Herons, Redstart

I spent an hour and a half on Lake Creek Trail after work today, starting at the Braes Valley parking lot and going as far as the footbridge. The time of day and the south wind were not great for birding, but this time of year it's good to get out as much as you can. You might find 1 spring migrant that makes it worthwhile. For me, tonight the bird was a bright red and black male American Redstart, actively foraging in the mid-level canopy in the dense woods. This was the first I've seen in the neighborhood this year. There were also still many Common Yellowthroats in the low brush, and I heard a single Yellow-breasted Chat. I saw the first Eastern Wood-pewee I've seen this year, and saw these 2 Little Blue Herons flying over the footbridge.

75 Species in 4 hours

Wow, I didn't realize it until I entered my data into eBird, but this evening after the storm passed I broke my record for number of bird species seen in one outing. Between 4:30 PM and 8:20 PM today I found 75 species of birds on Lake Creek Trail! I'm just too tired to write up all the details, but a few highlights are:

• 10 species of warbler, including a Blue-winged Warbler, a Magnolia Warbler, and at least 16 Common Yellowthroats
• 6 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
• Indigo Buntings and Painted Buntings
• the first Common Nighthawks I've seen this year

I've thought about this before and tonight makes me think about it again. Under the right conditions at the right time of year, is a Century Day possible in the neighborhood?

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.

Lots of Songs

I had the day off today so I spent a couple hours birding the neighborhood. I got a late start and left the house at about 8:40 AM. As soon as I opened the back door I heard a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and a Blue-headed Vireo singing, along with the songs of several more common resident species. What a morning! I stayed in my backyard for about 30 minutes watching these birds as well as Orange-crowned Warblers, Nashville Warblers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I got this picture of one of the Nashville Warblers, which shows its main distinguishing characteristics: a yellow breast, belly, and throat, a grey head and face, and a white eye-ring. These small birds are very common and vocal in the neighborhood right now. Keep your eyes and ears open for them.

I ended up staying on the streets this morning, walking down Stillforest, Meadowheath, Sherbrooke, Sherbourne, and parts of Broadmeade. It was a beautiful morning filled with birdsong and roofer hammers. Some other highlights were 2 Cooper's Hawks, 3 migrating Broad-winged Hawks, and a single Clay-colored Sparrow. Many Clay-colored Sparrows are moving through the area now, and sometimes you can find them by their low buzzy insect-like song. (I think it sounds a bit like a weed-wacker.) I found this one in some dense brush by the bridge at Broadmeade and Braeburn Glen. I got this picture of it singing, the best I've gotten of this species so far.

Warblers and Vireos

What a day! I waited for the rain to stop this morning and started birding the neighborhood at around 9:00. Nearly 5 hours later I stumbled home with 60 species of bird on my notepad, including 5 vireos and 7 warblers. This was the first day I finally saw some of the exciting spring migrants that birders from all over the country travel to the Texas coast to see this time of year.

Walking down Stillforest I ran into several groups of birds, mostly Orange-crowned Warblers, Nashville Warblers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I found 3 Blue-headed Vireos and 1 Summer Tanager as well. Also a few groups of small birds with buzzy flight calls which I assume were Indigo Buntings flew over me. (By the way, even though I have been birding in this neighborhood since 2006, someone who lives at the end of Tottenham Court, a cul-de-sac off Stillforest, still thinks I am up to no good. If you know him, please point him to my blog. Maybe it will convince him that I am not spying on people!)

When I got onto Lake Creek Trail I went into the woods because I heard a family group of Carolina Chickadees. I got this picture of one of the adults.

The woods there were loaded with birds, most of them finding and eating caterpillars off the leaves and bark of the trees. I saw a Warbling Vireo and a Yellow-throated Vireo as well as more Orange-crowned Warblers and Nashville Warblers. And I got this picture of a White-eyed Vireo.

I was most excited to find a single Blue-winged Warbler nearby, a bring yellow and blue warbler that I have only seen twice before in the neighborhood, both times very briefly. It stayed in the low dense brush and I could not get a very good picture of it, but here's the best I ended up with.

I also found a single Yellow-breasted Chat in these woods, the largest bird in the warbler family. On my way home I walked down Sherbourne, fast becoming a new favorite street of mine for birding. I ran into another family group of Carolina Chickadees and this time I found a Red-eyed Vireo with them. And further down the street I found another mixed species foraging flock that had a Black-and-white Warbler and a male Black-throated Green Warbler. I got this picture of the Black-throated Green.

Why did the Chicken Cross the Trail?

I'm still laughing about this. Monday morning I got an email from my neighbor Steven McDonald on Perthshire with the same subject line as the title of this post. Attached was this picture. He had been out birding on Lake Creek Trail and ran into this chicken walking around near the parking lot at the end of Braes Valley. He said it was pretty tame and even followed him around a bit. Another birding surprise from the neighborhood! I emailed the Redneck Mother to see if she was missing any of her chickens, but all of hers were accounted for.

Steven also sent me these pictures of 2 Summer Tanagers he found while he was out. We only see these birds in the neighborhood during migration, and the males are the only all red birds besides Northern Cardinals that occur here.

Post-storm Birding

As I was watching the weather radar this morning, waiting for the last storm cell moving north from San Antonio to pass over us, when my neighbor on Perthshire Steven McDonald gave me a call. He was already out birding Lake Creek Trail near the parking lot at the end of Braes Valley, and he was seeing lots of migrating birds grounded by the weather. He was seeing Summer Tanagers, Great Crested Flycatchers, Nashville Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, and a single Louisiana Waterthrush. I got out there and joined him as fast as I could. It was a fun, long morning of birding that finally ended at 2:00 PM after we jointly found 68 species, just 1 less than my personal record for 1 outing in the neighborhood.

The first picture I took this morning was of a butterfly. I believe it is an Orange Sulphur that was on the flood plain property near Braeburn Glen.

We found 9 species of sparrows. The most numerous were Savannah Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, and Clay-colored Sparrows. I was most surprised to find a neat group of sparrows hopping around on the asphalt right at the edge of the T&C parking lot at the end of Meadowheath. There were Clay-colored, Savannah, and Vesper Sparrows in this group. And we were delighted when a single deep blue Indigo Bunting joined them, at one point perching right on the parking lot barrier cable. This was my favorite moment of the morning. I couldn't believe we found birds like these literally in a suburban parking lot!

On the creek we saw Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Green Herons, Great Egrets, and a single Great Blue Heron. There were both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, a single Pectoral Sandpiper, a single American Coot, and this Spotted Sandpiper. This is the only time of year when we get to see Spotted Sandpipers with their spots. Their winter plumage does not have them.

The only ducks we saw were about 30 Blue-winged Teal, scattered up and down the creek. I got this picture of 2 males and 1 female near the last dam.

Nearby we found a Bronzed Cowbird, the first I've seen this year. And on our way back we ran into a group of Lark Sparrows on the ground. As we approached they flew up to a tree and I got this picture of 2 of them.

There are lots of birds moving through the area now until Late May. So keep your eyes open for unusual birds, and get outside as much as you can!

Sparrows and Gulls

After work today I spent about 2 hours birding Stillforest, Meadowheath, and part of Lake Creek Trail. After the summer-like temperatures yesterday, today the weather was just about perfect. And spring migration is continuing! I found 34 species and here are a few highlights:

• There is still a Red-shouldered Hawk on a nest at Chester Forest and Stillforest.
• I saw a flock of 24 Cedar Waxwings on Meadowheath.
• Near the trail footbridge there's a brush pile out in the middle of the creek bed that has reliably had a few Lincoln's Sparrows in it for the past month. I checked it out tonight and after a couple pishes, I counted 16 Lincoln's Sparrows on it! (I got this picture a couple weeks ago nearby).



• Near Holbrook Street I found a single House Wren.
• On my way back, I saw 6 birds flying pretty low in a V towards me. As they flew over I saw that they were gulls with black heads and black-flecked-with-white wing tips: Franklin's Gulls! Starting now and lasting about a month you can sometimes see these migratory gulls flying north over our neighborhood. What a treat to see them!

A Cold and Windy Morning

I took Monday off to deal with some hailstorm-related house issues, and to bird Lake Creek Trail. It was even colder than the NASWC Bird Walk on Sunday, but there were a few interesting birds around. I spent a couple hours finding 50 species and even got a couple pretty good pictures. This one is of a male Yellow-rumped Warbler that is showing the black mask and bright white eye-ring of its breeding plumage. These birds are one of the only winter resident warblers in central Texas and they will be heading north soon. So it's nice to see them in fresh breeding plumage before they go.

Despite being exposed to the cold north wind, there were a few interesting birds on the creek, including a few Solitary Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers. And I was pleased to find a single Green Heron, a summer-resident bird on our neighborhood creek and the first one I've seen this year. These birds nest in some of our more densely treed yards. Sometimes you can hear their strange noises just walking down Broadmeade.

At the downstream edge of the playing fields is a spot on the creek where I usually find a few ducks and shorebirds. Today there were also lots of Barn Swallows flying over the creek here. And this time I saw 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows with them -- a very unusual bird in the neighborhood. But the biggest surprise came while I was counting Blue-winged Teal, the only duck I saw that morning. I looked towards the woods and saw this Virginia Opossum slowly walking towards me. I got this picture and soon after I think the possum saw me and slowly turned around and ambled back the way it came.

A little further downstream I was back on the trail and came to a spot that's usually pretty birdy. There were many Lincoln's Sparrows, which are peaking in numbers in the Austin area right now on their way north. But I was excited to find this male Spotted Towhee as well. It's a large member of the sparrow family and very dramatically colored. Usually they stick to the dense underbrush so they can be hard to see. This one was uncharacteristically out in the open and I was able to get this picture, the best I've gotten of this species so far.

NASWC Bird Walk

10 of us participated in the April NASWC Bird Walk this morning. It was sunny and clear but there was a strong cold north wind blowing all morning that made finding birds a little harder than usual. Still we managed to find 30 species on the short stretch of Lake Creek Trail from the parking lot at the end of Braes Valley to the footbridge. We were out for almost 2 hours and here are the highlights:

• We saw a Ladder-backed Woodpecker perched on a power pole near the parking lot. This is a common bird in the Austin area but I don't see them very often in the neighborhood.
• We heard the very distinctive song of several White-eyed Vireos throughout the morning, and even got brief looks at one. Many of these birds are moving north through the neighborhood now, and just a few will stay here for the summer.
• Near Holbrook St. we had 3 Scissor-tailed Flycatchers fly over us on their way north. This was a first-of-the-year sighting for me in the neighborhood. It's nice to see these beautiful summer-resident birds returning.
• In a dense patch of woods near the footbridge some of us got a quick look at a Red-shouldered Hawk flying low and fast through the trees in front of us.
• In this same area we encountered a small group of migrating songbirds that included several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and at least 2 Nashville Warblers.
• We spent some time on the footbridge where the birding is almost always good, and we got good looks at a male Belted Kingfisher, a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds with the male displaying for the female, 2 American Robins in the creek bed, and 2 Mourning Doves on the wires. I got a picture of the doves (see the top of this post) that shows their long pointed tails and the dark spots on their backs -- 2 good ways to distinguish Mourning Doves from the more common neighborhood White-winged Doves.