[texbirds] Re: [leasbirds] Good birding east and northeast of Lubbock today
- From: Kelly Himmel <kfhimmel@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: leasbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 11 May 2014 19:58:33 -0500
Anthony and anyone else interested,
The water in the Cone Playa is a result of a once common irrigation
practice that has almost disappeared (I've only seen one or two other
instances in this area since I moved back here in 2007) . At one time
farmers in the strong water areas north and east of Lubbock would water
down the row on sloping land and let the runoff accumulate in their playa
and then pump it back into their irrigation system. Thirty five years ago
this practice led to some very good breeding habitat for waterfowl, herons,
and shorebirds in eastern Hale, Floyd and northwestern Crosby Counties.
By the way, some very good birds you found over here along the Caprock.
Kelly Himmel
Crosby County
On Sun, May 11, 2014 at 4:51 PM, Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> Greetings All:
>
> Despite the threat of heavy winds and yet another oh so stimulating dust
> storm predicted for the afternoon I headed on out to Crosby, Dickens,
> Motley, and Floyd Counties today.
>
> If one looks at the US drought monitor, one would discover that almost the
> entirety of my 41-county region is dealing with the most severe -
> exceptional - stage of drought. These four counties certainly looked it
> with standing water down to sewage ponds (in all four counties), a pretty
> solid set of springs (in one county), and broken irrigation wells (in one
> county). Playas are either bone dry or sporting up to two years worth of
> upland weeds. Wildflowers are in short supply, butterflies are scarce,
> amphibians all but absent, reptiles scarce, birds scarce, and small mammals
> non-existent above ground.
>
> Despite the conditions I had a pretty good day though I would stress that
> while diversity was about average numbers of all birds - even typically
> common species - are very much down.
>
> The only Lubbock County highlight: 2 Cattle Egrets just east of Idalou.
>
> Crosby County highlights during the morning: 2 Yellow-crowned Night
> Herons, 4 Black-necked Stilts, 8 American Avocets, 6 Wilson's Phalaropes, 1
> Willow Flycatcher (a very late FOS for me), 1 Warbling Vireo, 1 Yellow
> Warbler, 1 Wilson's Warbler, 1 Indigo Bunting, and 12 Yellow-headed
> Blackbirds at the portion of the Ralls Sewage Ponds visible without
> trespassing; 2 American Avocets and 2 Baird's Sandpipers at
> Gorilla/Triceratops Playa west of Crosbyton; 5 Cattle Egrets and 1
> Swainson's Thrush at Crosbyton City Park; 2 Eastern Phoebes, 2 Canyon
> Wrens, 1 male American Redstart, 2 Yellow Warblers, 1 MacGillivray's
> Warbler, and 2 Wilson's Warblers at Silver Falls Rest Area.
>
> Dickens County highlights: 2 Common Ravens just west of Dickens; 7 Purple
> Martins in Dickens; 2 Cinnamon Teals, 1 Solitary Sandpiper, and 2 Eastern
> Phoebes at Dickens Sewage Ponds; 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher (another very
> late FOS for me), 1 Canyon Wren, 1 House Wren, 1 Yellow Warbler, 2
> MacGillivray's Warblers, 1 Wilson's Warbler, 1 Yellow-breasted Chat, 1
> Chipping Sparrow, 1 Field Sparrow, 1 Lincoln's Sparrow, 1 female Summer
> Tanager, 1 male Western Tanager, and 1 male Black-headed Grosbeak at
> Dickens Springs; 3 Western Scrub Jays flying across Highway 70 just north
> of Dickens.
>
> The highlight of the day from a 'wow, that's pretty' perspective: 1 Field
> Sparrow bathing at the concrete basin at the springs joined, in order, by a
> female Summer Tanager, a Yellow-breasted Chat, a male Black-headed
> Grosbeak, and a male Western Tanager - definitely the most exciting field
> of view during the day.
>
> Motley County highlights: 1 dead Common Poorwill on Highway 70 just north
> of the Dickens/Motley County line; 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 2 Eastern
> Phoebes, 2 Great Crested Flycatchers, and 1 Wilson's Warbler at the Pease
> River crossing just south of Roaring Springs; 1 Cattle Egret, 4 American
> Avocets, and 2 Yellow-headed Blackbirds at the Roaring Springs Sewage
> Ponds; 1 Double-crested Cormorant, 2 Cinnamon Teals, 1 Greater Yellowlegs,
> 1 Willet, 2 Least Sandpipers, 3 White-rumped Sandpipers, 2 Semipalmated
> Sandpipers, 5 Wilson's Phalaropes, 1 MacGillivray's Warbler, and 2 Wilson's
> Warblers at the East Mound Cemetery/Matador Sewage Ponds; 1 House Wren, 1
> Swainson's Thrush, 2 Hermit Thrushes, 1 Gray Catbird, 1 Black-and-white
> Warbler, 1 Yellow Warbler, and 2 MacGillivray's Warblers at the Campbell
> Rest Area just east of the Motley/Floyd County line.
>
> The biggest WOW birds of the day - a tie between a flight-worthy but very
> misplaced Double-crested Cormorant at the Matador Sewage Ponds and the
> breaking - finally - of The Willet Curse at the same site. Last year I
> could not, despite Willets being found left and right by everybody else in
> my region, beg, borrow, or steal a Willet. No more - not only did I
> finally find a Willet but it was a Weirdly Wocated Willet:)
>
> I apologize, slightly, for the joke - watched The Princess Bride the other
> night.
>
> Floyd County highlights: 3 Snowy Egrets just east of Floydada; 2 Cattle
> Egrets just south of Floydada; 1 Yellow Warbler, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers,
> and 1 MacGillivrays Warbler at the White River crossing of Highway 207.
>
> Crosby County afternoon highlights: 1 Cattle Egret, 6 White-faced Ibis, 2
> Black-necked Stilts, 6 American Avocets, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Silt
> Sandpipers, 2 Least Sandpipers, 1 Western Sandpiper, and 3 Long-billed
> Dowitchers at the somehow-still-flooded Cone Playa.
>
> Not too shabby for a 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM day that terminated in the high
> 90s with stiff winds and occasional patches of blowing dust.
>
> Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
>
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