[texbirds] Port O'Connor nice fallout as of 11:35 AM.

From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman@xxxxxxxxx>
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:43:25 -0500
  Just over 4" of rain flooded town early this morning adding to
yesterday's total.   This prevented me from accessing some of my honey
holes, including Boggy Bayou,  but not to worry there were birds all over
my patch...I was real surprised and as usual had no one to call or bird
with when the Hockeys are out of town...But down one of the streets I saw
someone that appeared to maybe be birding and after a bit got close enough
to see he was.  A young fellow, Dennis Magel, who had his fishing plans
rained out yesterday and this morning.  He is a novice birder but has
younger and better eyes than mine which came in very handy this morning, as
well as an interest....We racked up a bunch of lifers for him..And he kept
notes ....

The sunflowers, while completely soaked and dripping, were just full of
birds, especially buntings, warblers (especially Nashvilles, chats and
Wilson's), gnatcatchers, flycatchers etc....We spent well over an hour just
picking thru one patch that was 12 ft. high in some areas and very dense
Then we worked the taller trees and oaks etc. getting a whole different set
of birds.....Numerous Great Crested Flycatchers, Pewees, more warblers and
a few surprises listed later, Here too were tanagers a Whip-poor-will
roosting, roosting Black-crowned Night-Herons and 5-6 Redstarts, a few
Cuckoos etc......And loads of Mosquitoes.  Up until c10:00 we saw numerous
small flocks of passerines drop into town/sunflowers...most if not all
appeared to be buntings maybe a few Dickcissels...Like I said his sharper
eyes were just almost indispensable.

And it was not just on the ground...There were lots of swifts and a fair
number of swallows, ibis, etc.etc. overhead.  Cooper's and Sharp-shins
making a pain of themselves.

  But as eager as he was to stay with it with me (and I to have him to), he
had a wife and brother waiting to try to salvage the afternoon for some
fishing.  So I pretty much stopped when he did (~noon), soaked from the
thighs down, chewed up by fire ants and mosquitoes...Will get back to it
later.  So here are my Highlights (not his) for the morning.

Merlin 1 eating a small bird (at Ester's old place)
1 of 3 Ospreys with a redfish (?) so big it could hardly get off the water
with it.
Whip-poor-will 1
Tropical Kingbird 1 (heard and photo'ed) and likely the same bird from a
couple of wk.s ago...Surprised it was still here...(Also had Couch's and
lots of Easterns and scissortails)
Bell's Vireo 1 in sunflowers
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 fem.
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Mourning Warblers 3-4 and likely more and even a Mac. in sunflowers?
Magnolia Warbler 2 one in Hockey's Yd.
Ovenbird (from yesterday)
N. Waterthrush 1
4 species of buntings (missed Varied of course but had 2-3 Lazulis)
1 sparrow that sounded to me like White-crowned but I could never get a
good look.

Could not relocate the Anis this morning but did not spend a lot of time
looking for them, just drove thru the area.  Now time for a few chores..


-- 
Brush Freeman
Independent and affiliated Field Biologist
361-655-7641
http://texasnaturenotes.blogspot.com/
Finca Alacranes., Utley,Texas
The greatest musician of all time is mother nature.
[texbirds] Port O'Connor nice fallout as of 11:35 AM.

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