Harris's Sparrow and Wood Duck

Sunday I was excited to get an email from neighbor and fellow birder Gracen Duffield who lives on Alvin High Lane, with a heavily wooded stretch of Lake Creek right behind her house. She got this picture of a Harris's Sparrow perched on her fence. A few of these sparrows have been regular visitors to her backyard. I've never seen a Harris's Sparrow in the neighborhood and it can be hard to see in the Austin area in general. Nice find!

Besides the sparrows, Gracen has been seeing Wood Ducks on her sheltered stretch of the creek. She got this picture of a male. I've only seen Wood Ducks once before in the neighborhood back in May. It just goes to show you that this neighborhood is too rich with bird species for one person to see them all!


I spent this last weekend down on the coast in Port Aransas for their annual Whooping Crane Festival. I led the birding bus tours on Saturday and enjoyed a tour of the Fennessey Ranch on Friday. Here are a few pictures I took while down there.