NASWC Bird Walk

11 folks including me participated in the NASWC Bird Walk this morning. (We completely filled up the parking area in front of the Parmer Village model homes!) It was overcast and never got above about 42 degrees, but the birds were relatively active wherever there was shelter from the wind. We found 42 species and here are some highlights.

• The bird of the morning was a Crested Caracara that flew almost right over us as it followed the creek and crossed Parmer Lane. I see very few of these birds in the neighborhood and have never gotten a look this good here. I took this poor photo.
  
  
  
• There was even more evidence of beavers, including more freshly chewed willow trees along the creek, much further upstream than I've seen before. And across the water we found this hole in the bank which could be a burrow:
  
  
  
• By the last dam we watched as 3 Northern Flickers flew by, one after the other.
• The woods along the creek by the last dam were quite birdy. We saw Yellow-rumped Warblers, Carolina Chickadees, Black-crested Titmice, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets showing their ruby crowns, and fleeting glimpses of several sparrow species.
• There were a few ducks on the creek and we got pretty good looks at some beautiful male American Wigeons.
• I was excited to see a single first-year White-crowned Sparrow. It's a common winter Sparrow in Texas, but it's one I rarely see here in the neighborhood.