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Birding


billfromlaketravis

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I stopped at a couple neighborhood parks this morning for my typical bird walks, and realized I had a amassed a decent number of species with little effort. After getting bored at home, I decided to see how many species I could get in a single day, within 2 miles of my very suburban home. Ended up with 63 species. Nothing too crazy, but swamp sparrow, pine warbler and a very COOPERative cooper's hawk were nice. I'm ready for spring birds to replace the winter contingent that has been here for a few months now, though.

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4 hours ago, hookem2010 said:

I stopped at a couple neighborhood parks this morning for my typical bird walks, and realized I had an amassed a decent number of species with little effort. After getting bored at home, I decided to see how many species I could get in a single day, within 2 miles of my very suburban home. Ended up with 63 species. Nothing too crazy, but swamp sparrow, pine warbler and a very COOPERative cooper's hawk were nice. I'm ready for spring birds to replace the winter contingent that has been here for a few months now, though.

Reminds me, I finally made it out to Hornsby Bend the other weekend. Fairly disappointing, but I think it’s just the time of year. Some ducks and such on the ponds, but not much else besides vultures circling and the usual cardinals. Will try and hit it up again this spring when the trees have budded and temps are warmer (nevermind the 87 high today!) 

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Despite being the #1 Hotspot in Travis County, I've never found Hornsby to be the most enjoyable place to bird most of the time. If you do go, I'd recommend taking the hike back to pond 3, along the river trail. It's the most natural seeming area and usually has a lot going on. And in spring, you've got to check out Mills Pond. The birder watching is almost as good as the bird watching.

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33 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

Despite being the #1 Hotspot in Travis County, I've never found Hornsby to be the most enjoyable place to bird most of the time. If you do go, I'd recommend taking the hike back to pond 3, along the river trail. It's the most natural seeming area and usually has a lot going on. And in spring, you've got to check out Mills Pond. The birder watching is almost as good as the bird watching.

I did the full length. Almost 6 miles. But yes. 

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Here is a terrible picture of a cool experience.  Was fishing this morning on the north end of Lake Georgetown and I was out fished by a damn bird.  Heard some commotion behind me in the shallower water and there was a raptor, osprey I suspect, grabbing a white bass out of the river.   I watched him fly to a dead tree a little ways away.   Got a close as I could from the opposite side and took this picture.  If you look close and squint a little, you can see the fish he is holding. You can make out one of the fish's eyes.  By the time I walked around to the other side, he was gone.

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  • 1 month later...

Spring migration is finally underway and should be peaking in about 3 weeks here in central Texas. A few good things pushed down by the storms yesterday, including several hundred Franklin's gulls, and these long-billed dowitchers. An eastern screech owl also recently cooperated as I fumbled to get my phone to my bins for pictures.

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  • 3 weeks later...
5 hours ago, hookem2010 said:

Found a really good migrant for central Texas today in MacGillivray's warbler. I also found the gas company cutting a wide path through this particular stretch of woods during peak migration and early nesting season. Fuckers.

Went to a place a few times that I counted over 20 turkeys, multiple harriers, a horned owl nest with owlets, 4 or 5 short eared owls, fox and coyote dens, a red tailed hawks nest, several eagles, multitude of different ducks, deer, snipe and woodcock and now there's a bulldozer where they're about to begin developing.  What I love about development is all the empty buildings of prior developments already leading up to it. This land has been dormant for 30 years so kudos I guess, for allowing nature for little while and us on a few birding tours, but in the end, somebody wanted to get paid while they were still alive.  The place should be a nature preserve. Progress.  

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d10aa12b4a6d8e578609af50126daaa1.jpg
I know we have had a couple of Hawks in our neighborhood for a while now. Hard to get a picture of them. But just had this guy in my neighbors yard. Crested Caracara Falcon?

Yeah. Interesting thing is, I’ve seen multiple in just the last few weeks, after never seeing any around here (only ever saw them in S Texas). They’re a cool-ass bird.
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