Bird #159: Lazuli Bunting

With spring migration approaching its peak I took Friday off and spent the morning birding the neighborhood. It was a beautiful morning and it felt great just being outside. I found a nesting American Robin on Stillforest (not all robins leave us for the summer). And there were some neat migrants, including 4 Mississippi Kites over Meadowheath, a Common Yellowthroat on the flood plain property, and the first Yellow-billed Cuckoo I've heard this season.

But what surprised me most was a Lazuli Bunting I briefly saw across the small creek at Meadowheath and Briar Hollow. We are just east of this small western bird's migration path. But a few are reported in the Austin area every year. This was bird 159 on my neighborhood list, but it was also a lifer -- a bird I've never seen before. These days I usually have to travel to see lifer birds. But there one was, right in the neighborhood! I'm still excited!

Post-storm Migrants and Box Turtle

After the storm last night I was anxious to see what migrating songbirds I could find this morning. I got out to the T&C parking lot at the end of Meadowheath by about 7:30 AM and snapped this picture. Then I crossed the smaller creek to bird the flood plain property. It was kind of tough birding, with lots of fleeting glimpses and some birds only heard. But I did see some new birds for the season brought in by the storm. The first was a beautiful male Painted Bunting. A few of these live in the NASWC area all summer long but it's easiest to see them now and during fall migration. Another first-of-season bird was an Eastern Wood-Pewee that caught and swallowed a butterfly right above me. I saw more kinds of vireos in one neighborhood outing than I ever have before, including White-eyed, Blue-headed, Warbling, and Red-eyed. And I saw or heard at least 4 Yellow-breasted Chats including one especially great view of this skulker. I totaled 41 species. Not bad for a half-mile stroll through the woods!

I was driving north on Broadmeade at around 9:00 AM on my way to work when I saw a turtle on the road. The creek is full of Red-eared Sliders and other water turtles, but this was a land turtle. I pulled over to check it out and move it off the road. I decided to take it to the creek and put it down near there where there's more open land and fewer fences. It was moving its legs around while I carried it but it got shy when I took this picture. It's an Ornate Box Turtle that occurs in the central United States. Land turtles have gotten very rare in the last 30 or 40 years, so it was a thrill to find this one right in our neighborhood. I just read the males have red eyes, so I guess it's a "he"!

Even More Gulls

I had a pleasant walk around the neighborhood this evening. I love the cool overcast weather we've been having lately. Some nice folks on Stillforest asked me what I've been seeing so I told them I had just seen a big flock of Franklin's Gulls heading north. As I was telling them about the first flock another flock flew over -- we could even hear them calling! All-in-all I estimate I saw about 300 Franklin's Gulls on my walk this evening.

Migration is picking up!

This morning I left the house just after 8:00 AM and didn't get back until almost 1:00 PM. I just kept seeing great birds! Here are some highlights:

• American Robins are making a nest at the corner of Meadowheath and Stillforest. A few of these birds stick around all summer long.
  
• Near the nest I found a Black-and-white Warbler and a Swainson's Thrush.
  
• While birding the flood plain property I suddenly heard gulls calling. I looked up and saw two flocks of Franklin's Gulls wheeling around that eventually joined and drifted off north. There were about 60 birds.
  
• A little later I found a new bird for my neighborhood list: Blue-winged Warbler. That brings the list up to 156 species.
• I saw a singing Warbling Vireo for the first time this season, also on the flood plain property.
• On the creek by the T&C playing fields I got this picture of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
• On my way back home I ran into a nice mixed flock of birds right on Broadmeade. It included a Blue-headed Vireo, Black-throated Green Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Carolina Chickadees.
• While watching this flock of small birds, a Broad-winged Hawk flew over. And then another flock of Franklin's Gulls flew over.

What a great morning!

Gulls over Broadmeade

I got out in my yard for about 30 minutes this morning. Things were slow until just before I decided to leave for work. I looked west and saw a flock of about 30 Franklin's Gulls heading north. These black-headed gulls winter on the west coast of South America and summer in Canada. So the only time we get to see them in Texas is during spring and fall migration. Other birds included a very bright Orange-crowned Warbler, a very drab Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and several singing Nashville Warblers that I never got my eyes on.

Dynamic Weather and a Busy Weekend

This evening I got out for about an hour after the rain. I birded the flood plain property and nearby T&C playing fields hoping to find some migrants grounded by the weather. I love getting out right after a rain like this. The light was beautiful. The air was cool and clear. Here's a picture of the playing fields with the sun at my back and the rain clouds beyond. The bird of the day was a Great Horned Owl that came to perch on a dead tree at the edge of the flood plain property.

On the flood plain property I got this shot of the trailing edge of the rain clouds.

And here's a bit of sunset upstream on Lake Creek. You can just see the Broadmeade bridge.

Last weekend was busy for me -- full of birding away from the neighborhood. Saturday morning I helped out with the monthly bird survey at Hornsby Bend. Located on the Colorado River and with a variety of habitats, this is the best place to see birds in the Austin area. Sunday morning a friend and I did a survey for endangered Golden Cheeked Warblers on the Nature Conservancy's Barton Creek Habitat Preserve. It was a cold and clear morning and was lots of fun. We heard several Golden-cheeks and had a great look at one singing male. The part of the preserve we surveyed is adjacent to the Austin Zoo. So at about 8:15 in the morning we had the surreal experience of hearing a lion roar while hiking in the Texas Hill Country!

Texas Spiny Lizard

Have I ever mentioned that we have cool lizards in our neighborhood as well as birds? I was sitting at my dining room table and saw something moving on the window sill. It was this Texas Spiny Lizard. I've seen one in my front yard before, but this is the first time this year. I believe it's a young male because of the speck of blue-green color under the ear and no wavy lines on its back. This guy is about 6 inches long but they get as long as 11 inches. They eat bugs, so I hope he grows to his maximum size!

Bird 155: Crested Caracara

I drove home for lunch today and saw a Crested Caracara flying over the intersection of Parmer and Anderson Mill Road. I was just barely in the NASWC area so that makes bird number 155 on the neighborhood list! There was also a Greater Roadrunner on Amberglen, always a fun bird to see.

First Bronzed Cowbird

I got out for about 3 hours this morning in the unseasonably cold weather. Near the end of Braeburn Glen I got this picture of the first Bronzed Cowbird I've seen this season. Actually I saw it on a wire from across the creek and wasn't sure what it was. So I climbed down into the creek bed, crossed, climbed up, and endured a neighbor's barking dogs while I verified what it was and got a few pictures. (The angle is a little strange but you can see a little bit of the bronzy color, the puffed out neck feathers, and the red eye that are characteristic of this species.) Bronzed Cowbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds are the two species of cowbirds that occur locally. Brown-headed is much more common and is a year-round resident. Bronzed is only here in the summer in very small numbers. Austin is just about as far north as it occurs. American cowbirds are like European cuckoos -- they are nest parasites. The females lay their eggs in other birds' nests and let the other birds incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. This behavior probably came about because these birds used to follow migratory herds of American Bison. So they never stayed in one place long enough to build a nest and raise their own young.

On my way back an Osprey flew over, headed downstream. And I ran into a few nicely sized mixed species foraging flocks of little songbirds. They were mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. (Some of the Yellow-rumpeds were in beautiful breeding plumage.) But I also saw a few Nashville Warblers, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a couple Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Chipping Sparrows, Carolina Chickadees, and Black-crested Titmice. All-in-all, a nice morning!

Sleet

Wow, I love the dynamic weather of Texas springs. Just when you thought the cold weather was gone for good we get a day of rain and sleet. This female Black-chinned Hummingbird seemed glad to find the feeder on my back patio. I think it's a black-chinned because of the thicker wings, which I can only see because it's so close at my feeder.

After lunch today I ventured out for about an hour and a half around the T&C playing fields. I started at the flood plain property and then walked downstream to the end of the playing fields. It started lightly sleeting then so I decided to head back. I didn't see any concentrations of migrants like I hoped. But it was thrilling to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk circle over me carrying a smaller bird in its talons. I only saw it for a few seconds before it flew off, probably to find a secluded place to eat.

A Buggy Evening

After work I got out for about an hour and a half of birding this evening. I started at the T&C playing fields parking lot at the end of Meadowheath where I found this cooperative Vesper Sparrow. This sparrow has outer white tail feathers which are a great field mark in flight. But when it's not flying the dramatic white eye ring and white crescent under its face help to identify it.

I walked downstream past the playing fields. There is still a nice variety of ducks on the pond including Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, and American Wigeon. The bugs are back, as you can see in this picture I took at the riverbank. The mosquitos are back too. Hopefully the dragonflies, swallows, swifts, and martins will help with that problem!

On my way back the sun made this nice scene by a big oak tree. Two Little Blue Herons flew overhead on their way north. And back by the playing fields I found the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher below. These exotic-looking birds are a welcome returning summer resident. Their exquisite long tails and pink-and-white colors remind me of their tropical central and south American winter ranges.

April NASWC Bird Walk

Four of us went birding on Lake Creek this morning. It was extremely bright and clear which was a nice change from all the recent rain. The smaller birds were more easily heard than seen today but we had good luck with the larger ones. I took this picture of a group of Black Vultures we ran into by the creek downstream of the T&C playing fields. We also found a nice diversity of water birds including Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, and Least Sandpiper. Along the banks we found Belted Kingfisher, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and one Green Heron. (Green Herons are returning to the neighborhood and will roost and even nest in our trees pretty far from the creek. Recently a neighbor on Stillforest emailed me that he usually has a pair nest in his front yard. He finds crawfish and perch that the birds have dropped on his driveway!)

We found a Black-chinned Hummingbird in the woods near the same place I saw one last week. It's probably the same bird. On our way back 80 or 90 Double-crested Cormorants flew over us in a giant "V" formation heading north. What was most exciting to me was finding this Snapping Turtle when we got back to the creek crossing. It was walking on the crossing when we spotted it, then plopped into the water and sat quietly in an underwater trench while I took this picture. What a prehistoric-looking beast!