Headed out to sabine woods and the area on sunday morning. Started the day
on backridge road as usual and had none of the usual shorebirds or
grasspipers as all of the usual wet areas including the brackish ones were
dry. Seaside sparrows were singing. Went on down to the coast road and had
a fly-in-front black-billed cuckoo a little before Texas Point exactly
where I had one a year before. It banked and spread its tail to make sure I
did not miss it.
Went on down past the woods to start and the little bushes in the inland
part of the state park had a flock of 4 western kingbirds and 4 eastern
kingbirds.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353544
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353545
they were sort of napping and catching cooled dragonflies from in the bushes
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353547
Each time the got one others would try to steal it
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353546
Eventually a mockingbird claimed all of the bushes and the kingbirds were
pushed down by the boat launch
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353547
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353549
Down by the Mcfaddin entrance a single lark sparrow was hopping around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353561
It was around all day in the short grass next to the road
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353562
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353565
The area also had common nighthawks
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353558
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353559
As the day went on the roadside attracted more and more indigo buntings
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353581
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353583
Most were kept moving as lots of people were heading to the beaches at the
state park
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353582
Females out there too
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353580
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353579
In the main part of the park pond, a Wilson's phalarope was feeding
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353593
They really stretch out to grab little bugs
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353596
Each time it caught something one of the lesser yellowlegs tried to get in
on the good stuff
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353594
But they also fed alone
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353589
Long-billed dowitchers looked long-billed
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353591
A good number of barn and tree swallows were feeding over the water and
gleaning small insects. After looking at odd swallows, it turned out that
many were semipalmated sandpipers hover feeding like the swallows
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353592
On the way back to the woods, a lesser nighthawk flew beside the car and
then perched on the white line on the side of the road
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353541
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353543
The woods were very busy with bigger and brighter colored birds. Swainson's
thrushes and summer tanagers were maybe the most common
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353604
this thrush was hacking up bug parts
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353605
It was very tame feeding in the path
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353606
It hopped around the corner and transmogrified into a gray-cheeked thrush
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353602
Note that gray-cheeked thrushes are much more afternoon birds than the
swainson's thrushes as they are coming from a long way further south. When
I was banding south of New Orleans it was at least 5 or 6 hours later for
the gray-cheeks to appear.
Orchard orioles were common in the woods but seemed to be rather scarce in
some the scrubby places along the roads
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353613
And big birds mean rose-breasted grosbeaks
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353615
And summer tanagers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353618
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353619
And black-crowned night herons were roosting in the open along with the
yellow-crowned night herons
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165353622
All the pictures with more of the sparrow, thrushes etc can be browsed at
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/inbox
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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