Summer Duck

Sunday morning I spent about 2.5 hours birding Lake Creek Trail, something I don't find myself doing as often these days. Many central Texas birders hang up their binoculars for the summer, but if you get outside early enough the heat isn't so bad. And there are still interesting birds to find out there. The most interesting this morning was a single male Blue-winged Teal on the creek near the last dam. Here it is swimming next to a Snowy Egret.

Most wild ducks are winter birds in central Texas, and Blue-winged Teal is no exception. But a few hang around all summer long. This was the first time I've seen one on our creek in the summer. Two more interesting birds I found that morning were Cooper's Hawk (also much more common in the winter), and Bronzed Cowbird (a reliable summer resident on the trail, that used to be a south Texas specialty species). Here is my complete list.