[texbirds] Sabine area yesterday, scaups, hooded mergansers and warblers.

From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 17:52:32 -0500
I got going early and arrived at the goose pens just after sunrise. Went
down Backridge road for my usual start. People already on the road. Lots of
ducks around. One pond had a flock of scaup that looked greater but the
light was still poor. The next pond had more scaup and the best birds of
the day; a flock of 7 female hooded mergansers. They were not there later
in the day.
There was a large flock of mainly teal blue and green-winged in a pond of
to the east and off to the west out of sight, there is really a large
number of ducks by call. They must come into the closer ponds to loop.
Rails out as usual including several soras on the road shoulders.

Very little along the edges but some eastern kingbirds were newly arrived
and were acting like no kingbirds I have seen. They were looping around and
yelling like willets in big circles up there. They may just have arrived as
others were seen moving and passing during the day. Lots of upland
sandpipers calling from overhead but the grassy areas seemed rather dry and
were being mowed.

Stopped at Texas point and had a couple of parula warblers. Headed down the
road and had a very tame golden plover in the marsh section of Searim state
park. It fed around the parking lot and had real good luck finding small
things alongside some killdeer.

The gulf side of the park has lots of water and a fair number of shorebirds
before people started arriving and they did so in caravans of jeeps and
trucks. Not much out on the beach as a result but fog and gloom had settled
in so I did not linger. Very little in the first couple miles of McFaddin
but seaside sparrows were singing.

Went back to the woods in the gloom and it was fairly quiet but there were
lots of hooded warblers everywhere but it was hard to work up a list. Had a
chuck-wills widow go by and there were at least 2 in the area. A flicker
out back in the open doing ants. Heard and had a glimpse of the
golden-fronted but it was in a hole and did not come out. Downies and
several sapsuckers too.

Went back down the road and about 11, the sun started showing and birds
moved. Yellow-rumps headed north and gnatcatchers were flying along the
beach so went back to the woods and had more birds. A good flurry came to
the drips and I saw people see birds I missed. One prothonotary and several
Louisiana waterthrushes joined the hooded, black and white and parulas.
Heavy swallow movement at times and they found goodies over the woods; at
least a couple of bank went bzzz-bzzz-bzzz. A black-throated green warbler
joined a parula flock. And there were kingbirds at times.

Green herons have arrived, but not many.

I stayed to 3pm but only had 2 wood thrushes came in to the drip area.
There were gnatcatchers moving and there were always more than a while
before.

What was surprising was the general lack of sparrows everywhere except for
a few savannah along the road but even their numbers were low. And very few
birds in general along the road or in the brush clumps which usually have
something good. But it also is still March and a few weeks for the large
numbers of migrants. Winter was bad in the area and there are no blooming
lantana and thus no berries and the mulberries are way behind last year and
quite a bit behind high island trees. Actually it is more like normal after
warm winters.

But lots of hooded warblers make the day any day.



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


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[texbirds] Sabine area yesterday, scaups, hooded mergansers and warblers.

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