Pond Springs Cemetery

This morning I birded an area of the neighborhood I don't get to very often. I started at Old Stage Park and ended up at Pond Springs Cemetery near the corner of Lake Creek Parkway and 620. The birding was slow -- I saw my first Mississippi Kite of the season but not much else of note. However, the cemetery was intriguing. I met a woman there named Shirley Barber who was meeting with a landscaper. Shirley has relatives buried there and recognizes the historical value of places like this, so she has an interest in seeing the cemetery properly maintained. The place is quite overgrown these days which is a shame since it's fascinating. This tombstone in particular caught my eye. I've never seen one like it. Shirley told me it's a common tombstone that the Woodmen of the World often provided to its members.

Chickadees and a few Migrants

I'm taking this week off since the last few days of April and first few days of May are usually the peak of spring bird migration in central Texas. I started out my vacation spending a long weekend down on the coast in Port Aransas where I found some great migrating warblers and vireos at a hot birding spot there called Paradise Pond. Sunday I participated in The Great Texas Birding Classic, in the Big Sit division on Port Aransas' "Spoonbill" team. We found 106 species and had a great time.

But I was also glad to get home and start birding the neighborhood again. This morning I walked one of my usual routes from my house to the end of Meadowheath, and then north onto the floodplain property to the new hike-and-bike trail parking lot. Things were a little slow among the houses, although I saw more Carolina Chickadees than usual. I ran into 3 or 4 family groups on Stillforest and Meadowheath with the juveniles still following the parents around and begging for food. (Here's a picture of a chickadee I got in my backyard about a month ago.) I also found a lingering Ruby-crowned Kinglet on Meadowheath. These little birds are leaving us for the summer so that might have been the last one I see until fall.

When I crossed the new footbridge onto the floodplain property things picked up a bit. At the bridge an Orchard Oriole flew over, the first one I've seen in the neighborhood this year. Nearby I found 2 Philadelphia Vireos, unusual north-bound migrants for the area and a first-ever for my neighborhood list. Near the end of Briar Hollow there was a Yellow-breasted Chat singing and I finally got a quick look at it. And in a patch of willow trees by the creek I found the first Painted Bunting I've seen in the neighborhood this year -- an all-green female. I was sad to see 3 house cats (1 with a collar) on the flood plain property while I was out. Cats are a leading cause of bird deaths, and it's especially discouraging to see the cats out and hunting during this sensitive time when birds are already stressed from migration. There are lots of good reasons to keep cats indoors, both for the sake of the birds and for the sake of the cats.

Night Walk

My neighbor Steven McDonald emailed me this morning about hearing a Chuck-will's-widow last night at around 1:00 AM from his place on Perthshire. So tonight at around 10:00 I drove down to the T&C playing fields parking lot at the end of Meadowheath to see if I could hear one too. When I walked from my car to the edge of the creek I flushed a few deer, and then I was transfixed for a few minutes. To the north where the smaller creek joins the larger, the creek bed was full of fireflies flashing on and off. Gulf Coast Toads, Cricket Frogs, and Leopard Frogs made constant noise. And then just above the horizon I saw the biggest meteor I've ever seen streak down, trailing shades of orange and white. I half-expected to hear an explosion when it hit the ground!

I ended up spending about an hour walking to the north end of the hike-and-bike trail and back. I didn't hear any Chuck-will's-widow but I did hear the distinctive flight call of a few Upland Sandpipers flying north. (I hear a few now as I write this out on my patio.) This whole time about half a mile to the south a helicopter was circling and spotlighting the ground. When I got back to the parking lot 2 guys drove up in a pickup truck and asked if I had seen a red BMW pass through. Who knows what that was about!

Sora

I had the day off so I spent a couple hours birding the Town and Country playing fields this morning. Yesterday I saw my first Western Kingbird of the year. Today I was pleased to find my first Eastern Kingbird of the year. But the big surprise of the morning came when I was walking upstream along the creek about in the middle of the playing fields. There in the middle of the creek bed was a Sora walking around out in the open! I guess the reeds and other vegetation in that area of the creek have grown up enough to make that spot attractive to a migrating Sora. These little rails usually stay pretty hidden deep in the marsh. I got these 2 pictures, although because of the distance, the pictures are pretty low resolution. In the first one you can see its ridiculously long toes, which come in handy for walking on soft mud.

Sandpipers and Gulls

I spent all morning birding the neighborhood today and found 63 species. I was actually hoping to find more migrating songbirds but I guess it's still just a few days too early. I did find a few. My first Tennessee Warbler of the year was across the street from my house, and I found a Yellow-breasted Chat on the flood plain property. I also saw my first Western Kingbird of the year on the T&C playing fields. It was flying with a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. And I counted more Nashville Warblers than I've ever counted before: 25. Most were singing. Just upstream of the new hike-and-bike trail parking lot I was pleased to find a few more Baird's Sandpipers. I got this picture of one.
On the creek just downstream of the T&C playing fields there were lots of shorebirds. I counted 120 Least Sandpiper, 4 Spotted Sandpiper, 8 Solitary Sandpiper, and 4 Pectoral Sandpiper. Here's a picture I got of the Pectoral.
Early this evening my neighbor Steven McDonald emailed me that he was seeing Franklin's Gulls, Broad-winged Hawks, and Swainson's Hawks over his house. So I went out on my back patio to see what I could find. Between 5:30 and 7:30 I counted 256 Franklin's Gulls flying north. Most were headed straight up Broadmeade and some flew right over my house. The biggest group was about 90 birds and a couple times I could hear them calling. The sound made me think of the coast and I could almost smell the salty air. It's an exciting time to be birding!

Recliner

A couple weeks ago this appeared on the flood plain property near the end of Holbrook Street. I guess I need to email the county again to ask about blocking vehicle access with a few boulders. I was pleased that they responded pretty quickly last time I asked. It looks like we just need a few more.

Nestling Eastern Screech-Owl

My neighbors on Broadmeade Philip and Yvonne called me early this evening to tell me about a nestling Eastern Screech-Owl that Philip found on their back patio. They asked me if I wanted to take a look so I walked over and got a couple pictures. We assumed it fell out of an owl nest box they have in their backyard. So to get it up off the ground and closer to its parents, Yvonne put the little owl in an Easter basket and Philip hung the basket near the nest box. Nestlings like this often get out of their nests but the parents usually still feed them if they can. Shortly after Philip hung the basket another nestling (a sibling?) popped its head out of the nest box to see what was going on.

Flycatcher, Owl, and Trail

I had the day off and this morning birded the length of the new hike-and-bike trail, from the new parking lot to near the Parmer Lane bridge over Lake Creek. I was anticipating many migrating songbirds after the storm last night but I guess it's still a week or 2 early. But the morning was still fun. Near the new footbridge I got this picture of a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. In it you can even see some of the under-wing pink color on its shoulder. On the flood plain property I found a singing Swainson's Thrush and the first Summer Tanager I've seen in the neighborhood this year. I usually only see a couple of these per year in the NASWC area, just during spring or fall migration.

From the flood plain property I crossed the creek and walked along its north bank downstream back to the T&C playing fields. I found another first neighborhood bird for the year -- a male Common Yellowthroat -- in the strip of woods along the creek. Nearby I thought I saw part of a squirrel behind a tree trunk. But I soon realized it was a Great Horned Owl! I got this picture of it peeking at me through the branches.

Downstream of the playing fields I found one more first-for-the-year: a Lesser Yellowlegs among 4 or 5 Solitary Sandpipers, about 20 Blue-winged Teal, and 5 Northern Shovelers. Between there and the last dam on the creek I saw that construction on the remaining section of the hike-and-bike trail has started:


All-in-all I found 60 species this morning, including 8 Nashville Warblers and 9 House Wrens. That's more House Wrens then I've ever seen on one outing before. Many are moving through the area right now, and they're singing!

A Long Fun Morning

I covered almost 3 miles this morning, from my house to both ends of the new hike-and-bike trail and almost all the way to where Lake Creek goes under Parmer Lane. I kept finding birds and just couldn't stop! Highlights include:

• I heard a Nashville Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler singing as soon as I stepped outside my house.
  
• I heard my first Swainson's Thrush of the year just across the street. They have a strangely beautiful fluting song that we Texans only get to hear briefly this time of year as they move through the state.
• A moment later a Yellow-headed Blackbird flew overhead. Andrea Hopkins once saw one of these in her back yard on Braeburn Glen, but this was the first time I've ever seen one in the neighborhood.
• Near the north end of the hike-and-bike trail a flock of about 60 Double-crested Cormorants flew over me heading north. I got this picture:

• Near the Parmer Lane bridge I found 8 Baird's Sandpipers in the new drainage pond for the DR Horton construction project there. Here are 2 pictures.

• On my way back a hawk flew overhead that I could not identify. It might have been a Ferruginous Hawk, but it's a little late to see one around here. It might have been a very pale Red-tailed Hawk. But it did not have the dark leading edge to the wings that Red-tails have. I hope I get another chance to ID it!
  

2 New Shorebirds

This evening I walked from the new hike-and-bike trail footbridge downstream almost to the Parmer Lane bridge. On the T&C playing fields I found this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher perched near a flock of about 10 Lark Sparrows. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers will soon be a common sight for the summer, but I usually only get a handful of Lark Sparrow sightings per year in the neighborhood. They are one of the more dramatically colored native sparrows, with their white, chestnut, and black facial pattern.

Near the downstream edge of the playing fields there was a large group of shorebirds including about 55 Least Sandpiper, 8 Solitary Sandpiper, 2 Killdeer, and a few Blue-winged Teal. I was excited to find 4 Pectoral Sandpipers as well, a new bird I haven't seen yet this year. I got this picture of 3 of them. From there I continued downstream to the patch of marsh near the Parmer Lane bridge and stayed there until sundown. On my way back I saw a single Solitary Sandpiper on the creek and another sandpiper I couldn't immediately identify nearby. It was almost as big as the Solitary and had dark legs and almost a buffy cast. The wings were slightly longer than the tail. I took some notes on its appearance. When I got back home I verified my guess that it was a Baird's Sandpiper. I've never seen one of these in the neighborhood before. Both the Baird's and the Pectorals are long traveling migrants. They winter in South America as far south as Tiera Del Fuego, and they breed in the arctic. It's neat to know that a few are using our creek on their journey.

NASWC Bird Walk

Three of us participated in this month's bird walk and we sure did enjoy the beautiful spring morning. At about 10:30 we had one of those moments we'll remember all our lives as we watched about 500 American White Pelicans rise up in a huge kettle and then stream off heading north over our heads. One of our group described it as "magic" and I have to agree. It was a spectacular sight and here are a few pictures.


Other highlights of the walk include:

• watching 2 Snowy Egrets chase each other on the creek (I have some pictures on Flickr here.)
• waiting in the marsh near the Parmer Lane bridge until a Sora made a brief call
• In that same marsh we watched a male Black-chinned Hummingbird perform a swooping back-and-forth aerial display for a nearby female.

What a morning!

Warblers, Herons, Hawks

Even though I got a late start, I still had a very enjoyable morning birding the neighborhood. I stuck to the streets today, spending some time on Stillforest, Broadmeade, Sherbourne, and Shady Oaks. There were lots of mixed foraging flocks of warblers and other songbirds. Almost all were singing at one time or another. The most interesting for me were 2 Northern Parulas and 2 Black-throated Green Warblers. Here's one of the Black-throated Greens that I found on Shady Oaks.

On Stillforest there were several Green Herons in the trees. I got this picture of one of them. Some of these handsome birds are passing through on their way north and some of them will stick around and build nests. They make a strange and very distinctive sound that will be common to hear on this street soon.

I saw many hawks this morning. Our resident Red-shouldered Hawks are very active and vocal, and they are starting to nest. I found one nest near Stillforest and Chesterforest. I also counted 14 Broad-winged Hawks. These are similar to Red-shouldereds but are migratory, and today was the first time I've seen any this year. By mid-morning I was seeing or hearing 1 or 2 Broadwings soaring up in the sky every few minutes. I even watched one dive at a soaring Red-shouldered several times. These hawks actually migrate in large flocks called "kettles" and we might get to see one over the neighborhood soon. I got this low resolution picture of one Broad-winged, showing the dark border around the sides and trailing wing edges, and the wide bars on the tail.


I talked to several neighbors while I was out today -- some I already knew and some I met for the first time. This was almost as fun as the birding. We have a nice community here.

Hooded Warbler

Friday morning I took a couple hours off from work to see what new birds Thursday night's front might have blown in. I watched the weather radar from home until the last cell of thunderstorms had passed over. Then I drove to the Town and Country playing fields. Near the new hike-and-bike trail footbridge I found a Lark Sparrow, the first one I've seen this year. Its white outer tail feathers and white tail corners caught my eye when it flushed from beside the creek. Then I got a good look at it when it landed in the short grass. Its chestnut, black, and white face pattern is striking.

But the bird of the morning was a male Hooded Warbler I found near the new hike-and-bike trail parking lot. I was watching a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher foraging relatively low on the edge of some brush when something yellow and green chased it away. I took a couple steps to see what it was and got a great look at this unmistakeable bird. I even watched it fan its tail open and closed, showing the white inner feathers. I did not get a picture, but I sure did enjoy seeing this bird. For whatever reason I haven't gotten a good look at a Hooded Warbler in years. It reminded me of taking a field trip years ago to High Island with Bob Barth's ornithology class at UT. Hooded Warbler was one of the most common migrating songbirds we found.