Turtles

I have a few notes about finding turtles in the neighborhood that I'm late in posting. About 1 month ago Steven McDonald who lives on Perthshire found this Ornate Box Turtle in his backyard and he sent me this picture of it. (If I remember correctly, the red eyes mean it's a male.) This turtle turned up the morning after a heavy rain which was very interesting to me. Because almost exactly the same time last year, I found a male Ornate Box Turtle on Broadmeade one morning after a heavy rain. Here's the blog entry I made. I wonder if the time of year or the rain were significant? Box turtles are not nearly as common as they used to be 20 or 30 years ago, so it's exciting to see one. And the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is interested in knowing when they are seen. If you come across one, please report it to them here.

Ornate Box Turtles are land turtles but every other kind of turtle I've seen in the neighborhood has been a water turtle somewhere along the creek. And by far the most common is the Red-eared Slider. But on May 11 I found one that I haven't seen before. The shell was slightly more rounded in the back than the Red-eared Slider, the head was pointier, and it had yellow stripes on its face instead of red patches. I took this picture and when I got home I found out it was a Common Musk Turtle. That brings my neighborhood turtle species list up to an amazing total of 5!

Slowing Down and Heating Up

Today was the first day in about 2 months that I did not see a single migrating warbler when I birded the neighborhood this morning. Spring migration is tapering off as the temperature rises and our summer resident birds get on with their lives. The Red-shouldered Hawk nest at Stillforest and Chester Forest had 2 nestlings in it. I got this picture of one of them peeking over the edge. The Broad-winged Hawk nest at Broadmeade and Norchester had one of the parent birds sitting on the nest. Hopefully there will be some young birds visible soon. There are many Carolina Chickadee family groups in our trees these days, the new birds still getting fed by the parents. Here's a picture I got of one chickadee near Stillforest and Meadowheath.

There were just 2 migrating birds I was excited to find this morning. One was an Olive-sided Flycatcher near the Lake Creek Trail footbridge. I saw one near this same spot last weekend and it's a bird I've only seen one other time in the neighborhood. The other was a single female Green-winged Teal on the creek just downstream of the playing fields. This is the first Green-winged Teal I've seen in the neighborhood in over a year. In previous winters I've found a few in this area on the creek but last winter I imagine the construction projects scared them off. Hopefully they will return this winter.

Birds aren't the only colorful animals we have in the neighborhood. Near the last dam on Lake Creek there were several male Longear Sunfish that had cleared off areas of the creek bottom as small territories in which to mate and protect eggs. The males are a striking combination of orange and light blue, with red eyes. I got this picture of one -- it's not great but even through the murky water you can see the color!

Tanager, Shorebirds, Warblers

Spring migration is continuing, although it seems slower this year than the last 2 years. That might be because we've had more steady south winds and fewer storms and fronts this spring, conditions that cause birds to stop less for breaks on their way north. But the migrating birds are out there -- they're just harder to find. I found this first year male Summer Tanager near the new flood control wall just downstream of the last dam on Lake Creek. Usually in our neighborhood if you see a red bird it's almost definitely a Northern Cardinal. But during the spring and summer a red bird just might be a Summer Tanager. You can see how this one hasn't gotten all its red color yet. It was singing when I took this picture.

I had the most success finding migrating shorebirds. I didn't find as many as last weekend, but I did find Least, Pectoral, Baird's, White-rumped, and Spotted Sandpipers. Most were on the creek just downstream of the T&C playing fields, but there was a small group of Baird's and Pectoral Sandpipers on one of the unused soccer fields. Surprisingly, almost nothing was in the new drainage pond near the Parmer Lane bridge where I found the Phalaropes last weekend. I think there's a little too much water in it from recent rains to make good shorebird habitat today.

Warblers have been few and far between this spring, but on my way back I found the first Canada Warbler I've seen this spring. I got a quick but good look at it in the patch of woods near the last dam on Lake Creek. This morning I also was able to find Wilson's, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, American Redstart, and Common Yellowthroat. I briefly heard a Bell's Vireo singing on Stillforest, another first for this spring. And last weekend a neighbor pointed out a Broad-winged Hawk nest to me on Broadmeade. I got this picture of one of the parent hawks near the nest as I neared home. Much more common is the Red-shouldered Hawk in our neighborhood. We're just barely in the breeding range of Broad-winged Hawks.

Shorebirds!

I've said before that our neighborhood keeps surprising me. Well, it surprised me again this morning with 9 species of shorebirds! At around 11:00 I found 4 species (3 of them new for my neighborhood list) in the drainage pond for the DR Horton construction project near the Parmer Lane bridge. The most striking were 26 Wilson's Phalaropes, some of which are pictured here. One very interesting thing about phalaropes is that they have reversed sex roles. The brighter birds in this picture are the females. And it's the males who exclusively incubate the eggs and raise the young.

But I was actually more excited to find the bird at the bottom right of the first picture -- a White-rumped Sandpiper. This bird has one of the furthest migrations in this hemisphere, wintering in southern South America and breeding in the Canadian Arctic. I've been hoping to find one in the neighborhood for a long time. The picture at the right is a little out of focus, but I couldn't resist posting it because on the right it shows the White-rumped Sandpiper's white rump -- something you usually only see when it's flying away from you. And on the left was another new shorebird for my list, a Stilt Sandpiper. You can see the brown cheek and crown of its breeding plumage.

Earlier I had already found a few shorebirds on Lake Creek just downstream of the playing fields . One was this Semipalmated Sandpiper, a bird I have only seen once before in the neighborhood. And I wasn't really sure I saw one then because this bird is so similar to the Least Sandpiper which is common on our creek most of the year. The Semipalmated is just a little larger than the Least, has dark legs, and has a slightly less-curved bill. I was glad to get good look at this one today and finally get a positive ID.

The other shorebirds I saw today were:

• Killdeer, a common year-round resident
• Baird's Sandpiper, similar to White-rumped but browner overall, with less distinct streaking (and no white rump!)
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Least Sandpiper
  

Last night's front might have been the last significant grounding of migrating birds this spring. (Instead of fighting the north wind, the birds usually stay put for awhile, making them easier for birders to find.) And today is probably the last comfortable weather we'll have until fall. So I was glad I could spend the morning outside enjoying spring migration. And I am amazed how many shorebirds are finding and using the small patches of shorebird habitat we have in the neighborhood. Here's one more picture of the White-rumped Sandpiper.

Wood Ducks, Warblers

I got out for about an hour and a half this morning before work and birded the new hike-and-bike trail where it goes through the floodplain property. Right off the bat I saw this male Wood Duck perched in one of the dead willow trees near the footbridge. There were 2 more nearby and the flew off heading north soon after I got this picture. A few months ago I thought I saw 2 Wood Ducks fly over this same location but I wasn't sure. It was nice to finally get a good look at one of these beautiful birds in the neighborhood.

Right across the bridge I added another new bird to the neighborhood list -- a male MacGillivray's Warbler. This is a rare bird in the Austin area because it summers in western North America and we are just at the eastern edge of its migration path. I usually see several of its eastern counterpart, the Mourning Warbler, on the floodplain property in the spring and the fall. Other northbound birds I found this morning were 2 Warbling Vireos, a singing Tennessee Warbler, a Magnolia Warbler, 3 Yellow Warblers, a female Chestnut-sided Warbler, a Wilson's Warbler, and several Common Yellowthroats. I got this picture of one of the yellowthroats.

NASWC Bird Walk

Six of us participated in the NASWC bird walk this morning and it was one for the record books! We birded the hike-and-bike trail from the playing fields at the end of Meadowheath to the new parking lot. The weather was beautiful, the temperature was perfect, and we found lots of migrating birds including 8 species of warbler. Here are the highlights:

• We found 2 juvenile and still fluffy Great Horned Owls and watched the parent get chased away by a Red-shouldered Hawk. I got this picture of one of the sibling owls.
• Male Common Yellowthroats were actually common, something that only happens a few days a year in this neighborhood. It was a treat to get so many looks at this neat and usually secretive warbler.
  
• The other warblers we saw were Nashville Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, and Wilson's Warbler. Most of the group got good looks at all of these birds.
  
• Everyone got good looks at male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Here is one of the males.
• Although hard to see, there were several Baltimore Orioles and Orchard Orioles moving about. We finally got good looks at a male Orchard Oriole and I got this picture of one.

At times it was hard to keep up with all the birds being seen and heard. It really was a remarkable morning of spring migration. A special mention goes to Kim McKnight who joined us with her husband and 2-month-old daughter in-tow. Kim was spotting warblers high up in the tree canopy while her daughter slept in a baby sling. What a dedicated birder!

Lots to Report

Wow, I have a lot to report from yesterday and today. Friday on the hike-and-bike trail near the new footbridge I was trying to follow a small bird in a tree directly over the sidewalk. I lost the bird but found these 2 juvenile Great Horned Owls staring down at me! There is no telling how many walkers and bikers and joggers have passed right under these guys. Look how fluffy they are but look at those huge claws!

A few weeks late, many of the migrating songbirds I've been expecting to find are finally showing up. That same morning nearby I finally got this decent picture of a male Common Yellowthroat. This warbler lives in marshy areas in the reeds and cattails. But during migration I usually find several of them in the dense low brush of the floodplain property.

This morning I was on Chester Forest near Broadmeade and saw this Red-shouldered Hawk almost hovering in the strong north wind. I got my binoculars on it and as I watched it folded its wings and dove head-first directly at me. I was looking into its eyes as it grew bigger in my field of view, finally pulling up 5-10 feet above me. It perched on a nearby tree and started calling, and I got this picture. That's an experience I'll never forget.

Later this morning I was in the patch of woods along Lake Creek near the last dam when I found this Magnolia Warbler in the low brush. This was the second one I've seen in the past couple days. It's one of the more dramatically patterned warblers and is always fun to find in the spring. Here are some other neat migrants I've found in the neighborhood since Friday:

• I've seen 3 American Redstarts around. These black and red birds are extremely active and fun to watch as they flit around fanning their tails and gleaning bugs from the leaves.
• I found the first Warbling Vireo I've seen in the neighborhood this season.
• This morning I got a quick look at a falcon -- possibly a Peregrine Falcon -- over Lake Creek.
• A few Indigo Buntings and Painted Buntings have been around the more lush areas of Lake Creek along the hike-and-bike trail. So far I have only seen the less dramatically colored females of these species.
• A few Clay-colored Sparrows are moving through the area.
• This evening I found a single male Bay-breasted Warbler near my house. I was very excited to find this bird since for some reason I have not seen a male in over 10 years! It's a striking bird.
  

There are many family groups of Carolina Chickadees moving around in the canopy of our great neighborhood trees right now. The chicks make a distinctive raspy begging call and you can watch the parents catching bugs and then feeding them. Also sometimes there are 1 or 2 migrating warblers following the group around, so its always worth watching them for awhile. It's how I found the Bay-breasted!

Yellow Warbler and Turtle

I spent the morning birding most of the new hike-and-bike trail and before I knew it the morning became the afternoon. There were migrating birds out there but it was hard work finding them. I finally found a few birds that I normally see a few weeks earlier, including a female Indigo Bunting, a Wilson's Warbler, and 3 Yellow Warblers. I got this picture of one of the Yellow Warblers in a pecan tree on the T&C playing fields.

Near where the hike-and-bike trail leaves the playing fields to the south, I came across this hatchling Red-eared Slider. I couldn't believe how small it was. Oh, and the blue and white thing is my high-tech wireless bird count recording device. It almost never crashes!