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8 Feb Re: Northern Wheatear Bee Co. 2/8/10 [Rich Kostecke ] 8 Feb Northern Wheatear Bee Co. 2/8/10 [Rich Kostecke ] 8 Feb Farewell to Zacate Creek and a Stop at Falcon State Park [Erik Breden ] 8 Feb Re: Help with Tiny URL [Robert Mace ] 8 Feb Robins & Waxwings, YTWblr etc Friendswood ["R.J. Pautsch" ] 8 Feb Katy Prairie 2-8-10 [Greg Page ] 8 Feb Wheatear & directions? ["Pat Reilly, Mission, TX." ] 8 Feb Re: Rufous Hummingbird migration timing [Brent Ortego ] 8 Feb Martin People are back and the Rufous Hummer Mgration is underway! [Brush Freeman ] 8 Feb Wheatear? [Pat Reilly ] 8 Feb Lubbock 2/8 [Cameron Carver ] 8 Feb Bonaparte's and Shovelers [Jim Cluck ] 8 Feb Pine Siskin [James & Barbara Tilton ] 8 Feb Mallard hybrid at Anzalduas County Park [Javier de Leon ] 8 Feb What a great morning! [Kathy Detweiler ] 8 Feb Wilson's Warbler [Jeffrey Ryder ] 8 Feb Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities [John Tharp ] 8 Feb Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities [Mitch ] 8 Feb Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities [Dan Jones ] 8 Feb Re: possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park- CONFIRMED [Scott Atkinson ] 8 Feb Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities [Clay Taylor ] 8 Feb Brazos Bend Vicinity Couch's Kingbird [] 8 Feb Re: Help with Tiny URL [Robert White ] 7 Feb Zacate Creek - Photos from Sunday February 7th [Erik Breden ] 7 Feb Re: Cassin's Vireo - Freer [Brush Freeman ] 7 Feb Re: Help with Tiny URL [David Sarkozi ] 7 Feb Re: Rufous Hummingbird migration timing [] 7 Feb Help with Tiny URL [Jim Cluck ] 7 Feb Cassin's Vireo - Freer [karen carbiener ] 7 Feb Re: Rufous Hummingbird migration timing [Kevin Morgan ] 7 Feb Kenedy, Leberg, Nueces Odds and ends. [Brush Freeman ] 7 Feb Black-throated gray warbler [Ken Mix ] 7 Feb Ransom Canyon (Lubbock Co.) 2/7/10 [Steve Collins ] 7 Feb Austin - Long-tailed Duck [Jean Martin ] 7 Feb Re: possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park- CONFIRMED [] 7 Feb Bell, Coryell, and Lampasas counties birding summay January 2010 [Rich Kostecke ] 7 Feb Zacate Creek bird photos, Saturday 2/6 ["Troy, Marla, & Cheyenne Hibbitts" ] 7 Feb South Padre Island BNC 2/7 [Cate Ball ] 7 Feb Amazon Kingfisher - NO! [Erik Breden ] 7 Feb Canyon Lake; Lake Waco and Trading Creek Resevoir [Lamont Brown ] 7 Feb Photo of Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park [Bert Frenz ] 7 Feb Tundra Swans over Lubbock [Anthony Hewetson ] 7 Feb Grand Saline Marsh Feb.7 [] 7 Feb Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities [Dan Jones ] 7 Feb Re: A Wheatear discussion thread [Alex Lin-Moore ] 7 Feb Re: Possible demise of the Roadside Hawk at Fontera [Ruben Zamora ] 7 Feb Re: Wheatear habitat choice [Clay Taylor ] 7 Feb Re: Fort Hood field trips 1 and 2 May 2010 - both full [Rich Kostecke ] 7 Feb Large hawk id needed [Judy Kestner ] 7 Feb Re: weekend birding at Choke and Resaca [Katherine Miller ] 7 Feb Gray Flycatcher Ferruginous Hawk Burrowing Owl Duval Co plus nine more [Lamont Brown ] 7 Feb Lynn and Terry Counties - February Visit [Anthony Hewetson ] 7 Feb Brown County and Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 2/6/10 [Rich Kostecke ] 7 Feb Field Sparrow at Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, 2/7/10 [Dan Jones ] 7 Feb Red-tailed Hawk striking, drowning and eating the Mallard – a long photo essay [Mark B Bartosik ] 7 Feb Re: possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park- CONFIRMED [Kyle Ohaver ] 7 Feb Re: Subject: Possible demise of the Roadside Hawk at Fontera ["Matthew W. York" ] 7 Feb Pine Canyon information [Greg Lasley ] 6 Feb Bald Eagle over Cypress, Texas [Linda Martin-Rust ] 6 Feb Some Big Bend NP photos [Greg Lavaty ] 7 Feb Photos from Zacate Creek Today (Saturday 2/6) [Erik Breden ] 7 Feb Wheatear habitat choice [Jimmy Jackson ] 7 Feb Lake Tawakoni Saturday [] 6 Feb A Wheatear discussion thread ["Warren, Christopher" ] 7 Feb Sparrows - Travis/Williamson area [Jeff McIntyre ] 6 Feb Big Weberville Park - east of Austin [Marj Swies ] 6 Feb Possible demise of the Roadside Hawk at Fontera [Dan Jones ] 6 Feb Oops [Brush Freeman ] 6 Feb Re: Burrowing Owls, Calhoun and Refugio Counties [Brush Freeman ] 6 Feb Amazon Kingfisher - a Possible Maybe [Erik Breden ] 6 Feb Still crusty but here's the beef [Brush Freeman ] 6 Feb Salenino Birds [Cheryl Longton ] 6 Feb WAG Field Trip [Jim Hailey ] 6 Feb Burrowing Owls, Calhoun and Refugio Counties [Susan Heath ] 6 Feb Fw: [texbirds] Kerville area birders [Sue Wiedenfeld ] 6 Feb Beeville Wheatear behavior [Alex Lin-Moore ] Subject: Re: Northern Wheatear Bee Co. 2/8/10 From: Rich Kostecke <rkost73 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 21:21:15 -0800 Sent that last email off before I was done typing. Anyway, I observed the Northern Wheatear SW of Beeville (Bee Co.) from about 4-4:35pm on 2/8/10. Initially it was on the woodpile, but then fed on the ground in the area off to the left of the table with the visitor log and goodies, flew back to the woodpile, then was alternatively feeding in the weedy area to the right of where we are supposed to park and perching on the pipes and junk in that same area before flying over to the fenceline along the entry road. Basically, it was moving all around the house. As for the question about directions to the site, I had trouble digging them out of the Texbirds archive, but good directions were on the NARBA (North American Rare Bird Report) website. Richard Kostecke, Ph.D. The Nature Conservancy P.O. Box 5190, Fort Hood, Texas 76544-0190 Phone: 254-288-2088  Fax: 254-288-5039 E-mail: rkost73 AT yahoo.com or rkostecke AT tnc.org TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Northern Wheatear Bee Co. 2/8/10 From: Rich Kostecke <rkost73 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 21:10:08 -0800 I observed the Nortern Wheatear this afternoon from about 4-4:35pm Richard Kostecke, Ph.D. The Nature Conservancy P.O. Box 5190, Fort Hood, Texas 76544-0190 Phone:  254-288-2088  Fax: 254-288-5039 E-mail: rkost73 AT yahoo.com or rkostecke AT tnc.org   TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Farewell to Zacate Creek and a Stop at Falcon State Park From: Erik Breden <ebreden AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 23:07:47 -0600 TexBirders, Today I drove from Laredo to Mission. Since I had to drive right past Zacate Creek, I stopped to take one last look for the Amazon Kingfisher. Alas, the bird has still not returned. There were several people there looking at a male Seedeater, so I joined them. Got a few quick pictures with my zoom lens, and when I returned to the car to get my big lens, everyone had left. So...I had the Seedeaters (by now there were 2 males and a female) all to myself! Stopped at Falcon State Park to look for the Roadside Hawk. No joy there either, but the feeding station at the Butterfly Garden was busy. So, a few more pictures and then on to Mission. Photos of the Seedeaters and a few feeder birds can be seen at: www.otterside.com/winter2010 Erik Breden Andrews, Texas (currently in Mission) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Help with Tiny URL From: Robert Mace <rolmace AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 21:52:30 -0600 Jim, I thought it was just me, but I too have been unable to access the photos at the TINY site. Robert Mace, Lockhart TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Robins & Waxwings, YTWblr etc Friendswood From: "R.J. Pautsch" <rjpautsch AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 19:45:46 -0800 Flocks of Robins and Waxwings on Sunday.  One of the resident Red-shouldered Hawks grabbed a Waxwings and landed with it on the back porch.  Had a Yellow-throated Warbler last weekend which acted like a Carolina Wren, starting on the suet feeder, going to the thistle seed, then the sunflower feeder, then to the ceiling fan on the porch.  And a Flicker yesterday, which I only see once every two or three years, plus the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker which hangs around every winter..  R.J. Pautsch Friendswood, Texas rjpautsch AT yahoo.com TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Katy Prairie 2-8-10 From: Greg Page <gregpage1465 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 18:30:51 -0800 Today at Katy Prairie I had some close views of Long-billed Dowitchers & White-faced Ibis. I also saw a Harris's Sparrow up close. I added photos of all 3 species to FLICKR. PHOTOS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregpage/   HIGHLIGHTS 2-8-10 White-faced Ibis 20 Snow Geese- over 1000 Ross's Goose 3 (probably more) Northern Pintail- many Mallard- many Mottled Duck Northern Shoveler- many Red-tailed Hawk 5 Crested Caracara 5 American Kestrel 1 Greater Yellowlegs 3 Long-billed Dowitcher- hundreds Loggerhead Shrike 5 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Harris's Sparrow 2 Brewer's Blackbird- many   Greg Page TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Houston Subject: Wheatear & directions? From: "Pat Reilly, Mission, TX." <fridaysmum AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 18:38:23 -0600 Hi Is the Wheatear still being seen &, if so, could you please send directions. Thanks Pat Reilly Mission, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Rufous Hummingbird migration timing From: Brent Ortego <brentortego AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 19:35:01 -0600 My banding data for coastal Texas is similar as Nancy's which was summarized by Kevin Morgan. We netted last weekend and handled two old (4+ years) female Rufous. They each had finished replacing their last wing feather meaning they were ready for long distance flight. Older birds typically complete molt first and depart first. Younger birds lag behind in wing molt and tend to leave a little later. Like Nancy we also caught a new Rufous this weekend and we have no clue as to where it spent the winter. It could have been next door or hundreds of miles away. It is only through banding over multiple sites like Fred Bassett and Nancy Newfield are doing that we learn about site fidelity and movements of birds across their winter range. Brent Ortego near Raisin, TX > Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 22:39:38 -0500 > From: dalybar AT AOL.COM > Subject: Re: [texbirds] Rufous Hummingbird migration timing > To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG > > Texbirders, > > My observations are limited to the nine years that I've had a wintering female Rufous Hummingbird in Fort Worth (presumably not the same bird for all nine years). The arrival dates varied from August 3 to December 25, and the departure dates (except for the first year when we stopped having sugar water out early in the year by mistake) have been late March to early April each year. > > Lynn Barber > Fort Worth, TX > > blog: http://lynnbarberbirding.blogspot.com > web: http://www.lynnbarber.com (lots of details and photos on the wintering Rufous Hummingbird(s) > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kevin Morgan > To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG > Sent: Sun, Feb 7, 2010 4:01 pm > Subject: Re: [texbirds] Rufous Hummingbird migration timing > > > Lee Ann, Jack, Texbirds: > To add a bit to what Scott has written: > I've been privileged to work the last five winters assisting Nancy Newfield, > ho has probably banded more wintering hummingbirds in the southeast than > ost of the other banders in the region put together (and certainly over the > ongest period, as she's been at this since 1979). Even recognizing that > ouisiana is east of Texas, and thus birds here may start to move a little > arlier than those there, I would amend Scott's information slightly. We > ften see male Rufous departing by mid February, and in fact we sometimes > apture new adult birds about this time suggesting that they may be coming > rom points farther east, and thus already on the move. Female Rufous mostly > eem to be gone by the middle of March. April birds are not unheard of, but > hey are distinctly uncommon. > Of course, just because a bird is no longer being seen in one's yard does > ot mean it has already begun migration; it may have simply moved to another > ite in the general area. Nonetheless, we have at least three intriguing > ata points. Just this week, Nancy captured an adult male Rufous that had > een banded back in September in Alabama by Fred Bassett - so that bird is > efinitely already migrating west. A few years ago, a Rufous banded in the > anhandle area of Florida early in winter by Fred was recaptured in February > hat winter in Thibodaux, Louisiana (a few hundred miles west, suggesting > he bird was already migrating). As luck would have it, the same bird was > ecaptured the next year again in Florida early in the winter, and again in > he same yard in Louisiana later in the winter. These two sets of captures > uggest that migration (a) begins in a westward direction along the coast > efore veering north at some point; (b) begins in February for at least some > ufous; and (c) may take largely the same path for particular birds > ear-to-year. How generally applicable this is, we don't know. > Kevin Morgan > aton Rouge, LA > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds _________________________________________________________________ Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469229/direct/01/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Martin People are back and the Rufous Hummer Mgration is underway! From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 19:27:19 -0600 6-7 Martins in POC today and some even spent the night for the first time in the gourds. Yip-eee!....So long diurnal leps and odes til August.:-)... The Rufous Hummer migration is underway no doubt about it....2 brand new ones today and the long staying winter male has left the building. A possible (?) Anna's today and the odd BCHU still here....Shrike man is dressing up the nest of last season...Lots of flowers popping up and the ash are budding. Collared Doves nesting everywhere. Pumpkins do not survive freezes for more than a week or two....Porpoise carcass is still on the jetty if any want a good skull (with a permit of course)...None of the agencies seem to care even though they were notified....Too bad there are no more Blue Crabs to deal with that....Guess they bought the farm with last year's drought and high water salt content...Not a clam do be found either for you clamers. What gives? Even oystering in the bays sucks due to the fresh water influx from what I am told. Reckon we'll need to just curl up and die. That's it, That's enough. -- Brush Freeman Utley & Port O'Connor Texas or wherever else I may be TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Wheatear? From: Pat Reilly <fridaysmum AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 17:57:50 -0600 Hi Is the Wheatear still being seen? I'm unexpectedly traveling to Corpus & would like to see it. Directions? Thanks, Pat Reilly Mission, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Lubbock 2/8 From: Cameron Carver <narsepoo AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 18:28:44 -0600 Drove around Lubbock today, nothing too special. 2 Harris Hawks at Lake 6 6 Northern Flickers Lake 6 - the first ones that I have seen in well over a month 2 Common mergansers at Lake 5 4 yellow-rumped warblers - they seem a little sparse this winter Cameron Carver Lubbock, Tx TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Bonaparte's and Shovelers From: Jim Cluck <daddyquack AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 17:37:56 -0600 I spent about 2.5 hours today at the retention pond across from the Wal Mart on East Road in La Porte. I observed: American Coot - 33 Bonaparte's Gull - 2 Ring-billed Gull - 15 Pied-billed Grebe - 1 Roseate Spoonbill - 3 Gadwall - 8, Green-winged Teal - 4 Northern Shoveler - 8 Cattle Egret - 8 Red-tailed Hawk - 1 Turkey Vulture - 1 Double-crested Cormorant - 10 Yellow-crowned Night Heron - 1 Great Blue Heron - 1 Snowy Egret - 1 and on the wildlife side, nutria - 1 Jim Cluck La Porte TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Pine Siskin From: James & Barbara Tilton <bjtilton2 AT IMSDAY.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 16:07:36 -0600 I was excited to see 1 pine siskin in with the goldfinches at the feeders this afternoon. This is the first one I have had in several years. The numbers of goldfinches have increased in the last week as well. Barbara Tilton Dayton, TX Liberty County TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Mallard hybrid at Anzalduas County Park From: Javier de Leon <grampuhjoe AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 12:38:43 -0600 Subject: Mallard hybrid at Anzalduas County Park Went over to Anzalduas County Park south of Mission on Saturday to see the Hooded Merganser, Rock Wren and whatever else popped up. Below the dam was a Mallard hybrid. I took a far off picture that can be viewed here: http://picasaweb.google.com/grampuhjoe/MallardHybrid# Any ideas if it would be a Mallard x Mottled, Mallard x Gadwall, or anything else. It was foraging close to a group of six Mottled Ducks and the Hooded Merganser (which was beautiful by the way). Thanks, Javier de Leon Edinburg, Tx TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: What a great morning! From: Kathy Detweiler <kathydetweiler AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 12:31:36 -0600 Dennis and I, my neighbor and birding buddy, went to Quinta Mazatlan to see the Crimson Collared Grosbeak early this morning. After two hours we were ready to give up when he was spotted in the top of a tree through a fence on some adjoining property. Do I feel blessed? You bet! I also saw two more life birds, the Northern Parula and the Black-and-white Warble. Got some great photos of the Northern Parula , none of the Black and White because he is a quick little bird.:) Got an ok shot of the Crimson Collared Grosbeak. I am especially grateful to how gracious and patient birders are to a newbie like me. Kathy Detweiler Mission, Texas -- Check out our Blog! http://fulltimeadventure.blogspot.com/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Wilson's Warbler From: Jeffrey Ryder <scoobyfan41 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 10:39:22 -0600 Saw a Wilson's Warbler at Levy Park on Sunday, 7 Feb. Location was Levy Park off Eastside and Richmond in Houston. Thanks to a previous post from someone else to TexBirds I was able to locate this new lifer for me. Happy Birding. Jeffrey Ryder Houston, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities From: John Tharp <jlt290 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 11:48:43 -0600 Good Afternoon All, I am meteorologist with a firm here in Houston. I figured I should throw in my two cents regarding this years weather pattern. There are two major factors that have been driving this winters weather, one being the already mentioned El-Nino, and the other being a strongly negative Arctic Oscillation. I won't dive into all the specifics here, but a strongly negative arctic oscillation essentially results in ridging over the pole and cold air being forced south into the mid-latitudes (hence the extra cold fronts). There are a lot of subtleties to exactly how these patterns evolve but the pairing of a central Pacific El-Nino (such as this year) and a strongly negative Arctic Oscillation has historically resulted in cooler and wetter weather conditions over the eastern 2/3 of the United States. I can't comment specifically on why the birds are moving around in Mexico but there have indeed been several sharp cold fronts penetrating well down the coast of Mexico and into the Bay of Campeche and beyond. Good Birding, John Tharp Houston, TX On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 11:05 AM, Mitch wrote: > Hi all, > > This is pure speculation on my part, so take with an extra > large chunk of salt, but like many, I have always wondered > what causes the "good years" for Mexican vagrants in S. Texas. > > It sort of seems like the years where there are numerous > very strong cold fronts reaching far south into eastern > Mexico, particularly early in the season, turn out to be > good years. > > Whether or not those correlate to El Nino years I don't > know, but it would seem to me the warmer storm > pineapple express El Nino systems of the sub-tropical jet > themselves, would not be a good mover of those birds. > It is possible perhaps the El Nino may cause more and > stronger cold fronts here, I don't know, but it should be > looked at. > > I'd guess when these very strong very cold fronts get far > into Mexico it drives birds down out of the highlands into > the lowlands. And since they are generally non-migratory > species that do not have the temperate north-south orientation > of movement our species here do, it doesn't matter which way > they go. Whether they move north or south is of no import to > them, only that they get to the warmer lowlands. > Some go north, some go south, some go east. > > December many areas here were colder than average, I think > about nearly 5 degrees, with more stronger colder fronts, many of > which made it to or past Vera Cruz. Then early in Jan. we > had a record cold which also went WAY down to S. Mexico. > > I think the extent of cold penetration into Mexico should be > considered as a factor, which may or may not be connected > to El Nino years? > > happy hypothesizing, > > Mitch Heindel > Utopia TX > www.utopianature.com > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities From: Mitch <mitch AT UTOPIANATURE.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 11:05:55 -0600 Hi all, This is pure speculation on my part, so take with an extra large chunk of salt, but like many, I have always wondered what causes the "good years" for Mexican vagrants in S. Texas. It sort of seems like the years where there are numerous very strong cold fronts reaching far south into eastern Mexico, particularly early in the season, turn out to be good years. Whether or not those correlate to El Nino years I don't know, but it would seem to me the warmer storm pineapple express El Nino systems of the sub-tropical jet themselves, would not be a good mover of those birds. It is possible perhaps the El Nino may cause more and stronger cold fronts here, I don't know, but it should be looked at. I'd guess when these very strong very cold fronts get far into Mexico it drives birds down out of the highlands into the lowlands. And since they are generally non-migratory species that do not have the temperate north-south orientation of movement our species here do, it doesn't matter which way they go. Whether they move north or south is of no import to them, only that they get to the warmer lowlands. Some go north, some go south, some go east. December many areas here were colder than average, I think about nearly 5 degrees, with more stronger colder fronts, many of which made it to or past Vera Cruz. Then early in Jan. we had a record cold which also went WAY down to S. Mexico. I think the extent of cold penetration into Mexico should be considered as a factor, which may or may not be connected to El Nino years? happy hypothesizing, Mitch Heindel Utopia TX www.utopianature.com TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities From: Dan Jones <antshrike1 AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 09:19:23 -0600 I just got an email from David Leal in Portland stating that 2004 and 2009 were both El Nino years. Something to look into. He sent me this link. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensoyear s.shtml Notice 1987 which was the year of our first invasion of Crimson-collared Grosbeaks. Dan Jones in Weslaco TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park- CONFIRMED From: Scott Atkinson <scottratkinson AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 06:51:44 -0800 Kyle: Whereabouts in the park was the hawk seen? Thanks Scott Atkinson Lake Stevens, WA mail to: scottratkinson AT hotmail.com > Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:16:51 -0500 > From: MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM > Subject: Re: [texbirds] possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park- CONFIRMED > To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG > > In a message dated 2/7/2010 9:31:40 A.M. Central Standard Time, > Kyle.Ohaver AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US writes: > > This morning I > called Falcon and received permission to get the picture posted to > Texbirds. Mary Beth Stowe scanned the photo for me yesterday at the VNC > and will post it to Textbirds as soon she gets this message. > > > Here it is, folks: > > _http://www.pbase.com/miriameaglemon/image/121776014_ > (http://www.pbase.com/miriameaglemon/image/121776014) > > Mary Beth Stowe > McAllen, TX > _www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities From: Clay Taylor <Clay.Taylor AT SWAROVSKIOPTIK.US> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 09:21:01 -0500 How about an euphonia? Clay Taylor Calallen (Corpus Christi) TX clay.taylor AT swarovskioptik.us -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of Dan Jones Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 4:55 PM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities Ruben was speculating as to why there are so many rare birds in south Texas this year. Actually untill the last few weeks, the number of visiting birders in the RGV seemed down to me. Birders visiting Frontera were way down from last year till this past week of the Roadside Hawk. We still have not seen as many rare birds as the winter of 2004-5, but we do have better quality birds (two first state records). Unfortunately active RGV birders are small in numbers and it's the visiting birders that find most of our rarities. So it makes sense that more things are being found the past couple of weeks I think it's more a combination of environmental factors. I seem to remember 2004 with a lot of summer and fall rain and of course we had our only RGV snow of the past century. This fall we had a lot of rain following a prolonged dry period and a hard freeze this winter. Both winters had multiple Rose-throated Becards, Crimson-collared Grosbeaks and Roadside Hawks. We have yet to be invaded by White-throated Thrushes, Blue Buntings or Golden-crowned Warblers this winter. I bet we get a few of 'em. We also had the Social Flycatcher that winter. The other day Father Tom was speculating the next new bird for the RGV should be Lineated Woodpecker. Let's hope he's right. I'm thinking it's time for another Gray Silky. Dan Jones in Weslaco http://antshrike.blogspot.com/ Dan Jones in Weslaco TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Brazos Bend Vicinity Couch's Kingbird From: joanne0987 AT AOL.COM Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 08:28:56 -0500 Greg Lavaty and I saw a Couch's Kingbird shortly after leaving Brazos Bend State Park last Friday 2/5 around noon. It was off of FM-762 approaching the park entrance (but not in the park) from the north. It disappeared shortly after. We weren't really able to get very good photos of it, but an ID is posted here: <> Joanne Kamo Houston, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Help with Tiny URL From: Robert White <glqman AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 03:15:32 -0800 When I get one in my Yahoo mail account, I can only open it if I delete the * at the end.  Instead of quotes I get an added asterisk.   -Bob White  Spring, TX --- On Sun, 2/7/10, David Sarkozi wrote: From: David Sarkozi Subject: Re: [texbirds] Help with Tiny URL To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Date: Sunday, February 7, 2010, 10:08 PM Chuck, often the url is included inquotes. if you cut and paste the qoutes may come with and cause it not to work. Just remove the quotes in your address bar and it should work. On 2/7/10, Jim Cluck wrote: > I occasionally see a "Tiny URL" in a message.  I have never been able to > access any of these URLs.  I am sure I am missing something very simple. > But, could someone please give me an insight on how to use these? > > Thanks! > > Jim Cluck > La Porte > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > -- David Sarkozi Houston, TX (713) 412-4409 twitter ID dsarkozi TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Zacate Creek - Photos from Sunday February 7th From: Erik Breden <ebreden AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 23:02:38 -0600 TexBirders, Although the Amazon Kingfisher was a no-show today (Sunday 2/7), I did get a few more photos of the other birds in the area. You can see them at: www.otterside.com/winter2010 Enjoy! Erik Breden Andrews, Texas (currently in Laredo, heading to Mission) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Cassin's Vireo - Freer From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 22:07:54 -0600 Thank you Karen: It is a sweet bird given all the debate on ID recently. Did you by chance meet the pair of GH Owls on the north end of the woods or the big flock of Lark Buntings in the field just north of that? The owls have become so tame they are pretty easy to photo . There is also a Swamp Sparrow here but more toward the back of the Super S........I write this also as others have asked. Glad you found it. A BHVI has been there on occasion so do be on your toes. BTW Freer has a wastewater treatment plant and a small creek just north of town on 16....always worth a check if workmen are not in there..I had a GRKI there once and a Catbird yesterday......Then there is a cemetery off on the right and down a road a bit...Also well worth a check.....if you walk it....Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, CB Thrasher etc. Brush On 2/7/10, karen carbiener wrote: > > On the way home from seeing the pile of raptor feathers at Frontera, the > beautiful male Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Quinta Mazatlan, Jerri Kerr and > I made a side trip to Freer and got the Cassin's Vireo. A lifer for me and > a Texas bird for Jerri. Thank you Brush for your post on Friday regarding > this great rarity. It is still in the same woods behind the Executive Inn > off Hwy. 44. > > Also saw a Couch's Kingbird, RC Kinglets, Orange-Crowns, Savannah and > Lincolns Sparrows, a House Wren, etc. > > Karen Car > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > biener > Richardson, TX > -- Brush Freeman Utley & Port O'Connor Texas or wherever else I may be TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Help with Tiny URL From: David Sarkozi <david AT SARKOZI.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 22:08:24 -0600 Chuck, often the url is included inquotes. if you cut and paste the qoutes may come with and cause it not to work. Just remove the quotes in your address bar and it should work. On 2/7/10, Jim Cluck wrote: > I occasionally see a "Tiny URL" in a message. I have never been able to > access any of these URLs. I am sure I am missing something very simple. > But, could someone please give me an insight on how to use these? > > Thanks! > > Jim Cluck > La Porte > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > -- David Sarkozi Houston, TX (713) 412-4409 twitter ID dsarkozi TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Rufous Hummingbird migration timing From: dalybar AT AOL.COM Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 22:39:38 -0500 Texbirders, My observations are limited to the nine years that I've had a wintering female Rufous Hummingbird in Fort Worth (presumably not the same bird for all nine years). The arrival dates varied from August 3 to December 25, and the departure dates (except for the first year when we stopped having sugar water out early in the year by mistake) have been late March to early April each year. Lynn Barber Fort Worth, TX blog: http://lynnbarberbirding.blogspot.com web: http://www.lynnbarber.com (lots of details and photos on the wintering Rufous Hummingbird(s) -----Original Message----- From: Kevin Morgan To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Sent: Sun, Feb 7, 2010 4:01 pm Subject: Re: [texbirds] Rufous Hummingbird migration timing Lee Ann, Jack, Texbirds: To add a bit to what Scott has written: I've been privileged to work the last five winters assisting Nancy Newfield, ho has probably banded more wintering hummingbirds in the southeast than ost of the other banders in the region put together (and certainly over the ongest period, as she's been at this since 1979). Even recognizing that ouisiana is east of Texas, and thus birds here may start to move a little arlier than those there, I would amend Scott's information slightly. We ften see male Rufous departing by mid February, and in fact we sometimes apture new adult birds about this time suggesting that they may be coming rom points farther east, and thus already on the move. Female Rufous mostly eem to be gone by the middle of March. April birds are not unheard of, but hey are distinctly uncommon. Of course, just because a bird is no longer being seen in one's yard does ot mean it has already begun migration; it may have simply moved to another ite in the general area. Nonetheless, we have at least three intriguing ata points. Just this week, Nancy captured an adult male Rufous that had een banded back in September in Alabama by Fred Bassett - so that bird is efinitely already migrating west. A few years ago, a Rufous banded in the anhandle area of Florida early in winter by Fred was recaptured in February hat winter in Thibodaux, Louisiana (a few hundred miles west, suggesting he bird was already migrating). As luck would have it, the same bird was ecaptured the next year again in Florida early in the winter, and again in he same yard in Louisiana later in the winter. These two sets of captures uggest that migration (a) begins in a westward direction along the coast efore veering north at some point; (b) begins in February for at least some ufous; and (c) may take largely the same path for particular birds ear-to-year. How generally applicable this is, we don't know. Kevin Morgan aton Rouge, LA TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Help with Tiny URL From: Jim Cluck <daddyquack AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:36:27 -0600 I occasionally see a "Tiny URL" in a message. I have never been able to access any of these URLs. I am sure I am missing something very simple. But, could someone please give me an insight on how to use these? Thanks! Jim Cluck La Porte TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Cassin's Vireo - Freer From: karen carbiener <burdnurd AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 19:14:15 -0800 On the way home from seeing the pile of raptor feathers at Frontera, the beautiful male Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Quinta Mazatlan, Jerri Kerr and I made a side trip to Freer and got the Cassin's Vireo.  A lifer for me and a Texas bird for Jerri.  Thank you Brush for your post on Friday regarding this great rarity.  It is still in the same woods behind the Executive Inn off Hwy. 44. Also saw a Couch's Kingbird, RC Kinglets, Orange-Crowns, Savannah and Lincolns Sparrows, a House Wren, etc.  Karen Car TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds biener Richardson, TX Subject: Re: Rufous Hummingbird migration timing From: Kevin Morgan <cowboyinbrla AT COX.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 16:01:04 -0600 Lee Ann, Jack, Texbirds: To add a bit to what Scott has written: I've been privileged to work the last five winters assisting Nancy Newfield, who has probably banded more wintering hummingbirds in the southeast than most of the other banders in the region put together (and certainly over the longest period, as she's been at this since 1979). Even recognizing that Louisiana is east of Texas, and thus birds here may start to move a little earlier than those there, I would amend Scott's information slightly. We often see male Rufous departing by mid February, and in fact we sometimes capture new adult birds about this time suggesting that they may be coming from points farther east, and thus already on the move. Female Rufous mostly seem to be gone by the middle of March. April birds are not unheard of, but they are distinctly uncommon. Of course, just because a bird is no longer being seen in one's yard does not mean it has already begun migration; it may have simply moved to another site in the general area. Nonetheless, we have at least three intriguing data points. Just this week, Nancy captured an adult male Rufous that had been banded back in September in Alabama by Fred Bassett - so that bird is definitely already migrating west. A few years ago, a Rufous banded in the panhandle area of Florida early in winter by Fred was recaptured in February that winter in Thibodaux, Louisiana (a few hundred miles west, suggesting the bird was already migrating). As luck would have it, the same bird was recaptured the next year again in Florida early in the winter, and again in the same yard in Louisiana later in the winter. These two sets of captures suggest that migration (a) begins in a westward direction along the coast before veering north at some point; (b) begins in February for at least some Rufous; and (c) may take largely the same path for particular birds year-to-year. How generally applicable this is, we don't know. Kevin Morgan Baton Rouge, LA TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Kenedy, Leberg, Nueces Odds and ends. From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:06:58 -0600 It is hard to find good help down in Kenedy and Kleberg Co.s these days so had to tackle the job myself today :-). Walked the whole town of Sarita very early this Sunday morning. Very pleasant but nothing real special to report...... 51 species...... Baltimore Oriole, Palm Warbler, Song Sparrow, Winter Wren, Yellow-throated Warbler and Lark Buntings...On La Parra Rd. 4 Great Horned Owls all out in broad daylight....One was eating another owl...Likely a Screech Owl, I think, but it flew before I could photograph it., there was a Brown-crested Flycatcher and a Dandy Vermilion....An E. Bluebird was a nice treat and some unidentified swallows flew overhead. . In Riveria, the jerks destroyed my favorite little marsh by the school and the only thing on the pond was a dead Snowy Egret getting eaten by turtles....No other life of any kind noted...Likely poisoned or something. The School Grounds...Oaks had a Black-and -white Warbler, but it was pretty grim otherwise. Nothing else of note in Kleberg Co. that I saw. Drove the back roads of southern Nueces Co....Many flooded fields that were barren of any life. However on some of the roads, the milo stalks from last year had washed up to the edges of the roads. Here amid these stalks in two places I found a couple of dozen Chestnut-collared Longspurs feeding thru the stalks and got killer views of them doing so at distances of <30 feet..They are easy to overlook with the Savannah and the occasional Vespers..Be very aware that some of these roads look rock solid until you have driven a few miles down them and bingo...Your faced with mud with no bottom, AND there is not enough road to turn around on to boot. If there is a hawk re-habber/rescuer in the Corpus area I found this younf White-tailed today. It seemed healthy enough but the feathers seemed oild. I could not catch it as it could move a bit too fast and then it went across an irrigation ditch that I could not cross. If you or anyone one else would like to make a stab at saving it it please contact me off line and I will give you the precise GPS co-ord. Here is a picture of him/her.... *http://tiny.cc/HqYNd* That's all for today.-- Brush Freeman Utley & Port O'Connor Texas or wherever else I may be TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Black-throated gray warbler From: Ken Mix <kdmix AT MSN.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:00:29 -0600 Hi all, We birded Aquarena in San Marcos, a pasture tank on the southeast edge of town off 123, and then found John Stokes Park a few hundred meters from the tank. Below is our list, but most notably was the black-throated gray warbler in John Stokes Park, a lifer. I had dismissed it as a possibility since it hadn't been relocated for some days and the cold front had come through. It was in the same location first mentioned, foraging on the ground in some young elderberry, then moved up into some low branches. We also found Lincoln's sparrow at Aquarena off the boardwalk. Hooded merganser, canvasback, redhead, blue-winged teal and osprey at the tank. Ken Mix Kyle Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Blue-winged Teal Gadwall Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Hooded Merganser Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Osprey American Coot Killdeer White-winged Dove Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Eastern Phoebe Blue Jay Carolina Chickadee Black-crested Titmouse Carolina Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Northern Mockingbird Cedar Waxwing Loggerhead Shrike European Starling White-eyed Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Gray Warbler Northern Cardinal Lincoln's Sparrow Great-tailed Grackle American Goldfinch TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Ransom Canyon (Lubbock Co.) 2/7/10 From: Steve Collins <dcollins AT UFL.EDU> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:19:19 -0600 I birded Ransom Canyon this afternoon, though the thick fog made things difficult. Highlights were 30 Common Mergs and a group of 8 Bushtits. Location: Lake Ransom Canyon & Chapel Garden Observation date: 2/7/10 Notes: Very poor visibility. I may have missed some of the waterfowl on the lake. Number of species: 41 Cackling Goose 40 Canada Goose 50 Cackling/Canada Goose 200 Gadwall 2 Mallard 8 Mallard (Domestic type) 8 Canvasback 1 Redhead 1 Common Merganser 30 including 4 drakes Northern Bobwhite 12 Pied-billed Grebe 5 Great Blue Heron 3 Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 American Coot 5 Ring-billed Gull 11 White-winged Dove 10 Mourning Dove 1 Great Horned Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher 2 Golden-fronted Woodpecker 1 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Blue Jay 2 Horned Lark 14 Flyovers Bushtit 8 House Wren 1 Marsh Wren 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 American Robin 1 Northern Mockingbird 1 Curve-billed Thrasher 1 Spotted Towhee 2 Song Sparrow 2 White-crowned Sparrow 6 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 5 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 30 Northern Cardinal 14 Red-winged Blackbird 11 Great-tailed Grackle 1 House Finch 30 Pine Siskin 1 American Goldfinch 1 House Sparrow 35 Cheers, Steve Collins Lubbock, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Austin - Long-tailed Duck From: Jean Martin <jeanmartin AT AUSTIN.RR.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 20:53:15 -0600 The Long-tailed Duck was still present at Walter Long Lake in Austin yesterday morning (2/6) about 10:20am. It was near the shore to the right of the boat ramp and was seen well by participants in my waterfowl identification class. Jean Martin Austin TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park- CONFIRMED From: MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:16:51 EST In a message dated 2/7/2010 9:31:40 A.M. Central Standard Time, Kyle.Ohaver AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US writes: This morning I called Falcon and received permission to get the picture posted to Texbirds. Mary Beth Stowe scanned the photo for me yesterday at the VNC and will post it to Textbirds as soon she gets this message. Here it is, folks: _http://www.pbase.com/miriameaglemon/image/121776014_ (http://www.pbase.com/miriameaglemon/image/121776014) Mary Beth Stowe McAllen, TX _www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Bell, Coryell, and Lampasas counties birding summay January 2010 From: Rich Kostecke <rkost73 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 17:40:31 -0800 January might be considered the winter birding doldrums for the Bell-Coryell-Lampasas tri-county area. There was not a lot new to report; mostly just the continuation of several previously reported birds. Fort example, the eastern Bell County goose “Shangri-la” of Oenaville and the Elijah Road grassland bird hotspots continued to harbor interesting wintering birds. In general, reports seemed to be down for the month. In part, that was likely due to the weather. The tri-country area received several blasts of cold weather and several fairly intense precipitation events that likely kept folks indoors. Additionally, several of the regularly reporting birders seemed to go further a field, out of the tri-county area, during the month. With the continued rain fall, local creeks have been gushing and the local reservoirs have been 8-10+ feet above normal. Ponds and tanks are full and there is water in the ditches, depressions, and other low-lying areas. With how wet everything has been and continues to be, habitat conditions should be quite good as we enter the spring migratory period. It will be interesting to see how the birds respond to the increased availability of water and to what should be a very green and vegetatively productive spring. GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE 25 and 120 Oenaville area (Bell) 8 [RPi] and 26 Jan, respectively. SNOW GOOSE 2000-3000+ Oenaville area (Bell) 8 [RPi] and 26 Jan, respectively. ROSS’S GOOSE 1-300 Oenaville area (Bell) 8 [RPi] and 26 Jan, respectively. CACKLING GOOSE ~12 fields west of Oil Loop Rd, Oenaville area (Bell) 8 Jan [RPi] GREATER SCAUP 1 Fort Hood (Bell) 13 Jan [GEc] BUFFLEHEAD 18 Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 18 Jan [DCi] – High count. COMMON GOLDENEYE 2 females Lake Rogers (Bell) 5 Jan [RPi] 1 female Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 18 Jan [DCi] COMMON MERGANSER 1 female/young male Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 18 Jan [DCi] COMMON LOON 3+ Union Grove WMA, Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Bell) 12 Jan [RPi] 2 Temple Lake Park, Belton Lake (Bell) 14 Jan [RPi] HORNED GREBE 15 Union Grove WMA, Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Bell) 12 Jan [RPi] 7 from Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area, Fort Hood (Bell) 13 and 20 Jan [GEc] EARED GREBE 2 from Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area, Fort Hood (Bell) 13 and 20 Jan [GEc] 1-2 Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) through 24 Jan [DHo, DCi, RKo] PIED-BILLED GREBE 45 Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 24 Jan [RKo] – High count. AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN 3 and 1 Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 6 Jan [DHo] and 18 Jan [DCi], respectively. BALD EAGLE 1 Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Bell) 3 Jan [GEc] 1 adult Owl Creek Park, Belton Lake (Bell) 14 Jan [RPi] 1 adult Chalk Ridge Falls Park, Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Bell) 24 Jan [RPi] MERLIN 1 Fort Hood Cantonment, Fort Hood (Coryell) 11 Jan [DCi] COMMON MOORHEN 1 West Range Rd crossing of House Creek, Fort Hood (Coryell) 6 Jan [KJo] – A rare but not unprecedented winter record. LEAST SANDPIPER 24 Rogers area ponds (Bell) 10 Jan [RKo] 17 Fort Hood (Bell) 13 Jan [GEc] LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER 24 Rogers area ponds (Bell) 10 Jan [RKo] AMERICAN WOODCOCK 1 Table Rock Creek just west of Fort Hood boundary (Coryell) 16 Jan [SSu] COMMON GROUND-DOVE 3 “Vireo Alley” area, Fort Hood (1 Bell/2 Coryell) 13 Jan [SSu] MONK PARAKEET 1 (at least) continues at the traditional 31st St and Marlanwood location, Temple (Bell) 13 Jan [RPi] BURROWING OWL 1 Elijah Rd, Fort Hood (Coryell) continuing through at least 20 Jan [GEc] 1 Live Fire, Fort Hood (Corell) 25 Jan [TTS] SHORT-EARED OWL 1 Bottoms Rd-FM 438 jct (between Temple and Oenaville, Bell) 4 and 8 Jan [RPi] SAY’S PHOEBE 1 Rod & Gun Club Loop area, Fort Hood Cantonment (Coryell) through at least 26 Jan [RKo] HORNED LARK 50 Hunt-Jones Rd (Bell) 5 Jan [RPi] 3 Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 18 Jan [DCi] BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER 1 near Stillhouse Hollow Park, Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Bell) 3 Jan [GEc] – Likely a continuation of one of the gnatcatchers reported from the same area in December and it probably represents a rare overwintering attempt by the species. 1 Shell Mountain, Fort Hood (Coryell) 6 Jan [SSu] ROCK WREN 2 Chalk Ridge Falls Park, Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Bell) 24 Jan [RPi] PINE WARBLER – Somewhat sparse this winter. 1 Fort Hood (Bell) 13 Jan [GEc] LARK SPARROW 11 Fort Hood (Coryell) 5 Jan [GEc] 6 Cedar Valley Rd (Bell) 24 Jan [RPi] LE CONTE’S SPARROW – Regularly record on Fort Hood, few reports from off Fort Hood. 4 Chalk Ridge Falls Park, Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Bell) 24 Jan [RPi] HARRIS’S SPARROW 30 Fort Hood (Bell) 13 Jan [GEc] – High count. MCCOWN’S LONGSPUR 25 Hunt-Jones Rd (Bell) 5 Jan [RPi] CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR Up 2000 Fort Hood (Coryell) continuing through at least 26 Jan [GEc, RKo] – Incredible numbers. LAPLAND/SMITH’S LONGSPUR 1 near Elijah-Georgetown Rd jct, Fort Hood (Coryell) 9 Jan [DCi] – DCi leans towards Smith’s based on analysis of audio recordings of the bird, but key field marks to clinch the ID were not seen and there is a lot of similarity in the calls of the two species. DCi = David Cimprich, DHo = Daniel Hodges, GEc = Gil Eckrich, KJo = Ken Jones, RKo = Rich Kostecke, RPi = Randy Pinkston, SSu= Scott Summers, TTS = Toni Taylor-Salisbury Richard Kostecke, Ph.D. The Nature Conservancy P.O. Box 5190, Fort Hood, Texas 76544-0190 Phone:  254-288-2088  Fax: 254-288-5039 E-mail: rkost73 AT yahoo.com or rkostecke AT tnc.org   TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Zacate Creek bird photos, Saturday 2/6 From: "Troy, Marla, & Cheyenne Hibbitts" <alterna2627 AT SWTEXAS.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 19:39:25 -0600 Spent most of the afternoon (from 1:30 until 5:00) at Zacate Creek in Laredo hoping for a sighting of the Amazon Kingfisher. We did not see that bird, but we did see White-collared Seedeater as well as the usual suspects. In addition, I saw a probable juvenile Gray Hawk overhead along the river upstream, but was unable to get a photo or a clear look (probably could have gotten a clear look had I not gone for the camera). Also, we had a small, "streaky" buteo perched on a highway sign on the interstate in town that I really wish I could have gotten a second look at. At any rate, here are some photos that I took during the day: Pied-billed Grebe http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/pied-billed.grebe.tx.webb.10.1a. jpg Neotropic Cormorants http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/neotropic_cormorant.htm Snowy Egret http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/snowy.egret.tx.webb.10.2a.jpg Osprey feeding on fish http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/osprey.htm Ringed Kingfisher http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/ringed_kingfisher.htm Eastern Phoebe http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/eastern.phoebe.tx.webb.10.1a.jpg Great Kiskadee http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/great.kiskadee.tx.webb.10.1a.jpg Orange-crowned Warbler http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/orange-crowned_warbler.htm White-collared Seedeater (female, from two different angles) http://www.thehibbitts.net/troy/photo/birds/white-collared_seedeater.htm Troy Hibbitts Camp Wood, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: South Padre Island BNC 2/7 From: Cate Ball <cateball AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 17:15:38 -0800 15 American W  53 Species   (as reported by Bob Severson) 15  American Widgeon 8    Mottled Duck 16  Blue-winged Teal 8   Northern Pintail 120 Redhead 2    Red-breasted Merganser 7    Pied-Billed Grebe 20  White Pelican 12  Brown Pelican 20  Double-crested Cormorant 7   Great Blue Heron 4    Great Egret 3    Snowy Egret 3    Reddish Egret 4    Black-crested Night-Heron 4    Little Blue Heron 13    White Ibis 3    Roseate Spoonbill 2    Osprey 1    Northern Harrier 3    Tri-colored Heron 1    Clapper Rail 1    Sora Rail 6    Common Moorhen 14    American Coot 4    Black-bellied Plover 7     Killdeer 2    Greater Yellowlegs 15   Lesser Yellowlegs 2    Long-billed Curlew 10    Willet 4     Marbled Godwit   2     Spotted Sandpiper 20   Dunlin 2    Longbilled Dowitcher 150  Laughing Gull 1     Gull-billed Tern 12     Ring-billed Gull 3     Caspian Tern 12    Forster's Tern 8     Royal Tern 30    Black Skimmer 1     Belted Kingfisher 1     Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4     Northern Mockingbird 2     Orange-crowned Warbler 12   Yellow-rumped  Warbler 1     Comman Yellowthroat 45   Red-winged Blackbird 3    Great-tailed Grackle 1    Merlin 2    Common Loon 1     Wilson Snipe 1    Savannah Sparrow 1    Marsh Wren Happy Birding.   Cate Ball Manager SPI BNC (956) 243-8179   Don't forget our upcoming events:     * Bird walks every Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 am and again at 2 pm.     *  February 13 at 11 am here at SPI BNC, Dr. Tom Whelan (UT Pan Am) will be talking about "The Unique Chemistry of the Laguna Madre"     *  February 20 at 11 am here at SPI BNC, Dr. Zen Faulkes (UT Pan Am) will be talking about "The Life in the Beach Under Your Feet". We've got other presenta TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds tions lined up.  Check out our webpage at:  www.spibirding.com Subject: Amazon Kingfisher - NO! From: Erik Breden <ebreden AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:37:46 -0600 TexBirders, I spent most of today again at Zacate Creek looking for the Amazon Kingfisher. As of 5:30 PM it had not been seen. So that makes 4 days without a sighting. About a dozen birders came and went during the day. The rain held off, thankfully. I got a few photos of other birds...will post later. Off to the Valley tomorrow...adios Amazon Kingfisher. Erik Breden Andrews, Texas (currently in Laredo) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Canyon Lake; Lake Waco and Trading Creek Resevoir From: Lamont Brown <lamont AT WHN.ORG> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 17:47:46 -0600 During day 2 of my migration from the RGV to North Texas, Friday 5 Feb, I was able to bird six of the counties garnering 77 species. I specifically went to Canyon Lake, Comal County to check out the Loons. I also wanted to check out Lake Waco in McLennan County. Canyon Lake had both the Common and Pacific Loons at the same area. I spent about an hour or more between the Canyon Lake Dam and the spillway looking for the Red-throated Loon reported 26 January, but did not locate it. However a real highlight took place in the Corp of Engineers Park above the spillway. A Comal County ISD bus was there with 5 or 6 mentally challenged students. They were all excited to look through a scope and see a boat on the lake close up as well as a Northern Cardinal on the far side of the parking lot. I had 49 additional species in Comal County, all expected. Lake Waco was a new spot I wanted to add to my I-35 birding stops. When I arrived I found that all the flooding of the past few days had ostensibly closed the lake. By that I mean the parks and marinas were barricaded. The Corp parks were blocked where one could not drive in. From underneath the Twin Bridges, I scoped and saw little on the lake. However I made note of being told that two Bald Eagle nesting sights are on the West side of the Lake. Also west of Hwy 135 I found a large flock of Lapland Longspurs. With few birds at Lake Waco, I checked maps and decided to venture to Trading Creek Reservoir on the East side of Loop 340. My decision was based only on how close it was as I had about an hour before dark. I was pleasantly surprised upon arriving to find among other ducks, a Common Loon, two Hooded Mergansers, Canvasback and Redheads. As dark over took me, I realized there was about 60% more of the reservoir to bird on another day. I had 39 species in a little over 1 and 1/2 hours. I speculate that ducks were likely displaced from Lake Waco by all the flooding waters running into it. It is probable that some or most of the birds on the Trading Creek Reservoir moved to this mostly sheltered and less flooded body of water. A real nice place to check out! Lamont Brown Denton and Harlingen TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Photo of Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park From: Bert Frenz <bertf AT BAFRENZ.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 17:13:25 -0600 Frank Yulling e-mailed me several photos of the juvenile Roadside Hawk seen February 5 at Falcon State Park. You can view one of his photos on my website at: http://www.bafrenz.com/birds/RoHa%20FrankYuling1.htm For comparison, you might also want to see my photos of Roadside Hawk: http://www.bafrenz.com/birds/Belize07/RoHa983.htm at Crooked Tree, Belize http://www.bafrenz.com/birds/Belize09/RoHa021809X1.htm at Oxtankah, Mexico Frank tells me others have been at Falcon S.P. this morning searching for the hawk. Bert ------------------------------------ Bert Frenz bert2 AT bafrenz.com Birds of the Oaks & Prairies of Texas www.bafrenz.com/birds/ -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of Bert Frenz Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 3:13 PM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park A small hawk looking much like a Roadside Hawk was seen yesterday (February 5) afternoon by Frank Yulling and Carolyn Young at Falcon State Park, Falcon Lake in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Through his camera view window, Frank showed me several photos he took of the bird. Features I noticed include: 1) appropriate profile, 2) vertical breast lines, 3) horizontal belly lines, 4) multi-banded gray-and-brown tail, 5) yellow eye. I also think I saw a light supercilium, indicative of a juvenile. This morning during a birding tour led by camp volunteer Wendy Foster, and with Frank and Carolyn in our company, we revisited the area for about 90 min. but were unable to relocate the hawk. I've asked Frank to e-mail me his photos (probably tomorrow) and I will post them on my web site then. In the meantime, area birders may wish to search for the hawk. It was seen along the park road between the butterfly garden and the shelter area. If you have a map of the park, that location is in the lower right corner at the convergence of the Roadrunner Trail and the Verdin Trail. -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. We are a community of 6 million users fighting spam. SPAMfighter has removed 83 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len The Professional version does not have this message TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Tundra Swans over Lubbock From: Anthony Hewetson <terrverts AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:04:24 -0800 Greetings All: Tom SoRelle observed three Tundra Swans flying over Ribble Park - in southeast Lubbock - this morning. It would be a good idea for all of Lubbock's birders to keep their eyes on any nearby playas - just in case they decide to hang around during this next bout of unpleasant weather. Do remember - any swans seen in our region should be observed carefully for leg bands and for neck collars. Anthony Hewetson; Lubbock TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Grand Saline Marsh Feb.7 From: RDKRSH AT AOL.COM Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 17:35:22 EST I did the driving- walking tour of the once great Grand Saline marsh it is still a shock to see it as just as ghost of its once greatness. There is always a lot of talk of the loss of wildlife habitat and deservedly so. But this marsh was a tour asset to so many migrants rails and gallinules. It is so hard for me to see it now. Here are the results of another cold dreary day as type this, the mist ahead of the forecast rain event has already started. Location: Grand Saline Marsh (Van Zandt Co) Observation date: 2/7/10 Number of species: 50 Gadwall X Mallard X Northern Shoveler X Double-crested Cormorant X Great Blue Heron X Great Egret X Black Vulture X Turkey Vulture X Red-shouldered Hawk X Red-tailed Hawk X American Kestrel X Virginia Rail X Killdeer X Least Sandpiper X Wilson's Snipe X Ring-billed Gull X Eurasian Collared-Dove X Mourning Dove X Belted Kingfisher X Red-bellied Woodpecker X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker X Downy Woodpecker X Northern Flicker X Eastern Phoebe X Loggerhead Shrike X Blue Jay X American Crow X Carolina Chickadee X Tufted Titmouse X Carolina Wren X Marsh Wren X Ruby-crowned Kinglet X Eastern Bluebird X American Robin X Northern Mockingbird X European Starling X American Pipit X Cedar Waxwing X Yellow-rumped Warbler X Common Yellowthroat X Savannah Sparrow X Song Sparrow X Swamp Sparrow X White-crowned Sparrow X Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) X Northern Cardinal X Red-winged Blackbird X Eastern Meadowlark X American Goldfinch X House Sparrow X Richard Kinney Edgewood. TX near Lake Tawakoni TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Thoughts on all the South Texas Rarities From: Dan Jones <antshrike1 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:54:36 -0600 Ruben was speculating as to why there are so many rare birds in south Texas this year. Actually untill the last few weeks, the number of visiting birders in the RGV seemed down to me. Birders visiting Frontera were way down from last year till this past week of the Roadside Hawk. We still have not seen as many rare birds as the winter of 2004-5, but we do have better quality birds (two first state records). Unfortunately active RGV birders are small in numbers and it's the visiting birders that find most of our rarities. So it makes sense that more things are being found the past couple of weeks I think it's more a combination of environmental factors. I seem to remember 2004 with a lot of summer and fall rain and of course we had our only RGV snow of the past century. This fall we had a lot of rain following a prolonged dry period and a hard freeze this winter. Both winters had multiple Rose-throated Becards, Crimson-collared Grosbeaks and Roadside Hawks. We have yet to be invaded by White-throated Thrushes, Blue Buntings or Golden-crowned Warblers this winter. I bet we get a few of 'em. We also had the Social Flycatcher that winter. The other day Father Tom was speculating the next new bird for the RGV should be Lineated Woodpecker. Let's hope he's right. I'm thinking it's time for another Gray Silky. Dan Jones in Weslaco http://antshrike.blogspot.com/ Dan Jones in Weslaco TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: A Wheatear discussion thread From: Alex Lin-Moore <moorelin AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:47:04 -0600 Chris, you raise a really cool point, especially considering the multiple populations of Northern Wheatear breeding in northern North America and increasing records of the bird in the continental US. I had always assumed that appearances by NOWH throughout the US and southern Canada were mostly due to mistakes in guidance, with individuals going in the opposite direction than they should. This behavior has been seen in several other species, especially some Tyrant flycatchers. It seems that during migration some birds head north into the US rather than south into Central America. In fact, between Oregon, Washington and British Columbia alone, Tropical Kingbird has appeared in excess of 35 times, all (with one exception) between late September and November (Stouffer and Chesser, 1998, from BNA). It seems really unlikely that all these birds could have been blown all the way to the Pacific NW, which is more than 1000 miles north of their normal breeding grounds, but it seems more possible, especially given the time of appearance, that these birds are just individuals that have migrated in the wrong direction. Like the TRKI, most NOWH vagrant records seem to be from the fall, during the birds’ migration. Given the combination of nearly circumpolar breeding area, large population, and long-distance migration, it seems like individuals from a species such as NOWH might be particularly susceptible to having strays head in the wrong direction and show up in places like Texas. On the other hand, if hybrid individuals are in fact forming a loose, intermediate migration route into the US, it would be really interesting to see if "natural" colonization of the US by an old-world species took place, and, given the information you mentioned about intermediate migration routes, it seems like it really might be a possibility! The Beeville wheatear certainly seems to be doing fine. Cheers, Alex Lin-Moore currently in Middlebury, VT P.S. I talked to my dad earlier, and he said he saw the jacana at Choke Canyon yesterday (the 6th). Hooray for life birds! TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Possible demise of the Roadside Hawk at Fontera From: Ruben Zamora <ruben_zamora AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 12:51:00 -0800 Another thought... with all the rarities Work of a Great Horned Owl? Another thought... with all the rarities recently reported, including another Roadside Hawk at Falcon SP, are these sightings due to there simply being more observers out in the field, or is there something else going on? Ruben Zamora Edinburg, TX ________________________________ From: Dan Jones To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Sent: Sat, February 6, 2010 9:36:38 PM Subject: [texbirds] Possible demise of the Roadside Hawk at Fontera This quote from Cindy Wilson, ED at Frontera, "It appears that the Roadside Hawk recently seen at Frontera Audubon is the victim of predators in the Thicket.  It is a shame that more visitors may not be able to see this bird, but reminds us that we are stewards of this preserve; we do not control it.  Frontera will be open Sun. noon until 4p.m." Here's a few more details.  A pile of raptor feathers were found by birders at 8 AM this morning east of the feeding station.  The feathers contained barred flight feathers with a rusty wash and breast/belly feathers that were white, each with a half inch wind rusty band.  I'm not sure of any other local raptor that would exhibit this combination.  The predator had plucked the victim on a dead branch over the trail and feathers littered the trail and surrounding brush.  Feathers were collected and will be sent to Dr. Arnold at TAMU for examination.  I hope we're wrong. Dan Jones in Weslaco TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding li TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds nks at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Wheatear habitat choice From: Clay Taylor <Clay.Taylor AT SWAROVSKIOPTIK.US> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:41:55 -0500 Hi all - One of the reasons that I have not made it all the way up to Beeville (that's sarcasm...) is that I have been traveling a lot, but also I saw Wheatear a number of times back in New England, plus a trip last May to Kazakhstan netted us about four five different wheatears. I have not really embraced starting a TX List (yet, anyway), so I will likely get there when it becomes convenient. Anyway, the New England birds that stuck around more than a few days were definitely interested in an open, short-grass with weedy edges type of habitat, and they usually stuck to a limited area. They would cruise the area multiple times per day, foraging constantly. Given adequate insect supply and no Merlins, the bird will hopefully be pleasing birders for a while longer. Clay Taylor Calallen (Corpus Christi) TX clay.taylor AT swarovskioptik.us -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of Jimmy Jackson Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 1:10 AM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] Wheatear habitat choice The Bee County , Tx Northern Wheatear is showing a remarkable fidelity to the Amish farm , a relatively small area. The bird appears to stay in an area about 250 yards long by 150 yards wide. The area is littered with numerous man made perches, piles of bricks , lumber , old farm implements. Farm animals, one cow , chickens , one active dog , and numerous horses inhabit the space except for a fenced off vegetable patch. There is hay everywhere on the ground , mixed in with horse manure. The wheatear appears to be feeding on insects on the ground and then will periodically fly to a perch and stay up there surveying the territory. Though surrounded by thousands of non-amish farmland, this bird has chosen this area to inhabit ? Coincidentally, another wheatear was found on an Amish farm in Ohio back in September 2009. I'd like to speculate this bird is enjoying this old-fashioned non-insecticide/ chemical free , insect rich micro habitat. It would probably be worth someone's effort to study the habitat of all wheatear sightings in the US, especially since the Bee County bird is so completely loyal to this small area. Jimmy Jackson , Beeville, Tx TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Fort Hood field trips 1 and 2 May 2010 - both full From: Rich Kostecke <rkost73 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 12:38:08 -0800 As of today, both the 1 and 2 May open Fort Hood field trips we advertised are full. If you are interested in either of these field trips but did not sign up in time, we can put you on a waiting list. Occasionally, registered participants do drop out as we get closer to the actual field trip dates. Alternatively, we can point you towards some Audubon and other groups who have arranged field trips on other dates. You'd have to check with the particular group to see whether or not they are willing to accommodate non-group members and have the space to do so. Participating in one of these group field trips has been possible for some folks at times during past seasons, but there are no guarantees. Right now, I know of at least one Saturday field trip (don't recall the exact date) that is willing to accommodate some outside folks. We can also provide tips on where one might find the Golden-cheeked Warbler in the Fort Hood area on one's own. Black-capped Vireos are much harder (near impossible) to find in publicly accessible areas right around Fort Hood. Rich --- On Tue, 2/2/10, Rich Kostecke wrote: > From: Rich Kostecke > Subject: Fort Hood field trips spring 2010 > To: "Texbirds" , "Central Texas Audubon" > Cc: "Gil Eckrich" , "Gil Eckrich" > Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 10:13 AM > Amazingly, spring is just around the > corner, and I guess it is about time to start advertising > field trip opportunities to see the Black-capped Vireo and > Golden-cheeked Warbler (as well other birds, bugs, > wildflowers, etc.) on Fort Hood (Bell/Coryell cos.).  > This year, Gil Eckrich (Outreach Coordinator for Fort Hood's > Natural Resources Management Branch) and myself plan to host > 2 "open" field trip days on 1 May and 2 May.  Most > field trips we run are requested by groups rather than > individuals.  So, by "open" we mean that you do not > have to be affiliated with any particular group to join > these field trips.  Space is typically limited to 16 > people per day to ensure a manageable group size from a > logistical standpoint as well as a higher probability of > getting everyone on the birds, and is first come first > served.  If you are interested in attending the field > trips on either of these days, please email me or Gil (gil.eckrich AT att.net > or > gil.eckrich AT us.army.mil) > to reserve your spots. > > Field trips are free to attend, and usually start at dawn > and go to about noon.  We will rendevousz on Fort Hood > in the morning.  For those who will need to make > overnight accomodations, Belton would be the closest town, > though Temple is not much further away and probably has more > options.  We will send out further information (exactly > when and where to meet, etc.) closer to the field trip > dates.  Though not mandatory, we recommend that you > bring a high clearance vehicle if you have one and, who > knows, if we keep getting rain, a 4WD vehicle could come in > handy if you have one.  We typically condense down into > as few high clearance vehicles as possible, so don't worry > if you have a low clearance vehicle. > > If the proposed open dates don't work for you, don't > despair quite yet.  If space is available and the group > is willing (and many are in our experience), we may be able > to fit you in on a group field trip arranged by different > Audubon Society Chapters, etc.  We can put you into > contact with the field trip leaders for those groups so that > you can inquire about space and possibly reserve a spot on > the field trip. > > If you are a group who wants to arrange a field trip and > hasn't already, right now, many of the weekend days in April > and May are already booked.  However, most week days > are open and we are willing to run trips during the week. > > Rich    > > > Richard Kostecke, Ph.D. > The Nature Conservancy > P.O. Box 5190, Fort Hood, Texas 76544-0190 > Phone:  254-288-2088  Fax: 254-288-5039 > E-mail: rkost73 AT yahoo.com > or rkostecke AT tnc.org >   > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Large hawk id needed From: Judy Kestner <jkestner AT STX.RR.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 14:31:00 -0600 At Hazel Bazemore Park in Nueces Co. this morning I saw a large dark hawk soaring with a couple of Turkey Vultures. The hawk was almost as large as the TVs, with wings slightly bowed as it soared and circled overhead. The bird was dark on the back, pale belly and "armpits," and dark trailing edges of the wings - in fact about half the underwing area was dark. It rarely moved its wings, just glided around like the vultures, circling and slowly moving west. The wings were long and tapered, long-ish tail, head appeared dark. Is it too early for a Swainson's????? Judy Kestner Corpus Christi TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: weekend birding at Choke and Resaca From: Katherine Miller <Katherine.Miller AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 14:10:17 -0600 This weekend has been terrific for birding, now that our rains have cleared up for a little while! Friday I went up to Beeville, and while I didn't see the Northern Wheatear I had a wonderful time birding and looking at Savannah and Vesper Sparrows, Loggerhead Shrikes, American Kestrels aplenty, and meadowlarks. >From Beeville I headed back to 281 and to Choke Canyon State Park to help out with the Three Rivers Birding Festival. The staff took Jennifer Owen and myself around the park to prep for the event. We spotted Verdin, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Cardinal, and other expected birds. I didn't get much birding in that evening, though I thought I heard a Common Parauque call. Paul Jaure, the park interpreter at Choke, will be sending out a full summary and list of birds for the festival. Good people, lots of good birds, and the Northern Jacana's presence made for a very successful festival. Returning to Resaca de la Palma this morning, I had office work (of course!) but I took my lunch out on the deck by Ebony Trail. While it was a slower time of day, the Long-billed Thrasher serenaded me (or his lady-friend), and the Snowy Egrets foraged along the resaca. The best part was getting buzzed by a handful of Cedar Waxwings, one of my favorite birds. Dick and Sherry Wilson, park hosts at Resaca, have done an excellent job of leading the bird walks and reporting their findings! Please join us for a guided walk at Resaca soon! Katherine Miller (currently watching an Orange-crowned Warbler from her window) Natural Resource Specialist Resaca de la Palma State Park World Birding Center 1000 New Carmen Blvd. Brownsville, Texas 78521 (956) 350-2920 Mailing address: P. O. Box 714 Olmito, Texas 78575 www.worldbirdingcenter.org Winter Schedule: Bird Walks Tuesdays and Saturdays 8:30 AM Resaca Rides Wednesdays 8:30 AM Nature Walks Thursdays 8:30 AM Night Walks Fridays 7:00 PM Butterfly Walks Sundays 1:30 PM -----Original Message----- From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org [mailto:do-not-reply AT ebird.org] Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 1:46 PM To: Katherine Miller Subject: eBird Report - Resaca de la Palma SP WBC (Brownsville) (LTC 048) , 2/7/10 Location: Resaca de la Palma SP WBC (Brownsville) (LTC 048) Observation date: 2/7/10 Number of species: 6 Snowy Egret 7 Great Kiskadee 1 White-eyed Vireo 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 Long-billed Thrasher 1 Cedar Waxwing 3 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Gray Flycatcher Ferruginous Hawk Burrowing Owl Duval Co plus nine more From: Lamont Brown <lamont AT WHN.ORG> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 12:37:57 -0600 When I am migrating between North and South Texas several times a year, as time permits I like to take two days or more for the trip and bird different places "reasonably" on the way. Thanks to Brush Freeman's 7 & 11 January posts about La Rosita and Aaron Tjelmeland's 12 January update, I decided to spend some quality time in Central and Northern Duval County this past Thursday , 4 February. For three years I have run a BBS in the extreme Southern part of Duval Country [Sejita] but I had never been to the areas of Benavides, Freer and La Rosita. La Rosita is a really terrific secluded place to bird. First it is a stark contrast to the open Southern part of the County. It is accessible and since maybe 10 families live in the area, it is virtually undisturbed, with ample food and water for the birds. This is a prime example of sage advise from a seasoned birding veteran benefiting someone like me that has not been birding a decade yet! Thanks Brush for knowing about this little place and sharing it. I went to the La Rosita Park looking for the Gray Flycatcher seen there two times earlier in January. After nearly getting stuck on the left side of the ballpark, I backed up, parked and walked toward the small pond at the far end on the right side of the park as this is where the GRFL had been seen. While walking an Eastern Phoebe gave me a scare when it lifted up and started shagging flies. But no Gray Flycatcher. I had 10 sparrow species and two warblers plus some 15-18 other expected species all in this one nice little park. [See the 7 January post for directions.] The rest of the county was not bad either as I had a total of 74 species in Duval County for the day and a total of 101 species in 10 counties on Day 1 of my migration from the RGV to North Texas. Some other notables: Ferruginous Hawk on CR 3196 between Benavides and La Rosita [perched] Burrowing Owls 2, one near Benavides and one near Freer Black-throated Gray Warbler Benavides Ash-throated Flycatcher La Rosita Cassin Vireo Freer Green-tailed Towhees Benavides Great-horned Owl, heard from La Rosita Cemetery Olive Sparrow La Rosita Common Ground Doves La Rosita Other notables in other counties: Blue-headed Vireo, Chestnut-collared Longspurs Atascosa Groove-billed Ani Jim Wells Common Loon, Braunig Lake Bexar County. "I just love migration, even when I'm migrating!" Day 2 of the trip will likely be posted during or after the Super Bowl! Go Team! Lamont Brown Denton and Harlingen TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Lynn and Terry Counties - February Visit From: Anthony Hewetson <terrverts AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 10:32:29 -0800 This month's visit to Terry and Lynn Counties was a ver Greetings All: This month's visit to Terry and Lynn Counties was a very damp seven hours spent cruising a loop along Highway 82, Highway 385, FM 303, FM 213, Highway 87, FM 400, FM 211, and Highway 87 from the Hockley/Terry County line to the Lynn/Lubbock County line.  I plan on running this route once amonth (reversing the direction of travel every other month) this year - for my 2010 game.  My goals are: 40 species of butterfly, 5 species of amphibian, 10 species of reptile, 125 species of bird, and 10 species of mammal in each county by the end of 2010.  If things remain as drought-stricken as they are, those numbers should be fairly challenging. As mentioned, Saturday was quite damp and waterfowl were kicking in both counties.  All in all, I tallied 58 species of bird and 3 species of mammal in Lynn County as well as 56 species of bird, and 3 species of mammal in Terry County.  My totals for Lynn County so far are 0 species of butterfly, 0 species of amphibian, 0 species of reptile, 76 species of bird, and 6 species of mammal.  My totals for Terry County so far are 1 species of butterfly, 0 species of amphibian, 0 species of reptile, 75 species of bird, and 3 species of mammal.  As conditions warm, I will post birds-only to texbirds: for this post, I hope David Sarkozi will forgive me a few non-birds in the following lists.  Folks who want to get the full list - all taxa - each month, should contact me at terrverts AT yahoo.com and I will put them on a full-report list. The Lynn County List - new critters are *sked: 3 Snow Geese 4 Canada Geese 1 Wood Duck* 12 Gadwalls* 4 American Wigeons 14 Mallards* 3 Northern Shovelers 70 Northern Pintails* 9 Green-winged Teals 2 Canvasbacks* 4 Redheads* 6 Ring-necked Ducks* 1 Lesser Scaup* 4 Buffleheads 4 Ruddy Ducks* 1 Ring-necked Pheasant* 1 Great Blue Heron* 6 Northern Harriers 10 Red-tailed Hawks 2 Ferruginous Hawks 8 American Kestrels 2846 Sandhill Cranes 10 Rock Pigeons 25 Eurasian Collared Doves 279 Mourning Doves 2 Greater Roadrunners* 1 Barn Owl* 2 Northern Flickers 1 Eastern Phoebe* 1 Loggerhead Shrike 2 Blue Jays 40 American Crows 28 Chihuahuan Ravens 9 Horned Larks 1 Bewick's Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet* 31 American Robins 2 Northern Mockingbirds 2 Curve-billed Thrashers 11 European Starlings 16 Cedar Waxwings* 1 Orange-crowned Warbler* 2 Field Sparrows 3 Vesper Sparrows 154 Lark Buntings 2 Savannah Sparrows 1 Song Sparrow 12 White-crowned Sparrows 12 Dark-eyed Juncos 2 Northern Cardinals 190 Red-winged Blackbirds 65 meadowlarks 2 Eastern Meadowlarks* 33 Western Meadowlarks 532 Brewer's Blackbirds 16 Great-tailed Grackles 56 Brown-headed Cowbirds 4 House Finches 32 House Sparrows 1 Eastern Fox Squirrel* 1 North American Porcupine 1 Hispid Cotton Rat* The Terry County List - new critters are *sked: 2 Greater White-fronted Geese 64 Snow Geese 42 Ross's Geese 700 Cackling Geese 2700 Canada Geese 2 Gadwalls 2 Mallards 10 Northern Shovelers 2 Green-winged Teals* 2 Ring-necked Ducks* 2 Buffleheads* 2 Hooded Mergansers* 1 Northern Bobwhite 1 Great Blue Heron 7 Northern Harriers 1 Cooper's Hawk* 8 Red-tailed Hawks 2 Ferruginous Hawks 11 American Kestrels 2 American Coots 226 Sandhill Cranes 2 Killdeers* 46 Rock Pigeons 45 Eurasian Collared Doves 7 White-winged Doves 263 Mourning Doves 1 Great Horned Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher* 1 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 4 Northern Flickers 10 Blue Jays* 222 American Crows 268 Chihuahuan Ravens 21 Horned Larks 2 Bewick's Wrens 1 House Wren* 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets 5 American Robins 1 Northern Mockingbird* 92 European Starlings 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Spotted Towhee* 2 Vesper Sparrows 7 Savannah Sparrows 2 Song Sparrows 1 Swamp Sparrow* 25 White-crowned Sparrows 39 Dark-eyed Juncos 34 McCown's Longspurs* 2 Pyrrhuloxias* 159 Red-winged Blackbirds 69 unidentified meadowlarks 1 Eastern Meadowlark* 12 Western Meadowlarks 325 Brewer's Blackbirds 353 Great-tailed Grackles 18 Brown-headed Cowbirds* 750 blackbirds 10 House Finches 28 House Sparrows 1 Eastern Cottontail* 1 Desert Cottontail* 2 Eastern Fox Squirrels Anthony Hewetson; Lubbock TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Brown County and Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas) 2/6/10 From: Rich Kostecke <rkost73 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 10:16:53 -0800 On 6 Feb, I birded Brown Co., spending about 6 hrs driving the following loop: Zephyr northwest to Early/Brownwood then north to Lake Brownwood (stops at Fabis Primitive Park along the way and the Lake Brownwood spillway; scanned the lake from various points along the south shore), then west towards the county line, then south to Bangs, then south to Brookesmith, then northeast to Brownwood. I tallied 72 species. Good mix, but nothing that I would highlight as being particular unexpected or unusual. Wood Duck 1 Gadwall 89 American Wigeon 12 Mallard 5 Northern Shoveler 56 Northern Pintail 10 Ring-necked Duck 57 Lesser Scaup 11 Bufflehead 9 Pied-billed Grebe 12 American White Pelican 2 (Country Club Lake, Brownwood) Double-crested Cormorant 22 Great Blue Heron 3 Black Vulture 18 Turkey Vulture 32 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 7 American Kestrel 25 American Coot 94 Killdeer 2 Bonaparte's Gull 6 Ring-billed Gull 95 Rock Pigeon 65 Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 White-winged Dove 5 Mourning Dove 33 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker 5 Eastern Phoebe 2 Loggerhead Shrike 7 Blue Jay 12 Western Scrub-Jay 1 American Crow 3 Common Raven 2 Carolina Chickadee 25 Black-crested Titmouse 9 Rock Wren 1 (Lake Brownwood spillway) Carolina Wren 10 Bewick's Wren 5 House Wren 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7 Eastern Bluebird 30 Hermit Thrush 4 American Robin 135 Northern Mockingbird 26 European Starling 51 Cedar Waxwing 48 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Spotted Towhee 21 Chipping Sparrow 36 Field Sparrow 35 Vesper Sparrow 11 Savannah Sparrow 27 Song Sparrow 11 Lincoln's Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 1 Harris's Sparrow 2 White-crowned Sparrow 20 Dark-eyed Junco 34 Northern Cardinal 32 Red-winged Blackbird 5 Eastern Meadowlark 2 meadowlark sp. 60 Great-tailed Grackle 21 Brown-headed Cowbird 36 House Finch 2 Pine Siskin 1 Lesser Goldfinch 6 (Brownwood) American Goldfinch 35 House Sparrow 42 Late afternoon on 6 Feb, on my way back from Brown Co., I made a brief stop at Lometa Reservoir (Lampasas), recording the following birds: Northern Shoveler 15 Northern Pintail 12 Green-winged Teal 3 Canvasback 18 Redhead 2 Bufflehead 12 COMMON GOLDENEYE 1 female (continuation from January) Ruddy Duck 115 Pied-billed Grebe 18 Eared Grebe 3 Double-crested Cormorant 11 Great Blue Heron 1 American Coot 333 Bonaparte's Gull 1 Ring-billed Gull 1 Field Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 6 Northern Cardinal 1 Red-winged Blackbird 2 Eastern Meadowlark 1 Western Meadowlark 1 meadowlark sp. 78 Richard Kostecke, Ph.D. The Nature Conservancy P.O. Box 5190, Fort Hood, Texas 76544-0190 Phone:  254-288-2088  Fax: 254-288-5039 E-mail: rkost73 AT yahoo.com or rkostecke AT tnc.org   TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Field Sparrow at Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, 2/7/10 From: Dan Jones <antshrike1 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 12:27:03 -0600 I spend a couple of hours looking for the Northern Flicker this morning at Edinbrg Scenic Wetlands but couldn't find it. The Yellow Warbler was at the parking lot as it has been for the past three or four winters. Best bird was a Field Sparrow in the fence line behind the big mulch pile to the east of the lake north of the visitor's center. Is that clear as mud? http://i45.tinypic.com/4g2edw.jpg http://i45.tinypic.com/2hwz9zs.jpg Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 45 Gadwall 25 Blue-winged Teal 120 Northern Shoveler 100 Green-winged Teal (American) 20 Lesser Scaup 10 Ruddy Duck 40 Least Grebe 7 Pied-billed Grebe 2 American White Pelican 3 Neotropic Cormorant 5 Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Blue Heron 7 Snowy Egret 3 Cattle Egret 1 Black-crowned Night-Heron 13 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey 1 Common Moorhen 15 American Coot 65 Killdeer 5 Black-necked Stilt 13 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Least Sandpiper 7 Stilt Sandpiper 2 Long-billed Dowitcher 35 Rock Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 3 Inca Dove 4 Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1 Ringed Kingfisher 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5 Great Kiskadee 2 Couch's Kingbird 1 White-eyed Vireo 2 Blue-headed Vireo 1 House Wren 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4 Northern Mockingbird 6 Curve-billed Thrasher 4 American Pipit 3 Orange-crowned Warbler 13 Yellow Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 50 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1 Common Yellowthroat 1 Field Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 3 Great-tailed Grackle 20 Dan Jones in Weslaco http://antshrike.blogspot.com/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Red-tailed Hawk striking, drowning and eating the Mallard – a long photo essay From: Mark B Bartosik <mbb22222 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 09:17:56 -0600 On New Year’s Day, one of these early, cold and foggy, January mornings I met again with a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk I knew from a few earlier encounters. She (I call her my she-hawk friend solely on the base of her very large size, typical for a female raptor) was perching on a low branch of a tree, maybe 30 feet away from where I spotted her, intensely looking at something on the ground. I followed her eyes and saw a male mallard, domestic type, walking fast. He probably had a problem with flying and tried to run away from danger on his feet. The duck was coming toward me and I thought about moving away when the hawk flew and landed on the top of a 6 foot post right in front of me, no further than 20 feet away. The Mallard started to run on his short legs as fast as he could; I had thought again to move away, but before I could even consider my other choices the Red-tailed Hawk took off and attacked; striking the running duck’s back with her talons. Although I was able to point my lens toward the action it was way too close and photos became blurred – my distance selector was set for distance photos, and even if not, I was close enough to take portrait shots of the bird’s heads rather than the action frame. Evidently the first strike did not stop the duck that was now continuing to run down the bank’s steep slope toward the lake. Now, without even thinking I started quickly to walk away, keeping the running duck in my sight, and tried to distance myself from both birds to have enough space between me and the possibly place of the next attack. I kept thinking that I was too close for the hawk to concentrate on real attacks. And I was wrong. The next attack came just a few seconds later and the hawk struck the mallard’s head when passing over him making the mallard’s body come down the slope in a rolling motion. As I found later, I caught the moment of this strike in the photo but I still was too close to fit both birds in the frame (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343889. When the duck regained control of the fall and stop rolling he had only a few feet left to reach the water but then the hawk struck the third and final time. This time holding talons firmly on the duck’s body (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343890). I had too many obstructions between myself and the birds, so I did not get a good photo of the last strike. The mallard tried weakly to free himself from the hawk’s talons but pushed further down the slope (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343893, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343896), his body ended up in the water and the hawk pressed even harder to keep the duck’s head under the water and simply watched it drowning (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343899, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343900, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343904, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343905). When the mallard’s wings stopped moving rapidly the Red-tailed Hawk waited a moment and started to drag the mallard’s body out of the water and up the slope to a dry place where, despite weak signs of the duck still being alive (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343910, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343912), the hawk easily over powered the prey with the strong grip of her talons (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343918). Then, almost immediately, she started to tear off the skin from the prey’s chest. First blood was drawn with the bill (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343924); first chunks of skin and feathers were swallowed before the mallard was even dead (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343929, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343932, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343933, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343968, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343974). For the next 45 minutes (the whole event lasted about 50 minutes from the first strike to walking away and cleaning the bill) she-hawk was dinning. Slowly but with strong force going through the skin and breast muscles, taking out trachea (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121343938) and some other gut contents during the process. At the beginning of the breakfast I was trying not to move much, nor to try getting closer as I was afraid that I might scare away the hawk. But soon, inch by inch, foot by foot, I started to get closer and closer, ending up about 15 feet away (my minimum focusing distance) from the dining hawk and taking full frame portrait shots of her head (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121344000, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121344001, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121344007, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121344012, http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121344015). I started to wonder how close she would allow me to get to her, but seeing no benefit of doing this, I just kept a minimum distance of fifteen feet freely moving back and fort, but tried not to cross a 15 feet line between us. When only a few small pieces of meat were left still attached to the mallard’s rib cage (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121530613), the Red-tailed Hawk decided to slowly walk away (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121530620) stopping only from time to time to wipe her bill against the grass, then took off and landed on a post. She cleaned her bill and talons a little more and flew to the tree nearby and perched there showing a nice, full crop (http://www.pbase.com/mbb/image/121530615). I think we both had a wonderful New Year’s Morning. She having a great meal and me having an unforgettable experience. Well, I have to admit also, that during this long hour (or a short one – depending on how you look at it) a lot of thoughts were coming through my mind. From childhood I am always spending a lot of time in the field observing wildlife but witnessing the raptor hunting is not a very common event; and having one striking prey right in the front of you … I consider that more luck than anything else. Many people think that raptors always kill their prey with one swift strike. Well, not always, as you can see it took this Red-tailed Hawk three strikes, a short fight on the ground and drowning the prey for a few minutes before she was able to tear off the first chunk of skin from the still alive duck. When witnessing all of this right in front of my eyes it seems natural that the thoughts about life and death would start filling my mind. Most animals live in constant fear of being eaten at any moment, in most cases alive. I am not sure how many people who are living a peaceful life of a paper pusher in the nice, safe and air conditioned office space could handle being thrown back in time, to a place from where we came not that long ago. When every time upon leaving the cave to find food, was a life threatening event. And being eaten alive was a ‘normal’ way to go, to say the least: a common one. My she-hawk friend left the area a few weeks ago. She has much more freedom to choose her place to live than I do. Not knowing where she went I cannot follow her but I am little upset with myself that I took her presence for granted and did not spend more time with her when she was around. I never looked for her, instead, very often, she was crossing my paths and every time we met she always offered something interesting for me to watch. From hunting rodents (not always successfully) and toad (she ate one so fast I did not even have a chance to get very close) to walking toward me, practically ignoring my presence, when checking the ground for food or sometimes for something to play with (yes, it was an incredible experience to watch a wild Red-tailed Hawk playing) often no further then 20-25 feet away from me. In fact she came to me on foot around Christmas Day. Old legends say that animals around that time can talk. Well, she certainly did with her body language. Now, when she is gone, after the short two months of knowing each other, I am very glad that at least I took so many photos of her. They (her photos) will help me from time to time refresh my memory of this so unique relationship. Finally I found time to start going through the photos I took of her. I hope I will find more time to check them all soon. If for any reason someone will find my photos too graphic and accuse the Red-tailed Hawk for being cruel go and see what some of our own kin in ‘civilized’ part of world can do to quite intelligent mammals but in their opinion ‘lower’ animals that they claim to have right to butcher in a barbaric way, and what is worse, seem to have fun doing it. I will not state my opinion about it, even that I have a strong one, but rather let everybody build his/her own one. http://bluepanjeet.net/2008/11/22/1594/the-horrible-whale-and-dolphin- massacre-tradition-of-faroe -islands-in-denmark/ http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/end-whale-dolphin-slaughter-in-the-faroe- islands http://ecopathic.blogspot.com/2008/03/denmark-you-are-killing-our- whales.html The Red-tailed Hawk on the other hand, even if it is not able to eat the whole prey, will often keep returning to it, sometimes for a few days after a kill (especially during the cold weather) and keep eating the leftovers. I saw my she-hawk friend doing that too with another bird carcass. The complete uploaded collection of photos of the Red-tailed Hawk hunting and eating the Mallard plus a selection of close-up portraits can be found here: http://www.pbase.com/mbb/redtailed_hawk_striking_drowning_and_eating_the_ma llard Mark B Bartosik Houston, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park- CONFIRMED From: Kyle Ohaver <Kyle.Ohaver AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 09:17:04 -0600 Good Morning Texbirds, This is Park Ranger Kyle O'Haver and I would like to update the information on the Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park. I brought a picture back with me from Falcon yesterday and Mary Gustafson confirmed that the bird in the photo is a juvenile Roadside Hawk. This morning I called Falcon and received permission to get the picture posted to Texbirds. Mary Beth Stowe scanned the photo for me yesterday at the VNC and will post it to Textbirds as soon she gets this message. Please check with park staff and hosts at Falcon for the latest information on sightings of this bird. See ya on the trails KO -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 6:27 PM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: Re: [texbirds] possible Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park Hi, all! I have in my possession a copy of a photograph of the possible Roadside Hawk taken by Ellen, one of the park hosts at Falcon, which she gave to Kyle O'Haver to solicit opinions. I'd like to post this to my PBase account in order for more folks to see it and add their thoughts, but I'd like her permission first; anyone have any way I can get ahold of her? Thanks! MB Mary Beth Stowe McAllen, TX _www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Subject: Possible demise of the Roadside Hawk at Fontera From: "Matthew W. York" <mwy391 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 06:18:43 -0800 I heard of this news, via phone last evening, from some friends who were down in Weslaco in hopes of some glimpses of this bird. It certainly is too bad for folks eager to view this bird at this location. Not too bad for the over-night predator, of course. I know Heidi and I enjoyed views for a few minutes from an appreciable distance early one morning from a vantage point at the adjacent cemetery. We feel fortunate. Hearing this news did emphatically remind me of a little peeve I carry around. In a vast majority of occasions, and certainly in environments such as that which is managed at Frontera, please refrain from intentionally flushing birds in hopes of seeing them. If you can't find where the bird "disappeared to," then wait awhile. As a society, we should learn to wait awhile. Perhaps find another vantage point, and wait awhile. There just may be a few, but very important, reasons you can't see it. Bottom line being, an individual bird's exact perching location is chosen by this bird. Nary a single one these reasons should be "YOU" or "ME". I do understand when these feathers were found. I do realize this happened most certainly late evening, overnight, early morning when the grounds where not open. My recent experience in the Valley was overwhelmingly positive with responsible citizens who share our enjoyment of bird observation. However, it did remind me of one instance that was less than positive. Maybe that photo from Falcon will prove to be a ROHA. I hope so. Heidi and I very much enjoyed our trip down to the RGV this past week. We feel so fortunate as we observed the Amazon Kingfisher, Rose-throated Becard at Bentson, Roadside Hawk in Weslaco, and the beautiful Crimson-collared Grosebeak at Quinta Mazatlan. During our journey we met many great folks from around the continent, and Valley citizens were gracious and hospitable as we knew them to be. What a great winter in Texas this has been. regards, Matt York (Waco-area often enough). _____________________________________________ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Pine Canyon information From: Greg Lasley <glasley AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 05:45:36 -0600 Hi SeEtta, Pine Canyon can usually be driven to with any sort of little SUV type vehicle. 4WD is not normally needed, but I would not try to take a low car like a Prius or a normal sedan in there. Any sort of little 2WD SUV should not have any problems. I have been there in a 2003 Toyota Highlander, for example. I'm sure the road condition varies from year to year, however, depending on weather, etc. From the parking lot I'd say it is about an hour's walk to get to where you might have a Colima. The first part of the trail is just a walk across the desert floor, but then you get into the canyon proper and do a little climbing, but it is not really steep. The trail is rocky, however, and not really maintained such as the Pinnacles or Laguna Meadows trails, so the footing can be difficult here and there. I've not been in the canyon in 4 or 5 years, so someone who has been there more recently than I may offer some other thoughts. I will be there in early May this year helping on a yearly Colima survey, however. It is a beautiful canyon and other very interesting birds can turn up there as well. The trail in the canyon ends at a pool at a waterfall (in wet seasons such as August). I would not call the trail really difficult for experienced hikers, but it is quite a bit more remote than the morse used trails in the basin and you have to realize that there can be days when no one is there and you are a long way from help and cell phones don't work there (or in most places in Big Bend). Greg Lasley Austin TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Bald Eagle over Cypress, Texas From: Linda Martin-Rust <martinrustl AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 17:00:44 -0600 At 2:30 P.M.this afternoon (Saturday), we watched a Bald Eagle cruising the bright, blue sky above the fields and shops in the Jackrabbit/Old Hempstead Highway (Old 290) area. That's the intersection of Hwy 290 and Hwy 6/1960 in far, northwest Houston. Has anyone else seen this Bald Eagle in that area? That's not far from where I have regularly seen a pair of Swainson's Hawks in warmer months. I've also seen Bald Eagles over my house in Cypress, near the intersection of Skinner Road and Huffmeister Road. I understand there may be a pair nesting in the Spring Creek area. Anyone have current information on that pair? Linda Martin-Rust Cypress, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Some Big Bend NP photos From: Greg Lavaty <greglavaty AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 19:29:42 -0800 I got back from a trip to Big Bend National Park last week and have finally gotten around to editing the photos.  The trip was very nice though I didn’t see any unexpected birds.  Avian highlights for me were a Ferruginous Hawk, several Western Screech Owls and several Black-chinned Sparrows.   Photos from the trip can be viewed here: http://www.pbase.com/dadas115/new   Greg Lavaty Sugar Land, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Photos from Zacate Creek Today (Saturday 2/6) From: Erik Breden <ebreden AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 00:40:51 -0600 TexBirders, I did manage to get some photos of a few other birds today...you can see them at: www.otterside.com/winter2010 Scroll down from the top to the link for today. Enjoy! Erik Breden Andrews, Texas (currently in Laredo) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Wheatear habitat choice From: Jimmy Jackson <greenjay43 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 00:09:33 -0600 The Bee County , Tx Northern Wheatear is showing a remarkable fidelity to the Amish farm , a relatively small area. The bird appears to stay in an area about 250 yards long by 150 yards wide. The area is littered with numerous man made perches, piles of bricks , lumber , old farm implements. Farm animals, one cow , chickens , one active dog , and numerous horses inhabit the space except for a fenced off vegetable patch. There is hay everywhere on the ground , mixed in with horse manure. The wheatear appears to be feeding on insects on the ground and then will periodically fly to a perch and stay up there surveying the territory. Though surrounded by thousands of non-amish farmland, this bird has chosen this area to inhabit ? Coincidentally, another wheatear was found on an Amish farm in Ohio back in September 2009. I'd like to speculate this bird is enjoying this old-fashioned non-insecticide/ chemical free , insect rich micro habitat. It would probably be worth someone's effort to study the habitat of all wheatear sightings in the US, especially since the Bee County bird is so completely loyal to this small area. Jimmy Jackson , Beeville, Tx TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Lake Tawakoni Saturday From: RDKRSH AT AOL.COM Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 00:59:18 EST It was a cold miserable day at Lake Tawakoni. Ron Baltzegar, Jim and D.D. Cruisinberry endured those miserable Tawakoni winds along with the Wild hog destruction to tally 69 species of birds. Raptors put on the best show with a Bald Eagle that didn't get swallowed up in a hog wallow soared over the State Park. Other raptors included several Red-tails and Red-shoulders and a single Caracara. We wound up with Canvasbacks at several locations I was graced with 44 on the Edgewood City L. Here are the results of a largely car tour of the lake. Ron and I were graced with 3 deer in woods near the spillway!!!!! Location: Lake Tawakoni Observation date: 2/6/10 Number of species: 69 Gadwall X American Wigeon X Mallard X Northern Shoveler X Canvasback X Redhead X Ring-necked Duck X Lesser Scaup X Pied-billed Grebe X American White Pelican X Double-crested Cormorant X Great Blue Heron X Black Vulture X Turkey Vulture X Bald Eagle X Red-shouldered Hawk X Red-tailed Hawk X Crested Caracara X American Kestrel X American Coot X Killdeer X Spotted Sandpiper X Bonaparte's Gull X Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull (American) X Forster's Tern X Mourning Dove X Belted Kingfisher X Red-bellied Woodpecker X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker X Downy Woodpecker X Northern Flicker X Eastern Phoebe X Loggerhead Shrike X Blue Jay X American Crow X Carolina Chickadee X Tufted Titmouse X White-breasted Nuthatch X Carolina Wren X Bewick's Wren X House Wren X Winter Wren X Golden-crowned Kinglet X Ruby-crowned Kinglet X Eastern Bluebird X American Robin X Northern Mockingbird X Brown Thrasher X European Starling X American Pipit X Cedar Waxwing X Orange-crowned Warbler X Yellow-rumped Warbler X Common Yellowthroat X Chipping Sparrow X Field Sparrow X Song Sparrow X White-throated Sparrow X Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) X Northern Cardinal X Red-winged Blackbird X Eastern Meadowlark X Western Meadowlark X Brewer's Blackbird X Common Grackle X House Finch X American Goldfinch X House Sparrow X Richard Kinney Edgewood. TX near Lake Tawakoni TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: A Wheatear discussion thread From: "Warren, Christopher" <cw1402 AT TXSTATE.EDU> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 23:37:56 -0600 Today I joined the ranks of the Beeville Wheatear clan. Some friends and I planned earlier in the week to go down to Beeville this weekend. During a class discussion about the role of migration in speciation it suddenly dawned on me how applicable this discussion was to our planned NOWH trip. Irwin and Irwin discuss in a chapter in “Birds of Two Worlds” (2005) (Re: Irwin et al. Genetica 2001: work on Greenish Warbler [Phylloscopus trochiloides] migration patterns) how different migration patterns within a species may lead to reproductive isolation. It’s an intriguing idea that’s worthy of further exploration. Within the chapter they discuss work by Helbig (1991) that showed that “hybrids” between populations of Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) that migrate along an Eastern route and those that migrate along a Western route likely migrate in an intermediate direction (directly south). Additionally, they note that species that have colonized new breeding grounds in North America from Asia (and visa versa) tend to the return to wintering grounds along species-historic routes (e.g. back through Eurasia to Southern Europe/Africa). The Northern Wheatear is species that has colonized northern Canada from the east and the west. Their current breeding range is nearly circumpolar. This leads me to think, if breeding ranges overlap, what direction would “hybrids” of “Eastern”- and “Western”- historic populations of Canadian-breeding NOWHs migrate? Would they follow the historic paths of one of their parents? Or would they follow an intermediate path? Would this path be South? And would this path lead them to Oregon, Ohio, Texas or wherever else they have shown up this year/past years. In general hybrids between “migration-direction” populations are thought to be selected against. I am not arguing against this as the chances of suitable habitat being present in an “unknown” land are remote. However, the number of NOWHs in the lower 48 this year makes me wonder. If a suitable wintering range can be found, can a new population of wintering NOWHs be founded? Are these NOWH rarities doomed birds (a many out-of-range rarities are) or are they the first “selective-feelers” of a new NA wintering population or both? Chris Warren Pop. and Cons. Bio. Texas State University-San Marcos San Marcos, Texas 78666 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Sparrows - Travis/Williamson area From: Jeff McIntyre <jeffmci9 AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 00:12:55 -0500 Today I birded Webberville Parks, Tejas Camp, and Meadow Lake and came up with 13 sparrow species: Spotted Towhee - 16 at Tejas Field Sparrow - Tejas Chipping Sparrow - Webberville Savannah Sparrow - Webberville, Tejas, Meadow Vesper Sparrow - Tejas Lark Sparrow - East Travis Metro Harris's Sparrow - Tejas White-throated Sparrow - Tejas White-crowned Sparrow - Tejas, Webberville Fox Sparrow - Tejas Song Sparrow - Webberville, Tejas, Meadow Lincoln's Sparrow - Webberville, Tejas, Meadow Swamp Sparrow - Meadow Also had a Pine Warbler at Webberville (part of the WAG trip) and a male Greater Scaup at Meadow Lake that I saw in good comparison with some Lesser Scaup. Quite a few Canvasback on Meadow Lake as well. Jeff McIntyre Pflugerville, TX _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Big Weberville Park - east of Austin From: Marj Swies <mswies AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 20:29:10 -0800 Highlights of our quick stroll around Big Weberville Park yielded lots of woodpeckers including PILEATED Golden-fronted Red-bellied Downy Ladder-backed We also had a curious BALD EAGLE who circled close above our heads for several minutes! Great weather and great day! Marj Swies www.texaswildbirds.blogspot.com www.meetup.com/williamsoncountybirdgroup.com Liberty Hill, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Possible demise of the Roadside Hawk at Fontera From: Dan Jones <antshrike1 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:36:38 -0600 This quote from Cindy Wilson, ED at Frontera, "It appears that the Roadside Hawk recently seen at Frontera Audubon is the victim of predators in the Thicket. It is a shame that more visitors may not be able to see this bird, but reminds us that we are stewards of this preserve; we do not control it. Frontera will be open Sun. noon until 4p.m." Here's a few more details. A pile of raptor feathers were found by birders at 8 AM this morning east of the feeding station. The feathers contained barred flight feathers with a rusty wash and breast/belly feathers that were white, each with a half inch wind rusty band. I'm not sure of any other local raptor that would exhibit this combination. The predator had plucked the victim on a dead branch over the trail and feathers littered the trail and surrounding brush. Feathers were collected and will be sent to Dr. Arnold at TAMU for examination. I hope we're wrong. Dan Jones in Weslaco TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Oops From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:17:30 -0600 The cat photo got in by mistake...I wanted to show a bloated porpoise on the jetty....It is a motel cat that sleeps with anyone that will take it in....What a floozy. Who knows how many men and cans of tuna it has had. -- Brush Freeman Utley & Port O'Connor Texas or wherever else I may be TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Burrowing Owls, Calhoun and Refugio Counties From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:03:30 -0600 Thanks Susans.....NO One will ever learn of any of my potiential BUOW finds...I have found you can't even trust the Pope with this info....Good for you! On 2/6/10, Susan Heath wrote: > > Folks, > > I am regretting posting the exact locations of those Burrowing Owls so I am > posting a request. If you go to see them, please just look from your car. > You can see them easily from that vantage point and there is no reason to > get out and spook them. They are literally right beside the road. > Thanks! > > Sue > > Susan A. Heath, Ph.D. > Avian Conservation Biologist > Gulf Coast Bird Observatory > 103 W. Hwy 332 > Lake Jackson, TX 77566 > 979-480-0999 > Join us in our quest to study and conserve birds and their habitat around > the Gulf of Mexico. > www.gcbo.org > Sign-Up for our monthly E-News Letter > http://www.gcbo.org/default.aspx/MenuItemID/205/MenuGroup/Home.htm > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > -- Brush Freeman Utley & Port O'Connor Texas or wherever else I may be TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Amazon Kingfisher - a Possible Maybe From: Erik Breden <ebreden AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:00:01 -0600 TexBirders, I am hesitant to post this, but I think it is the right thing to do... I spent most of today (Saturday 2/6) at Zacate Creek in Laredo looking for the Amazon Kingfisher. The bird was not seen all day. However, about 5:30 PM a dark, medium-sized kingfisher with a very large bill flew past the mouth of the creek. A young man was fishing at the mouth of the creek, and this may have stopped the bird from turning into the creek. It continued west, and I lost it behind the trees. I did not think the bird was a Belted Kingfisher, but the look was very brief, the bird was back lit, and was somewhat silhouetted against the late afternoon sky. I did not have time to get my binoculars on the bird. Several people walked down the lower trail to see if they could re-locate the bird. I do not know if they saw it, as I left about 6 PM. So, as Scarlet said in Gone with the Wind..."Tomorrow is another day!" Erik Breden Andrews, Texas (currently in Laredo) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Still crusty but here's the beef From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 20:58:30 -0600 Birded for almost 15 hours in the brushlands of south Texas over parts of 5 counties...The first 4.5 hr.s or so were for work, the rest on my own. Here is the poop. Common Poorwill 1, looked at it on a gravel pasture road until I was sick of it...Private property in an unnamed county. Tried to photo it thru the windshield but the flash just bounced back at me. Short-eared Owls 8-9 flushed up like a covey a covey of quails as I walked thru KR Bluestem on private lands...Forget it, you just ain't getting there :-) Barn Owl, flushed from an old well on private property. Burrowing Owl, 1 near Freer, Sage Thrasher 1 Co. Rd. 204 on Duval Co.just as you turn off of 44 Lark Buntings...217,876...Oh crap, I forgot the ones in Jim Hogg Co.....Add another 43, 234 or so Prairie Warbler, 1 near the tire shop in Mirando City (Webb Co.) 2 Black-throated Gray Warblers one near Palito Blanco and the other in the cemetery in Benavides.(with a handsome Pine Warbler and a...?..) Red-naped Sapsucker, full blown male ..Benavides. Ash-throated Flycatcher and Song Sparrow...La Rosita area Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 1 right inside the Freer Cemetery! Green-tailed Towhee 2 east side in brush of Benavides Cemetery Cassin's and Grasshopper sparrows ...Junk birds everywhere. Vermilion Flycatchers are no where close to going extinct. Other cool stuff...a rippling Badger, and despite what herps you think might be cold might be kingpin Diamond-backeds ...Aren't and it just puts them in an even fouler mood....Had my leggings on.........Also in the photos below there are some burrows of Texas Tortoises, all showing some recent activity even with this cold.......I even dared to stick a hand down to feel a carapace...This is highly not recommended however!!!....I turned over a large flat stone and found a dormant Tarantula in Jim Hog Co. Also a big-balled Bobcat sauntered across the road as if he could care less about me. Even left a prize on the claiche. Don't play owl tapes in the Benavides Cemetery even if you think no one is there...Trust me on this.! !!! I am out of steam to provide directions, this is why God made Google Earth and detailed maps. There are a lot of photos here and I am sorry for both my photography skills and my piss-poor pocket photo equipment and especially how slow these will be be downloading to those poor suckers like me with dial-up only. Here are a few photos. *http://tiny.cc/r9fbd*Goood chattng with you, let's have some slow cooked short ribs sometime. -- Brush Freeman Utley & Port O'Connor Texas or wherever else I may be TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Salenino Birds From: Cheryl Longton <Birdnut35 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:54:28 EST Just to let you know, Hooded, Altimira, and Audubons are being seen every day. Olive Sparrows, Clay-colored Thrush and Bewick's Wren are being seen quite often. Gray Hawks are at the river, and Sharped Shinned and Cooper's are at the feeders more than I would like them. We counted 31 Kiskadees one morning. Lots of color. Look forward to seeing you, Cheryl, Volunteer TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: WAG Field Trip From: Jim Hailey <irasciblej AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 20:12:12 -0600 Nine people showed up for the Williamson Audubon Group field trip to Webberville southeast of Austin. We had 41 species the which include a nice find of a Pine Warbler. This park is on the Colorado River. I have attached the ebird list of species. Location: Webberville, Travis County, TX, US Observation date: 2/6/10 Notes: This was a Williamson Audubon Group field trip. Number of species: 41 American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 1 Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 2 Great Egret - Ardea alba 1 Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis 1 Black Vulture - Coragyps atratus 13 Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura 3 Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus 2 Crested Caracara - Caracara cheriway 7 Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus 5 Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 6 Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus 6 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius 3 Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 7 Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 3 Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 4 American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 5 Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis 6 Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus 2 Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 3 House Wren - Troglodytes aedon 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula 6 Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis 15 American Robin - Turdus migratorius 75 Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 7 European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 1 American Pipit - Anthus rubescens 21 Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 80 Orange-crowned Warbler - Vermivora celata 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata 15 Pine Warbler - Dendroica pinus 1 Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina 18 Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis 8 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 5 Lincoln's Sparrow - Melospiza lincolnii 4 White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys 4 Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 11 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 32 meadowlark sp. - Sturnella sp. 12 Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula 30 House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus 2 American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis 5 Jim Hailey VP--Texas Ornithological Society Field Trip Chairman & Field Trip Leader 110 Lavaca Lane Georgetown, TX 78628 Home: 512-591-7616 Cell: 361-522-3522 mailto: irasciblej AT suddenlink.net mailto: irasciblej AT gmail.com mailto: greenj AT prontonet.net TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Burrowing Owls, Calhoun and Refugio Counties From: Susan Heath <sheath AT GCBO.ORG> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 20:08:21 -0600 Folks, I am regretting posting the exact locations of those Burrowing Owls so I am posting a request. If you go to see them, please just look from your car. You can see them easily from that vantage point and there is no reason to get out and spook them. They are literally right beside the road. Thanks! Sue Susan A. Heath, Ph.D. Avian Conservation Biologist Gulf Coast Bird Observatory 103 W. Hwy 332 Lake Jackson, TX 77566 979-480-0999 Join us in our quest to study and conserve birds and their habitat around the Gulf of Mexico. www.gcbo.org Sign-Up for our monthly E-News Letter http://www.gcbo.org/default.aspx/MenuItemID/205/MenuGroup/Home.htm TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Fw: [texbirds] Kerville area birders From: Sue Wiedenfeld <suewie AT HCTC.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 19:56:56 -0600 I am rather late catching up on my e-mail but I see no mention of White-wing Doves. Could also be Great-tailed Grackles with E. Starlings mixed in. Have not personally seen the great flights of robins since 1982 here on the ranch 7 miles south of Comfort, Kendall County. Sue Wiedenfeld ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dwayne Rogers" To: Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 1:18 PM Subject: Re: [texbirds] Kerville area birders > Growing up in the Texas Hill Country near Leakey, TX. Some winters I > would witness large flight of American Robins stretching a mile or > more length. > > Just a thought in line with Tim's comment regarding grackles. > > Dwayne Rogers > Pearland, TX > > On Jan 28, 2010, at 9:59 AM, Tim Brush wrote: > >> Or what about Great-tailed Grackles? I get lots of questions here in >> the Valley about this abundant species.....not sure how common >> around Kerrville they are. >> >> Tim Brush >> Edinburg, TX >> >> >> >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Oscar Carmona >> To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG >> Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 9:04:25 AM >> Subject: Re: [texbirds] Kerville area birders >> >> Could be cormorants. >> >> >> Oscar Carmona, CPRP >> Parks Superintendent >> City of Arlington >> Parks and Recreation >> 817-459-5498 Office >> 817-459-6497 Fax >> Oscar.Carmona AT arlingtontx.gov >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Birding discussion list for Texas >> [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of Lester Carr >> Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 11:25 AM >> To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG >> Subject: [texbirds] Kerville area birders >> >> Hi, A former student of mine now living in the Kerrville area has >> posed a question for his old teacher. >> He sees a large flight of birds, numbering in the thousands, daily >> around sunset flying east in long drawn out flights of a mile or more. >> Any help out there? >> He did not mention sive of the birds. >> I suspected herons, etc but don;t know of a rookery that large. >> Thanks, >> Lester Carr >> Hale Center >> >> >> >> TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: >> http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds >> >> TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: >> http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds >> >> TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: >> http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Beeville Wheatear behavior From: Alex Lin-Moore <moorelin AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 19:43:41 -0600 A few days ago I posted that I had seen the wheatear at John's farm, and that after chasing some blackbirds (lower case b, I was busy looking at the wheatear when they flew away) it had flown up and done some sort of display. I looked up Northern Wheatear behavior on Cornell's Birds of North America database, and it had an entry on various agonistic behaviors. It seems like what I saw was "song flight". This is what BNA has to say about it: "Song Flight given during heightened aggression, including response to raptors, typified by peculiar twangy or vibrant sounds, with raspy and scratchy notes, preceded by rapidly repeated variants of Weet Call (see Sounds: vocalizations, above). Bird flutters jerkily upward at 60–80°, wings beat rapidly in short bursts, tail fanned and flirted; at peak of flight, wings do not beat continuously, so bird tends to dance up and down; in final phase, bird may dive obliquely back to ground, still singing (Cramp 1988). Also given as territorial advertisement in Alaska (B. McCaffery pers. comm.)." I didn't hear any "twangy or vibrant sounds" but I was far away. All the flight pattern stuff matches almost exactly. At any rate, the bird certainly seems to be pretty happy hanging out there. Cheers, Alex back in VT (there are seriously no birds here) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds