak, Orchard and Baltimore Oriole and a couple of 
fly-by Upland Sandpipers.

Around the corner at the CR 383 sod farms there were over 1000 peeps; mostly 
Least and Western Sandpipers at a ratio of 2:1 and a smattering of other 
things; Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Upland Sandpipers, Black-bellied Plovers, 
Pectoral Sandpipers, Stilt Sandpipers and Dowitchers.  The recent rains had the 
sod field quite wet and the peeps were lovin' it.  Not sure if this group of 
birds had just arrived or if the high tides had pushed them inland to greener 
pastures.  The male Peregrine was hanging around again but did not see him 
dining on peeps this time around.

Looking forward to what the front will bring with it...good birding!

Thanks,
Bob Friedrichs
Houston/ PalaciosEdit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at 
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds

Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission 
from the List Owner
[texbirds] Matagorda County - Peeps

Other related posts:
