Mississippi Kites

Last night Steven McDonald on Perthshire St. emailed me to say there were several Mississippi Kites roosting in their pecan tree. These are migratory hawks that we only get to see a few times a year in the neighborhood. I love seeing them because they are such elegant fliers and have such subtle colors. Usually I only see them flying over in small groups, so I was excited to hear that some were roosting for the night in our neighborhood. This morning I was lucky enough to find a small group of 4 Mississippi Kites near the Lake Creek Trail footbridge. I got these 2 pictures of them before they took off, on their way south. These birds nest and migrate in groups and I was surprised to read in the Birds of North America Online that very little is known about their winter range. Only a few sighting records exist from South America. Such a gap in our knowledge of a large obvious animal like this is a reminder of how much we have left to discover about birds.


The kites were the birds of the morning, but I enjoyed finding a few other interesting birds. In the patch of woods near the last dam on Lake Creek I found a mixed species foraging flock that had 2 Carolina Wrens, 2 Bewick's Wrens, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Carolina Chickadee, a White-eyed Vireo, and 2 Yellow Warblers. Across the creek in some woods by the new flood control wall, I spent some time next to the small tributary creek and watched this juvenile Green Heron which didn't seem to mind my presence and went about its normal business.


While I was there a male Wilson's Warbler made a brief appearance and I was lucky enough to get this photo. You can just barely see its black cap.

A Few Fall Firsts

I got a late start and only spent about 2 hours birding the floodplain property this morning. But I found several birds that I haven't seen since the spring. One was this Eastern Kingbird near the Lake Creek Trail footbridge. I only see a few of these in the neighborhood each year during migration. Other firsts of the season were:

• I found a Black-and-white Warbler about halfway between the new Lake Creek Trail parking lot and the footbridge.
• There was at least 1 Yellow-breasted Chat near the end of Braeburn Glen.
• 1 Baltimore Oriole was near the footbridge.
• 2 female Wilson's Warblers were in a willow tree near the new parking lot. I got this picture of one of them. The picture is not very good but it shows the yellow over the eye but olive cheek, which is one way to distinguish it from a female Hooded Warbler.

This morning I saw a mammal I've never seen in the neighborhood before -- a Black-tailed Jackrabbit. I've seen lots of Eastern Cottontails around the creek and the T&C playing fields, but I've never seen a jackrabbit before. Unfortunately I only saw it when I got too close and it flushed. And it didn't stop running until it was out of sight, so I couldn't get a picture of it.

Last year on Labor Day weekend I found lots of cool birds in the neighborhood, so I'm hoping to repeat the experience this weekend. So far, so good!

Dickcissels

This morning I started birding the neighborhood from the new Parmer Village residential development where Lake Creek goes under Parmer Lane. I got this picture of the edge of some threatening clouds coming in from the north. Luckily the clouds just kept things a bit cooler and I didn't get rained on. I was out for about 3 hours and found a few neat birds. This is only the 2nd time I've started birding from this location and today it yielded my highest ever count of White-winged Doves -- 584! Groups of 4 to 20 just kept flying over, usually headed northeast. I think this is a daily movement. They probably roost in neighborhood trees, fly off somewhere to forage during the day, and then fly back to their roosts in the evenings.

The most interesting birds of the morning were much less numerous. Near the Parmer Lane bridge I heard a single Summer Tanager. I walked a drainage ditch behind the T&C soccer fields and found a Lark Sparrow and these south-bound migrants: 4 Indigo Buntings, 2 Painted Buntings, 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and about a dozen Dickcissels. I was surprised to find the Dickcissels. A flock flew in as I was standing near some willow trees and most of them immediately disappeared into the low dense brush. A few birds stayed out in the open for a bit and I got this picture of one of them. I've heard these birds in the neighborhood much more often than I've seen them. And this is the first neighborhood photo I've gotten of one. Dickcissels are grassland birds, so they only pass through the neighborhood during migration. We don't have any of their breeding habitat.

On the creek there were many Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets. The only shorebirds I found were Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, and a single Spotted Sandpiper. Here's a picture of some of the Least Sandpipers. We have a few of these on the creek almost all year long. There are only a few weeks in June when we don't see them.


I got this picture of a butterfly near the last dam on Lake Creek. My guess is that it's a Viceroy but that's only a guess. If anyone knows for sure, please post a comment!

Checked on Purple Martins

As the weather continues to tease us with possible rain this evening, I got this picture of a break in the clouds over the Town and Country playing fields. I was there to check on the Purple Martin roost near their large baseball field. I've been wanting to check on the roost in the evening ever since I was out jogging on August 5 and saw about 500 birds there. So tonight I did and I was a bit surprised. As I approached the area shortly after 7:00 PM I could see a group of 40-50 martins swirling around one of the light posts. (And I estimated there were 80-100 birds overall.) I started walking over to get a picture but as I walked, the birds left. First one group then another, they left their perches on the light posts and took off to the south. About 15 minutes later all the Purple Martins were gone. Were they migrating south? I don't think so -- I read that they migrate in the daytime. Maybe they were heading for a more sheltered roost since the weather was threatening? I just don't know.

Hot and Humid

I spent the morning birding the neighborhood and it sure was hot and humid! I got out of the house a little after 7:00 AM and got this picture of some color in the sky on Charnwood. For most of the morning there was partial cloud cover but on my way back across the T&C playing fields, the sun was merciless. Since I brought an umbrella with me, it did not rain. And as I write this I'm still hoping we'll get some rain this afternoon.

The birding was fairly interesting. One of the first birds I heard outside my house was a south-bound migrating Dickcissel flying over. I hear these birds more often than I see them because they have a very distinctive low buzzy flight call. I heard at least 8 Dickcissels this morning. On Stillforest I heard a single Blue-gray Gnatcatcher but I couldn't find it in the trees. At Meadowheath and Briar Hollow I saw a large group of swallows on the power lines across the tributary creek. So I crossed over and found out they were mostly Cave Swallows. I estimated there were 60 of them and I got this picture.

These swallows are very similar to Cliff Swallows but have a darker forehead and lighter throat and upper breast. They used to only be found in caves and their range was south of us. But Cave Swallows seem to be expanding north and have learned how to build their nests in other places, like the Parmer Lane bridge over Lake Creek. Our largest swallow, the Purple Martin, is still gathering on the lights and foul ball netting around the large baseball field at Town and Country. I counted about 67 of them there this morning and I suspect there will be hundreds there in the coming evenings.

I saw my first migrating warblers of the fall today -- 3 Yellow Warblers. One was in a willow tree near the new Lake Creek Trail parking lot. The other 2 were downstream of the playing fields in a patch of woods near the last dam. They were in a loose association of birds that included a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, and a Carolina Wren. I did not see any Red-winged Blackbirds today. This is probably because the county recently mowed most of the reeds and another vegetation that they like in the creek bed. I counted 8 Empidonax flycatchers but got mostly brief looks. I was only able to identify one of them as a Least Flycatcher.

A Few Southbound Migrants

I spent almost 4 hours birding the neighborhood this morning and found 42 species of birds. It was uncommonly quiet and peaceful on the streets even for a Sunday morning, and there was a light breeze. So I really enjoyed being out there once I left the house at around 7:20 AM. I was able to lose myself listening and looking for birds, without worrying about car traffic or other neighborhood noises. There are more early southbound migrating birds showing up. From the Lake Creek Trail footbridge I saw 3 Painted Buntings -- 2 females and 1 male. I got this picture of one of the females but the male never got close enough. (In the summer, any little green bird you see is likely a Painted Bunting female or young male. But in the winter, any little green bird you see could be an Orange-crowned Warbler or a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.)

Nearby I found 2 female Orchard Orioles bathing in the creek. More and more, I'm convinced that the Orchard Oriole we saw last weekend was migrating south. I could be wrong, but I don't think these birds summer in the neighborhood. I also saw and heard 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, the first I've seen this season. And I counted 6 Least Flycatchers. I even got this mediocre picture of one near the last dam on the creek. These are small and very active birds. Often you can hear their soft "pwit" call much easier than you can actually see them up in the treetops. In this picture you can see the white eye-ring, a characteristic of all Empidonax flycatchers. This is a very difficult group of birds to identify, and I've only recently started learning how to recognize a few of them.


I found the Tricolored Heron again. I assume it's the same juvenile bird I saw a couple weeks ago but I really have no way of knowing. I got to watch its active feeding style again and at one point I had the Tricolored Heron, a Green Heron, and a Snowy Egret in the same binocular view. Combined with hearing a cheering crowd from the nearby soccer fields, the experience was a little bit surreal! A little later I was able to get pretty close to the Tricolored Heron, and I got this picture before it got spooked and flew downstream.

500 Purple Martins

I got out for a jog after work today, and found myself on the T&C playing fields around 7:00 PM. I saw a group of about 30 Purple Martins in the air over Lake Creek. Then I looked downstream and saw dozens of dark birds on the foul ball netting of the large baseball field. I made my way over and saw quite a sight. On the light posts and netting around the large baseball field I estimated 500 Purple Martins perched. As I got closer about 80 flew off the nearest light post and swarmed around in the air before gradually returning to the light post a few minutes later. I believe this is a post-breeding and pre-migration roost site. And it's quite a spectacle. I hope you can check it out!

NASWC Bird Walk

There were 6 of us who braved the summer heat this morning for the August NASWC Bird Walk. We were supposed to have cloudy conditions for half the morning but it was completely clear. Even so, there was a nice breeze and things didn't get too hot if we stayed in the shade. The birding was interesting and fun. We found 42 species and here are the highlights:

• Before everyone arrived, we briefly heard and then saw a male Orchard Oriole which perched obviously and then flew right over us. This is my first summer record of one in the neighborhood. But after looking at my records I'm wondering, could this bird have been an early south-bound migrant?
• The juvenile Turkey Vulture pictured above was near the Lake Creek Trail footbridge and let us get pretty close. In the picture you can see daylight through its nostrils. Turkey Vultures are one of the few birds with a well-developed sense of smell.
• We saw a cormorant flying in the distance, and this time of year by far the most likely species is Neotropic Cormorant, a first for my NASWC bird list!
• From the Lake Creek Trail footbridge we saw at least 4 Western Kingbirds. I got this picture of one of them. Surprisingly absent were Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. I have seen very few on the T&C playing fields this summer.
• Also from the footbridge and nearby we saw at least 5 Painted Buntings in and around the creek bed. This was the easiest time I've ever had viewing Painted Buntings in the neighborhood. And there were more here than I've ever seen before during the summer. I can't resist posting this poor photo I took of 2 of them:
• Near the last dam on Lake Creek we found an empidonax flycatcher in the woods which we finally figured out was a Least Flycatcher, the first south-bound migrating songbird I've seen this year.
  
• On our way back we found a single Lark Sparrow foraging at the edge of the soccer fields. This is one of the few native sparrows that can be found in the Austin area during the summer. (Most are only here in the winter.) It is also my first summer record of one in the NASWC area.
  

I used to bird very little in the summer, thinking it was the least interesting time of year and there were few birds to be found. But my summer birding in the neighborhood has shown me that that's just not the case!