Graham Gerdeman and I had a good morning at Marcella Vivrette Smith Park in
Williamson county. I arrived before Graham and quickly found a lone male Purple
Finch for a new county bird for me. We later found a male/female pair which
gave us much better views and vocalized as well.
But the highlight of the day was a Sora I flushed from a wet weedy area in a
field in the northwestern area of the park. After flushing, it flew low about
20 yards and disappeared into brush along a creek. I approached the spot and
flushed it again, but this time it flew past Graham where he was able to
observe it from a better vantage and saw its short bill and trailing feet.
Definitely not on the target list for the day but the bird was in decent
habitat and it’s the right time for a migrant.
Jim Arnett
Williamson county
