[texbirds] Notes from the Katy Prairie on a beautiful mid-day in mid-March
- From: Stephen Gast <segast23@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:21:03 -0700 (PDT)
On March 18, Jim Stewart and I traveled our standard route that we have been
driving for the last three years designed nominally to do a relaxed but
repeatable count of hawks seen on a 43 mile loop through and around the Katy
Prairie Conservancy properties. I thought I should post a bit of what we saw
this past Wednesday. Each one of these 'tours' has been memorable in its own
way and this fine spring day was no exception. Everywhere there is water and
each pothole or flooded rice field has Shovelers, Gadwall, Green and
Blue-winged Teal, all in great plumage, and scatterings of both Yellowlegs, and
Long-billed Dowitcher. But our searches for Long-billed Curlew were unrewarded
today. Where are they. It is too early for them all to have left.
Of rarity note was the continuing dark phase juvenile Ferruginous Hawk perched
and very approachable on a telephone pole near the intersection of Morrison and
Pattison Roads in Waller co. This is the boundary of the Mary Manor property of
the KPC to the NE of this intersection. The tameness of the hawk allowed us to
approach close enough to see the extended yellow gape passing below the eye,
and we could also see that the tarsi were covered in short close furry feathers
all the way down to just above the bright yellow feet.
Sandhill Cranes are now much reduced in number as the majority are now
convening in the great spectacle that is at the Audubon Society's Rowe
Sanctuary on the Platte River in Nebraska, however 48 were still present just
to the south of Morrison Rd. as well as a juvenile White-tailed Hawk which we
observed repeatedly hovering as it hunted over a prairie expanse that lacked
perches for Red-tailed Hawks.
Elsewhere the clear breasted local 'krideri' race of the Red-tailed Hawk is
getting down to nesting. We flushed one inadvertently from a nest within the
Warren Ranch. Another nest is readily visible to all on the power line just
north of the observation deck at Warren Ranch Lake. These birds have
unsuccessfully tried to nest along this power line the last two years but have
had their nest blown down each March. Maybe this nest will survive the spring
winds this year. Quite a few of the migrant eastern Red-tails (with the marked
belly-bands) still linger. We found 28 of these along our route focused on
areas of more diverse and less grazed grasslands, obviously higher quality
habitat carrying more prey this late into the end of the winter.
American Golden Plovers made a modest showing with flocks of 20 and 10 birds
respectively along Pattison and Sharp roads.
Savannah Sparrows were everywhere, maybe 500 to a thousand or more on the day.
Are they staging here on the prairie before disappearing suddenly in the next
few days or weeks?
The Northern Harriers, which were so prominent earlier in mid-winter have now
largely departed, we found just three. And lastly we found a healthy population
of Loggerhead Shrikes, with a count of 15.
Thanks to the many people who took action in the last weeks in our efforts to
influence the proposal for the Highway 36A study. We are now promised a seat at
the table in the planning, and moneys approved for the study have been directed
to avoid considering crossing lands controlled or owned by KPC. The first
chapter has been successfully written in this challenge. But more challenges
are to come. A highway right down the side of the KPC lands, or poorly planned
access roads, would do much collateral damage. We will need to be alert to
these issues and may again need your support or more. If you want to help
please see - http://www.saveourprairie.com/ . Here you will find four action
items - any of which I encourage you to consider. And also, please bird the
byways of the Katy Prairie and register your records on eBird.
Thanks
Steve Gast
Houston, Texas
segast23@xxxxxxxxx
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