Black & White Warbler (Frontera Audubon)

Blue-headed Vireo (Frontera Audubon)

Burrowing Owl (Granjeno)

Clay-colored Thrush (Santa Ana NWR)

Green Kingfisher (Santa Ana NWR)

Hooded Oriole (Estero Llano Grande SP)

Least Sandpiper (Estero Llano Grande SP)

Orange-crowned Warbler (Estero Llano Grande SP)

Plain Chacalaca (Estero Llano Grande SP)

Wesleco to Falcon SP—D Day +31-33—February 1-3—Our birding in the LRGV was greatly impacted by continuous days that were cloudy and often drizzle.  After a good day at Estero Llano Grande SP on our first day in the Valley we really failed to add much to our list.  We had tried for the Golden-crowned Warbler on Wednesday but struck out.  So, on Thursday we headed back to Frontera Audubon Sanctuary to search for the elusive warbler.  We spent the better part of the morning there and finally were successful.  We found the warbler for brief looks with a small group of warbler, Black & White, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Orange-crowned Warbler.  With our success we decided to head back toward the National Butterfly Sanctuary to try for the Ani and Hook-billed Kites.  The weather turned ugly,  a very heavy drizzle so we turned back and headed out to Dan Honeycutt’s home in search of the Fulvous Whistle-Duck reported there.  We did add several hundred Black-bellied Whistling Ducks but no Fulvous.  At the end of January, we had reached 178 species for the year. 

On Friday, February 1, we headed out to Santa Ana NWR to find the Grove-billed Ani.  No luck on that but on our hike around Pintail Lake and back we were able to find and photograph a nice Green Kingfisher.  In addition, Santa Ana provided good looks at Wilson Snipe, Peregrine Falcon, Tropical Kingbird, Clay-colored Thrush and Black Phoebe.  After we left Santa Ana we headed back across the Valley to Bentsen.   We were able to locate the Ferruginous Hawk in the field across from the National Butterfly Sanctuary before we headed into Bentsen SP.  Bentsen SP provide noting to add to our list although we did have several nice looks at Gray and Harris’s Hawks and Green Jays.  After Bentsen we headed to Granjano, a small settlement just north of the river, looking for the reported Burrowing Owls and a Short-eared Owl.  We arrived at about 5 PM and were quickly rewarded with a low flying Short-eared Owl and then three Burrowing Owls just 25 feet away for great looks and a nice photo op.  From there we headed back to camp and prepared to leave in the morning.

On Saturday morning we headed to a local tire shop to fix the trailer tire which was going flat.  After some difficult maneuvering we were able to get into the yard and back into a bay to have the tire take off and repaired.  I was amazed to find a very large screw embedded in the tire.  They were very quick and in no time, we were headed out of town toward Falcon SP our next stop.  We arrived at the park just after 12 PM and were very lucky to get a site for the night.  They are currently renovating about half of the campsites and so they are limited on space.   We did get checked in and after a quick lunch we headed out birding.  In the afternoon we birded Avalos Road, a county road I use to bird when I compiled the Falcon CBC.  I was shocked and amazed at the lack of sparrows along what had always been a very birdy road.  When we returned to Highway 83, we had seen very few birds.  I then headed toward the old Santa Margarita Ranch road looking for Black-tailed Gnatcatchers.  There was one place I rarely have not found them, and this time was no exception.  We called up a pair and they were very cooperative. In addition to the gnatcatcher we added Clay-colored and Black-throated Sparrow.  Then it was back to camp.  The next morning, we headed over to Salineno.  At the river before sunup, we were joined by a couple of old friends Fred and Janice been with me to Minnesota and Alaska.  We searched in vain for the Morlet’s Seedeater reported there and did not see any Red-billed Pigeons to boot.  We only added to the list a couple of birds for the day, Audubon’s and Hooded Oriole.  While at the Salineno Feeders I heard an unmistakable voice, that of White Keys, my friend from Alaska.  White Keys and his wife were there and after chastising him for failing to have the Whale Fat Follies show last summer in Anchorage, I took them in search of the seedeater.  We spent the better part of a 2 hours looking for this elusive bird but were once again stymied.  So, we said goodbye to White Keys and headed back to camp to pack up and move on to Lake Casa Blanca SP.  We arrived in mid-afternoon and after setting up.we headed over to Ranchito Road and surveyed the Lake.  The only thing new for us was a Laughing Gull and a Ringed Kingfisher.   So thus, ended our LRGV trip and now we prepared to work on the Laredo Birding Festival.

A few pictures--blog is below.

Curve-billed Thrasher

Harris's Hawk

G

Gray Hawk

Lincoln's Sparrow

Anhinga (female)

Common Pauraque

Merlin

Olive Sparrow

Weslaco, Texas—D Day+30—January 31, 2019—This the last day of the first month of our Texas Big Year.  As of dark we have recorded 177 species, and I have the added species of Swainson’s Hawk seen near Willis, Texas that Deb missed.  Included in that 177 species were four very unusual species of Texas— first, Purple Finch are recorded in some years but they are not a regular.  The second is the Fork-tailed Flycatcher seen near Willis, Texas.  The third is Rufous-backed Robin in Uvalde County,  and finally, today we found the forth, Golden-crowned Warbler at Frontera Audubon Center.  In addition, we were able to add White-winged Scoter, Ferruginous Hawk, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and Rusty Blackbird while not unusual are not always east to locate.  So I think our quest is off to a good start.

Since my last blog we have been hard at work getting the Wildlife Viewing Blind I oversaw construction of at Garey Park in Georgetown for the dedication that took place last Saturday, January 26.  This was the culmination of over a year of work on my part from raising $10,000 to build the blind and the actual construction itself.  The culmination of this effort was the completion of the large water feature associated with the blind.  That was not completed until Thursday before the dedication.  After the dedication we hosted my daughter LaMar and her in laws for a fried okra dinner Saturday night.

On Monday we headed to Choke Canyon SP for the night.  We only spent one night there and did add several species before heading to Weslaco where we are currently staying.  While here we had  spent time at Estero Llano Grande SP, Frontera Audubon, Anzalduas County Park, and The National Butterfly Gardens.  Since leaving home on Monday we have added 50 species here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.  Tomorrow we will head first to Santa Ana NWR, then on to Bentsen.

Williamson County, D Day +20—January 21, 2019—On Monday, January 14 I had a number of commitments with doctors to catch up on and the Good Water monthly Board Meeting.  I finally was able to get in to see Dr. Marla, my audiologist, and get my left hearing aid operating again.  While there I decided to check out a new pair to replace my 5 year old set so I am in the process of checking them out.  Then I quickly attended the Board meeting to get a report on the Garey Park blind progress to them and notify the Board of the dedication scheduled for Saturday, January 26 as well as provide them with information of the proposed King Ranch field trip.  Then it was off to Dr. Billante, the orthopedic surgeon I have been referred to.  One of the tendons on my left shoulder has been severed and I could need to have surgery which I don’t want to undergo if at all possible.  Fortunately, Dr. Billante did not consider this necessary at the present time due to my ability to continue using the shoulder with little or no discomfort.  For the time being we will just treat the inflammation with some medications. 

On following day, Tuesday, Deb and I headed out to Granger once again to see if we could not find the Mountain Plover reported on CR 347.  The weather was bad, fog, heavy mist as times and a cold north wind blowing.  We trolled the area very slowly and checked out another area where they have been seen in the past.  No luck!  With the weather as bad as it was we cancelled our proposed trip to Hornsby Bend, opting to call it a day of birding and complete some other task. 

On Wednesday we headed out to Garey Park to fill the feeders and do a little birding from the blind.  The weather was still cold but not raining.  We spent a couple of hours at the blind birding.  I believe we recorded something like 12 species—lots of American Goldfinch and Chipping Sparrows were feeding heavily.  We did have a Downy Woodpecker drop in for a bit of suet and a couple of Black-crested Titmice were added to the list. 

Thursday was entirely devoted to working on the blind.  A group of about 10 Good Water Master Naturalist volunteers showed up to do some final preparation for the upcoming dedication on January 26.  We completed the outside trim work, painted all that needed painting, cleaned up and stacked the excess material we have, built some shelving inside, leveled and installed the rainwater catchment tank and put some more crushed gavel around in places where it was needed.  When all left the only items remaining to be competed are a couple of shelves by the photography openings, installation of the gutters (to be done on Tuesday) and the completion of the water feature.

Friday I returned to the blind to take some pictures and show the blind to one of our contributors.  Daniel Hodges is the local director of the Texas Ornithological Society who help finance the construction.  He was not going to be able to attend the dedication due a scheduling conflict.  Pictures were provide for him to report back to the TOS Board at their meeting on the 25^th.  And Deb and I had decided to make a run to try and see the Rufous-backed Robin currently being seen in Uvalde, Texas.  So when I returned from the meeting with Daniel we headed to our cabin near Leakey, Texas to spend the night before trying for the robin on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning we headed to CR 202 just west of Uvalde in hopes of seeing the robin.  We arrived a little aft 8:30 at the point where the road crosses the Nueces River and the reported location.  We checked along the road for the bird.  Instead of the robin, we found some other cooperative species—Northern Cardinal. Long-billed Thrasher, Carolina Wren, Black-crested Titmouse, and a mystery wren which most probably was a Winter Wren that scurried around low in the brush.  The weather was not the best.  There was a clear sky but that was offset by 30 mile an hour winds from the North and a temperature in the mid 40's.  It made for a cool outing.  We soon discovered the trail which had been used by previous birders.  Not a very open trail, but passable.  We headed to a fallen tree which served as a seat where we waited in hopes of seeing the bird.  The area along the bank was covered in the usual thorny brush characteristic of this dry, desert like a environment.  After about an hour sitting there hoping the bird would show up and with the cold wind at my back, I told Deb I was going to go get my pullover with a hood to keep the wind off my neck.  As I headed back up the trail I noticed a robin like bird eating what appeared to be the berries on Greenbriar vine.  Sure enough it was our bird.  I quickly let Deb know and she came with my camera.  She was able to see the bird (a life bird for her, not me) and I was able to get some good shots.  Mission accomplished and it was only 10 am.  

Rufous-backed Robin

Rufous-backed Robin

We found two other birders nearby and directed them to where we had just seen the bird.  I hope they were successful as well.  We then headed back up 202 birding as we went.  We added a Wilson’s Snipe in a shallow marsh and a couple of other birds.  We then headed to Cook’s Slough to do a little more birding.  There we found Egyptian Geese, Golden-crowned Kinglet, a spectacular Vermilion Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and a very cold, what appeared to be, hognose snake.  Deb refused to go past him on the trail so we headed back to the car.  After lunch at the Oasis in Uvalde we took a back road to the cabin so we could do a little more birding.  About the only addition to our list was a Loggerhead Shrike. 

Carolina Wren

Egyptian Goose

Vermilion Flycatcher

Golden-crowned Kinglet

After returning to the cabin, and taking a brief rest, we headed down to see my friend of 60 years, Wayne Jackson.  Wayne has lived on the Frio here since he retired 25 years ago.  He is now 91 and in poor health so it was good to have the chance to visit a short while with him.  Each time I think it may be my last.  Wayne and I were married to sisters and have been friends ever since.  Sunday morning we packed up and headed back to see the football playoffs.  I was not happy with the outcome of either. 

Left--Jim Hailey, Right--Wayne Jackson

The upcoming week back here in Georgetown will be one of getting ready for the blind dedication.  Then on Sunday after the blind dedication we are heading south to do more birding and increase our Texas list.  We currently stand at 129 species for Deb and 130 species for me.  On our trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley and to the Laredo Birding Festival we expect to pick up a large number of species.  After the festival we will spend time along the coast to add more and lead a Williams Audubon Group field trip in the Rockport area and a trip out on the Skimmer to see the Whooping Cranes.

Georgetown, Texas, D Day + 13—January 14, 2019—I haven’t posted since we returned from our east Texas birding adventure.  On Thursday, January 10, we spent the entire morning looking for the Bachman’s Sparrow but we were unsuccessful in our endeavor.  So, upon returning to camp we decided to head back to Georgetown a day early.  On our drive we added a couple of species, notably a White-tailed Kite as we left Huntsville.  We arrived home just after dark.  On the 11^th we worked at unloading the trailer and taking it back to Weir to storage.  We didn’t do any birding.  Then on Saturday, January 12, we went to Tejas Camp to look for sparrows we needed.  We were rewarded with adding several species of sparrows and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker. 

Vespers Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Bewick's Wren

Then, around noon we headed out to Garey Park to see what was going on with the blind.  After refilling the feeders I was able to photograph some birds for the first time.  I have attached those photos.  

 

American Goldfinch

Black-crested Titmouse

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

 On Sunday, January 13, we headed out to Granger Lake to see what we could add to our list.  We added 9 species bring our total to 114 for Deb and 115 for me.  That’s where our total stands as of January 14.  I have added a couple of photos taken at Granger.

Loggerhead Shrike

Savannah Sparrow

Northern Harrier

Ebenezer Park, D Day + 8, January 9, 2019—Today we explored the Boiken Springs  searching for one of our target birds, Bachman’s Sparrow.  We traveled by car and foot for about one and half hours but were unable to locate one.  Then we began our search for another target bird, Red-cockaded Woodpecker and this time we were successful.  So we added another to the list.  In addition, we found Brown-headed Nuthatch and Pine Warbler in the same area.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Pine Warbler

Brown-headed Nuthatch

 This was our morning run.  In the afternoon we checked out Lake Sam Rayburn and were very disappointed that there were only a handful of Double-crested Cormorants and a single gull visible.  We then made a run to the Parker Fish Hatchery where we encountered another addition, Greater Roadrunner.

Greater Roadrunner

 Then we headed down a county road.  When we found some good habitat we played the Eastern Screech Owl recording and boy did the birds respond.  While in this one spot we had American Robins, Tufted Titmouse, White-throated Sparrow, Eastern Phoebe, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  Tomorrow its once again time to search for the elusive Bachman’s Sparrow, a sparrow that would be a lifer for both Deb and I.

Ebanizer Campground—D Day + 7—January 8, 2019—This morning we took time to visit a Historic site and museum that was of interest to Deb.  Two of her relatives were prisoners taken in the Civil War and spent time at Camp Ford, a Confederate prison camp constructed in Tyler.  The two later escaped and made their way back to Union lines and later there escape experience was published.  The remainder of the day was spent driving to our present location.  We were able to add one new species in the process.  A group of Northern Bob White Quail were seen along the road as we approached our camp ground.  I ended the day with 91 and Deb with 90.  I have a Swainson’s Hawk she doesn’t and she still contest.

Tyler SP—D Day + 6—January 7, 2019—Today we were at Tyler SP and did some early morning birding.  The morning was productive in producing two species we had targeted, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches.  The lake had little to offer in birds but we did add Pie-billed Grebe to our list.  Other birds included Carolina Wren, many Chipping Sparrows and several heard but not seen woodpeckers.  Other than these additions there was little less. We did check out their bird blind (really a wall with holes for photographers but no water or feeders) and it was quite dead.  I did have the opportunity to visit with a my cousins Ronnie and Paula Page who live in the Tyler area.  I had not seen either in probably 20 years so we had a lot to catch up on.  Tomorrow we move on to the Angelina NF in quest of Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Bachman’s Sparrow.

Tyler SP—D Day +5—January 5, 2015—I’m not a big fan of eating crow (Henlow’s crow that is) but I must in this case.  On further review and consultations with three individuals the bird was in fact, a Savannah Sparrow (SASP).  Now I know that seems like an easy id to make and it should be.  I have seen over 20,000 SASP in my life.  On one occasion while doing the King Ranch count we had 20,000 SASP’s.  In this case, Mark Edmund, our CBC host, and I flushed a bird in a field where Henslowe’s have been seen in the past.  I remarked at the time it seemed to be a large sparrow.  The bird flew high up in a tree and Mark first thought it was a Vespers Sparrow.  I notice it had ocra coloration on its head and so we immediately thought we had a Henlow’s.  That night, as I reviewed the photos I had taken I agonized over this bird.  I could not fit it with Henlow’s nor could I come up with what it might be, never thinking about SASP since I believed the bird to be large and SASP are small sparrows.  At any rate I now have concluded it is indeed a SASP and have removed it from the list.  In that my experience with Henlow’s is very limited to seeing one in breeding plumage in Wisconsin, I had no experienced with them in winter plumage.  And I still don’t.  End of story.  However, the day did not end in doom and gloom.  Before leaving Buckhorn we birded the campground turning up two new birds for our Big Year list—Fish Crow and Brown-headed Nuthatch, both east Texas specialties. 

Fish Crow

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Then we headed for Tyler, set up camp, had lunch and headed for another try at the rare Fork-tailed Flycatcher.  We joined about a dozen other hopefuls set up alongside the road where the bird has been seen.  We arrived around noon and were soon joined by Scott Rubio and his girl friend Alex Crutkaew.  I had met Scott several years ago at the Laredo Birding Festival.  He is from Austin but his family ranch is in Encinal.  We were soon joined by John Parkin, a retire veterinarian who had traveled to Alaska with in the past.  We all stood around visiting and hoping the bird would make an appearance.  By 4:30 it looked like the bird was a no show and John left.  Shortly after he departed, at 4:45, Scott spotted the bird on the power wire north of where we were standing.  We did get the bird so we replaced the Henlow’s with the flycatcher.  This was our second trip to find this bird and we were happy campers on our return trip to Tyler SP.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Scott & Alex looking at his picture

For

Buckhorn Campground—Lake of the Pines—January 4, 2014—DD +3—The rain has finally stopped!  This morning it was still overcast but there was no precipitation.  Instead there was a brisk Northwest wind that whipped up whitecaps on the lake and the temperature was in the mid 40’s.  I will take the wind over the incessant rain we have had for the past two weeks.  We headed off to chase the Fork-tailed Flycather reported near Willis, Texas.  It is about two hour drive from where we are, but it would be a great bird for the list.  As we headed west on I 20 the sky began to clear and by the time we arrived at our destination there were clear skies and lots of sun.  We scoured the are noted on E-bird and the area which Bob Metzler had seen the bird on Monday.  We made several runs through the area but we came up empty.   Then we headed to Towakani State Park.  We were very disappointed that there were very few waterfowl.  We were able to add Swamp Sparrow and got to observe a Red-shouldered Hawk enjoy a fresh fish lunch.  On I 20 I saw a Swainson’s Hawk but Deb did get to see it.  Then we added two easy ones—Killdeer & European Starling near Willis.  We took a dirt county road after leaving the park and were lucky to add Creasted Caracara, Loggerhead Shrike and Common Grackle, & Eastern Meadowlark.  Then we returned to the task of locating the flycatcher.   Unfortunately, we never were able to locate the bird.  On our way back I posted to TEXBIRDS our miss and was shortly informed the bird had been reported at 12:44, during the time we were in the State Park.  We will go back when we move to Tyler State Park on Sunday.  On our way back we took FM 155 to go to the FM 155 bridge to look for a reported Black Scoter but nothing was there.  On our back to camp we did pad our list with a Belted Kingfisher, Ring-necked Duck and Common Loon.  Tomorrow is the Lake of the Pines CBC.  Another early morning.

Red-shouldered Hawk --enjoying fish dinner

Crested Caracara

Savannah Sparrow

Lake of the Pines CBC.  We met at a local grocery store in Ore City and began from there.  Our first stop was in a bottom were we successfully called in both Barred Owl and Eastern Screech Owl.  The weather was clear skies and cold-- temperature (31)—but there was no wind—making for great birding.  We then drove to a back road which we walked along for about a mile.  There we really began to add to our list finding some good birds—Golden-crowned Kinglet, Purple Finch, Red-headed, Piliated, Downy & Red-bellied Woodpecker.  Sparrows were difficult to come by.  We only had Chipping, Savannah, and White-throated among the more common ones but, and this is a big but, we found a HENSLOW’S SPARROW, which was our target bird for the area.  We were able to flush the bird from a small field and get pictures after it landed in a nearby tree.  This area is the only area in Texas where it is possible to find this bird and it was a great addition to our Big Year list.  Now we can move on to find some other east Texas specialties.  We ended the day with 70 species upping our Big Year list to 82 for both of us but 83 for me because I saw a Swainson’s Hawk on the highway day before yesterday.  Today we move on to Tyler SP and another try for the Fork-tailed Flycatcher being seen near Willis, Texas.

Lake of the Pines—Buckhorn Campground—January 3, 2019—D Day +2—Today we packed up in a pouring rain, drove through water covered roads and made our way to Buckhorn Campground on Lake of the Pines.  Even after we arrived we continued to have heavy downpours.  Finally, the rain ceased about one and we were only getting a light mist.  This country is soaked, creeks and rivers are out of their banks, several campgrounds at the lake are closed due to being inundated with water from the lake.  However, when the rain stopped we headed out to do some birding and were rewarded with the addition of 7 to our list of 51.  The best of these addition was a White-winged Scoter spotted from the road across the dam.  The picture is the best I could get under the distance and lighting conditions of the day.  The below picture is heavily cropped.  This is an immature bird.

White-winged Scoter

In all we found 22 species of which 7 were new—American White Pelican, Ring-billed Gull, American Coot, Herring Gull, Lesser Scaup, and White-winged Scoter and Mallard.  Tonight we are heading to Longview to watch the Baylor/Uconn women’s basketball game.  Tomorrow we will go for the Fork-tailed Flycatcher and do some birding at Lake Towakani.

Caddo Lake SP-January 2, 2019—DD +1—Rain, rain, go away, Deb & Jim want to play.  Didn’t work!  It rained all day and all night.  We had planned to chase the Fork-tailed Flycatcher but the weather dictated otherwise.  Instead we had a nice visit with Bob & Dorothy Metzler in Longview.  It was good to see Bob again.  Bob went with me to Alaska on 3 occasions and to Arizona and Colorado as well.   He also offered several suggestions about where we might kick up a Henslow’s Sparrow and American Woodcock, birds that would be nice to get while here in east Texas.  Following our visit we were their guest for lunch at near by gas station (a nice touch).  Actually this is a local restaurant that had great chili on a wet and cold day.  On our way back we tried to do some birding at the Caddo Lake NWR but the rain prevented us from doing any good.  We were able to add one to our year list—Inca Dove.  Other than that we had no luck.  Hopefully there will be some breaks tomorrow before we leave for Lake of the Pines, our next stop.

Pine Warbler

Purple Finch (female) 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Caddo Lake SP—January 1, 2018—D Day.  Well the day finally arrived to kick off our Texas Big Year.  Deb set the alarm on her phone to wake us at 5 AM to head for our first day.  As I sat drinking my first cup of coffee I glanced at the clock on the wall and it said 4:20.  What? 4:20!  Well come to find out Deb’s  phone had not changed back to CST after our trip to Georgia so we now had plenty of time to get ready and head to Carthage to meet our host for the Tenaha CBC, Betty Gullette and Peggy Harding.  We took a moment to stop at Walmart to use their rest room facilities before heading on to Betty’s.  There we saw the first bird for our Big Year list.  No it wasn’t a grackle (I call them Walmart birds).  Instead our first bird was a House Sparrow.  Wow! Glad to get that one out of the way.  We arrived at Betty’s about 7 and soon we were loading up her car with our gear for the day.  We started on the west end of Lake Marvaul by around 7:30.   Deb and I got out of the car on the long bridge that spans the lake here and crossed the metal barrier where we proceed to walk along side the lake looking at birds in the brush and trees that line the road.  Some of the birds seen along this area included Pine Warbler and Purple Finch (pictures included) before heading on to scour the back roads and neighborhoods.  While walking along the lake we noticed a group of ducks but they were a long way off.  So Deb went for the scope so we could try to identify them.  After getting all set up I scoped the line of ducks.  I noticed immediately that they were decoys.  What a let down.  The only ducks we found this day were a large number of Ruddy’s and two Canvasbacks.    Some of the better birds we encountered included Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper & Thrasher, Red-headed, Downy, Red-bellied & Piliated Woodpecker, Bald Eagle  and surprisingly a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (the only one found on the entire count).  Later we finally found a couple of hawks, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed but we could not find American Robins until the end of the day.  We did have a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Northern Flicker by day’s end as well.  In all we tallied 50 species, not bad for a count that has only 90 species so far reported.  Thanks to our host Betty and Peggy for a great day and a great start for our Big Year.  Tomorrow we are heading for the reported Fork-tailed Flycatcher with an old friend Bob Metzler.  As a side note the Fork-tailed Flycatcher was my 700^th ABA species found near Austin a few years ago.

Texas Big Year

Caddo Lake SP—D Day -1—December 31, 2018—Tomorrow is the day we kick off our Texas Big Year.  Hopefully we can get an owl or two to start it off with a hoot!  But this blog is about today.  The morning started with rain still falling.  It rained most of yesterday afternoon, all night and until about 8 this morning.  We headed to Marshall to get our propane tanks filled before the cold sets in again.  A short visit to Walmart for some groceries and to fill up the gas tank, then get the propane and finally, I found a hearing aid office to check on my left hearing aid which is not working.  Unfortunately, we were not able to fix it so I guess I will have to wait until I get back to Georgetown to get it fixed.  Then we headed back to the campground for lunch.  We used the newly renovated showers that were just completed at the park then headed out to do some birding.

Once again we went to the Caddo Lake NWR nearby.  We planned to do some serious sparrow studying there.  Deb is trying to get sparrows down and that is no easy task.  While there we had the chance to study Swamp Sparrows, something I rarely get to do in central and south Texas.   Today, with the sun out, birds were pretty active.  The refuge produced 21 species: Sparrows—Swamp, Chipping, Field, and White-throated—Warblers—Orange-crowned, Yellow-rump, and Pine—Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Purple Finch, Eastern Phoebe, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Flicker, Carolina Chickadee, House Wren, Hermit Thrush, Carolina Wren and, a real plus for me, Eastern Towhee.  Where I live we rarely get the Eastern Towhee.  Instead we get the Spotted Towhee.  In a short drive into neighboring Marion County added Red-shouldered Hawk, American Crow, Piliated Woodpecker and Dark-eyed Junco. 

We then went to a local Mexican Food restaurant.  They were closed and only taking take out orders which we did.  Now its time to get ready for tomorrow and our drive to meet Betty Gullette and Peggy Harding for the Tanaha CBC which kicks off our Big Year.

Texas Big Year—2019

Caddo Lake SP—December 30, 2018—D Day -2.  We arrived back in Texas this morning and headed to Caddo Lake SP to camp for a few days.  We will begin our Big Year count by doing another Christmas Bird Count.  We are joining Becky Gullette and Peggy Harding who have done our section of the Tenaha CBC, the west end of Lake Muravul, for the last 25 years.  This should get us off to a good start.

Today we did a little birding in Caddo Lake NWR that is just down the road from our campground.  The temperature was in the mid 40’s and the sky was overcast.  Not long after we began it commenced raining and has been doing so ever since, even as I write this at 8 PM.  However, we were able to find a few species before the weather changed for the worst.  At the NWR entrance, in the weedy fields on either side of the road, there were a many small birds moving about.  I was able to find White-throated Sparrows (and there were many feeding on berries throughout the refuge), a Lincoln’s Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos were abundant, a few Savannah Sparrows, and two Swamp Sparrows.  While standing in the road we witnessed a Piliated Woodpecker fly by, several American Crows, two Northern Cardinals and several Field Sparrows.  The rain cut short our field time today but I certainly know where to find some sparrows for our list.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will do some more birding, make a trip to Marshall, Texas for a Walmart stop and to get a refill of one of our propane tanks.  The cold weather here and in Georgia have gone thorough one whole bottle in a week.  Looks like we will have good weather for the upcoming CBC. 

Texas Big Year—2019

Caddo Lake SP—December 30, 2018—D Day -2.  We arrived back in Texas this morning and headed to Caddo Lake SP to camp for a few days.  We will begin our Big Year count by doing another Christmas Bird Count.  We are joining Becky Gullette and Peggy Harding who have done our section of the Tenaha CBC, the west end of Lake Muravul, for the last 25 years.  This should get us off to a good start.

Today we did a little birding in Caddo Lake NWR that is just down the road from our campground.  The temperature was in the mid 40’s and the sky was overcast.  Not long after we began it commenced raining and has been doing so ever since, even as I write this at 8 PM.  However, we were able to find a few species before the weather changed for the worst.  At the NWR entrance, in the weedy fields on either side of the road, there were a many small birds moving about.  I was able to find White-throated Sparrows (and there were many feeding on berries throughout the refuge), a Lincoln’s Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos were abundant, a few Savannah Sparrows, and two Swamp Sparrows.  While standing in the road we witnessed a Piliated Woodpecker fly by, several American Crows, two Northern Cardinals and several Field Sparrows.  The rain cut short our field time today but I certainly know where to find some sparrows for our list.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will do some more birding, make a trip to Marshall, Texas for a Walmart stop and to get a refill of one of our propane tanks.  The cold weather here and in Georgia have gone thorough one whole bottle in a week.  Looks like we will have good weather for the upcoming CBC. 

Texas Big Year—2019

Caddo Lake SP—December 30, 2018—D Day -2.  We arrived back in Texas this morning and headed to Caddo Lake SP to camp for a few days.  We will begin our Big Year count by doing another Christmas Bird Count.  We are joining Becky Gullette and Peggy Harding who have done our section of the Tenaha CBC, the west end of Lake Muravul, for the last 25 years.  This should get us off to a good start.

Today we did a little birding in Caddo Lake NWR that is just down the road from our campground.  The temperature was in the mid 40’s and the sky was overcast.  Not long after we began it commenced raining and has been doing so ever since, even as I write this at 8 PM.  However, we were able to find a few species before the weather changed for the worst.  At the NWR entrance, in the weedy fields on either side of the road, there were a many small birds moving about.  I was able to find White-throated Sparrows (and there were many feeding on berries throughout the refuge), a Lincoln’s Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos were abundant, a few Savannah Sparrows, and two Swamp Sparrows.  While standing in the road we witnessed a Piliated Woodpecker fly by, several American Crows, two Northern Cardinals and several Field Sparrows.  The rain cut short our field time today but I certainly know where to find some sparrows for our list.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will do some more birding, make a trip to Marshall, Texas for a Walmart stop and to get a refill of one of our propane tanks.  The cold weather here and in Georgia have gone thorough one whole bottle in a week.  Looks like we will have good weather for the upcoming CBC.