[texbirds] McClellan Creek NG & Caprock Canyon SP (and more Sprague's)

From: "Mary Beth Stowe" <mbstowe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Texbirds" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:20:23 -0500
Hi, all!
 

Cameron's gonna get sick of me J, but I had two more Sprague's Pipits along
Schaffer Road off FM 2477 and SR 70, just west of the National Grasslands,
and this time they flew low enough overhead to actually see:  short-tailed
and dumpy, making that robust (for a pipit) PIKE-it! call.  The habitat
where I've been encountering these things looks perfectly fine for Sprague's
Pipit (they're fairly easy to get in the LRGV if you know what to listen
for), and as I told Cameron, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if more people
really learned that call and started surveying these areas on a regular
basis, you'd start recording more of them.  Cornell has a terrific sample of
their call, as I don't recall the call note being on any of the commercially
available CD's (I don't know if this link will take you to the specific
recording, but on the Sprague's Pipit page, it's #2.)

 

http://macaulaylibrary.org/search?location_id=
<http://macaulaylibrary.org/search?location_id=&location_type_id=&location=&;
recordist_id=&recordist=&catalogs=&behavior=&behavior_id=&tab=audio-list&tax
on_id=11992966&taxon_rank_id=67&taxon=spragues+pipit>
&location_type_id=&location=&recordist_id=&recordist=&catalogs=&behavior=&be
havior_id=&tab=audio-list&taxon_id=11992966&taxon_rank_id=67&taxon=spragues+
pipit

 

Had a woodpecker bonanza at McClellan Creek, adding Hairy, Downy, and
Red-bellied to the list!  Had an "Oregon" Junco at a little overlook along
2477, and some Pine Siskins were also new for the trip.  Eastern Bluebirds
were all over, as were Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks along the length
of 2477.

 

Scouted Caprock Canyon after that, but on the way checked out Greenbelt
Reservoir and added some nice trip birds, including Osprey, Great Egret,
Double-crested Cormorant, and Mallard.  Passed a little farm pond further
south that added a few things for the day.  The drive down SR 70 was
absolutely spectacular, as was the state park; when I wasn't stopping every
five feet taking pictures I managed to add Field Sparrow to the trip list,
and down by the new blind logged a Solitary Sandpiper on a post.  Can't wait
to "properly" bird this place tomorrow!

 

Bird List:

 

  Gadwall                               Anas strepera

  American Wigeon                       Anas americana

  Mallard                               Anas platyrhynchos

  Northern Shoveler                     Anas clypeata

  Northern Pintail                      Anas acuta

  Redhead                               Aythya americana

  Northern Bobwhite                     Colinus virginianus

  Pied-billed Grebe                     Podilymbus podiceps

  Double-crested Cormorant              Phalacrocorax auritus

  American White Pelican                Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

  Great Blue Heron                      Ardea herodias

  Great Egret                           Ardea alba

  Osprey                                Pandion haliaetus

  Northern Harrier                      Circus cyaneus

  Red-tailed Hawk                       Buteo jamaicensis

  Solitary Sandpiper                    Tringa solitaria

  Greater Yellowlegs                    Tringa melanoleuca

  Rock Pigeon                           Columba livia

  Eurasian Collared-Dove                Streptopelia decaocto

  Mourning Dove                         Zenaida macroura

  Greater Roadrunner                    Geococcyx californianus

  Red-bellied Woodpecker                Melanerpes carolinus

  Ladder-backed Woodpecker              Picoides scalaris

  Downy Woodpecker                      Picoides pubescens

  Hairy Woodpecker                      Picoides villosus

  Northern Flicker                      Colaptes auratus

  American Kestrel                      Falco sparverius

  Scissor-tailed Flycatcher             Tyrannus forficatus

  American Crow                         Corvus brachyrhynchos

  Horned Lark                           Eremophila alpestris

  Rock Wren                             Salpinctes obsoletus

  Bewick's Wren                         Thryomanes bewickii

  Eastern Bluebird                      Sialia sialis

  American Robin                        Turdus migratorius

  European Starling                     Sturnus vulgaris

  Sprague's Pipit                       Anthus spragueii

  Yellow-rumped Warbler                 Setophaga coronata

  Chipping Sparrow                      Spizella passerina

  Field Sparrow                         Spizella pusilla

  Song Sparrow                          Melospiza melodia

  Lincoln's Sparrow                     Melospiza lincolnii

  White-crowned Sparrow                 Zonotrichia leucophrys

  Dark-eyed Junco                       Junco hyemalis

  Northern Cardinal                     Cardinalis cardinalis

  Red-winged Blackbird                  Agelaius phoeniceus

  Eastern Meadowlark                    Sturnella magna

  Western Meadowlark                    Sturnella neglecta

  Brewer's Blackbird                    Euphagus cyanocephalus

  Common Grackle                        Quiscalus quiscula

  House Finch                           Haemorhous mexicanus

  Pine Siskin                           Spinus pinus

  House Sparrow                         Passer domesticus

 

52 SPECIES

SO FAR:  108 SPECIES

 

Mary Beth Stowe

McAllen, TX

miriameaglemon.com

 



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[texbirds] McClellan Creek NG & Caprock Canyon SP (and more Sprague's)

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