[texbirds] Sparrow Road Route
- From: "Mary Beth Stowe" <mbstowe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 16:12:15 -0600
Hi, all!
Sparrow Road lived up to its name this morning: Pat Heirs and I did the
route following paved FM 2221 north from La Joya, then continuing on dirt
Jara Chinas and poking along Mile 14 and up to FM 490. We had eight species
of sparrows with a ninth Spizella (we dipped on Lark Bunting - usually this
route is a shoe-in for them.). But we did pick up three Black-throated
Sparrows, four Grasshoppers (along the paved portion next to that big
field), several Cassin's, and a White-crowned, which was new for my route
list. A couple of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers showed up along the paved
portion, and raptors were in good form with White-tailed, Red-tailed,
Harris', Caracaras, Harriers, and Kestrels, plus a possible young
Red-shouldered on the way home. I showed Pat the fine art of messin' with
Roadrunners J and the barren fields that looked good for nothing hid lots of
Horned Larks. At the north end of the route (where I usually get absolutely
nothing), we spooked tons of White-fronted Geese! We had also seen hundreds
of Snows in the distance earlier on the road, but we couldn't find where
they may have landed. We ended the route with three flyover Sandhill
Cranes, so that rounded out the "Winter Big Boys" trifecta.
Pictures and one recording are here:
http://miriameaglemon.com/photo_gallery/2014%20Field%20Trips/December/Sparro
w%20Road%20Route.html
or here:
http://tinyurl.com/orf2qpf
Bird List (Pat did an EBird list.):
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
Snow Goose Chen caerulescens
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
White-tailed Hawk Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
American Pipit Anthus rubescens
Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus
Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
Black-throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
49 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
miriameaglemon.com
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