[texbirds] Quintana and Galveston pictures, swans, 2 rough-legged hawks, warblers etc

From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:40:31 -0500
Back on the 26th, I mainly worked along the coast from quintana up to
Galveston. Had my first franklin's gull for the season with a nice pink
breast at the Quintana jetty next to a laughing gull
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442527
Royal terns at the same spot were celebrating spring
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442534

A couple of lesser black-backed gulls are still on the beach
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442530

The number of roosting snowy plovers was down but there was still a good
number
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442535

the pair of mute swans was preening in unison
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442533

http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442531

Horned larks were feeding with the plovers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442556

The male was developing nice horns
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442551

Kicked sand to find food
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442552

Which was seeds
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442554

Forster's terns away from the beach were about all molted
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442572

Some of the brown thrashers seem to be newly arrived migrants
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442574

The audubon's warbler has been at Lafitte's woods for a bit
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442580

http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442579

A yellow-throated warbler was hopping along the trail
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442583

http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442584

It took a half hour wait for the lingering rough-legged hawk to come up
from the ground and hunt near the highway
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442595

http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/149442594

While waiting for him to come closer again, it was joined by a second
darker rough-legged hawk. Through the wonders of modern photography, I was
able to get a shot of both birds together. If you scrunch your eyes up and
really look at the right bird you can tell it is the resident rough-leg.

Then if you really really scrunch your eyes up and study the second darker
bird on the left you can identify all of the the field marks needed to
identify another of this rare bird. What would we do without cameras to
bring birds in closer. I did get a little better look of them even closer
together with binoculars and they are more than 1/2 miles away at the far
corner of the field.

All of the pictures and more can be viewed at
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/inbox

-- 
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx


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[texbirds] Quintana and Galveston pictures, swans, 2 rough-legged hawks, warblers etc

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