Monday on Lake Creek Trail

This is a late post, but I had Monday off and spent the morning birding Lake Creek Trail. I encountered more Clay-colored Sparrows than I have all year. I counted 28 during the almost 4 hours I was out. Most of them were in the dense Mustang Grapevine-covered brush right in the parking lot at the end of Braes Valley. I heard them singing (if you can call their insect-like buzzes songs) as soon as I got out of my car. And I got this picture showing 5 in close quarters. These little birds summer south of us and winter north of us, so we only get to see and hear them during migration.

The morning was bright and clear and very peaceful. I only encountered 1 other person on the trail before I reached the footbridge. And on the way there were a few picturesque views of the creek through the trees, like this one of a pair of Blue-winged Teal quietly using our creek on their way north.

Nearby were a Lesser Yellowlegs and a Greater Yellowlegs foraging together. Both of these species winter in south Texas and Mexico, and they breed in Canada and Alaska. Greater Yellowlegs are pretty common winter residents in the Austin area, and you can usually find a few on our creek in those months. But I only see Lesser Yellowlegs here in the neighborhood during migration. These 2 species can be very hard to tell apart if you just see one by itself with nothing to judge its size by. But in addition to being larger, the Greater Yellowlegs has a proportionally longer bill which is often very slightly upturned.

On the T&C playing fields there are usually a few Scissor-tailed Flycatchers this time of year and through the summer. Often you can find them by listening for their single distinctive "chup" notes. This male let me get close enough for a decent picture.