[texbirds] Painted Redstart, Long-tailed Ducks and Black Scoters at Aransas NWR
- From: David <davidttrue@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 19:57:21 -0500
12/11/2013
Had the day off so I spent most of it checking much of the public areas of the
refuge in search of birdlife. With cool temperatures and a light breeze, the
refuge was very comfortable to be in and birdy as well, with few mosquitos,
which is a rarity here. Also San Antonio Bay was as smooth as glass today, so
viewing conditions across the bay were exceptional.
At the Visitor Center area, the Painted Redstart is still hanging on for the
time being. It is still very active in the live oaks near the visitor center.
We shall see how long it stays here. Soras and Common Gallinules are active
across the street along the Rail Trail. We're getting good numbers of American
Robins, American Goldfinch, and Tree Swallows lately as well.
Two Long-tailed Ducks were observed near the Fishing Pier area. Both birds
were in basic plumage and roughly 100 yards from the shore. Along with them
were a good flock of Ruddy Ducks, lots of Horned Grebes, and many Bufflehead,
Common Goldeneyes and Lesser Scaup with a few Red-breasted Mergansers mixed in.
At the Dagger Point area, there were eleven Black Scoters off the shoreline!
Of the eleven, two were adult males. You could easily observe the yellow
bulbish spot on the upper bill of the adult males. There were also four Common
Loons and many species of diving ducks. The scoters were fairly distant but
with a scope you could see them quite well, particularly in the afternoon with
the sun behind you. It's definitely worth scanning San Antonio Bay as there
are quite a lot of ducks and other waterbirds, particularly when viewing
conditions are good. Two whooping cranes can also be found fairly regularly
for the time being at the Heron Flats Trail mixing with Sandhill Cranes and two
are at their traditional spot fairly close to the Wildlife Tower.
David True
Park Ranger
Aransas NWR
1 Wildlife Circle
Austwell, Texas 77950
361-286-3559 ext. 232
david_true@xxxxxxx
davidttrue@xxxxxxxxxxx
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