Brown Creeper

Near the corner of Broadmeade and Chester Forest I finally found a Brown Creeper and got these pictures. This was the first Brown Creeper I've seen this winter. In the past winters I've seen them in the neighborhood about every 5th time I went out. Brown Creepers are neat little birds. They cling to tree trunks like woodpeckers but they have a much lighter weight curved bill that they use to glean bugs from the tree bark. They are very small and unobtrusive. They are also very well camouflaged, so it's easy to miss them as they work the tree trunks.

Winter Green Heron

This morning was cold and clear, and extremely quiet and still. It was a nice change from all the wind yesterday. I found this Green Heron on Lake Creek just downstream of the first dam. Only a few Green Herons winter this far north, so it was fun to find one on our creek. Other highlights:

• Downstream there were about 20 Gadwall, which were the first wild ducks I've seen on the creek this season.
  
• Near Broadmeade and Chester Forest 6 Cedar Waxwings flew, another first of the season.
• I found Swamp Sparrows in the creek bed near the Parmer bridge. I've seen a few Swamp Sparrows in the neighborhood before, but only during spring or fall migration. It's interesting to know that some winter here.
  

Here's another unexpected sighting from this morning. At least it doesn't bark!

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Since I've been busy with 3 different Christmas Bird Counts for the past week (Austin, Port Aransas, and the Guadalupe River Delta), I haven't had time to go birding in our neighborhood lately. So I was thrilled to get this beautiful photo of a Sharp-shinned Hawk from Jan Swinney. She saw the bird and took this photo in her backyard on Woodthorpe Street. This small hawk only lives here in the winter and preys mostly on other birds. Sharp-shinned Hawks are very agile fliers with short wings and a long tail to help them chase their prey through the forest canopy. They are closely related to the larger Cooper's Hawk that we also have in the neighborhood during the winter. I see these hawks in the neighborhood regularly, but I usually only get fleeting glimpses of them. Thanks Jan!

Titmouse and Merlin

I spent over 4 hours birding the neighborhood this morning. Near Stillforest and Meadowheath I was watching a nice-sized mixed species foraging flock in the trees when I heard a tapping sound. It was louder than woodpeckers usually make so I looked around and finally found a Black-crested Titmouse pecking at its reflection on a car's side mirror. I hope it didn't waste too much energy in this endeavor -- poor bird!

I found 40 species this morning which was actually a little lower than I expected. But there were a few good finds. A few Northern Cardinals and Bewick's Wrens were singing which is unusual for this time of year. Near the Amber Oaks corporate center drainage pond I found a Brown Thrasher. At about 11:15 I was on the T&C playing fields near the most downstream creek crossing. I was finally on my way back home when I saw a Merlin perched at the top of a willow tree. It let me get pretty close and I got these pictures. It made a few flights out over the creek which were neat to see -- Merlins are such strong and fast fliers. I think I've only seen one Merlin per year since I moved into the neighborhood so this was an exciting find! As I was watching this falcon about 55 Ring-billed Gulls flew over.

NASWC Bird Walk

There were 2 of us for the December NASWC bird walk. We walked around the T&C playing fields on the north side of the creek and then went into the woods downstream of fields. We saw or heard 42 species. Here are some highlights:

• 2 huge flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds flew over the parking lot at about 7:45 AM. I conservatively estimated 1000 birds, more than I've ever seen of this species in the neighborhood before.
• From the new footbridge we got great looks at 15-20 American Goldfinches.
• On the north edge of the soccer fields we got a very close look at a Loggerhead Shrike and several grasshoppers it or another shrike had impaled on barbs on the fence.
• At the northwest corner of the soccer fields we got great close looks at (and I got the above picture) of 2 White-crowned Sparrows.
• We got great looks at the first Hermit Thrush I've seen in the neighborhood this season.
• A Pied-billed Grebe and an unidentified duck were by the last dam. This was the first duck I've seen on the creek all winter, so I was disappointed that I only got a quick glimpse and could not identify it.
• We got a very close look at an American Pipit on our way back and I got this picture.