The Upcoming GBBC and a Top 20 Update

This weekend from Friday through Monday is the Great Backyard Bird Count for 2010. This is a nation-wide bird survey organized by national Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It is intended for birders of all levels and is super easy to participate in by following their simple protocol and entering your bird observations into the GBBC web site. You can also follow the results in real time and see how many of what species are being reported from Austin or any other city. If you've needed an excuse start learning and enjoying our local birds, this is a great one! And you'll be contributing meaningful data as well.

On a much more local note, Stefani Austin and her sons who live on Briar Hollow have started my Top 20 Bird Challenge and already have observed 9 of the birds! See which ones they have seen and who else has started the challenge by clicking my "Top 20 Standings" link on the right.

What is the Top 20 Bird List and Challenge? It's a list I created of the top 20 most common bird species that we can find in our yards all year long in the NASWC area. Each species has short descriptions and links to pictures and more information. It's an excellent way to start learning our local birds, and it can help you participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count as well.

NASWC Bird Walk

11 folks including me participated in the NASWC Bird Walk this morning. (We completely filled up the parking area in front of the Parmer Village model homes!) It was overcast and never got above about 42 degrees, but the birds were relatively active wherever there was shelter from the wind. We found 42 species and here are some highlights.

• The bird of the morning was a Crested Caracara that flew almost right over us as it followed the creek and crossed Parmer Lane. I see very few of these birds in the neighborhood and have never gotten a look this good here. I took this poor photo.
  
  
  
• There was even more evidence of beavers, including more freshly chewed willow trees along the creek, much further upstream than I've seen before. And across the water we found this hole in the bank which could be a burrow:
  
  
  
• By the last dam we watched as 3 Northern Flickers flew by, one after the other.
• The woods along the creek by the last dam were quite birdy. We saw Yellow-rumped Warblers, Carolina Chickadees, Black-crested Titmice, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets showing their ruby crowns, and fleeting glimpses of several sparrow species.
• There were a few ducks on the creek and we got pretty good looks at some beautiful male American Wigeons.
• I was excited to see a single first-year White-crowned Sparrow. It's a common winter Sparrow in Texas, but it's one I rarely see here in the neighborhood.

Cold and Gloomy

I spent a very cold and gloomy 2.5 hours birding Lake Creek Trail this morning. I was anxious to get out and bird since I had been down with a sore throat for the past few days. I just wish it had been a little warmer! The high humidity and light wind made the 30 degree temperature feel even colder. Still, the birds were relatively active and I found 48 species by the time I was done. I started in the marshy area by the Parmer Lane bridge where a few weeks ago I found evidence of beavers. This morning I was startled to find a severed beaver head on the ground in the same area. I have no idea if it was people or animals that killed this beaver, or where the rest of its body was. A little further down the trail I discovered that the largest willow tree left on the bank had been gnawed through about 2/3 of the way by a beaver. It's pictured here. I doubt this tree will survive. Both discoveries added to the gloominess this morning.

There was still plenty of life along the creek. In the marshy area I observed a Virginia Rail, Sora, Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Swamp Sparrow, and several Song Sparrows. Upstream by the last dam the woods were pretty birdy. There were Field Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, a single Chipping Sparrow, and 3 species of woodpecker (Red-bellied, Ladder-backed, and Downy). There were 4 species of wild ducks nearby in the creek: Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, and Blue-winged Teal. Here are 2 of the male Blue-winged Teal as they took off.

Soon after photographing these ducks I got tired of being so cold and walked back to my car. Back at home 3 hours later I think I'm just about thawed out.

Red-shouldered Hawks

I spent about 2 hours birding the neighborhood today, starting from my house and covering part of Lake Creek Trail. Near the end of Meadowheath I found a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks, a year-round resident species here. I saw another pair at the trail head parking lot off Braes Valley. Red-shouldered Hawks have not been very visible lately, but now they are starting to form pairs and build nests for the summer breeding season. If you've found a Red-shouldered Hawk nest in the neighborhood before, check on it soon. It might be in use again! (I took this photo in the same area back in November, 2008.)

By the footbridge I estimated over 200 Cedar Waxwings were flying around and sometimes perching in the tops of the trees. A Cooper's Hawk flew over, which might have been why they were so active.