Wet Sparrows and Warblers

I birded for about an hour and a half before work today. I started on the T&C playing fields at the western most creek crossing. I took this picture of the crossing and you can see that the water was still high from yesterday's rain. Sometimes spring rainstorms will slow down or stop migrating birds. When the rain stops there will be higher concentrations of the migrants, making them easier for birders to find and see. Since it rained so much yesterday, I wanted to be sure to get out this morning to see what I could find. After crossing the creek here I walked downstream along the edge of the soccer fields and into muddy trails beyond.

I saw most of the birds we saw on the NASWC walk Sunday afternoon, plus a few more. I had the most success standing in the mud under these trees. They were full of the same songbirds we saw on Sunday afternoon but I also found 2 Black-and-white Warblers (one singing), a Brown Thrasher, and a Spotted Towhee. On the other side of these trees (where I took this picture) I found the first Clay-colored Sparrow I've seen this year. And I saw what was probably the same Black-chinned Hummingbird near the same spot. At the creek crossing on my way back I flushed some sparrows including another Clay-colored. But most exciting was a Grasshopper Sparrow that flushed up from the wet grass and sat up in some brush long enough for me to get a great look at it. This was only the second Grasshopper Sparrow I've ever seen in our neighborhood. It's in the genus Ammodramus, which is infamous for popping up out of the tall grass, flying a ways, and then dropping back down never to be seen again.

NASWC Bird Walk report

Three of us met this afternoon to see what birds we could find. Starting at the T&C playing fields parking lot at the end of Morris Lane, we crossed the creek then followed it downstream nearly all the way to Parmer. We had great luck! Here are some highlights:

• We got great looks at White-throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows, which can often be hard to see.
• We ran into a nice mixed flock of migrating songbirds in a wooded area including Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
• We saw Great Crested Flycatcher, Swainson's Hawk, and Broad-winged Hawk for the first time this season. (This was only the second time I've seen Broad-winged Hawk in the neighborhood.)
• We snuck up on 13 Blue-winged Teal on the creek and watched them as they slowly swam away. The males were in beautiful breeding plumage.
• We watched a male Black-chinned Hummingbird catching tiny insects out of the air. We could actually see its bill snapping shut. How often do you see a hummingbird away from a feeder?
• There was a male Belted Kingfisher sitting in a tree across the creek, quietly watching the water.
• By the last dam we saw 8-10 large fish. My guess is that they were Catostomids.
  
• We found this big turtle (probably a Red-eared Slider) on a hillside. When we returned, it had continued on its way. It might have been a female looking for a place to dig a hole for its eggs.

30 minutes after I got back home it started pouring rain. Perfect timing!

Warblers and Doves

This morning I was out for about 3 hours birding the neighborhood. There was lots of activity on Stillforest. Most winter species are still around and new northbound migrants are appearing. All the birds are starting to sing too, so many birds I recorded this morning I only heard. The highlight of the morning was finding 3 Black-throated Green Warblers. Two were singing males in bright breeding plumage. All together I saw 5 species of warblers this morning, including Yellow-rumped, Black-and-white, Orange-crowned, and a single Nashville. On the floodplain property I found a Swamp Sparrow which is unusual for the neighborhood.


Near where the two creeks meet at the end of Meadowheath I took the above picture of two doves. The one on the left is a Mourning Dove. See how it's slightly smaller overall and has a slender pointed tail. The one on the right is a White-winged Dove. It's a larger and slightly bulkier bird and has a wider tail which is squared off at the end. These differences in body shapes and tails are a great way to distinguish these two species of doves at a distance. White-winged is much more common in our neighborhood, but I'm starting to see more Mourning Doves around now that spring has begun. See if you can spot examples of both! For more information about our neighborhood doves (including more ways to tell them apart) see my NASWC article here.

Gnatcatchers and Hummingbirds

I got out for about an hour and a half of birding this evening. As I was walking down Stillforest I thought I heard the thin raspy call of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher but it was only once and pretty far away. Then a little further down I thought I heard one again. Naw, I couldn't be sure. Finally as I got close to Meadowheath I heard one for sure, 3 or 4 times. Then on Meadowheath I saw one. Cool! I counted 6 on my walk. There are a few of these tiny birds here in the winter but I only see this many of them during migration. By the T&C playing fields I found 7 meadowlarks, which I assume were Eastern Meadowlarks but I couldn't be sure. And in the floodplain property I found one male hummingbird. I couldn't see any color on its throat so it could have been a Black-chinned Hummingbird, but I think it was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird because I've never seen a Black-chinned in the neighborhood. When there's not enough light to reflect off their iridescent throats, these birds can look identical. I guess it's time to put up my hummingbird feeder!

Warblers, Waxwings, and Woodpeckers

I was out birding in the neighborhood this morning for about 3 hours and found 42 species. Most exciting was finding 2 Black-and-white Warblers at Stillforest and Tottenham. These are the first northbound migrating warblers I've seen this year. Warblers are a favorite family of birds among birders because they are extremely varied and colorful. They are also one of the more challenging families to see and identify because most of them spend their time flitting around in the tree canopy and rarely hold still. Many species of warblers will be heading north through Texas during the next couple months. Last year I found 18 species of warblers in our neighborhood. I hope I can see them all again plus a few new ones this year.

The most numerous bird this morning was the Cedar Waxwing. I counted over 200 of these sleek little birds which are beginning to head north. At Broadmeade and Meadowheath I got this picture of a male Downy Woodpecker. This is one of the more common woodpecker species that lives in our neighborhood year-round.

Foggy Morning

Yesterday (Thursday) morning I got up early enough to get in some birding before work. I started at the T&C playing fields and hiked down Lake Creek towards Parmer Lane. It was cool and extremely foggy and I found 37 species of birds. Surprisingly there were no ducks on the creek but there were several Double-crested Cormorants, a Belted Kingfisher, one Great Egret and at least three Great Blue Herons. On my way back it was fun to run into 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets. I'm not sure how much longer they'll be around here before heading north. I took a few pictures that came out OK. Click on this picture to see them.

First Purple Martins

On my way to lunch today I saw two male Purple Martins over Anderson Mill Road between Broadmeade and Parmer. These are the first I've seen in the NASWC area this year, although Purple Martins have been seen around Austin for the past few weeks. Like other North American swallows, these birds are only around in the summer. The males are the first to return, hoping to find an available martin house for the breeding season. Someone has put up at least one martin house along this stretch of road, so maybe these birds were eyeing it.

Migrating Swallows

Yesterday on my way home from work I saw a large flock of swallows flycatching over the Parmer Lane bridge that crosses Lake Creek. There were about 100 birds. I think they were mostly Cliff Swallows which build their mud nests under this bridge in the summer. These birds have learned to use highway bridges and overpasses in addition to natural cliffs for their colonial nesting sights. There might have been some Cave Swallows mixed in as well, which are beginning to learn the same trick and are starting to expand their range. Today I did not see any swallows as I drove over the same bridge so I guess this flock was on its way north. During the upcoming months keep an eye open for swallows when you drive over this bridge or others. Some of the Mopac overpasses have Cliff Swallow colonies that are huge!

Ducks, Sparrows, and Hawks

I was out for about 4 hours this morning and walked all the way down Lake Creek to where it goes under Parmer. On Stillforest I got a nice look at a Cooper's Hawk near Chester Forest and then a better look at a Brown Creeper a little further down. It's always a treat to see these little birds working tree trunks like a tiny woodpecker.

On the creek there were American Wigeons and Blue-winged Teal. I took the above picture of a pair of the wigeon just downstream of the first dam. (There's a Red-eared Slider up in the corner.) I saw 7 species of sparrows, all near the creek. There were more Vesper Sparrows and Field Sparrows than I've ever seen here before. The second picture is of a White-throated Sparrow that I took on the west side of the creek at the northern edge of the T&C playing fields.

The highlight of the morning was finding a female Northern Harrier hunting near Parmer Lane. These low-flying hawks cruise over open marsh or grassland looking and listening for prey. They have facial disks similar to owls (though not as pronounced) that funnel sound waves to their ears to aide in locating prey by sound. This is only the second time I've seen this hawk in our neighborhood.

Two Neighborhood Thrushes

I took the day off yesterday and decided to get outside in the afternoon and go birding. I walked about 3 miles through the neighborhood over the course of a couple hours. When I finally got back, the most interesting bird was waiting for me in my front yard -- a Hermit Thrush. It let me get close enough to take this mediocre picture. Hermit Thrushes live here in the winter and I'm used to seeing them in less populated areas where the woods are thicker and there's more low cover. They like to forage on the ground. Surprisingly, I have never seen a Hermit Thrush anywhere else in the neighborhood -- just occasionally in my yard. They are related to American Robins which we have in abundance right now. Robins are in the thrush family and are quite a bit larger and more numerous. But you can really see the similarities in body types and behaviors that Robins and Hermit Thrushes have when they're both looking for bugs and worms in your yard.

NASWC Bird Walk Report

This morning 4 of us participated in the monthly NASWC bird walk.
We could almost have called this a bird "stand" instead of bird "walk" because we saw the best birds between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM just standing around the area where the two creeks meet by the T&C playing fields. (Nearby I snapped this picture of Lake Creek in the morning light before the walk started. Can you find the Killdeer and the American Robin?)

Here are some highlights of the bird "stand". A flock of about 40 Double-crested Cormorants flew over the playing fields heading east. Probably they were ultimately heading north for the summer. Lake Creek had lots of bird activity including American Pipits, Killdeer, American Robins, Eastern Phoebes, Wilson's Snipe, and Greater Yellowlegs. A flock of about 30 Cedar Waxwings flew right over us and then down into the creek to drink.

Most exciting for me were the hawks that we saw. An immature Red-shouldered Hawk was perched across the creek on a power line. We've seen this bird before in the same area. But then a smaller bird flew out and dive-bombed the hawk a few times. It was a Sharp-shinned Hawk! I have only gotten fleeting glimpses or far away looks at this bird before, but there it was nearby and right out in the open! A Blue Jay came by and was chased off by the Sharp-shinned Hawk several times. It was quite a show.
Later on a Cooper's Hawk flew right over us, rounding out the collection of neighborhood woodland raptors. We also got great looks at a mature Red-shouldered Hawk in its full adult plumage, like in this picture. (I took this picture in the same area back in October.)

It was quite a fun morning of birding!

Waxwings and Owl

I was out for about 2 hours in the cold wind yesterday morning. It turned out to be worth it. I snapped this picture of some Cedar Waxwings on Chester Forest St. while the sun was still low in the sky. When I got to the T&C playing fields there was still a large flock of American Pipits, probably staging for migration. I thought about heading back home since the wind was blowing hard and cold, and not many birds were out. But I crossed the creek and went into the flood plain property for a quick look. I flushed a large grayish bird and watched it fly off through the woods until it landed. I managed to find it with my binoculars and was thrilled to see a Great Horned Owl. I have only heard and had fleeting glimpses of this bird in our neighborhood until now.

First Barn Swallows

As I drove home for lunch today I saw 4 or 5 Barn Swallows near Anderson Mill Road and Parmer Lane. This is my first-of-season sighting for this species. And these are the first northbound migrating birds I've seen this year. Cool!

Local GBBC Results

The 2007 Great Backyard Bird Count happened a couple weeks ago, February 16-19. I believe all the results are now in and I was pleased to find out that local birders reported 131 species of birds around town. (Click here to see the Austin results.) I submitted two counts from our neighborhood which included the only Brown Thrasher and Green Heron reported from the Austin area. I took this rather poor picture of the Brown Thrasher when I counted it on the morning of the 17th. (It was on the north side of Lake Creek just upstream of the T&C playing fields.) This bird is in the same family as the Northern Mockingbird, but it is usually much sneakier. They are real skulkers that love to stay hidden deep and low in the thick brush. It's always a treat to see one, so I'm glad I was lucky enough to find one for the count!