Hi, all!
Got out to do some road-birding this morning along the Santa Monica Wetlands
loop, which basically follows FM 1420 to (according to Google Maps) T Flores
Road, the turns into Citation, taking a side trip along Wildlife Drive (this
abuts the NWR for a couple of miles), back to Citation to Old Alice Road,
then up on the levee (which passes the actual wetlands, which were almost
dry today), and back to 1420. Ran into a few light sprinkles but for the
most part it was just overcast with a nice breeze. Nothing unusual, but it
was fun to see gangs of geese, cranes, and some nice raptors along the route
(including some Black Vultures trying to balance on the wires), and a
Sprague's Pipit up on the levee. The only water birds were seen at the
canal crossing on 1420.
"Primrose Path" (CR 375, where the famous Prairie Falcon used to hang out)
had the wintering Peregrine hanging on the tower and a couple more Sprague's
Pipits in the grasslands, but the nice pond along the road was totally dry.
:( It was fun hearing a White-tailed Hawk yelling, though!
Some pictures are on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/marybeth.stowe
Two EBird lists follow:
Santa Monica Wetlands (LTC 012), Willacy, Texas, US Dec 3, 2016 7:04 AM -
10:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
18.5 mile(s)
Comments: 75 to 80 degrees, overcast with occasional sprinkles, calm to
breezy
55 species
Greater White-fronted Goose 40
Snow Goose 519
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Snowy Egret 1
Cattle Egret 11
Black Vulture 10
Turkey Vulture 1
White-tailed Kite 1
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Harris's Hawk 6
White-tailed Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Sandhill Crane 275
Killdeer 8
Long-billed Curlew 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove 7
Mourning Dove 56
Belted Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 3
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 4
Crested Caracara 9
American Kestrel 7
Eastern Phoebe 13
Vermilion Flycatcher 2
Great Kiskadee 25
Couch's Kingbird 2
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
Loggerhead Shrike 3
Green Jay 8
Horned Lark 10
Cave Swallow 8
Black-crested Titmouse 4
Verdin 1
House Wren 6
Bewick's Wren 3
Cactus Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 11
Sprague's Pipit 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 7
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 10
Red-winged Blackbird 43
Western Meadowlark 6
Eastern Meadowlark 27
Great-tailed Grackle 4
House Sparrow 23
Primrose Path, Willacy, Texas, US
Dec 3, 2016 10:20 AM - 11:07 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.9 mile(s)
Comments: 80 degrees, mostly cloudy, breezy
20 species (+1 other taxa)
cormorant sp. 3
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 1
White-tailed Hawk 2
Killdeer 13
Long-billed Curlew 1
Mourning Dove 57
Belted Kingfisher 1
Crested Caracara 1
American Kestrel 3
Peregrine Falcon 1
Horned Lark 5
European Starling 11
American Pipit 1
Sprague's Pipit 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Red-winged Blackbird 96
Western Meadowlark 4
Eastern Meadowlark 9
Great-tailed Grackle 13
Mary Beth Stowe
Alamo, TX
www.miriameaglemon.com <http://www.miriameaglemon.com>
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