Record morning

I spent this humid and muggy morning birding the Town and Country playing fields and along Lake Creek between the fields and Parmer Lane. I had a record morning, finding 68 species. Lots of birds are moving north through central Texas. Many of those birds are already singing in anticipation of arriving their breeding grounds. One of these is the White-eyed Vireo. I counted 10 this morning and got this picture of one singing along the creek.

Another very common migrant right now is the Lincoln's Sparrow. There are some here all winter but right now there are also many coming through that wintered south of us. This morning I counted 11 Lincoln's Sparrows. This one was in a strip of woods between the new hike and bike trail and the creek. Both of these birds like to stay in deep low cover, so it was satisfying to get a couple pretty decent pictures of them.

Several First-of-season Birds

Hoping to find the Hooded Orioles that were seen yesterday, I birded the flood plain property for about an hour last night. And I birded there again this morning, as well as other parts of the neighborhood. I did not find the orioles but had several first-of-season sightings:

• 2 Clay-colored Sparrows near the new hike-and-bike trail parking lot
• 1 Black-throated Green Warbler on Stillforest (in one of 3 nice mixed species foraging flocks I found in the trees on that street)
• 1 Black-and-white Warbler near the hike-and-bike trail footbridge
• a flock of 5 Cattle Egret flying over Broadmeade
• 1 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron near the hike-and-bike trail footbridge
• 1 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near Briar Hollow and Meadowheath (and 3 more flying north over my house this evening)
• 1 Black-chinned Hummingbird on the flood plain property (and another at my patio feeder this evening)

There are hundreds of Cedar Waxwings in the neighborhood right now. This morning near the hike-and-bike trail footbridge they were coming down in waves to drink at the creek. Here's a picture I got of a few of them.

Hooded Oriole!

This morning I got an exciting email from my neighbor Steven McDonald. He had just seen a pair of Hooded Orioles in his backyard and got 2 pictures of the male! This was a life bird for Steven, and bird #102 for his yard list. According to Eric Carpenter who compiles the local RBA, it is also the first photographic record of a Hooded Oriole in Austin. What a find! Hooded Orioles are migratory, but they usually don't make it this far north. So who knows, maybe this pair will stick around and breed. Keep your eyes open for these birds or their hanging woven nest!

The pictures Steven got are fuzzy but identifiable. You can see the white wing-bar, orange head, and dark tail. I hope I can find these birds tomorrow morning. But who knows what else might be out there after the front tonight!

Easter Morning

This morning my neighbor Steven McDonald and I birded Lake Creek starting at the Town and Country playing fields and going all the way to the Parmer Lane bridge. Even with a chilly wind, we found 52 species of birds. There was more evidence of spring migration today. I counted 5 Great Blue Herons and 7 Great Egrets -- more than I have ever seen on the creek before. Just downstream of the playing fields there was a group of about 20 Blue-winged Teal, 7 Northern Shovelers, 8 Greater Yellowlegs, and 1 Solitary Sandpiper on the creek. The Solitary Sandpiper was the first I've seen this year and I took this picture of it.

Near the last dam Steven found this Pied-billed Grebe which is unusual for the neighborhood and also a first-of-the-year sighting for me. In my picture you can just make out the 2-toned or "pied" bill that these birds get during breeding season.

A couple weeks ago Steven found a Red-shouldered Hawk nest in this area and today we saw the female sitting on the nest with the male perched nearby. In this picture you can just see the hawk peeking at us over the edge of the nest. In the patch of marsh near the Parmer bridge we heard and briefly saw a Marsh Wren in the reeds, 2 Song Sparrows, and heard at least 2 Swamp Sparrows. On our way back through the playing fields we briefly saw a Merlin headed north.

Parula and Towhee

Just a quick post. This morning I saw a Northern Parula right across the street from my house. This is the 2nd species of northbound migrating warbler I've seen this spring. (The first was Nashville Warbler.) This is a horrible picture, but it's identifiable. You can see the wing bars, partial eye ring, and a little bit of the yellow and orange color on the breast. Warblers are one of the most sought-after family of birds to see since there are so many different species of so many different beautiful colors and patterns. They are starting to move through the Austin area now and will continue until late May.

In the same spot as last weekend, I found a Spotted Towhee again and got this mediocre picture. These native sparrows are really something to see. I hope to get a better picture of one of these sneaky birds in the neighborhood someday.

On my way back home on Stillforest I got this picture of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. This is our most common woodpecker in the neighborhood and they live here all year long. The second picture shows where their common name comes from -- they actually do have a red belly!

Chimney Swifts

It's that time of year when I have a first-of-the-year sighting just about every time I go out. Today after work I walked around the neighborhood for about an hour. Just across the street from my house I heard a familiar twittering and looked up to see 3 Chimney Swifts wheeling around in the sky.

An Hour before Work

After the front that came through yesterday I knew this morning might be good for birding. So I got up early and spent about an hour before work birding the T&C playing fields and downstream area. There were lots of birds around and I found 41 species. I covered less than a mile and counted 14 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Around this time of year these little birds seem to come through in waves like this on their way north. I also saw a White-eyed Vireo for the first time in the neighborhood this year. I got this picture of it in the woods near the last dam on the creek. You can see the distinctive white eye and the yellow "spectacles".

A little further upstream I got closer to a Belted Kingfisher than I usually do, so I took a few pictures and this one came out pretty good. You can usually find a kingfisher somewhere on the creek all year long, although they can get pretty scarce in the summer. On my way back I had a pleasant surprise. At the edge of the playing fields I heard a raucous call and looked up to see 3 Monk Parakeets flying over. A few minutes later I found them perched on a street light near the end of Morris Road. This was the first time I've ever seen them in the neighborhood. I couldn't resist taking this picture of them even though they were too far away for my camera.

Cowbird and Warblers

I spent this morning birding the neighborhood again, this time concentrating on the creek, where it goes through the T&C playing fields and downstream all the way to Parmer Lane. I had a record morning of 58 species -- my previous best was 56. I had 3 first-of-the-year sightings -- Bronzed Cowbird, Northern Shoveler, and Nashville Warbler. As I was standing in the creek bed near the last low water crossing the Bronzed Cowbird flew in and landed at the top of a willow tree. I got this picture. You can see the distinctive puff-out neck feathers and red eye. This bird is a summer resident in small numbers and seems to be expanding its summer range northward. 3 Northern Shovelers were on the creek just upstream of the last dam. They were with a group of Blue-winged Teal, Greater Yellowlegs, and Least Sandpiper. Northern Shovelers are a very common winter resident duck. But with all the construction going on around the creek, these were the first I've seen in the neighborhood all winter.

Like yesterday, native sparrows were in good numbers. Near the last dam I found a mixed flock feeding on the ground that had Vesper, Savannah, Field, Lincoln's, Song, and White-Crowned. I got this picture of a Field Sparrow next to the soccer fields. You can just see the distinctive white eye ring and pink bill. I checked out the marshy area by the Parmer Lane bridge and heard 2 Marsh Wrens. I keep hoping to hear or see a Sora or a Virginia Rail here, but so far no luck! On my way back I went along the outside of the woods next to the creek and found 2 Nashville Warblers high in the canopy. These were exciting to find because they were the first I've seen this year and the first migrating warblers of any kind I've seen this year. Late April and early May is the peak time that colorful migrating warblers move through the Austin area. These bright yellow and green Nashvilles were a nice reminder of that.

This is my 100th post, how about that! Does this mean I'm addicted to neighborhood birding? Or computers? Or both?

A Few Firsts for the Year

It was a beautiful breezy morning earlier and now it's a gorgeous early afternoon out on the patio as I write this. I spent all morning birding the neighborhood and had some nice first-of-the-year sightings. Walking down Stillforest I was looking at a couple Black-crested Titmice when thought I heard a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Just then 3 dogs started barking at me, making it very hard to listen for the tiny gnatcatcher's soft, raspy call. But a few minutes later I did see the bird. It was the first I've seen in the neighborhood this year. A few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers winter in the Austin area but seeing one this time of year in amongst the houses tells me this bird is probably a north-bound migrant. I expect to see many more in the coming weeks. Near Stillforest and Meadowheath I saw 2 Purple Martins (a male and a female). I've seen a few in other parts of town before now, but this was the first I've seen in the NASWC area this year. These birds are heading north right now as well. Some will stay here all summer and some are just passing through to summer further north.

When I got to the T&C playing fields I turned left and took the hike-and-bike trail into the flood plain property. From the footbridge I watched a nice flock of native sparrows including Lincoln's, Chipping, White-crowned, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Further down the trail I found a Field Sparrow too. On my way back near the small waterfall I heard a woodpecker which turned out to be a Ladder-backed Woodpecker. These are year-round residents in the Austin area but I rarely see them in the neighborhood. This was the first I've seen this year and I got the picture to the right. They sound very similar to the much more common Downy Woodpeckers in our neighborhood but I think I'm finally learning the difference. I crossed the creek nearby and walked downstream on the bank back towards the playing fields. In a patch of woods by the creek I found a male Spotted Towhee. These beautiful sparrows just live here in the winter, but I had not seen one since late December. So this was a first-of-year sighting too.

When I got back to the house I took a quick look across the street and got this picture on Charnwood. I thought it was nice how the sun lit up this tree's new leaves.

Robins and Lists

Thanks to the time change, I got home from work before dark for the first time in quite awhile today. So I took a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood. It was a nice cool and clear evening. The birds that were out were quite active. I counted 8 American Robins, all flying around and making lots of noise. (Here's a picture of a robin I took in February 2007 on Stillforest. ) There was a single very vocal Northern Flicker near Stillforest and Chester Forest.

As an experiment, I've added 2 links to my list of links at the right. "My NASWC bird list" and "My NASWC bird list for 2008". The first is a list of all the birds I've seen in the neighborhood since I started keeping records in 2006. The second is only birds I have seen so far in 2008. I keep all my data in eBird, and I haven't figured out the best way to easily get my neighborhood data out of eBird and into these lists. So I'm still experimenting with them and I might drop them if they become too inconvenient to keep updated.

Vermilion Flycatcher

I spent about 3 and a half hours birding the Town and Country playing fields and the greenbelt area downstream of these fields today. I was returning at about 11:45 AM when I saw this male Vermilion Flycatcher by the creek. I've never seen this bird in the neighborhood before and it brings my neighborhood list to 172 species. Unfortunately I had promised to meet some old friends for lunch at noon, so I didn't have time to try and get closer to the bird for a better picture. But at least this picture is identifiable and shows the brilliant color. I was very excited to find this bird in the neighborhood. I've been hoping to see one ever since Andrea Hopkins told me she had one in her backyard several years ago.

It was a fun morning otherwise as well -- I found 55 species of birds. Starting out at about 8:30 AM I saw the Green Heron that has spent the winter on the creek. And I had a tantalizing glimpse of 2 ducks flying overhead that just might have been Wood Ducks but I couldn't be sure. I was happy to see 3 species of ducks on the creek just downstream of the first dam. There were Blue-winged Teal, American Wigeon, and a single Gadwall. I saw 13 Lincoln's Sparrows and 5 Song Sparrows -- more than I usually see of these species. And I found 2 Marsh Wrens and 2 Swamp Sparrows in a marshy area near the Parmer Bridge. As I was returning from the bridge I watched an Osprey over the creek near the last dam dive and reappear with a fish in it talons. I got this picture as it flew over me, heading downstream.

NASWC Bird Walk

This morning 2 of us participated in the March NASWC bird walk. It was windy and a bit cool, but there were still some interesting birds to be seen. We started at the parking lot at the end of Meadowheath and headed downstream, ending up at the last dam on Lake Creek. We found 31 species of birds. Here are some highlights:

• There were 13 Blue-winged Teal near the last dam on the creek. (Here's a picture I took of a few near the same spot in March 2007.) I was excited to find them because I haven't seen Blue-winged Teal on the creek all winter long. It's nice to know the new construction hasn't scared them away permanently.
• Nearby there was also a single Gadwall, 8 Greater Yellowlegs, a Belted Kingfisher, and a hunting Great Blue Heron. We had a nice array of water birds.
• I saw 2 Barn Swallows flying over the creek heading north, the first I've seen this year.
• A single Ring-billed Gull flew over the soccer fields.
• We watched a flock of nearly 100 Cedar Waxwings.
• On one of the soccer fields there was a mixed flock of Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds, offering a nice comparison between the 2 similar-looking species.
  

Hawks, Thrashers, Cats

I got out of the house this morning at about 7:30 and I recorded 8 or 10 bird species just by sound right away. There were lots of birds singing and in general you can really tell spring is coming by the increased bird activity in the morning. Just across the street I found this Red-shouldered Hawk eating a squirrel. It called several times and at least 2 other hawks answered. I saw 3 more hawks today -- a male Cooper's Hawk on the flood plain property, a Sharp-shinned Hawk soaring over Stillforest on my way back home, and a Crested Caracara near Parmer when I drove to the grocery store.

I assume that work on the hike-and-bike trail through the flood plain property is finally done. The erosion control fences have been removed and the boulders have been replaced at spots where vehicles could enter. There is still lots of trash back there. I've thought about organizing a trash pickup. Maybe it would be a good time to do that now since vehicles can't get back there as easily to dump more. I almost always see a cat or 2 on the flood plain property which troubles me since that's one of the few places with lots of ground cover for birds that prefer to forage near the ground. This morning I found these these low-foraging birds on the flood plain property: White-throated Sparrows, a White-crowned Sparrow, a Field Sparrow, lots of Chipping Sparrows, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, and a Brown Thrasher. I was especially pleased to find the Brown Thrasher near the new parking lot. I was worried that not enough habitat was left when that parking lot was built. But it's depressing to me that some of these birds will probably be killed by feral cats or pet cats that aren't kept indoors. Here's one I saw today.