[texbirds] shorebirding Thursday 09/10/15: five Cameron Co. sites

  • From: Rex Stanford <calidris.bairdii@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2015 22:24:00 -0500

Yesterday (Thursday, 09/10/15) my wife (Birgit) and I birded five Cameron
County sites, primarily with a focus on finding shorebirds. The sites were,
in temporal order, WEAVER ROAD SOD FIELDS (ca. 11:1 a.m. – 12:00 noon);
PORT ISABEL RESERVOIR (ca. 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.); SOUTH PADRE ISLAND BAYSIDE
BEACH NORTH OF CONVENTION CENTER (late mid-afternoon); PULL-OUT ON
EASTBOUND TX-48 (late afternoon); and TX-48 BOAT LAUNCH (very late
afternoon). What follows are the shorebird species identified yesterday at
each site (and some idea of their numbers). As is usual with substantial
and/or distant aggregations of shorebirds, some birds were seen that had to
remain unidentified.


WEAVER ROAD SOD FIELDS: The birds found here were in the north-most sod
fields, which lie immediately south of the dog-leg; these fields held
plenty of water, often in large pools, due largely to irrigation: KILLDEER
(numerous, widespread); GREATER YELLOWLEGS (several); LESSER YELLOWLEGS
(more numerous, possibly 20-24); WESTERN SANDPIPER (1); LEAST SANDPIPER
(40-45); PECTORAL SANDPIPER (18-20; one striking male had very dark
pectoral markings); and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER (11, one a large, beautiful
bird in full breeding regalia). We spent nearly an hour here sorting out
the birds because most of them were distant, because there was, when the
hot sun popped out, bewildering heat distortion, and because they often
foraged amidst partially obscuring grass. CAUTION: If the heavy rains
predicted as widespread in South Texas later today and subsequently do
materialize, Weaver Road likely would become treacherously muddy and slick.
Total shorebird species identified at this site = 7.



PORT ISABEL RESERVOIR: BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (65-70); WILSON’S PLOVER (12);
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (30-35); BLACK-NECKED STILT (8-10); AMERICAN AVOCET
(250+); WILLET (numerous; not counted); SPOTTED SANDPIPER (1); LONG-BILLED
CURLEW (1); SANDERLING (several); SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER (several); WESTERN
SANDPIPER ( 45-50); and LEAST SANDPIPER (several). The American Avocet
showing was nothing short of spectacular, spread as they were widely and
virtually all along the vista viewed from the northwest corner of the
wastewater facility. When they all got into flight at one point, the show
was truly dazzling! This site provided a surprise non-shorebird species,
NORTHERN BOBWHITE (4, foraging in the vegetation near the fence beside the
road and ultimately doing a dare-devil walk along the concrete wall between
two settling basins--or whatever they are called--of this waste-water
treatment facility. Total shorebird species identified at this site = 12.



SOUTH PADRE ISLAND BAYSIDE BEACH NORTH OF CONVENTION CENTER: We drove onto
the beach, hanging stealthily against the dry western margin of the marsh
vegetation behind the Convention Center; we then quietly studied the birds
with scope and binoculars, setting not one to flight. We found:
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (45-50); SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (18-20); PIPING PLOVER
(25-30; several were banded); AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER (2); GREATER
YELLOWLEGS (3); WILLET (numerous; not counted); RUDDY TURNSTONE (2);
SANDERLING (16-20); SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER (2); WESTERN SANDPIPER (est.
55-60); and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER (10). Total shorebird species identified
at this site = 11.

PULL-OUT ON EASTBOUND TX-48: The highlight here was MARBLED GODWIT (8,
spread widely, but regularly, along the shoal near the channel). A few
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and GREATER YELLOWLEGS were present, but I made no
effort to count them. Total shorebird species identified at this site = 3.

TX-48 BOAT LAUNCH: BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (3); WILSON’S PLOVER
(“everywhere”—too many, widespread, to count or even realistically to
estimate); SEMIPLAMATED PLOVER (many, but somewhat fewer than of Wilson’s
Plover); WILLET (several); LONG-BILLED CURLEW (1); RUDDY TURNSTONE (12-15);
and LEAST SANDPIPER (several). The shorebirding at this site was far below
par yesterday, but it once again showed itself as the WILSON’S PLOVER
capital of the region! Total shorebird species identified at this site = 7.

Total shorebird species identified yesterday across these five sites = 20.

Wishing everyone the best of the rest of fall-migration birding – Rex
Stanford (Weslaco).

Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds

Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner


Other related posts:

  • » [texbirds] shorebirding Thursday 09/10/15: five Cameron Co. sites - Rex Stanford