Rusty Blackbird and Frostweed

On New Year Eve we had a hard freeze, so I had already planned to be out on Lake Creek Trail to look for Frostweed (Verbena virginica) ice ribbons on New Year morning. I told my neighborhood Facebook group I'd be out by the last dam on the creek at 9:30 for anyone else who was interested in seeing this remarkable natural ice phenomenon and maybe seeing some birds too. So at around 9:15 I was parking next to the Parmer Village pond to walk down there when I got a text from neighbor and fellow dedicated Lake Creek Trail birder, Steven McDonald. He had found a Rusty Blackbird!

Rusty Blackbird is a rare winter resident in central Texas, and don't think anyone has ever seen one on Lake Creek Trail. So I postponed my Frostweed plans and briskly walked directly to where Steven had found the bird. (It was in the creek bed just downstream of the east-most low water crossing in the playing fields.) He was still there but the bird was not. So we waited around a bit and then decided to walk back down the trail downstream to the last dam to look for ducks and to see if anyone had come out to see the Frostweed with me.

No one was there, which did not surprise me because of how bitterly cold it was. It was so cold I had to budget the time my hands were out of my pockets because they'd soon start to ache! We saw Gadwall, Northern Shovelers, and American Wigeon on the creek, and then we walked upstream through the woods birding and enjoying the Frostweed ice ribbons. We made our way back to the Rusty Blackbird spot and after a bit of searching we found the bird! Here are a couple photos. It's the 227th species of birds I've found on Lake Creek Trail.

And here are a few of the Frostweed ice formations we found:

What a fun way to start 2018!

Here's my complete eBird list.

And here are a few more photos on Flickr.