Spent last Thursday at Sabine and worked down Backridge Road at sunrise.
Quite a few shorebirds in the ditches but only a few landbirds in the
patches of woods and edges. The fires of recent years as well as Ike sure
did a number on the birds in the public areas along there.
Again, there were almost no greater yellowlegs and lots of lesser
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173526
Stilt sandpipers are very pugnacious now with other stilt sandpipers but
the lesser yellowlegs can easily route them from a good patch
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173534
Lots of spotted sandpipers out there too
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173533
Lots of white-rumped sandpipers doing their mouse squeaks too
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173539
A pond in the state park also had lesser yellowlegs
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173528
Along with short-billed dowitchers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173530
And were joined by the local killdeers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173524
The entrance station to the beach part of the park had a golden plover
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173515
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173512
Wilson's phalaropes dropped in at several spots but did not stay
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173543
Note that they can use ducks to help stir up bottom goodies as they general
feed by picking floating prey
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173542
A good group of shorebirds were down at McFaddin Refuge including dunlin
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173510
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173509
and more lesser yellowlegs
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173529
But the bird of the day was a single hudsonian godwit that fed with the
others and occasionally had to peck a dowitchers that tried to steal food
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173563
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173562
They really get down in there while feeding
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173557
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173561
The godwit was still there after noon when I did another check of the area
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173558
A large flock of singing male bobolinks were a mile or so south of the
woods. Early on they were down in the cattails but singing but later they
spent time in the cane eating aphids like the warblers used to do on the
boardwalk
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173597
Lots of birds in the woods. Thrushes and larger birds were going out to the
mulberry trees to the east but plenty in the woods too.
Acadian flycatchers were the commoner empidonax
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173593
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173594
Still lots of black and white warblers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173595
All the magnolia warblers I saw were males
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173605
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173607
Catbirds were one of the big birds of the day
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173608
Philadelphia vireos seemed to prefer willow trees
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173613
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173614
Red-eyed vireos were common and also were in most of the salt cedar patches
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173620
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173619
Cock of the woods were strutting around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173610
But the northern waterthrushes were mainly near the water
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173609
A white-eyed vireo caught a large caterpillar. It bit off chunks and
squeezed out all of the innards and ate the main body
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173626
Two scissor-tailed flycatchers were altercating across the street
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173624
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173622
The sabine area is a capital site for common nighthawks
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173598
Little clumps of shells can have numerous sitting birds
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173599
So you can get a good look at the bristles around the beak. Most are on the
top and bottom and actually have a good bit of feather structure.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/163173601
Lots more pictures of these and other birds at
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/inbox
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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