Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from The Texas Birding List > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Saturday, March 13 at 09:59 AM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Blackpoll Warbler,©Barry Kent Mackay

13 Mar RFI: Brown Jays, RBPI [] 13 Mar Uvalde County: Neal's Lodges...Hutton's Vireo; Bushtits; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker [] 12 Mar RFI [Glenn Olsen ] 12 Mar Laredo Birding Festival [Raul Delgado ] 12 Mar CONNEMARA IS FOR THE BIRDS [Art MacKinnon ] 12 Mar UTC 017 TNCT ROY E. LARSON SANDYLAND SANCTUARY [Art MacKinnon ] 12 Mar Re: RFI Bolivar [Ed Hunter ] 12 Mar Roadside Hawk today - yes [Mary Gustafson ] 12 Mar Fwd: eBird Report - Anzalduas County Park , 3/12/10 [Pat DeWenter ] 12 Mar Central Texas State Park Birding Locations [Kyle Ohaver ] 12 Mar Spring Migration at Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary [Susan Schaezler ] 12 Mar Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/13/10 [Dennis Haessly ] 12 Mar Re: RFI Bolivar [] 12 Mar FW: Texas Whooping Cranes (9 March 2010) ANWR aerial census [Patty Waits Beasley ] 12 Mar RFI Bolivar [Glenn Olsen ] 12 Mar Breeding Bird Surveyors needed [Brent Ortego ] 12 Mar Re: Texas officials sued over whooping crane deaths [Jack Coker ] 12 Mar Northern Parula Dickinson [Keena Acock ] 12 Mar Denton County FOS Purple Martins [] 11 Mar Northern Wheatear photos [] 11 Mar San Bernard & Lesser Goldfinch [H T ] 11 Mar Blue Bunting Laguna Atascosa - today [Mary Gustafson ] 11 Mar Texas officials sued over whooping crane deaths [Jack Coker ] 11 Mar Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/11/10 [Dennis Haessly ] 11 Mar Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/10/10 [Dennis Haessly ] 11 Mar Texas Hat Trick - Jacana, Wheatear, Roadside [Mary Gustafson ] 11 Mar Laredo birds today, including Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl [ROGER ROSE ] 11 Mar black throated gray warbler in san marcos [l lefler ] 11 Mar RBA: Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley - March 11, 2010 [Mary Gustafson ] 11 Mar Say's Phoebe at NABA-NBC in Mission ["David T. Dauphin" ] 11 Mar White Rock Lake Little Gull [Mark Lockwood ] 11 Mar new hummers [Keith Kingdon ] 11 Mar whimbrels in Rockport [Bron Rorex ] 10 Mar scissor-tail flycatcher in Rockport [Bob Scranton ] 11 Mar additions to TOS state bird list [Mark Lockwood ] 11 Mar Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks searching for nesting sites [Mary Bote ] 11 Mar Thank you VERY VERY much! [Serge Beaudette ] 11 Mar Valley Nature Center [] 10 Mar Blue-winged Warbler, Sam Houston SP ["Matthew W. York" ] 10 Mar Golden-cheeked Warbler [Rejzek Helen ] 10 Mar FOS Golden-cheeked Warbler on Fort Hood ["gil.eckrich" ] 10 Mar Barn Swallows are back in Richardson [Gus Stangeland ] 10 Mar Corpus Christi Area 3/10 [Jon McIntyre ] 10 Mar Purple Martin-Bell Co. And Barn Swallow Williamson Co. C [Kenneth Williams ] 10 Mar Uvalde County: Says; Red-shouldered Hawk; Rufous/Black chin battles... [] 10 Mar Re: Questions about my birding trip itinary in Texas (from Canada) [Bob Becker ] 10 Mar TNC Chihuahua Woods - Birds N Cactus walk - Hook-billed Kite [Mary Gustafson ] 10 Mar Re: Cedar Waxwing w/bicolored tail & Lesser Goldfinch question [Mark Lockwood ] 10 Mar Re: Cedar Waxwing w/bicolored tail & Lesser Goldfinch question [LMarkoff ] 10 Mar When the swallows come back to ... Corpus Christi la la la [Judy Kestner ] 10 Mar Cedar Waxwing w/bicolored tail & Lesser Goldfinch question [H T ] 10 Mar Ringed Kingfisher at Blanco State Park [Jennifer Owen ] 10 Mar Questions about my birding trip itinary in Texas (from Canada) [Serge Beaudette ] 10 Mar Uvalde County...hunt successful...Golden-cheeked Warbler singing at Neals [] 9 Mar Northern Wheatear [sdfnana ] 10 Mar Yellow rumped Warblers Kingsland [David Bryant ] 9 Mar Cave Swallows in Baylor County. [Brady Surber ] 9 Mar Re: texbirds Digest - 7 Mar 2010 to 8 Mar 2010 (#2010-68) [Jennifer Backo ] 9 Mar Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary Open Gate Saturday [Susan Schaezler ] 9 Mar The ‘squiters was Thick at Monte Cristo and Edinburg WBC-3/9 [Ruben Zamora ] 9 Mar Tuesday morning birding group, Hagerman NWR [Jack Chiles ] 9 Mar Western Tanager- Kleb Woods [Greg Page ] 9 Mar (no subject) [] 9 Mar Yesterday (03/08/10) Laguna Atascosa NWR (Cameron Co.) [Rex Stanford ] 9 Mar Corpus/Port Aransas 3/9 [Jon McIntyre ] 9 Mar Re: Genetics of Waxwings ["Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" ] 9 Mar Genetics of Waxwings [dennis shepler ] 9 Mar Quinta Sightings: Crimson-collared Grosbeak & Eastern Screech-Owl [Leslie Ann Howland ] 9 Mar Mills County Common Goldeneye, Red-bellied Woodpecker & others [Doc ] 9 Mar Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/9/10 [Dennis Haessly ] 9 Mar Golden-cheekeds- Not yet ["Warren, Christopher" ] 9 Mar Hook-billed Kites at Santa Ana NWR, 3/9/10 [Dan Jones ] 9 Mar Re: Orange tail tip Waxwing. ["Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" ] 9 Mar Re: Fulvous Whistling Duck at Estero ["Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" ] 9 Mar Re: Orange tail tip Waxwing. [backus ] 9 Mar Re: Orange tail tip Waxwing. [Ross Dawkins ] Subject: RFI: Brown Jays, RBPI From: jgstudio AT AOL.COM Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:45:13 -0500 Has anyone seen the Brown Jay(s) or Red-billed Pigeons lately? John Groves El Paso TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Uvalde County: Neal's Lodges...Hutton's Vireo; Bushtits; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker From: bobolink AT STX.RR.COM Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:14:56 +0000 I took Nancy and her husband up to try to hear and see the Golden-cheeked Warbler. For some reason, the birds haven't established themselves enough to chat with me. (located on upper Buchannan Trail) We did get some nice up close and personal looks at Hutton's Vireo. http://www.pbase.com/bobsnature/image/122689996 Also the Bushtit were foraging in the sun on top of junipers... The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was fairly close ...picture shows the geometric drilling... http://www.pbase.com/bobsnature/image/122689999 Have a fun weekend...again, at Neal's Lodges every day at 8am...you don't have to stay there to bird...Nancy is from Minnesota...she got 80species and 12 life birds...not too shabby... Bob Rasa Uvalde County (830) 279-4416 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: RFI From: Glenn Olsen <h.glenn.olsen AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:16:51 -0600 Last year the electric power companies removed the two nests that I had for Monk Parakeets. They have not started to rebuild in the area that I can find, yet. Does anyone have nesting or roost sites located in NW Houston or on the East side of Houston, along I-10. It does not matter how far out. Thanks Glenn -- Glenn Olsen TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Laredo Birding Festival From: Raul Delgado <rcdelg AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:28:34 -0600 What has wings and takes off in Laredo real soon? The Laredo Birding Festival of course! Adding to its recent success with birders during the stay of the Amazon Kingfisher, the Birding Festival, set for March 24-27, 2010, is a lasting endeavor in diversifying Laredo's tourism infrastructure. "We welcomed birding and nature enthusiasts when they were here for the Amazon Kingfisher's appearance back in February and I am happy to welcome them back to Laredo," stated Mayor Salinas, an avid supporter of the tourism industry. "I know that they will relish in Laredo's warm hospitable attitude and the matching weather to go with it!" The event opens with a free and public event to kick off Laredo's second Birding Festival, this March 24, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Civic Center. Attendees will hear from Arthur Morris, a freelance nature photographer and writer who is widely published and whose images have been recognized internationally. Learn more about him at his website: www.birdsasart.com. He has been a Canon contract photographer for 15 years. His images, known for their technical perfection and artistic design, have been featured in American Birds, Audubon, Birding, Birder's World, Bird Watcher's Digest, Florida Wildlife and Nature, Living Bird Nature Photographer, Popular Photography, and National Geographic among others. For more details please go to www.visitlaredo.com and click on the Birding Festival logo. Blasita J. Lopez Acting Director Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau office: 956-795-2200 fax: 956-795-2185 cell: 956-286-0227 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: CONNEMARA IS FOR THE BIRDS From: Art MacKinnon <artm1966 AT TX.RR.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:08:51 -0500 Sunday March 14 from 2PM to 4PM the Connemara Prairie in Collin County will host an afternoon for birding as a family. This is an easy walk and open to birders of any age. Please visit our website for more information. http://www.connemaraconservancy.org/ Kindest Regards Art MacKinnon McKinney Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: UTC 017 TNCT ROY E. LARSON SANDYLAND SANCTUARY From: Art MacKinnon <artm1966 AT TX.RR.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:59:19 -0500 Birding the Sandylands yesterday from 1600 to 1730, sorry only now getting to my computer. Weather was great and birds are singing. My sighting listed below. Anhinga 1 fly over Wood Ducks 12 fly over Turkey Vulture 15 Black Vulture 6 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Red-shoulder Hawk 2 American Kestrel 2 Merlin 1 Mourning Dove 41 Red-headed Woodpecker 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 14 Northern Flicker 1 Yellow-bellied sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 2 Blue Jay 2 American Crow 7 Fish Crow 3 Tufted Titmouse 16 Caroline Chickadee 9 Brown-headed Nuthatch 3 House Wren 1 Caroline Wren 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13 Eastern Bluebird 22 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 155 Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 4 Brown Thrasher 1 Orange-crowned Warbler 11 Yellow-rumped Warbler 67 Black-and-white Warbler 1 FOS Yellow-throated Warbler 2 singing FOS Pine Warbler 15 Chipping Sparrow 116 White-throated Sparrow 85 Dark-eyed Junco 34 Northern Cardinal 16 Great-tailed Grackle 55 Common Grackle 40 American Goldfinch 14 Art MacKinnon McKinney Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: RFI Bolivar From: Ed Hunter <ed111db AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:32:55 -0800 We have been to Bolivar a number of times now, The Flats are disappointing and the Jetty has been "Avocet Acres".� The road is in pretty fair shape (as�is the "Bluewater Highway" from surfside to Galveston just the Toll Bridge is $2.00 now). �� I LIVED on Bolivar and stayed away during Spring Break.� If you gotta go, go via High Island and avoid the Ferry like the plague during this period. Good Luck! We're going to Quintana instead! �AXIOM 1 Racing from the first axiom off Murphy's Law: Murphy was an optimist! ***************************** THIS MESSAGE PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED ELECTRONS ***************************** ----- Original Message ---- From: Glenn Olsen To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Sent: Fri, March 12, 2010 11:23:09 AM Subject: [texbirds] RFI Bolivar Last time I was at Bolivar, November 2009 only one Ferry was in operation, road construction/repair (or at lest the appearance of same)� from the Ferry to Gilcrest, one lane closed in several places. Two hours lost as a result. Decided not to go back until conditions improved. Has anyone visited Bolivar Pennisular in the last month? How is the construction/repair going? Any lane closures? Any other problems one should be aware of or avoid? Is it normally crowded during spring break weekends (March 20th-21) I usually avoid the area then. Please reply off post. Thanks. Glenn -- Glenn Olsen TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Roadside Hawk today - yes From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:54:52 -0500 I got a call that the Roadside Hawk was seen today at Falcon State Park in the morning. Fulvous Whistling-Ducks were at Cattail Lake at Santa Ana. I also had a second hand report of a possible Common Black-Hawk from 12 miles south of the Sarita checkpoint. Mary Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Anzalduas County Park , 3/12/10 From: Pat DeWenter <hoocooks4you AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:33:36 -0600 Today, we had at least 12 House Finches at Anzalduas County Park, a very unusual species for the RGV. A Black Phoebe was seen near the dam, perched on a snag in the water. A large number of Cliff Swallows were starting their nest-building on the dam. There were very very few passerines in the main body of the park and no Tyrannulets were singing today. It was very fun seeing the Great Horned Owl on the next with one fluffy chick visible. Pat DeWenter Weslaco Location: Anzalduas County Park Observation date: 3/12/10 Number of species: 28 Black Vulture 1 Turkey Vulture 1 American Kestrel 1 American Coot 15 Killdeer 2 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Great Horned Owl 2 Golden-fronted Woodpecker 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1 Black Phoebe 1 Vermilion Flycatcher 2 Green Jay 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2 Cliff Swallow 12 Black-crested Titmouse 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3 Northern Mockingbird 3 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2 Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 2 Western Meadowlark 10 Great-tailed Grackle 4 Altamira Oriole 1 House Finch 12 House Sparrow X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/tx) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Central Texas State Park Birding Locations From: Kyle Ohaver <Kyle.Ohaver AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:57:56 -0600 Hello Texbirders, This is Ranger Kyle O'Haver Reporting a few days late on an amazing trip in Central Texas at some awesome State Parks. This post covers a few days and different locations during a Bird Programs training that I led in the area with the help of Jennifer Owen-White. I can't say enough about all three locations and you need to go see them all for yourself. This is only a small representation for what these parks have to offer. Pedernales State Park has an AMAZING bird blind that many of you may already know of but they are building an even MORE AMAZING blind behind it and a butterfly garden in between making this a must see location on your travels. Along with the list below I also would like to put an honorable mention bird and I didn't have positive sighting but I am in belief that I heard 2 Golden-cheeked Warblers around the pond area. Ask park staff about access to this area. My favorite bird had to be the Canyon Wren. The Wren was a lifer for me and a true test of observation skills and patients as it called a dozen times within 50 yards before finally getting to a location where the group could locate the bird in the rocky outcropping on the nature trail. Lists follow Location: Pedernales Falls SP (HOTE 050) Observation date: 3/7/10 Number of species: 24 Wood Duck - Aix sponsa X Gadwall - Anas strepera X Wild Turkey - Meleagris gallopavo X Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus X Black Vulture - Coragyps atratus X Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura X Ladder-backed Woodpecker - Picoides scalaris X Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe X Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis X Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus X Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula X American Robin - Turdus migratorius X Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos X Orange-crowned Warbler - Vermivora celata X Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata X Spotted Towhee - Pipilo maculatus X Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina X Lincoln's Sparrow - Melospiza lincolnii X White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis X Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis X Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus X House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus X Lesser Goldfinch - Carduelis psaltria X House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X Location: Pedernales Falls SP (HOTE 050) Observation date: 3/9/10 Number of species: 28 Black Vulture - Coragyps atratus X Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura X Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis X White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica X Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura X Inca Dove - Columbina inca X Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon X Ladder-backed Woodpecker - Picoides scalaris X Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe X Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis X Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus X Canyon Wren - Catherpes mexicanus X Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus X Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula X American Robin - Turdus migratorius X Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos X Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum X Orange-crowned Warbler - Vermivora celata X Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata X Spotted Towhee - Pipilo maculatus X Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina X Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis X Lincoln's Sparrow - Melospiza lincolnii X Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis X Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus X House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus X Lesser Goldfinch - Carduelis psaltria X House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X Blanco State Park located literally just off hwy 281 was a wonderful park to easily see Eastern Bluebirds and Northern Cardinals galore. We also spotted the first Purple Martins of the season for the park. The best find was by far the Ringed Kingfisher. WOW!!! You may have seen Jennifer already report to texbirds just minutes after the find. This park is wonderful place for a stroll along the waters edge and is in the process of creating a great bird blind in an optimum location near a wooded stream. List follows Location: Blanco SP & Nature Trail Observation date: 3/10/10 Number of species: 27 Muscovy Duck - Cairina moschata 1 Black Vulture - Coragyps atratus X Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura X Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus X White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica X Ringed Kingfisher - Megaceryle torquata 1 Golden-fronted Woodpecker - Melanerpes aurifrons X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius X Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe X Vermilion Flycatcher - Pyrocephalus rubinus X Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata X Purple Martin - Progne subis X Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis X Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus X Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus X Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula X Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis X Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos X European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris X Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum X Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata X Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina X Lincoln's Sparrow - Melospiza lincolnii X Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis X Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula X Great-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus mexicanus X House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X LBJ National and State Historic Site was an unforgettable wildlife viewing location. As we walked through the forested bottom land area looking at the pinned in whitetails and long horns, we found ourselves surrounded by about 12 wild Whitetail Deer. This bottomland forested area is the location of a great bird blind overlooking a small stream. This is an area that would be perfect for warblers during migration. The grasslands, forest edge, and short grass around the visitor center were active with sparrows. This is where I was able to see my lifer Rufous-crowned Sparrow. This list only represents a short afternoon walk but I am sure a morning walk would produce much more. List follows Location: LBJ Nat'l Hist. Park (Johnson City)(HOTE 053) Observation date: 3/10/10 Number of species: 18 Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias X Great Egret - Ardea alba X Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis X Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto X Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe X Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis X Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus X Bewick's Wren - Thryomanes bewickii X Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula X Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos X Rufous-crowned Sparrow - Aimophila ruficeps X Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina X Vesper Sparrow - Pooecetes gramineus X White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys X Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis X Western Meadowlark - Sturnella neglecta X Lesser Goldfinch - Carduelis psaltria X House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X With all of this great birding in Central Texas I am sure to be back soon and often. Call ahead to any of these parks for more birding and program information. Don't forget us at Estero either. Regular Bird walks Wednesday, Saturdays, and Sundays from 8:30-10:30 Butterfly walks Fridays from 1:30-3pm A whole lot of fun every day of the week!!! See ya on the Trails, Kyle R. O'Haver World Birding Center Estero Llano Grande State Park Park Interpreter 154-A Lakeview Drive Weslaco, Texas 78596 956-565-3919 (Phone) 956-565-2864 (Fax) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Spring Migration at Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary From: Susan Schaezler <warblerwoods AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:23:16 -0600 Spring Migration at Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary The Spring Symphony woke me up this morning-all the birds singing for love and trying to outdo each other. It was beautiful! Spring Migration is fantastic at WW-last year, our peak day on warbler sp was 21 species on April 27th and most were in the backyard area. Usually, our peak is reached the first ten days of May, but last year, it was in April. What is so fantastic about this is that you have great views of the birds from a comfortable chair, behind the blind, and you are in the shade. I hope you can join us this year-it takes a lot of eyes to cover our 124 acres. Some of our peak days have started at 1 p.m., so you can't ever count a day out. We have had 40 species of Warblers over the years and get a good number of them each year. Brent Ortego, Ph.D., has agreed to band birds at Warbler Woods in April. April 23rd in the afternoon; April 24th all day; April 25th morning. If you are experienced and want to help, please email me. This is a great time to bring children or grandchildren to see a closeup look at birds. Tomorrow, we are having an Open Gate, starting ~ 8 a.m. Hope you can join us to enjoy the beginning of Spring here. The perfume in the air is so wonderful! To visit other times: http://www.warblerwoods.com/visit Susan Schaezler...twitter.com/susanwarbler Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary, 501 ( c )(3) www.warblerwoods.org San Antonio/New Braunfels GCBO Site Partner TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/13/10 From: Dennis Haessly <dennis AT BIRDBANDER.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:51:25 -0600 ------- Forwarded message ------- From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org To: dennis AT birdbander.com Cc: Subject: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/13/10 Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:42:57 -0600 Location: Goose Island SP (CTC 048) Observation date: 3/13/10 Number of species: 40 Mottled Duck X Common Loon X American White Pelican X Brown Pelican X Double-crested Cormorant X Great Blue Heron X Great Egret X Snowy Egret X Tricolored Heron X Roseate Spoonbill X Black Vulture X Turkey Vulture X Osprey X Northern Harrier X Clapper Rail X Black-bellied Plover X Semipalmated Plover X Piping Plover X American Oystercatcher X Greater Yellowlegs X Willet X Ruddy Turnstone X Sanderling X Long-billed Dowitcher X Laughing Gull X Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull X Forster's Tern X Rock Pigeon X White-eyed Vireo X Purple Martin X Tree Swallow X Cave Swallow X Northern Mockingbird X Orange-crowned Warbler X Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X Olive Sparrow X Savannah Sparrow X Northern Cardinal X Great-tailed Grackle X Dennis Haessly Goose Island State Park This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/ _______________________________________________________ Unlimited Disk, Data Transfer, PHP/MySQL Domain Hosting TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds http://www.doteasy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2741 - Release Date: 03/12/10 09:42:00 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: RFI Bolivar From: Stenmead AT AOL.COM Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:15:14 EST Glenn, I was there yesterday and several times since last November. Yesterday, conditions were unusual. It was very foggy, so the ferry's were moving very slowly, plus one of the load ramps had malfunctioned. So there were only two ferry's moving very slowly. There was am hour wait. Previous to that, I had no problem and drove right on several times. The tide was high and the visibility was down to 30 yds, so we did not see much. There were several flocks of shorebirds on land along Retillion Rd. but were too far away to id. We did not have time to walk beyond the bollards and the visibility was too poor to see any distance from the north jetty. There is a number you can call to find out what the ferry wait times are, but I don't have it handy. The land is greening up nicely and pepper grass is already in bloom. Stennie Meadours San Leon In a message dated 3/12/2010 11:53:00 A.M. Central Standard Time, h.glenn.olsen AT GMAIL.COM writes: Last time I was at Bolivar, November 2009 only one Ferry was in operation, road construction/repair (or at lest the appearance of same) from the Ferry to Gilcrest, one lane closed in several places. Two hours lost as a result. Decided not to go back until conditions improved. Has anyone visited Bolivar Pennisular in the last month? How is the construction/repair going? Any lane closures? Any other problems one should be aware of or avoid? Is it normally crowded during spring break weekends (March 20th-21) I usually avoid the area then. Please reply off post. Thanks. Glenn -- Glenn Olsen TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: FW: Texas Whooping Cranes (9 March 2010) ANWR aerial census From: Patty Waits Beasley <hawks AT CCBIRDING.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:52:08 -0600 Greetings all, The following report is forwarded with permission from Tom Stehn, USFWS biologist and US Whooping Crane Coordinator. ------------- begin report -------------- The seventh aerial census of the 2009-10 whooping crane season was conducted March 9th, 2010 in a Cessna 210 piloted by Gary Ritchey of Air Transit Solutions of Castroville, Texas with USFWS observer Tom Stehn. Sighted on the flight were 193 adults and 18 juveniles = 211 total whooping cranes. Fog rolling in off the Gulf in the late afternoon prevented completion of the census. No evidence of mortality was noted on the flight other than the one juvenile that had died earlier in the winter. The flight again provided solid evidence of 20 family groups currently at Aransas. With one juvenile last seen in Oklahoma December 25th that apparently separated from its parents during migration and is presumably okay and wintering in an unknown location, and the S. Sundown Island chick that has died at Aransas, this accounts for 22 of the 22 juveniles found in Canada during the mid-August fledging surveys. With the one documented mortality this winter, the current flock size is estimated at 242 + 21=263. March 9th - Recap of whooping cranes (211) found at Aransas: Adults + Young San Jose 52 + 5 = 57 Refuge 46 + 5 = 51 Lamar 16 + 1 = 17 Matagorda 60 + 4 = 64* Welder Flats 20 + 2 = 22* Hynes Bay * Total 194 + 17 = 211* * Census incomplete due to presence of fog. Some cranes continue to leave their marsh territories and are searching for food on the uplands. Upland areas on the barrier islands are flooded, with numerous wet swales on the uplands up to the beach dunes. Overall habitat use documented on the flight included 27 cranes on unburned uplands (13%, or half of the previous flight's total), 2 in open bays, 3 at a game feeder at Welder Flats, 0 on prescribed burns, and 179 (85%) in salt marsh. Low numbers of 2-3 inch blue crabs have moved into the marshes with recent high tides, and more foraging on crabs has been noted, although blue crab numbers are still low. Flight Conditions: Winds were light and flight conditions were smooth. Visibility was challenging throughout the flight due to all the moisture in the air. Late afternoon sunshine was often shining in our faces so that it was only possibly to see cranes reliable heading away from the sun. Late afternoon fog rolling onto the barrier islands prevented us from completing the census. The largest group sizes observed were 9 birds seen in the marsh on San Jose and 7 on the uplands on Matagorda Island. Spring Migration, 2010 The single white-plumaged whooping crane confirmed present at Salt Plains NWR in northern Oklahoma on February 24th and 26th apparently moved on to the Platte River in Nebraska where it was confirmed on March 5th. No other whooping cranes are believed to have left Aransas. - Tom Stehn, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge ------------- end report ---------------- Tom Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Aransas NWR P.O. Box 100 Austwell, TX 77950 (361) 286-3559 Ext. 221 fax (361) 286-3722 E:mail: tom_stehn AT fws.gov Where applicable, CWS stands for Canadian Wildlife Service; USFWS is US Fish and Wildlife Service. Crane monitoring involves cooperative efforts and support by both countries, plus many volunteers and non-profit organizations along the way. All reports are posted on the Texas Whooping Crane website (www.ccbirding.com/twc). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patty Waits Beasley Corpus Christi, Texas USA Texas Whooping Cranes www.ccbirding.com/twc/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: RFI Bolivar From: Glenn Olsen <h.glenn.olsen AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:23:09 -0600 Last time I was at Bolivar, November 2009 only one Ferry was in operation, road construction/repair (or at lest the appearance of same) from the Ferry to Gilcrest, one lane closed in several places. Two hours lost as a result. Decided not to go back until conditions improved. Has anyone visited Bolivar Pennisular in the last month? How is the construction/repair going? Any lane closures? Any other problems one should be aware of or avoid? Is it normally crowded during spring break weekends (March 20th-21) I usually avoid the area then. Please reply off post. Thanks. Glenn -- Glenn Olsen TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Breeding Bird Surveyors needed From: Brent Ortego <brentortego AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:51:00 -0600 Spring migration is on its way and breeding season has already started for a number of residents. I am still trying to recruit people to conduct Breeding Bird Survey Routes. Read below for much more information. Most vacant routes are as expected in areas with few birders as in the Panhandle and Trans Pecos. However, there are vacancies near people like one near San Antonio and Waco. There are several others scatterred across the state. We appreciate any help you can provide. Brent Ortego Victoria, TX BREEDING BIRD SURVEY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED This is my annual request for volunteer sign-up to conduct roadside breeding bird surveys (BBS) in Texas during 2010 For those not familiar with the survey methodology, the BBS is the national survey which is the primary source for breeding bird population trends in the nation. This survey has about 3000 randomly located routes across the United States. Each route is 24.5 miles long with 50 stops spaced 0.5 miles apart. At each stop during a 3 minute period, the observer tallies all birds seen within � mile and all birds heard. The route lasts from 30 minutes before sunrise until you finish the route which is normally about 11 a.m. The route needs to be run ONCE each year during the months of May or June; exact dates vary with each route. It might require a pre-survey scouting trip just to familiarize you with the route, and a little paper/computer work after the route is done. The observer needs to be able to identify most of the birds along the route by call and all by sight. Along routes in agricultural areas, this might only mean about 20 species by call, but in more complex forested areas it might mean 70 species. National and local conservation organizations very regularly use BBS data (see www.stateofthebirds.org) in their analysis. They focus very strongly on breeding bird population trends generated by YOUR DATA, and also used bird density data extensively. Partners In Flight has developed models to estimate breeding density and distribution for all species they are tracking with BBS data. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has used the data when they developed a statewide conservation plan for birds (see http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/pwd_pl_w7000_1187a/) . Conservation �Joint Ventures� across the nation regularly use BBS data as they implement their new �All Birds� management goals. It has been very satisfying seeing the product of our works being used to influence national and local decisions on avian conservation. Texas has 196 BBS routes and 27 vacancies. The National Office has started listing routes as vacant when they have not received data from a volunteer for two years. If you see your route listed as vacant, check your files and resubmit your data because the national office has not received it. This seems like a lot of routes, but it is not for a state our size. Due to the variability of the data, we are trying to run at least 14 routes per ecological area and there are 10 ecological areas in Texas. This should provide us a statistically valid sample of population trends of birds breeding near highways. We are getting close to obtaining this sample size in every bird region except for the Panhnadle and West Texas. We have problems getting qualified birders to do routes in the more rural parts of Texas. While there are plenty of good birders in Texas, the birders are concentrated in urban areas and the birds are spread throughout the state causing logistics problems of running routes in remote parts of the state. A classic example is West Texas and the Panhandle, lots of country and few birders. When you volunteer, I will need your name, mailing address, e-mail, telephone number and route of interest. I am listing below vacant routes by geographic areas. Those areas with the largest numbers of vacancies are the areas needing the most help. If you are interesting in helping, or would like more information, reply to this e-mail. PANHANDLE Route 93 Lamesa Dawson County Route 102 Texline Dallam County Route 104 Booker Lipscomb County Route 105 Miami Roberts County Route 109 Rotan Fisher County Route 370 Friona Parmer County Route 372 Skellytown Hutchinson County Route 374 Twichell Ochilltree County WEST TEXAS Route 83 Black Gap Brewster County Route 86 Rankin Upton County Route 87 Longfellow Terrell County Route 91 Cornudas Hudsbeth County Route 111 Girvin Pecos County Route 210 Kermit Winkler County Route 341 Stiles Reagan County NORTHCENTRAL TEXAS No vacancies. Congratulations! NORTHEAST TEXAS Route 57 Crossroads Harrison Route 159 Chandler2 Henderson SOUTHEAST TEXAS No vacancies. Congratulations! COASTAL PRAIRIE Route 029 Loneoak Wilson County Route 307 Bayside Refugio County SOUTH TEXAS Route 007 Randado Jim Hogg County CENTRAL TEXAS Route 050 Osage Coryell County http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBS/results/routemaps/routeMapStatic.html location of route maps http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBS/ raw data online retrieval system link provides location of species totals by route by year http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBS/participate/training/ BBS procedures and quiz Brent Ortego 202 Camino Drive Victoria, TX 77905 361/576-0022 _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID27925::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:032010_2 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Texas officials sued over whooping crane deaths From: Jack Coker <lorellpeace AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:29:50 -0600 Follow up article. http://tinyurl.com/ylqdfjk Jack Coker Sugar Land TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Northern Parula Dickinson From: Keena Acock <keenabirds AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:06:29 -0600 Just saw a Northern Parula out my kitchen window - 7 a.m. March 12th. Keena TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Dickinson Subject: Denton County FOS Purple Martins From: jmscott7bird AT AOL.COM Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:30:59 -0500 In previous years our FOS martins showed up the last week of Feb. I saw our first martins (male & female) this year yesterday morning flying over the yard, scoping out our martin house. Then in the afternoon, six martins landed on the house at one time!! Just hoping they stick around. Jeff Scott Argyle Denton County TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Northern Wheatear photos From: joanne0987 AT AOL.COM Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:42:26 -0500 On my way to Choke Canyon this past weekend, I stopped in on Friday to see the Wheatear and to satisfy my craving for that habit forming peanut brittle. They even had some pecan brittle! The Wheatear is definitely sporting a new molting look, and will look cool when it has its breeding plumage in. Clay Taylor had also noticed its molting in an earlier post. You can see the gray feathers on its head and back developing, and its breast appears to be developing some patches of buffy color and dark streaks compared with my old photos. Here's a link to the new and old photos for comparison. The first 4 photos are the newer molting ones. http://www.pbase.com/jitams/northern_wheatear Joanne Kamo Houston, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: San Bernard & Lesser Goldfinch From: H T <txbirdergirl AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:40:34 -0800 Thanks all for the LEGO commentary - I suppose I'd paid attention to the almost-adult plumages that were quite heavily marked but just hadn't seen any that looked so textbook green-backed before. Matt and I birded San Bernard NWR this afternoon and had a small group of Baird's Sandpipers and one Solitary Sandpiper. It's wonderful to see so much water out there and the observation decks are brilliant, a lot has changed in the last few years. Happy trails, -h Heidi Trudell & Matthew York Houston temporarily TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Blue Bunting Laguna Atascosa - today From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT AOL.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:34:35 -0500 Forwarding a report on the Blue Bunting below. Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas -----Original Message----- From: Lee Ann To: Mary Gustafson Cc: rgvbirds AT hotmail.com Sent: Thu, Mar 11, 2010 8:18 pm Subject: Re: [texbirds] RBA: Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley - March 11, 2010 Hi Mary, I'm in a flurry of packing to head home, so forgot to post this. I saw the Blue Bunting this morning at LANWR at about 11:15. It was on the "construction zone" lakeside trail leading away from the Osprey Overlook parking lot, about 100 ft. along the trail. It flew from right to left in front of me and disappeared into the shrubs. I'm not sure if anyone else saw it--I had told several other birders there about having seen it and they were still looking when we left. Lee Ann Reiners temporarily in Port Isabel, TX Tidioute, PA tidhouse AT zoominternet.net On Thu 03/11/10 3:46 PM , Mary Gustafson live4birds AT AOL.COM sent: RBA . At Laguna Atascosa NWR, a male BLUE BUNTING+ was found at Osprey Overlook on February 17 and it was last seen on the 20th. It reappeared on February 25th and March 6 but there have been no subsequent reports. Appearances have been in the area of the port-a-poties, at the overlook, and at the gate to Alligator Pond. Least Flycatcher continues at the HQ. . TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Texas officials sued over whooping crane deaths From: Jack Coker <lorellpeace AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:32:27 -0600 http://tinyurl.com/ygctyj5 Jack Coker Sugar Land TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/11/10 From: Dennis Haessly <dennis AT BIRDBANDER.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:05:36 -0600 Avian Programs At Goose Island State Park Tuesday - Birding 101 - Rec Hall, 4 pm Shorebird Program - Rec Hall, 7 pm Wednesday - Shorebird Walk - Fishing Pier, 8 am Song Bird Program - Rec Hall, 7 pm Thursday - Woods Walk - Bayberry Restroom, 8 am Friday - Shorebird Walk - Fishing Pier, 8 am Saturday - Woods Walk - Bayberry Restroom, 8 am Various Programs - Rec Hall, 7 pm Location: Goose Island SP (CTC 048) Observation date: 3/11/10 Number of species: 28 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck X Great Blue Heron X Black Vulture X Turkey Vulture X White-winged Dove X Mourning Dove X Inca Dove X Common Pauraque X Buff-bellied Hummingbird X Eastern Phoebe X White-eyed Vireo X Black-crested Titmouse X Carolina Wren X Ruby-crowned Kinglet X Blue-gray Gnatcatcher X Gray Catbird X Northern Mockingbird X Brown Thrasher X Orange-crowned Warbler X Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X Chipping Sparrow X Savannah Sparrow X Lincoln's Sparrow X White-throated Sparrow X Northern Cardinal X Great-tailed Grackle X American Goldfinch X House Sparrow X Dennis Haessly Goose Island State Park This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/ _______________________________________________________ Unlimited Disk, Data Transfer, PHP/MySQL Domain Hosting TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds http://www.doteasy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2739 - Release Date: 03/11/10 21:50:00 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/10/10 From: Dennis Haessly <dennis AT BIRDBANDER.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:40:52 -0600 Avian Programs At Goose Island State Park Tuesday - Birding 101 - Rec Hall, 4 pm Shorebird Program - Rec Hall, 7 pm Wednesday - Shorebird Walk - Fishing Pier, 8 am Song Bird Program - Rec Hall, 7 pm Thursday - Woods Walk - Bayberry Restroom, 8 am Friday - Shorebird Walk - Fishing Pier, 8 am Saturday - Woods Walk - Bayberry Restroom, 8 am Various Programs - Rec Hall, 7 pm Location: Goose Island SP (CTC 048) Observation date: 3/10/10 Number of species: 46 American White Pelican X Brown Pelican X Neotropic Cormorant X Double-crested Cormorant X Great Blue Heron X Great Egret X Snowy Egret X Tricolored Heron X Reddish Egret X White Ibis X Roseate Spoonbill X Black Vulture X Turkey Vulture X Osprey X Clapper Rail X Black-bellied Plover X Semipalmated Plover X American Oystercatcher X Spotted Sandpiper X Greater Yellowlegs X Willet X Long-billed Curlew X Ruddy Turnstone X Sanderling X Least Sandpiper X Laughing Gull X Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull X Caspian Tern X Forster's Tern X Eurasian Collared-Dove X Buff-bellied Hummingbird X Belted Kingfisher X White-eyed Vireo X Cave Swallow X Northern Mockingbird X Cedar Waxwing X Orange-crowned Warbler X Yellow-rumped Warbler X Black-and-white Warbler X Olive Sparrow X Savannah Sparrow X Northern Cardinal X Red-winged Blackbird X Great-tailed Grackle X Brown-headed Cowbird X Dennis Haessly Goose Island State Park This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/ _______________________________________________________ Unlimited Disk, Data Transfer, PHP/MySQL Domain Hosting TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds http://www.doteasy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2732 - Release Date: 03/09/10 07:33:00 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Texas Hat Trick - Jacana, Wheatear, Roadside From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT AOL.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:15:47 -0500 I got a call from a friend from Delaware, who called to tell me that he'd seen the most cooperative Northern Jacana at Choke Canyon, the Northern Wheatear near Beeville, and the Roadside Hawk at Falcon State Park - all today! Quite a "hat trick" of choice Texas rarities. Please, don't ask me for directions - read the RBA for that. Thanks. Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Laredo birds today, including Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl From: ROGER ROSE <admiral.de.ruyter AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:39:45 -0600 Greetings, with the weather changing I decided to check out a couple of Laredo birding areas today. At The Lake Casa Blanca Ranchito area were pretty much the same variety of ducks and passerines that have been residing there all winter: Shovellers, Gadwalls. PB Grebes, Least Grebes, Ruddy Ducks, all 3 teal species, and Buffleheads. RC Kinglets, Y-R Warblers, OC Warblers, BG Gnatcatchers, Waxwings etc. I also paid a visit to the Zacate Creek area where the only kingfisher present was a Green. Lots of E & Black Phoebes coming through, Ash-Throated Flycatchers, and White-tipped Doves along the trail and at the N. end of the trail by the bridge. No Seedeaters were seen either along the trail or their traditional location closer to the river (this was about 10:30-11:30AM). When I was returning down the trail towards Zacate Creek, an Owl startled me by flying out of a tree along the side of the trail. I saw it for maybe 3 or 4 seconds and it had flown down the trail and to the right. It flew about waist high. What I saw reminded me of a Burrowing Owl (I know it wasn't). It had a nice long tail. I immediately thought of Pygmy Owl. I searched around this area for about 30 minutes without any further luck. So I continued down the trail. About 40-50 feet down the trail on the right side is a huge Salt-Cedar with some limbs that come out parallel to the ground. The owl was there on those limbs. I got maybe a 10 second look at it and it then flew towards the river, and a little back upstream. I went back up the trail, but this time I was unable to locate it. The best description that I can provide for the location where I saw it is: I first saw it where if you are walking towards Zacate Creek, it was where the "improved road (for Border Patrol use)" angles off the the left. It flew down the trail and then towards the river where on the east side of the trail, there is a collection of old tires laid out, and on the west side there is a cast iron manhole entrance, laying in the grass. I searched this area down to where there are logs that ford a small creek on a trail closer to the river. The Salt Cedar was down the trail about 40-50 feet closer to Zacate Creek. This was from about 11:40 AM-12:30 PM time frame when the owl was seen. I will try to go down there earlier tomorrow morning to attempt to relocate the bird. Roger Rose Laredo Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: black throated gray warbler in san marcos From: l lefler <l7efler AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:21:53 -0800 has anyone seen it after the�7th please? is it likely to stick around san marcos or fly�further north or.. thanks, laura�lefler in austin TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds � Subject: RBA: Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley - March 11, 2010 From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT AOL.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:46:37 -0500 RBA . * Texas * Lower Rio Grande Valley * March 11, 2010 . + (Details requested by TBRC - Mark.Lockwood AT tpwd.state.tx.us) http://www.texasbirds.org/tbrc/reviewsp.htm lists Texas review species http://www.texasbirds.org/tbrc/TBRCform.rtf suggests what to include in details . Our rare bird alert this week includes... . Hook-billed Kite +Roadside Hawk +Purple Sandpiper (no reports) +Rose-throated Becard (no reports) Rock Wren (no reports) Tropical Parula Mangrove [Yellow] Warbler +Blue Bunting . North out of our area- +Northern Jacana +Northern Wheatear . Hotline Number: Texas Parks and Wildlife - Lower Rio Grande Valley Birding Hotline number: (956) 584-2731 . To report: rgvbirds AT hotmail.com (preferred) or (956) 584-2731 option 3. The phone service is provided by TPWD. When you leave a message, it generates an alert to TPWD staff. It may be faster for you to report rarities to the birding site – and the email address rgvbirds AT hotmail.com. . This is a general reminder that recordings are not allowed in Texas State Parks and many LRGV birding sites. All State Park and National Wildlife Refuge visitors must stay on trails. Thank you for not disturbing the wildlife or damaging the vegetation. . TBRC Review Species are indicated with CAPITAL LETTERS and + below, please document these sightings to the TBRC! . Spring has hit the LRGV, with increases in song by Cassin’s and Olive Sparrows among other species. Hook-billed Kites are in good numbers at Bentsen (up to 3 birds, Rancho Vieja trail and Hawk Tower), Santa Ana (Tree Tower etc., a pair or more), Chihuahua Woods (male) and Anzalduas Count Park (multiples). Your best bet is to pick a nice day and be at a site with good visibility when the Turkey Vultures start to fly (8:30 or so). . This is a reminder that there have been NO sightings of Tamaulipas. Crow since March 2008. If you think you see or hear a Tamaulipas .Crow, please be sure to report your observation promptly. This is a TBRC Review Species. . Remember, many visiting birders are eagerly awaiting updates on the birds listed below, the rarer the bird the more interest in reports. Please share your efforts to try to find them with the RBA or Texbirds – even if you didn’t see them! . The Valley from East to West . A PURPLE SANDPIPER+ was found February 25 in Port Isabel in an area accessible only boat. For more information, contact Scarlet Colley at the Sealife Center number below. It was seen through February 28. There are no more recent reports. . Mangrove Warbler, a well-marked subspecies of Yellow Warbler that may be distinct enough to warrant full species status, can be seen by contacting the Sealife Center at (956) 299-1957. . At Laguna Atascosa NWR, a male BLUE BUNTING+ was found at Osprey Overlook on February 17 and it was last seen on the 20th. It reappeared on February 25th and March 6 but there have been no subsequent reports. Appearances have been in the area of the port-a-poties, at the overlook, and at the gate to Alligator Pond. Least Flycatcher continues at the HQ. . An immature male ROSE-THROATED BECARD+ at Estero Llano Grande State Park reappeared after a more than 2 week absence! It was reported through February 27. Check in at the park headquarters for directions. Visitors are requested to enter the Tropical Zone from the west side of Ibis Pond (south of the park headquarters) and *not* via the old RV Park entrance road. Be sure to check in at the park before accessing the Tropical zone – your cooperation will ensure continued easy access to this area. . Also at Estero Llano Grande State Park, many Grasshopper Sparrows continue at the park. Fulvous Whistling-Ducks are returning, Cinnamon Teal and other ducks are in good numbers. Park staff and volunteers can direct you to day-roosting Common Pauraque. . At Frontera Audubon Center, a Tropical Parula may continue in the thicket. . At Allen Williams residence in Pharr, Red-crowned Parrots can be heard flying around the neighborhood and Clay-colored Thrush are present. . Quinta Mazatlan has an adult male Crimson-collared Grosbeak+ found on Feb. 4 and last seen February 19, which was reported again (but not yet confirmed) on March 9. We have had few updates on the Western Tanager, Summer Tanager, Clay-colored Thrush and Tropical Parula that wintered at this site. . At Anzalduas County Park we have no reports, wintering birds included Hooded Merganser, Zone-tailed Hawk, Sprague’s Pipit, and Rock Wren. Hook-billed Kites continue in the area with two on February 21. . Nearby at the North American Butterfly Association Park, Clay-colored Thrush come to the water features and feeders. A Say’s Phoebe was in the area March 11. . At Bentsen-RGV State Park, Hook-billed Kites are seen on many nice days with reports from the Resaca Vieja trail, the Hawk Tower, and other sites. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak is in the area of the “Y” feeders. Lazuli Bunting and a Black-headed Grosbeak are at the Kiskadee Trail feeder. A Least Flycatcher is often in the HQ area. . Red-crowned Parrots are most often seen in flight. Red-crowned Parrots are sometimes seen in the areas of Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen, and Valley Nature Center in Weslaco. There is a very large flock in the Llano Grande in Weslaco. . Green Parakeets are readily seen the large roost in McAllen on North 10th Street between Violet and Dove in the evening. . Both Green Parakeets and Red-crowned Parrots have been seen recently in Harlingen (near Pendleton Park or 7th and Rio Hondo at dusk), Pharr (sometimes at Allen Williams residence on Sam Houston), and Brownsville. . Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls are also heard (and rarely seen) at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in the pre-dawn hours. Remember, the use of tapes is not allowed at Bentsen or many LRGV sites. Always ask before using tapes. . Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls are at San Miguelito Ranch about 10 miles north of Raymondville, easiest seen February through May. There is a fee to access this site, and prior arrangements are required (Leticia Tijerina, 956-369-3118 or buny55ATaol.com). Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls are found on the King Ranch and often at El Canelo as well. . At Falcon State Park, an immature ROADSIDE HAWK+ was seen through March 8. It is often seen near the campground or in the picnic area. A Green-tailed Towhee continues at the park host feeders and up to 5 Groove-billed Ani roam the park, best seen in the morning. . A Muscovy Duck and two Red-billed Pigeons were reported from Salineno on February 27; this winter seems poor for both species. Gray Hawks are often seen here. The feeding station WILL CLOSE March 20 according to Cheryl Longton, the volunteer that runs the site. A leucistic Great Kiskadee is present with reduced or absent melanin but bright yellow and orange plumage. . Red-billed Pigeon can sometimes be seen from US 83 in Zapata near Las Palmas Road. Look for them perched in treetops and on snags in the morning or evening to the northwest of Las Palmas Road on US 83. . Access at Chapeño is through the old El Rio RV Park. It is still possible to access the river or watch birds from the bluff. There is a fee to bird this site. Brown Jays have been absent for two years at this site but it is possible to see Muscovy and Red-billed Pigeons here, although we have no recent reports. . A BROWN JAY+ is frequenting a feeder in San Ygnacio. Contact Jim Ringo at rngjm AT yahoo.com for more information on this bird. In San Ygnacio, the Ringos feeding station is just left of the entrance to the Seedeater Sanctuary at the foot of Washington Street. Watch for the Brown Jay to come in from the street. It comes in and sits on the swingset before going to the stump for tortillas and dog food and has been seen mostly in the morning from 8 to 10 AM or so. The last report was March 5. . White-collared Seedeaters can be found at the San Ygnacio County Park/Seedeater Sanctuary at the foot of Washington Street in San Ygnacio. Park at the top of the hill and walk down. Another good site for White-collared Seedeater is next to the library at the county park pond in Zapata at the south end of 9th Street and Laredo. The Seedeaters come in to drink at the pond. . Well outside our area are three fantastic birds, all TBRC review species. . >From the south, take Hwy 83 north you will cross Zacate Creek within downtown Laredo. After crossing the creek turn left at the third block onto San Jorge and then turn left onto either Ventura or Water Street. Go to the end and park along Zacate Creek. . A NORTHERN WHEATEAR+ is near Beeville, TX, well outside our area. The site is **CLOSED ON SUNDAYS** with no exceptions. The homeowner, John Bontrager, welcomes visitors other days. To reach this site, take TX 59 East of I-37 to CR 796. Go south on 796 for 6 miles to a vegetable stand on the right. Turn right into the driveway next to the veggie stand and drive back towards the brown building. Please park on the right out of the way before the brown building. Walk slowly behind the house and watch for the wheatear on the woodpile, in the horse pasture and on the stacks of blocks. Please be sure to sign the sightings book. The most recent report is March 5. . A NORTHERN JACANA+ at Choke Canyon State Park, in the Calliham Unit 75 Acre Pond. Take US 281 to Three Rivers and follows the signs to the westernmost Calliham Unit. A scope is necessary most days. Look to the far back right of the pond to start. The Northern Jacana was seen through March 10. . Directions are provided only for sites not included in the ABA Birder’s Guide to the Rio Grande Valley or the Birder’s Guide to the Texas Coast. These guides are indispensable for visiting birders. Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Say's Phoebe at NABA-NBC in Mission From: "David T. Dauphin" <dauphins AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:53:35 -0600 A Say's Phoebe is hanging around amidst the gardens at the National Butterfly Center in Mission. David Dauphin Mission, TX For Valley wildlife info. go to: http://www.thedauphins.net TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: White Rock Lake Little Gull From: Mark Lockwood <Mark.Lockwood AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:32:15 -0600 Dear TexBirders, There has been a Little Gull at White Rock Lake most of the winter and the TBRC has received written documentation from a couple of observers. If anyone has gotten photos of this bird, I encourage you to send documentation to the TBRC. Mark Mark Lockwood Secretary, Texas Bird Records Committee 402 E. Harriet Ave. Alpine, Texas 79830 mark.lockwood AT tpwd.state.tx.us Visit the Texas Bird Records Committee at http://texasbirds.org/tbrc/ TOS Handbook of Texas Birds at http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2004/lockwood.htm TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: new hummers From: Keith Kingdon <kekingdon AT MSN.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:26:14 -0600 We had an adult buff-bellied this weekend and our first adult male ruby- throated spring migrant (our earliest first arrival by 10 days). The rufous female, the selasphorus female, and the now second year male rubythroat (about 80% filled in gorget) that have been present all winter are all still present. Only native plant food currently available is one coral honeysuckle. Red buckeye on schedule to be blooming in about a week. Keith Kingdon NW Houston TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: whimbrels in Rockport From: Bron Rorex <bronr AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:09:40 -0600 Three Whimbrel landed in the grass and began feeding this morning on the far side of our back yard pond in Rockport. Seems a tad early...? Whooping Cranes are still being seen almost daily on Lamar peninsula in 2 sites. A Palm Warbler & 5 Cinnamon Teal were among the birds seen yesterday at Port A Birding Center; at Paradise Pond 4 male Black-and-White Warblers, & male Northern Parula; American Golden-Plovers still being reported at Charlie's Pasture Preserve (far out on long right boardwalk towards the new tower). On Monday at Aransas NWR an American Bittern posed in full view (he thought he was hidden in the reeds) on Rail Trail very near Heron Flats lookout & trail. Unfortunately it began raining & we were unable to check on the Townsend's Warbler but Northern Waterthrush was relocated. Bron Rorex Rockport TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: scissor-tail flycatcher in Rockport From: Bob Scranton <rbscranton AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:42:35 -0500 Hi Birders, my wife, Dawn and I saw a scissor-tailed flycatcher off golf Course Rd across the street from the golf course. We also had our first fulvous whistling duck off 1781 at the back of The preserve 1. Bob Scranton Rockport, Texas, Mar. 10 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: additions to TOS state bird list From: Mark Lockwood <Mark.Lockwood AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:25:09 -0600 Dear TexBirders and TOS members, It is my pleasure to announce that the Texas Bird Records Committee has accepted the first state records of Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and Amazon Kingfisher. The Tiger-Heron was discovered by Rick Nirschl and Rick Snider at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Hidalgo County, on 21 December 2009 and the Amazon Kingfisher was discovered by Robert Epstein and Alan Wormington on 24 January 2010. This brings the Texas Ornithological Society's state list to 636 species. For more information about the TBRC please visit http://texasbirds.org/tbrc/ Mark Mark Lockwood Secretary, Texas Bird Records Committee 402 E. Harriet Ave. Alpine, Texas 79830 mark.lockwood AT tpwd.state.tx.us Visit the Texas Bird Records Committee at http://texasbirds.org/tbrc/ TOS Handbook of Texas Birds at http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2004/lockwood.htm TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks searching for nesting sites From: Mary Bote <mary.bote AT RGV.RR.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:18:07 -0600 A pair of Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks flew over our house at tree top height. They looped around and one landed on our roof and the other on the neighbor's roof. Our duck then joined the one on the neighbor's. So I went out and put cracked corn on our feeder. Within 15 minutes the pair returned to our roof, but only one came to feed while the other stood sentinel. Today, we woke up late and two BBWD were on the feeder. As we stirred around, they left. But later there were three and still later there were four. My 92 year old Dad and I will be enjoying these ducks very much and we will put out only enough feed for a few. We have a nesting box in the back yard that a pair have used for two years. Last year one duck took them from the yard before the other duck was ready to leave. They did get back together later in a landscape pool about a block away, but with fewer ducklings. We don't know whether any of the ducklings survived the walk to Frontera, just 4 blocks away. That same pair nested again that summer and I did not witness that jump. I had a kiddie pool last year but they hatched a few days before I expected and there was no water in the pool. There would have been no aquatic food for the ducklings in the water anyway. I am thinking about installing an empty pool now and filling it later a fews days before the expected hatch. I would like to give this year's ducklings a chance to have both parents guarding them on the walk to Frontera. Mary Bote TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Weslaco, TX 78596 Subject: Thank you VERY VERY much! From: Serge Beaudette <sbnature AT VIDEOTRON.CA> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:40:25 -0500 I have been greatly surprised by all the complets, precises, and so generous answers (more than 30!!!) that I received and following my many questions about our trip (from Canada). Very good precisions, tips, alternatives sites, personnals opinions, birds than I could see, closed sites, new suggested sites, etc. I'd like to send this email to thank you everybody on the forum now, but I will answer each personnaly in the near future! I have read all messages 2 or 3 times each to understand very well, and I'm ajusting all my itinerary with all very interesting comments! Scratch worsts sites, add some new, and change order of some in the same day! ...By exemple, we'll may be see Northern Jacana just after our arrival between San Antonio and Rockport! (Great!) THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I really appreciate your generosity and quick answers! I'm in a hurry to visit you in a couple of days! Serge Beaudette Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada www.pitpitpit.com sbnature AT videotron.ca TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Valley Nature Center From: miriameagl AT AOL.COM Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:59:19 -0500 Hi, all! Took a leisurely survey around the park early yesterday morning; highlights included a small flock of Green Parakeets screeching overhead, and distant Red-crowned Parrots calling. The Yellow-crowned Night Herons have returned to (hopefully) nest. Other than that it was the usual suspects; White-winged Doves are starting to sing, and the Cooper's Hawk is still hanging around and terrorizing the sparrows! ;-) Later in the day a "bink"ing Bewick's Wren was new for my personal VNC list. Bird List: Location: Valley Nature Ctr. (LTC 057) Observation date: 3/10/10 Number of species: 31 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 2 Plain Chachalaca 10 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 White-winged Dove 1 Mourning Dove 4 Inca Dove 7 White-tipped Dove 8 Green Parakeet 5 Red-crowned Parrot 2 Buff-bellied Hummingbird 2 Golden-fronted Woodpecker 7 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1 Great Kiskadee 4 White-eyed Vireo 1 Purple Martin 2 Black-crested Titmouse 3 Carolina Wren 2 Bewick's Wren 1 House Wren 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Clay-colored Thrush 1 Northern Mockingbird 4 Long-billed Thrasher 2 European Starling 2 Orange-crowned Warbler 6 Northern Cardinal 2 Red-winged Blackbird 30 Great-tailed Grackle 20 House Sparrow 40 Mary Beth Stowe McAllen, TX www.mirimeaglemon.com TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Blue-winged Warbler, Sam Houston SP From: "Matthew W. York" <mwy391 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:17:32 -0800 Heidi Trudell and I observed an AHY/1st spring Blue-winged Warbler at Sam Houston SP just south of Huntsville. Spring is in the air, bugs and blooms. A welcomed little hike; it's been a long winter. -Matthew York and Heidi Trudell Waco-area, TX in transit, currently in Katy. TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Golden-cheeked Warbler From: Rejzek Helen <hmr78253 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:03:45 -0800 Had my (FOS) Golden-cheeked Warbler at Crownridge Canyon Natural Area in San Antonio today. This is later than normal. Last week the park looked like winter but we had a nice mixture of rain and sun the last couple of days.The trees are now budding and there are insects flying about.It is looking like Spring! � � � � � � � � � � � Helen Rejzek San Antonio TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: FOS Golden-cheeked Warbler on Fort Hood From: "gil.eckrich" <gil.eckrich AT ATT.NET> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:30:52 -0600 Spotted my FOS Golden-cheeked Warbler on Fort Hood (Bell County) at 10:29 this morning. This date is later than most, but I have had FOS as late as 12 March on the installation. Gil Eckrich Belton TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Barn Swallows are back in Richardson From: Gus Stangeland <gus AT TX.RR.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:14:09 -0600 While sitting outside this morning I saw three (3) Barn Swallows circling around over my yard. After the thunderstorm had passed through, I saw them again against a clear blue sky. There was also a lone male Purple Martin that flew by. So far no Martins have visited my colony. I saw my first one on March 5th. Spring has arrived, my pear tree is leafing out and blooming! Gus Stangeland Richardson, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Corpus Christi Area 3/10 From: Jon McIntyre <mcintyrebirds AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:06:21 -0600 Today a couple others and I birded Pollywog Ponds, Hazel Bazemore Park, and some county roads near Orange Grove. Here are the highlights- Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher- CR239 Jim Wells Co. White-Tipped Dove- Pollywog Ponds Hooded Merganser- Pollywog Ponds Say's Phoebe- CR239 Jim Wells Co. Curve-Billed Thrasher (6)- CR239 Jim Wells Co. Long-Billed Thrasher (2)- CR239 Jim Wells Co. Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher- Several at multiple locations Clay-Colored Sparrow- CR239 Jim Wells Co. Harris's Hawk- Hwy. 624 west of Orange Grove Monk Parakeets- Orange Grove Jon McIntyre Port Aransas, TX _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390710/direct/01/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Purple Martin-Bell Co. And Barn Swallow Williamson Co. C From: Kenneth Williams <birder124247 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:57:00 -0800 Hi, Had a single Purple Martin today at the road entrance to Stillhouse Lake WMA checking out the birdhouse. I think it was a first spring male. Just had the first Barn Swallow flying over the apartment complex on Parmer just north of 620. The Barn Swallows nest in the stairwells. Kenneth Williams Sent from my iPhone TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Uvalde County: Says; Red-shouldered Hawk; Rufous/Black chin battles... From: bobolink AT STX.RR.COM Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:35:30 +0000 I spent a nice morning showing a lady from Minnesota around Neal's and Reagan Wells. I had a usual experience today on the Frio River. Nancy and I were walking along the river when I saw a butterfly. I think it was a Texas Cresent...as I went to photo it...a Say's Phoebe flew down and grabbed it and flew to a snag. The bird was six feet from me as I tried to photo. We walked a little further and across the river sitting there watching us was a red-shouldered hawk...very colorful this time of year... http://www.pbase.com/bobsnature/image/122643160 http://www.pbase.com/bobsnature/image/122643161 The Golden-cheeked warbler sang one time this morning...and we did have some chipping going on wih Titmice but I still have not been able to photo... I did go over to Reagan Wells and Sandy said there had been a big battle all morning on her porch. As we stood there the Rufous and Black-chins were flying through the area battle right under our noses... http://www.pbase.com/bobsnature/image/122643304 I will chase the golden-cheeked first thing in the morning tomorrow and then go down to Cook's Slough and see what is floating around there...I'm at Neal's Store everyday at 8 am. Bob Rasa Neal's Bird Guide Uvalde County 830 279-4416 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Questions about my birding trip itinary in Texas (from Canada) From: Bob Becker <robertjbecker AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:04:43 -0600 Serge: I live in Houston but I have birded the rio Grande Valley 4 or 5 times, so I know the area fairly well. My suggestions are below. In the Rockport-Corpus Christi area, Aransas NWR is a must-see. Also, the boat tour out of Rockport is especially good, even if the cranes have gone by then. You'll see a lot of sea birds nonetheless. I recommend Captain Tommy's charter. It is a small boat, and he is an excellent guide. I would not recommend the Connie Hagar spots,nor the other palces in Rockport proper, if you must make choices. Tthe Port Aransas spots are better Going south, do not miss Hazel Bazemore county park, near Corpus. It is very accessible, just a few miles from interstate 77. The park is excellent for ducks and waterfowl, and has good spring migrants. In the Valley, do not miss the South Padre convention center, especially the trees and shrubs right alongside the building. Usually excellent birding right there at close range, as there is also on the boardwalk through the wetlands. Not to be missed are Santa Ana NWR, Laguna Atascosa (Aplomado falcons!), Bentsen-Rio Grande state park, Frontera Audubon in Weslaco-- a must!! -- and Quinta Mazatlan, in McAllen. Sabal Palm is closed because of the border fenace, but all of the birds seen there can be seen elsewhere, including Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Chachacala, Buff- bellied Hummingbirds, etc. Resaca de la Palma was slow on a visit in February, a slow month, and the birds were at quite a distance. It may be better in late March. I did not find anything of note on visits to Old Hidalgo Pumphouse and McAllen Convention Center, which is noted for parrots. I hope this is helpful. Bob Becker TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: TNC Chihuahua Woods - Birds N Cactus walk - Hook-billed Kite From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:44:12 -0500 A small group of naturalists went to TNC's Chihuahua Woods Nature Preserve west of Palmview and saw and heard some great birds while looking at cacti and native plants. It was great to see the new trails and signage on the property, it's a great improvement! We walked the loop trail to the west trail up onto the loma (great plants) and then back. Near the gate we saw a male Hook-billed Kite and a Clay-colored Thrush; we heard and saw many desert species including Pyrrhuloxia and Bewick's Wren. A couple very distant Cassin's Sparrows were singing near the west end of the property. We saw many different kinds of cacti including several in bloom or about to bloom (but the flowers are very insignificant and not showy). If you are looking for birds go early and carry water, it's very hot in the mesquite and prickly pear as the sun heats up. Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Cedar Waxwing w/bicolored tail & Lesser Goldfinch question From: Mark Lockwood <Mark.Lockwood AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:04:03 -0600 Dear TexBirders, As Lori already mentioned, Lesser Goldfinches have belayed plumage maturation. The adult males that occur in Texas have black backs, but it takes a year to reach this plumage. All immature males (first-year birds) have green backs. When the Handbook was written Lesser Goldfinch was consider to have two subspecies in the US and at least two more in Latin America but studies that had been completed at the time and since have changed that view. The opinion now is that all of the birds in the US belong to the same subspecies and it is a cline from black-backed adult males in the east to green-backed ones in the west. The birds in El Paso appear to be in the transition zone. The short version is that there are green-backed male Lesser Goldfinches in all populations. If one was to examine close photos of green-backed birds in Texas they would see feather characters of first-year birds. Mark Mark Lockwood Alpine, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Cedar Waxwing w/bicolored tail & Lesser Goldfinch question From: LMarkoff <canyoneaglej AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:46:46 -0600 Hi Texbirds, Heidi, FWIW, the Abilene green-backed LEGOs may be immature males, and if so, will eventually get their black backs. Perhaps this info from the 2004 TOS Handbook of Texas Birds, by Mark Lockwood and Brush Freeman is dated, but it states "The Lesser Goldfinches that occur in Texas are of the black-backed subspecies, C.p. psaltria. Green-backed immature males of this subspecies are often confused with the western subspecies, C.p. hesperophilus, which has never been documented in Texas. Closer study to determine the subspecific identity of birds found in the Franklin Mountains, El Paso County, is needed, however." Lori Markoff Austin -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of H T Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 9:35 AM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] Cedar Waxwing w/bicolored tail & Lesser Goldfinch question I regret that I've not followed this discussion as closely as I'd like; at least I was out birding! In the thread that I looked at, CEDW with orange tail tips were mentioned as being a small fragment of the overall CEDW population (the norm being yellow). One of my window kills in IL had yellow on the outer tail feathers and orange on the 2 or 3 innermost... so both colors on one bird. The specimen is now at U.C. Santa Cruz and had been mused over as a dietary switch mid molt - I've yet to research it, but it sounds extremely unusual to find both pigments represented on one bird. On the Ross's Goose thread, my first blue morph was at Anahuac NWR a few CBCs ago, splendid creature! As for the Lesser Goldfinch question: a feeder on the north side of Abilene hosted a ton of American and Lesser Goldfinches... black-backed AND green-backed. What on earth?! I don't recall EVER seeing green-backed LEGOs in Abilene. Photos haven't been uploaded yet, not sure I got any decent ones. Happy trails; fingers are crossed for the Seabrook Rock Wren this weekend. -h Heidi Trudell Abilene yesterday Waco today Houston tomorrow TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: When the swallows come back to ... Corpus Christi la la la From: Judy Kestner <jkestner AT STX.RR.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:09:08 -0600 Today I spotted a colony of what are probably Cliff Swallows swarming around the IH-37 overpass at Violet Rd. in Corpus Christi. I sat and tried to positively id. them for many minutes, but against the bright white overcast sky, and because they were swooping around at warp speed (one of them stuck its tongue out at me, I'm sure, as it zipped overhead), I had to make an educated guess. I know they weren't Barn Swallows and they weren't Purple Martins, and those are the only two I can easily identify, so there you go. Judy Kestner Calallen (N.W. Corpus Christi) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Cedar Waxwing w/bicolored tail & Lesser Goldfinch question From: H T <txbirdergirl AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:35:05 -0800 I regret that I've not followed this discussion as closely as I'd like; at least I was out birding! In the thread that I looked at, CEDW with orange tail tips were mentioned as being a small fragment of the overall CEDW population (the norm being yellow). One of my window kills in IL had yellow on the outer tail feathers and orange on the 2 or 3 innermost... so both colors on one bird. The specimen is now at U.C. Santa Cruz and had been mused over as a dietary switch mid molt - I've yet to research it, but it sounds extremely unusual to find both pigments represented on one bird. On the Ross's Goose thread, my first blue morph was at Anahuac NWR a few CBCs ago, splendid creature! As for the Lesser Goldfinch question: a feeder on the north side of Abilene hosted a ton of American and Lesser Goldfinches... black-backed AND green-backed. What on earth?! I don't recall EVER seeing green-backed LEGOs in Abilene. Photos haven't been uploaded yet, not sure I got any decent ones. Happy trails; fingers are crossed for the Seabrook Rock Wren this weekend. -h Heidi Trudell Abilene yesterday Waco today Houston tomorrow TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Ringed Kingfisher at Blanco State Park From: Jennifer Owen <Jennifer.Owen AT TPWD.STATE.TX.US> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:13:04 -0600 Good Morning Texbirders, Kyle O'Haver and I are leading a birding training at Blanco State Park and we positively identified a Ringed Kingfisher along the river here in the park just 5 minutes ago. We were so excited about sighting this bird out of its normal range that I thought we should post immediately. If you are interested in trying to see this beautiful male Ringed Kingfisher, come on out to Blanco State Park and ask at the front desk for more information. Happy birding everyone. Jennifer Owen Texas Parks and Wildlife Rockport, Tx (Currently in Blanco, Tx) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Questions about my birding trip itinary in Texas (from Canada) From: Serge Beaudette <sbnature AT VIDEOTRON.CA> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:45:40 -0500 Hi, I�m suscribing to texbirds for 2 weeks. I live in Quebec (Canada) and I�m organizing an ornithological trip for me and 12 French Canadians, from March 21st until the 31st. I really like to read all your great observations which are very different of what I can see here, in Quebec! It nourishes my dreams!!! We will be in the Rockport area for the first 3 days and in the Rio Grande Valley further on. I�ve put all my heart and worked very hard to put together this itinerary because I really want this trip to be the best possible �bird trip� for us. For most of those taking part of this trip, this will be their one and only visit of Texas and for some, the biggest trip or the only real trip of their life! So, I really would like to make this trip the best possible experience of their life. I have some (many) questions� And I thank you in advance for your generosity to answer me (really thanks!) ;-) (If you come here in the future, I will show you a place to see Snow Owl!) First, here are the spots that I think I cannot miss. 1st Day : We arrive at the San Antonio Airport at 3h00 P.M. and we are driving towards Rockport. I don�t know if on the road or, in Rockport we might have and hour or two for birding... In... � Connie Hagar Wildlife Refuge � � Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary � � Rockport Demo Bird Garden and Wetland Pond � � North Cove Harbor Wetland Sanctuary � �If we don�t have time to visit the first day, we could visit the second day� -------Question #1 : At this time of year (March 21st, 22st), in this sites, what are the inescapables? Is there any of these sites to avoid? Do you know better places which I did�nt think of? 2nd Day : � Whooping Crane boat tour at Port � � Goose Island State Park � 3th Day : � Aransas National Wildlife Refuge � And for 4th day, we are heading towards South Padre Island. But on the road, we intend to visit some of the following places: � Port Aransas Jetty � � Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center � � Paradise Pond and Port Aransas Birding Center � � Aransas Woods � � JFK Causeway Wetlands � � Bishop City Park � � Dick Kleberg � � Santa Gertrudis Creek Bird Sanctuary � -------Question #2 : We will not be able to visit them all� (we�ll have 5 hours drive to do) Which ones do you think we should see in priority? Which ones should we avoid? Do you know some better places on this itinerary? 5th day : � South Padre Island Convention Center � � Laguna Atascosa � 6th day (Brownsville) : -------Question #3 : We were supposed to visit � Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary � : I heard that this park is closed until further notice... Is there some birds that we could have seen there and could not be seen in any of the other sites that I intend to visit? -------Question #4 : Is � Resaca de la palma � a good alternative tour from our initial plan? -------Question #5 : Is Tamaulipas Crow easy to find at � NOAA Brownsville � in late March (I�ve heard they nest there)? And at � Brownsville Sanitary Landfill �? Is it easy to find them between other blacks birds? 7th day : � Estero Llano Grande � � The Valley Nature Center � 8th day : � Santa Ana � � Old Hidalgo Pumphouse � � Quinta Mazatland � � McAllen Convention Center � � McAllen Nature Center � -------Question #6 : We have many sites to visit in the same day� If we don�t have enough time, which one should we eliminate? Do you think it is realistic to do all of these sites? -------Question #7 : The site : � Edinburg Scenic Wetland Trails � seems to be a major one� but since it is a bit out of our itinerary, do you think we might miss something really important if we don�t go? 9th day : � Bentsen � � Anzalduas Park � 10th day : � Falcon State Park � � Brown Jay near to Falcon State Park � My lasts very important questions : -------Question #8 : Is there any of all this places that are not particularly interesting at the end of March? -------Question #9 : Is there any inescapable places that are not in our predictions even a very small place to see just one rare specie? Thank you VERY VERY much!!!! If you�re able to answer one or most on my questions, It will be very appreciate. (Sorry for mistakes in my English writing) Serge Beaudette Sherbrooke, Quebec (Canada) http://www.pitpitpit.com sbnature AT videotron.ca TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Uvalde County...hunt successful...Golden-cheeked Warbler singing at Neals From: bobolink AT STX.RR.COM Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:40 +0000 For the past two days in the rain and fog I have had some warblers in with Titmouses...on the Buchannan Trail...yesterday was the first sunny day for a while...I had one Golden-cheeked singing but could not run down because of a fence :( People in from Minnesota today...will get picture. Yesterday, also, I had Black-chins at every hummingbird feeder...they are in, in numbers...also the Rufous at Reagan Wells is busy chasin' 'em off...I took people from Houston and San Antonio around yesterday...Harry, stayed the whole day and we got some exercise in... Also Bushtits at Neals new cabins and Golden-crowned Kinglets on Buchannan Trail. Ringed Kingfisher seen three times in past week on river... Ah Spring! http://www.pbase.com/bobsnature/image/122632499 Have a great week! Bob Rasa Uvalde County ...Neal's every day at Store at 800am 830 279-4416 volunteer guide TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Northern Wheatear From: sdfnana <sdfnana AT CEBRIDGE.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 22:45:15 -0600 I'm wondering if anyone has seen the Wheatear this week---I'm hoping to get down there on Saturday if it is still beeing seen! Sharon Finlay Bastrop,TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Yellow rumped Warblers Kingsland From: David Bryant <davidjbryant AT VZW.BLACKBERRY.NET> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:41:24 +0000 I had at least a dozen Y_r Warblers in my backyard today and all stayed busy fly catching. Every time they flew out to catch an insect their yellow rumps were shining in the sun. I usually see these birds funding insects on trunks and branches. I didn't know they were such good fly catchers. David Bryant Kingsland TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Cave Swallows in Baylor County. From: Brady Surber <supersurber AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 21:38:29 -0600 Hi all, I briefly birded Baylor county this afternoon. I didn't much in the way of total species present but the highlight was by far locating a colony of about 20-30 Cave Swallows on FM 1790 just south of Mabelle. Good birdin', Brady Surber Vernon, TX _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469227/direct/01/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: texbirds Digest - 7 Mar 2010 to 8 Mar 2010 (#2010-68) From: Jennifer Backo <birdiejennb AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 13:43:15 -0600 Date: Tues, Mar 9 2010 From: Jennifer Backo wrote: > There are 11 messages totalling 678 lines in this issue. > > Topics of the day: > > 1. Sunset Valley > 2. Loy Lake - Fish Crows > 3. Western Tanager, new Kleb Woods bird > 4. RFI: Davis Mountains and/or Balmorhea > 5. Thank You - Eagles > 6. Bentsen - RGV State Park 3/7 and 3/8/10 - Hook-billed Kite, Zone-tailed > Hawk, and more > 7. Falcon SP Roadside Hawk - Yes! > 8. UTC 3-8 (2) > 9. CORRECTION (2) > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 08:10:13 -0600 > From: Stephanie Barko > Subject: Re: Sunset Valley > > Seen Sunday morning from 7:30-9:00 at > Sunset Valley Nature Trail in South Austin > > Mourning Dove > Eurasian Collared-Dove > Inca Dove > Rock Dove > Monk Parakeet > Eastern Phoebe > Loggerhead Shrike > Blue Jay > American Crow > Purple Martin > Ruby-crowned Kinglet > Black-crested Titmouse > Carolina Wren > Gray Catbird > Northern Mockingbird > European Starling > Cedar Waxwing > Spotted Towhee > Field Sparrow > White-throated Sparrow > Eastern Meadowlark > Northern Cardinal > Red-winged Blackbird > Great-tailed Grackle > Brown-headed Cowbird > House Sparrow > > Stephanie Barko & Jim Stoneking > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > Hays County > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 15:25:39 +0000 > From: dede crusinberry > Subject: Loy Lake - Fish Crows > > Yesterday morning=2C Elke Soliday=2C Jim and I heard and saw about 5 Fish C= > rows at Loy Lake in Grayson County. There were American and Fish Crows voc= > alizing so the difference was quite noticable. Complete list follows: > > Thank you=2C > > Dede Crusinberry > > Plano=2C Texas > =20 > Location: Loy Lake > Observation date: 3/7/10 > Number of species: 38 > Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 2 > Gadwall - Anas strepera=20 > Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos=20 > Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps > Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus > Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias=20 > Black Vulture - Coragyps atratus=20 > Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura=20 > Red-tailed Hawk (nearby)- Buteo jamaicensis=20 > American Coot - Fulica americana=20 > Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus=20 > Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis=20 > Rock Pigeon - Columba livia=20 > Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto=20 > White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica=20 > Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura > Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus=20 > Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens=20 > Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe=20 > American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos > Fish Crow - Corvus ossifragus 5 > Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis > White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis=20 > Brown Creeper - Certhia americana=20 > Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus=20 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula=20 > Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis > American Robin - Turdus migratorius=20 > Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos=20 > European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris=20 > Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata > Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina > Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia=20 > Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis=20 > Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis > Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus=20 > House Sparrow - Passer domesticus=20 > > > > > > > > Hotmail: Free=2C trusted and rich email service. Get it now. > =20 > _________________________________________________________________ > Hotmail: Free=2C trusted and rich email service. > http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469228/direct/01/= > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 10:05:33 -0600 > From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" > Subject: Western Tanager, new Kleb Woods bird > > Yesterday, Sunday March 7, Mark Kulstad found and identified a Western Tana= > ger at Kleb Woods Nature Preserve. The bird was hanging around the Draper R= > oad parking lot about 3:00 PM. He reported it to staff naturalist Kendra Ko= > cab and she relocated the bird about 3:30 PM. Mark was subsequently able to= > obtain some good identification verification photos of the bird. Attempts = > to relocate the bird late in the afternoon were unsuccessful. This is speci= > es number 202 for Kleb Woods. > > This morning Monday, March 8, Linda Martin-Rust and I were able to relocate= > the bird about 9:15 AM. It was on the fence row in the larger trees direct= > ly opposite the Draper Road parking lot of Kleb Woods. We hope this bird wi= > ll continue to hand around for the upcoming Wednesday bird walk. The bird a= > ppears to be a young male. It has some orange color beginning to appear on = > its upper neck and throat. It has one bold yellow and one bright white wing= > bar and a rather bright yellow bill. Its back appears gray and its under p= > arts are whitish in the lower abdomen. Otherwise it is a bright yellow bird= > with darker upperparts. We watched it in the gray drizzle, not the best vi= > ewing conditions, but it was only 100 feet away. > > Fred Collins > (281) 357-5324 > Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center > Cypress Top Historical Park > Commissioner Steve Radack > Harris County Precinct 3 > www.pct3.hctx.net > > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 16:07:59 -0600 > From: Lee Pasquali > Subject: RFI: Davis Mountains and/or Balmorhea > > =20 > > Hi Texas Birders: > > =20 > > Looking for a place to bird during the spring break.=20 > > =20 > > Has any one birded in Davis Mountains and/or Balmorhea State Parks during t= > he last month? If so what birds did you see that we do not see usually see = > in the San Antonio area? > > =20 > > Thanks for reading the post and any info you may provide. > > =20 > > R=2C > > Lee Pasquali > > North San Antonio > > =20 > > =20 > > =20 > > =20 > =20 > _________________________________________________________________ > Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. > http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469230/direct/01/= > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 17:23:24 EST > From: Slevy53 AT AOL.COM > Subject: Thank You - Eagles > > Hi, > > I am overwhelmed with the number of wonderful people who have sent me > information and directions. Thanks so much to all of you. I am trying to get > my > grandchildren over here so I can show them their first eagles. I'm teaching > them to love birding, and they love it. > > Good birding to y'all, > > Sue Levy > Webster > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 16:52:02 -0600 > From: Javier Deleon > Subject: Bentsen - RGV State Park 3/7 and 3/8/10 - Hook-billed Kite, > Zone-tailed Hawk, and more > > Spring is here at Bentsen. Although the Huisache trees have been = > blooming here for the past several weeks, Anacua trees all over the park = > are now covered with their white blooms. Beautiful sight! =20 > =20 > The birds have been a beautiful sight as well. Hook-billed Kite being = > seen yesterday from the park's Hawk Tower and Zone-tailed Hawk seen from = > the tower this morning during the Hawk Watch. Clay-colored Thrush are = > being seen daily at the Nature Center feeding station along with Green = > Jay, Altamira Orioles and many Chachalacas. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was = > heard early this morning and we hope they will appear for the Creatures = > of the Night program this Thursday (see program info below for details). = > =20 > =20 > Below is a list of birds seen here at Bentsen over the last two days: > =20 > > Mottled Duck > > Blue-winged Teal > > Ring-necked Duck > > Plain Chachalaca > > Least Grebe > > Pied-billed Grebe > > Neotropic Cormorant > > Double-crested Cormorant > > Anhinga > > Great Egret > > Turkey Vulture > > Osprey > > Hook-billed Kite > > Northern Harrier > > Sharp-shinned Hawk > > Red-tailed Hawk > > Crested Caracara > > American Kestrel > > Peregrine Falcon > > Common Moorhen > > American Coot > > White-winged Dove > > Mourning Dove > > Inca Dove > > Common Ground-Dove > > White-tipped Dove > > Ruby-throated Hummingbird > > Green Kingfisher > > Golden-fronted Woodpecker > > Ladder-backed Woodpecker > > Least Flycatcher > > Great Kiskadee > > Green Jay > > Cave Swallow > > Black-crested Titmouse > > Verdin > > Ruby-crowned Kinglet > > Blue-gray Gnatcatcher > > Clay-colored Thrush > > Northern Mockingbird > > Long-billed Thrasher > > Orange-crowned Warbler > > Yellow-rumped Warbler > > Black-and-white Warbler > > Common Yellowthroat > > Olive Sparrow > > Lincoln's Sparrow > > Northern Cardinal > > Pyrrhuloxia > > Black-headed Grosbeak > > Indigo Bunting > > Red-winged Blackbird > > Great-tailed Grackle > > Altamira Oriole > > American Goldfinch > > House Sparrow > =20 > Many thanks to park hosts Rick and May Snider for the list. > =20 > Good birding, > Javier de Le=F3n > NRS - Park Biologist > Bentsen - RGV State Park > Mission, TX > 956-584-9156 > Birding programs at Bentsen: > Bird walks-Sunday,Monday 8:30 - 10:30am > Hawk Watch - Saturday, Sunday, Monday 9:00am - 12:00pm > Creatures of the Night - Thursday and Satuday 7:00pm - 9:00pm through = > 3/13 (8:00pm - 10:00pm after 3/13) *call to register > Birding 101 - Every Saturday 8:30am - 10:00am > =20 > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 21:02:44 EST > From: MiriamEagl AT AOL.COM > Subject: Falcon SP Roadside Hawk - Yes! > > Hi, all! > > Decided to bird Starr County today, and got to Falcon SP well before dawn > in the hopes of hearing some Poorwill--got tons of Pauraque instead! The > usual suspects tuned up shortly, and after "dawn" I worked my way backwards > out of the park, winding up at the boat ramp and taking a walk around the > little loop, picking up Little and Great Blue Herons, both egrets, Laughing > Gulls, and Spotted Sandpipers. The overflow lot had oodles of sparrows, > but > couldn't pick out anything but Chippies and Savannahs. A brilliant > Vermilion Flycatcher showed off as well. > > I was wondering if it was a holiday or something, because the parking lot > was packed already, and it was boat after boat after boat after boat coming > off that ramp, and human after human after human heading for the > "outhouse", and there right on top of his telephone pole was the young > Roadside Hawk! > He didn't seem bothered by me or anyone else as he swooped down to the > ground, evidently in search of something that he apparently missed, then > went > to sit in a thick-trunked somewhat bare tree right behind the restroom, > still apparently eyeing something underneath! > > Headed to the feeders by Wendy and Ellen's RVs, where a very cooperative > Cassin's Sparrow came in briefly, along with lots of Redwings! The blind > had a pair of Bobwhite, and the usual Pyrrhuloxias owned the park! ;-) > From > there I poked around Falcon County Park where a Roadrunner did his lonely > song with a backup of Black-throated Sparrows singing! > > >From there headed down to the boat ramp at Chapeno where a small flock of > Lark Buntings flew across the road, one male coming into color already, to > be shortly followed by a small flock of Lark Sparrows! One of the property > owners was mowing his lawn, so I didn't stay long, but in trying to find > the connector road between Chapeno and Salineno (which I never found), I > stumbled upon another Cassin's Sparrow trying to tune up by a little > cemetery, > along with a flock of Clay-colored Sparrows! Chachalacas were chorusing on > the Mexican side on the way back to the main road. > > Salieneno was hopping for sure: the river had lots of Gadwall and > American Wigeon, and a Ringed Kingfisher finally came by, hovering for a > minute > and then heading down river to hover again. At the RV, Sandra from New > Mexico was holding the fort down for Cheryl, and a gentleman from New York > (whose name I didn't catch--may have been Larry) had set up a peanut butter > station disguised as a flowering branch in order to do some photography, so > several of us got to profit from his ingenuity as Golden-fronted > Woodpeckers, > both Altamira and Audubon's Orioles, Long-billed Thrashers, Green Jays, and > Kiskadees all came in to dine and be photographed (along with the > ubiquitous Redwings)! The Hooded Orioles were hanging at the far hummer > feeder, and > other moochers included Ladder-backed Woodpecker, titmice, several dove > species, and Cardinals. I was only gonna spend about 15 minutes there but > wound up staying a lot longer... ;-) The leucistic Kiskadee also showed > up, > but didn't come to the feeders. > > Made a burger run to Roma before retreating back to Fronton where I lunched > and watched the river (and chatted with the nice Border Patrol guy ;-)), > picking up Rough-winged Swallow and taping a pair of Cactus Wrens. Back at > Roma a few White Pelicans at the overlook were new for the day, and > suspected I was hearing a Black Phoebe, but since I'm not quite confident > enough > to tell it from Eastern (unless it's singing) I let that one go. > > Explored some of the back roads of Starr County after that, picking up > Chihuahuan Raven for the day and a couple of "junk birds", ending the day > with > 86 species. Pics are posted here: > > _http://www.pbase.com/miriameaglemon/new_pics_mon_ > (http://www.pbase.com/miriameaglemon/new_pics_mon) > > Bird List: > > American Wigeon Anas americana > Gadwall Anas strepera > Blue-winged Teal Anas discors > Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula > Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus > American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos > Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus > Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus > Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias > Great Egret Ardea alba > Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea > Snowy Egret Egretta thula > Black Vulture Coragyps atratus > Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura > Osprey Pandion haliaetus > White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus > Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus > Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus > Roadside Hawk Buteo magnirostris > Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis > Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway > American Kestrel Falco sparverius > Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus > American Coot Fulica americana > Killdeer Charadrius vociferus > Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius > Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca > Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla > Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis > Rock Pigeon Columba livia > Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto > Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura > White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica > Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina > Inca Dove Columbina inca > White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi > Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus > Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis > Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon > Ringed Kingfisher Megaceryle torquata > Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons > Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris > Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe > Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus > Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus > Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii > Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis > Purple Martin Progne subis > Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica > Cave Swallow Petrochelidon fulva > Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula > Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus > Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii > House Wren Troglodytes aedon > Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos > Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre > Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre > Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea > Black-crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus > Verdin Auriparus flaviceps > Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus > Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas > Chihuahuan Raven Corvus cryptoleucus > House Sparrow Passer domesticus > White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus > Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celata > Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata > Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas > Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus > Cassin's Sparrow Aimophila cassinii > Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina > Clay-colored Sparrow Spizella pallida > Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus > Black-throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata > Lark Bunting Calamospiza melanocorys > Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis > Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii > Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis > Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus > Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus > Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta > Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus > Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater > Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis > Hooded Oriole Icterus cucullatus > Audubon's Oriole Icterus graduacauda > > 86 SPECIES > > Mary Beth Stowe > McAllen, TX > _www.miriameaglemon.com_ (http://www.miriameaglemon.com/) > > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 19:28:08 -0800 > From: Carolyn Dill > Subject: UTC 3-8 > > Bear Creek Park: 2 rusty blackbirds seen in fields along Bear Creek Road. T= > he pair are not in with the other flocks of robins, red winged blackbrids, = > starlings and brown headed cowbirds, but are using the same fields. If you = > don't see anything there, the birds are all moving around a lot and favor G= > olbow more often. Also seen was one Northern Flicker and wood duck flew ove= > rhead. > =A0 > Rettilon Road, Bolivar: Peregrine Falcon on fence post. Wind was so fierce,= > I think it was reluctant to fly off even as my car approached. Nice pink-r= > ed billed Brown Pelican on the beach, a male=A0in breeding colors, thought = > a photographer might want to know. Two very brown plovers, too early for go= > lden plovers and sure enough, as they took flight, their black wing pits sh= > owed them to be black bellied plovers. I mention this because every now and= > then there is a black bellied that has done its best to deceive me. > =A0 > Lighthouse area, in ocean. Huge rafts of lesser scaups. Tried to turn the f= > emales into scoters, but no luck. Too foggy at horizon for scanning for gan= > nets. > =A0 > Texas City Dike area has common goldeneyes and two common loons. Offfat's B= > ayou had nothing visible, a surprise as it has been holding a lot of loons = > all winter. > =A0 > Carolyn Dill > Houston, TX > =A0 > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > =A0 > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 19:32:37 -0800 > From: Sheridan Coffey > Subject: Re: UTC 3-8 > > Hi Carolyn, > I just wanted to comment it is not too early for Golden Plovers. We had a > good sized flock, maybe 40, yesterday at Charlie's Pature in Port Aransas. > > Sheridan Coffey > San Antonio, Tx > http://sngcanary1.blogspot.com/ > www.flickr.com/sngcanary > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Carolyn Dill > To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG > Sent: Mon, March 8, 2010 9:28:08 PM > Subject: [texbirds] UTC 3-8 > > Bear Creek Park: 2 rusty blackbirds seen in fields along Bear Creek Road. > The pair are not in with the other flocks of robins, red winged blackbrids, > starlings and brown headed cowbirds, but are using the same fields. If you > don't see anything there, the birds are all moving around a lot and favor > Golbow more often. Also seen was one Northern Flicker and wood duck flew > overhead. > > Rettilon Road, Bolivar: Peregrine Falcon on fence post. Wind was so fierce, > I think it was reluctant to fly off even as my car approached. Nice pink-red > billed Brown Pelican on the beach, a male in breeding colors, thought a > photographer might want to know. Two very brown plovers, too early for > golden plovers and sure enough, as they took flight, their black wing pits > showed them to be black bellied plovers. I mention this because every now > and then there is a black bellied that has done its best to deceive me. > > Lighthouse area, in ocean. Huge rafts of lesser scaups. Tried to turn the > females into scoters, but no luck. Too foggy at horizon for scanning for > gannets. > > Texas City Dike area has common goldeneyes and two common loons. Offfat's > Bayou had nothing visible, a surprise as it has been holding a lot of loons > all winter. > > Carolyn Dill > Houston, TX > > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 21:39:26 -0600 > From: Carolyn > Subject: CORRECTION > > SORRY ABOUT THE LONG-BILLED THRASHER...certainly I should have written = > Curved-billed Thrasher. > I seem to make that mistake every time, for no reason except that I'm = > old and showing it. I do know better! > > Carolyn Stallwitz > On the farm 4 miles southwest of Dumas, > Moore County, 50 Miles north of Amarillo > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > in the Texas Panhandle. > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 21:44:03 -0600 > From: Carolyn > Subject: CORRECTION > > Sorry for the mistake. I wrote Long-billed Thrasher and I meant = > Curve-billed Thrasher. I seem to make that mistake all the time...I = > certainly know better. Just chalk it up to being a 'mature citizen' > > Carolyn Stallwitz > On the farm 4 miles southwest of Dumas, > Moore County, 50 Miles north of Amarillo > > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: > http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds > in the Texas Panhandle. > > ------------------------------ > > End of texbirds Digest - 7 Mar 2010 to 8 Mar 2010 (#2010-68) > ************************************************************ > TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary Open Gate Saturday From: Susan Schaezler <warblerwoods AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 21:29:31 -0600 Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary Open Gate Saturday We will have an open gate on Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. Come and enjoy the beginning blooms of Bluebonnets, Mountain Laurel and many other plants. Maybe you will be lucky enough to find one of the Golden-cheeked Warblers that pass through the area! To visit other times: http://www.warblerwoods.com/visit Susan Schaezler...twitter.com/susanwarbler Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary, 501 ( c )(3) www.warblerwoods.com San Antonio/New Braunfels GCBO Site Partner TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: The ‘squiters was Thick at Monte Cristo and Edinburg WBC-3/9 From: Ruben Zamora <ruben_zamora AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 18:25:36 -0800 I had to take care of some personal things this early a.m. Hi All, I had to take care of some personal things this early a.m. and decided to take the rest of the day for some overdue playtime.  (It wasn’t a tough decision :-) I did not want to travel too far from home so I headed out to Monte Cristo Tract (http://tinyurl.com/ylfsy9o).  In my haste, I forgot my bug repellant.  Big mistake!  The ‘squiters was thick..  Short story, shorter, I had to leave before I was eaten alive.  But, when I got back into the car (and sulked for a while), I resolved that I did not completely waste my time as I did have about three American Kestrels on Wallace Rd. along with a nice look at a Red-tailed Hawk perched on an irrigation sprinkler rig, a flock of meadowlarks, tons of Red-winged Blackbirds, and some LBJs.  While out of the car for those few moments, I heard a Green Jay calling from inside the tract and two White-eyed Vireos before I had to scramble right back into the car.  (If the door had been open, I probably would have dove head first to avoid those little bloodsuckers.)             Anyhow, I went back home to get my bug dope, then ran over to Edinburg Scenic Wetlands (ESW), a birding hotspot even closer to home.  I birded some of the adjacent municipal park as well picking up a Loggerhead Shrike and Killdeer at the softball fields and a female Vermilion Flycatcher across the drain ditch on the south side near the defunct water park.  Three Great Blue Herons and an American Kestrel were variously perched on the light posts to the old water park’s parking lot.  Complete list for ESW follows   Good birding,   Ruben Zamora Edinburg, TX   Location:    Edinburg Scenic Wetlands WBC (LTC 061) Observation date:    3/9/10 Number of species:    57 Gadwall    20 Mottled Duck    1 Blue-winged Teal    40 Northern Shoveler    200 Green-winged Teal    20 Lesser Scaup    2 Ruddy Duck    15 Least Grebe    4 Pied-billed Grebe    2 Neotropic Cormorant    8 Double-crested Cormorant    2 Great Blue Heron    7 Great Egret    1 Snowy Egret    3 Little Blue Heron    1 Tricolored Heron    1 Black-crowned Night-Heron    2 Turkey Vulture    1 Osprey    1 American Kestrel    1 Common Moorhen    2 American Coot    60 Killdeer    1 Black-necked Stilt    50 Spotted Sandpiper    1 Least Sandpiper    4 Long-billed Dowitcher    1 Laughing Gull    2 Eurasian Collared-Dove    1 Mourning Dove    10 Inca Dove    2 Common Ground-Dove    1 Buff-bellied Hummingbird    4 Belted Kingfisher    1 Golden-fronted Woodpecker    2 Vermilion Flycatcher    1 Great Kiskadee    3 Loggerhead Shrike    1 White-eyed Vireo    2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet    5 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher    2 Northern Mockingbird    6 Long-billed Thrasher    1 Orange-crowned Warbler    6 Yellow Warbler    1 Yellow-rumped Warbler    10 Common Yellowthroat    1 Wilson's Warbler    1 Field Sparrow    1 Savannah Sparrow    2 Lincoln's Sparrow    2 Northern Cardinal    1 Red-winged Blackbird    400 Great-tailed Grackle    100 Bronzed Cowbird    6 Lesser Goldfinch    6 House Sparrow    10 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/tx) TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Tuesday morning birding group, Hagerman NWR From: Jack Chiles <chilesjack AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 18:00:21 -0800 On a beautiful clear day our group Karl, Dick, Michael, Grace and myself tallied 60 species. Of note: 50+ Wild Turkeys 6 Canvasbacks 15 Redheads Several Red-tailed hawk nests, 1 with brooding female. 15 American White Pelicans Yesterday 36 Sandhill Cranes flew over the refuge. Things are a bit slow. We are looking forward to the spring migration. The brownies were exceptional. It was tough having to eat Lynn's share. Van leaves headquarters every Tuesday at 8 am and returns at 1 pm. Visitors always welcome. Jack Chiles Volunteer Hagerman NWR TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Western Tanager- Kleb Woods From: Greg Page <gregpage1465 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 15:53:52 -0800 I saw the Western Tanager at Kleb Woods today (3-9-10). I posted a photo on�FLICKR: �http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregpage/4421272038/ � Other highlights were 3 Brown-headed Nuthatches, 1 Harris's Sparrow & 1 Hermit Thrush. � Greg Page TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Houston Subject: (no subject) From: RDKRSH AT AOL.COM Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 18:20:48 EST I took a swing around Lake Tawakoni and between the allergies and wind I did as well as could be expected. I added 2 birds I hadn't seen this year. The FOS Rough-winged Swallow at the dam and a shocking good view of the Pacific Loon that has been around for months. The Loon came in very close in the inlet at the private boat ramp near Holiday Marina. Location: Lake Tawakoni Observation date: 3/9/10 Number of species: 92 Wood Duck X Gadwall X American Wigeon X Mallard X Northern Shoveler X Northern Pintail X Green-winged Teal X Canvasback X Redhead X Ring-necked Duck X Lesser Scaup X Common Goldeneye X Red-breasted Merganser X Pacific Loon X Common Loon X Pied-billed Grebe X Horned Grebe X American White Pelican X Neotropic Cormorant X Double-crested Cormorant X Great Blue Heron X Great Egret X Black Vulture X Turkey Vulture X Osprey X Bald Eagle X Northern Harrier X Cooper's Hawk X Red-shouldered Hawk X Red-tailed Hawk X Crested Caracara X American Kestrel X American Coot X Killdeer X Spotted Sandpiper X Least Sandpiper X Bonaparte's Gull X Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull (American) X Rock Pigeon X White-winged Dove X Mourning Dove X Greater Roadrunner X Belted Kingfisher X Red-bellied Woodpecker X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker X Downy Woodpecker X Hairy Woodpecker X Northern Flicker X Pileated Woodpecker X Eastern Phoebe X Loggerhead Shrike X Blue Jay X American Crow X Northern Rough-winged Swallow X Carolina Chickadee X Tufted Titmouse X White-breasted Nuthatch X Carolina Wren X Bewick's Wren X House Wren X Winter Wren X Golden-crowned Kinglet X Ruby-crowned Kinglet X Eastern Bluebird X American Robin X Northern Mockingbird X Brown Thrasher X European Starling X American Pipit X Cedar Waxwing X Orange-crowned Warbler X Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X Chipping Sparrow X Field Sparrow X Savannah Sparrow X Song Sparrow X Swamp Sparrow X White-throated Sparrow X Harris's Sparrow X White-crowned Sparrow X Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) X Northern Cardinal X Red-winged Blackbird X Eastern Meadowlark X Western Meadowlark X Brewer's Blackbird X Common Grackle X Brown-headed Cowbird X House Finch X American Goldfinch X House Sparrow X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/tx) Richard Kinney Edgewood. TX near Lake Tawakoni TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Yesterday (03/08/10) Laguna Atascosa NWR (Cameron Co.) From: Rex Stanford <calidris AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 16:59:02 -0600 Yesterday (03/08/10) afternoon we birded Laguna Atascosa NWR (Cameron County). It was an overcast, windy day, which probably accounts for the difficulty of finding passerines. SOME EARLIER-REPORTED BIRDS WE DID NOT FIND: Despite 20-25 minutes of observation in the parking lot beside Osprey Overlook we did not find the Blue Bunting that has been present in the area recently; also, we briefly looked near the portable toilets, another area where it has appeared, but, again, we did not find it. These negative results should not be taken to indicate the absence of this bird! We also found no Aplomado Falcons and failed to find the Swallow-tailed Kite reported on Saturday near Rio Hondo. The latter was, we may presume, headed north. A mid-afternoon walk around Kiskadee Trail behind the Visitor Center yielded no visible birds except grackles. BAYSIDE WILDLIFE DRIVE (BWD) was the most productive area (but a few birds listed below were seen elsewhere at LANWR): MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES: EASTERN MEADOWLARKS (several, including one unusually marked individual with a large, broad, truly bib-like black breast pattern, rather than the usual, well-demarcated "V" on the breast; a couple of the Easterns were answering each other in beautiful song); and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE (2) DUCKS, GEESE, GREBES and COOTS: Pelican Lake highlights (plus a few others) included EARED GREBE (2, swimming together south of the turnout area at the culvert at east end of the lake--a really large lake right now); RUDDY DUCK (roughly, 20-24); NORTHERN SHOVELER (dozens); AMERICAN WIGEON (3 or 4); REDHEAD (8) on Bayside Lake (south of Redhead Ridge Overlook); RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (1) on west side of road, seen from the bridge south of milepost 11; and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (2), in flight on east side of road, seen from bridge south of milepost 11; and AMERICAN COOT (hordes!). PELICANS and CORMORANTS: AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN(34); BROWN PELICAN (1); DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (16). HERONS, EGRETS, AND IBISES: relatively few waders, but, on north side of the culvert by the turnout for viewing Pelican Lake was a scrumptiously breeding-plumaged REDDISH EGRET (but the only one of that species seen along the entire drive!); GREAT EGRET (dozens); GREAT BLUE HERON (4); and WHITE IBIS (2). RAPTORS (incl. VULTURE): OSPREY (4); WHITE-TAILED KITE (2); NORTHERN HARRIER (2, 1 female and 1 male, a beautiful "gray ghost"); HARRIS'S HAWK (2); RED-TAILED HAWK (1); CRESTED CARACARA (5); AMERICAN KESTREL (2); TURKEY VULTURE (dozens) SHOREBIRDS: All were late day visitors to flooded flats, near northernmost area of such flats, near the end of the BWD loop: BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (dozens); AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER (est. 2-3, but quite possibly more, flew into a large flock of other shorebirds shortly before whole flock was flushed by an unseen cause); LESSER YELLOWLEGS (1); RUDDY TURNSTONE (4 or 5, on east side of road, same general area as others, but the others were on west side); and DUNLIN (est. 20-30). (It was late day and quite a few birds were near the back of the large group of diverse species and hard to study; a few of the calidris sandpipers looked smaller and probably were Western or Least Sandpipers, but we were unable to get out of the care to study them with a scope for identification, thanks to hordes of hungry mosquitoes.) At any rate, the shorebirds are coming! TERNS: CASPIAN TERN (9) resting on the Laguna Madre shore shortly before (i.e., north of) Stover Point, one of the best places to find tern species, sitting at close range, often in numbers. The above is not an exhaustive list of the species seen, but they constitute all that were found at LANWR in the specific categories listed above, if "MISCELLANEOUS" is not considered a category. During the late morning we visited Brushline Road (Hidalgo County) between FM-490 and TX-186, which was minimally productive except for a few species of ducks (including BLUE and GREEN-WINGED TEAL) on a large farm pond on the west side of the road less than a mile south of 186. There was a lovely serendipitous element to that part of our travels yesterday: In fields on the east side of Brushline, just north of its intersection with FM-409, there was found, in bloom, vast stretches of a species of Phacelia with delicate, deep blue-purple symmetrical flowers having pure white centers, joined, at the road's edge, by some lush stands of Roughpod Bladderpod, bearing its deep yellow-gold flowers and making for a delightful combination of complementary colors. In a few places the fields of Phacelia are complemented by the more subtle, amethyst tones of slender stalks of a Vervain species. If you are hankering for spring and have not found enough birds to brighten your day, a look around often will disclose ground-flowering species and flowering trees brightly welcoming the season. Of course, those flowers welcome insects that feed on them. And soon enough, there will be an abundance of avian migrants, some as bright as the flowers, others as plain as the soil, with their own special kind of love for those insects. Rex & Birgit Stanford McAllen, TX TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Corpus/Port Aransas 3/9 From: Jon McIntyre <mcintyrebirds AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 16:08:35 -0600 Today my parents and I birded Packery Channel, Texas A AT M Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi Landfill, and Charlie's Pasture in Port Aransas. Here are the highlights- Western Gull- CC Landfill (in the large unlined pond) Lesser Black-Backed Gull- 1 adult at Packery Channel LeConte's Sparrow- 2 in the grass at the landfill American Golden-Plovers- Charlie's Pasture Wilson's Plovers- TAMUCC Jon McIntyre Port Aransas, TX _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft�s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Genetics of Waxwings From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <Fred_Collins AT HCTX.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 15:39:04 -0600 Color morphs are interesting in birds and have some varied examples. Apparently the Blue Goose morph is a recent phenomena among the Snow Goose population and newer yet in Ross's Goose. In Snow Geese, it apparently is a dominate trait and has grown to about 20% of the population from less than 5% 50 years ago. Tan-headed morph White-throated Sparrows turn out to be dominate in behavior, but I do not know how that equates to genetics. If a bird is behaviorally dominate though, its genes should become more prevalent in the population. These examples make one wonder if the orange tipped birds are signs of things to come, or perhaps like green-eyed redheads among people and doomed to extinction. Fred Collins (281) 357-5324 Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center Cypress Top Historical Park Commissioner Steve Radack Harris County Precinct 3 www.pct3.hctx.net -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of dennis shepler Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 2:41 PM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] Genetics of Waxwings Howdy Texbirders, Interesting information. If we have a genetic condition for color, then what role might carotenoids have on the expression of the phenotype? There really is some good research to be had there. Possibly, this question has already been addressed in the literature. But, I was really surprised by the coloration. As with many traits in populations, could there be a gene shift leading to the sighting of more of the orange-tipped individuals? This was the first one that I had noticed, and I guess that I will now see more individuals with this trait based on this interesting exchange. Thanks, Dennis Shepler West Harris County -- W. Dennis Shepler TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Genetics of Waxwings From: dennis shepler <dawgler AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 14:40:39 -0600 Howdy Texbirders, Interesting information. If we have a genetic condition for color, then what role might carotenoids have on the expression of the phenotype? There really is some good research to be had there. Possibly, this question has already been addressed in the literature. But, I was really surprised by the coloration. As with many traits in populations, could there be a gene shift leading to the sighting of more of the orange-tipped individuals? This was the first one that I had noticed, and I guess that I will now see more individuals with this trait based on this interesting exchange. Thanks, Dennis Shepler West Harris County -- W. Dennis Shepler TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Quinta Sightings: Crimson-collared Grosbeak & Eastern Screech-Owl From: Leslie Ann Howland <lahowland AT MCALLEN.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 14:40:08 -0600 A visitor has reported finding once again a male Crimson-collared Grosbeak on the El Monte Trail by the apartment complex about an hour ago. Keep your fingers crossed it's him! The Eastern Screech-owl has also been spotted roosting in the cavities of the dead palm trees near the intersection of El Monte Trail and the South Trail. Visitors are highly encouraged to notify the front desk about their sightings. Have a great day! Leslie A. Howland Supervisor, Quinta Mazatlan McAllen Parks and Recreation P.O. Box 220 McAllen, TX 78505 Phone: (956) 681-3370 Fax: (956) 681-3379 www.quintamazatlan.com TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Mills County Common Goldeneye, Red-bellied Woodpecker & others From: Doc <drbirdie AT AOL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 14:22:55 -0600 Hi Texbirders, I was able to spend about 2 hours Monday afternoon March 8 birding southern Mills county between Lometa and Goldthwaite. Stopped briefly at Lometa Reservoir hoping for the female COGO that Rich Kostecke had there twice this winter. I missed that bird for the second time in 7 days so perhaps it is gone. Absent also was the male Cinnamon Teal seen last week by Dan Hodges and me. Drove through a ferocious thunderstorm in Lampasas County, even had some small hail. A few ponds south of Goldthwaite had Redheads, Ring-necks and a few Gadwall. Hit the duck bonanza though on a couple of large tanks northwest of the Goldthwaite cemetery (sw of town on hwy 16). Here I found a female Common Goldeneye (from Lometa?) and several other species of dux. Abt 45 Cave Swallows flying abt a culvert near the cemetery and a single male Purple Martin flying high near Goldthwaite City Park. Of particular interest was a male Red-bellied Woodpecker seen well as it perched on a telephone pole at the city park. Completely red crown and nape, but could not discern whether white barring present on central tail feathers. Heard a Melanerpes sp. that I thot was GFWO in same area, but not sure. In Lampasas Co. the default Melanerpes seems to be RBWO. Across the Colorado in San Saba Co. it is GFWO. I wonder abt the situation in Mills, which like Lampasas Co. is almost entirely on the Edwards Plateau, but just a bit further north and perhaps a bit drier. Good birding ya'll, Byron Stone, Austin Sent from my iPhone TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Goose Island SP (CTC 048) , 3/9/10 From: Dennis Haessly <dennis AT BIRDBANDER.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 13:53:54 -0600 Avian Programs At Goose Island State Park Tuesday - Birding 101 - Rec Hall, 4 pm Shorebird Program - Rec Hall, 7 pm Wednesday - Shorebird Walk - Fishing Pier, 8 am Photography With Any Camera - Rec Hall, 4 pm Song Bird Program - Rec Hall, 7 pm Thursday - Woods Walk - Bayberry Restroom, 8 am Friday - Shorebird Walk - Fishing Pier, 8 am Saturday - Woods Walk - Bayberry Restroom, 8 am Various Programs - Rec Hall, 7 pm ------Location: Goose Island SP (CTC 048) Observation date: 3/9/10 Number of species: 86 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck X Mottled Duck X Blue-winged Teal X Northern Pintail X Redhead X Red-breasted Merganser X Common Loon X Pied-billed Grebe X American White Pelican X Brown Pelican X Neotropic Cormorant X Double-crested Cormorant X Great Blue Heron X Great Egret X Snowy Egret X Little Blue Heron X Cattle Egret X Black-crowned Night-Heron X White Ibis X Roseate Spoonbill X Black Vulture X Turkey Vulture X Osprey X Red-tailed Hawk X Crested Caracara X American Kestrel X Clapper Rail X American Coot X Whooping Crane X Black-bellied Plover X Killdeer X Spotted Sandpiper X Greater Yellowlegs X Willet X Lesser Yellowlegs X Dunlin X Short-billed Dowitcher X Laughing Gull X Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull X Gull-billed Tern X Caspian Tern X Forster's Tern X Royal Tern X Rock Pigeon X Eurasian Collared-Dove X Mourning Dove X Inca Dove X Common Pauraque X Buff-bellied Hummingbird X Belted Kingfisher X Ladder-backed Woodpecker X Eastern Phoebe X Couch's Kingbird X Loggerhead Shrike X White-eyed Vireo X Purple Martin X Tree Swallow X Cave Swallow X Barn Swallow X Tufted Titmouse X House Wren X Ruby-crowned Kinglet X Hermit Thrush X Gray Catbird X Northern Mockingbird X Brown Thrasher X Cedar Waxwing X Orange-crowned Warbler X Yellow-rumped Warbler X Ovenbird X Common Yellowthroat X Olive Sparrow X Eastern Towhee X Chipping Sparrow X Vesper Sparrow X Savannah Sparrow X Lincoln's Sparrow X White-throated Sparrow X Northern Cardinal X Red-winged Blackbird X Eastern Meadowlark X Great-tailed Grackle X Brown-headed Cowbird X American Goldfinch X House Sparrow X Dennis Haessly Goose Island State Park This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/ _______________________________________________________ Unlimited Disk, Data Transfer, PHP/MySQL Domain Hosting TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds http://www.doteasy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2732 - Release Date: 03/09/10 07:33:00 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Golden-cheekeds- Not yet From: "Warren, Christopher" <cw1402 AT TXSTATE.EDU> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 13:37:59 -0600 I spent a lovely morning in the San Marcos Greenspace today hiking through excellent GCWA habitat and found no Golden-cheeks. Given that many people, including myself, are anxiously waiting for these guys in order to start field work I will echo the request for people to please post their FOS GCWAs. They seem to be a little poky this year. Thanks! Chris Warren Pop. and Cons. Bio. Texas State University-San Marcos San Marcos, Texas 78666 TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Hook-billed Kites at Santa Ana NWR, 3/9/10 From: Dan Jones <antshrike1 AT AOL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 13:38:36 -0600 I spent a couple of hours this calm, balmy morning on the hawk tower at Santa Ana NWR and was rewarded with a pair of Hook-billed Kites. They came up distantly at about 9:40 over the Cattail Lake area and moved to the southeast gaining altitude and interacting with another pair of birds that may also have been Hook-bills. They were too high to find in my scope. They then reappeared coming from the Pintail Lake area and did a few laps over Willow Lake. The male then perched about 100 yards west of the tower for about 10 minutes. Later the female appeared over Pintail Lake. Not too much else from the tower except a Gray Hawk and about 40 Cedar Waxwings. http://i40.tinypic.com/n54xva.jpg http://i41.tinypic.com/2inqww.jpg http://i42.tinypic.com/2mhhai9.jpg Dan Jones in Weslaco http://antshrike.blogspot.com/ TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Orange tail tip Waxwing. From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <Fred_Collins AT HCTX.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 13:33:19 -0600 Sounds like a great study for a geneticist master student that also has an interest in birds. Everyone should forward these e-mails to any friend they have that is a geneticist. Fred Collins (281) 357-5324 Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center Cypress Top Historical Park Commissioner Steve Radack Harris County Precinct 3 www.pct3.hctx.net -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ross Dawkins Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 11:23 AM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: Re: [texbirds] Orange tail tip Waxwing. I have banded well in excess of 1 000 waxwings through the years (135 last Saturday) and would estimate that ~2% have orange tips to their rectrices. There seems to be no correlation to age or sex. The tip is either orange or yellow- never some intermediate. This tends to suggest to me that it is a genetic mutation. This possibly involves a single double bond in the chromophore. Many yellow flowers also have a red/orange variant or the reverse and some birds do also- House Finches, for instance. Ross Dawkins -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3) Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 9:30 AM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: Re: [texbirds] Orange tail tip Waxwing. I have often found such birds when I made a concerted effort. A quick "Google" of rhodoxanthin indicates in is found in Common Yew which is a common and widespread ornamental in Texas and most of the United States. I have observed a flock of waxwings feeding on large yews near downtown Houston in the past. Common Yew was a widespread ornamental in the museum district of Houston in years past. I suspect other Texas plants may contain this compound, so waxwings in Texas may consume it from a variety of sources, throughout their annual cycle, which may account for the orange tail tips. As far as differences in size, one has to wonder if it is genetic, sex-linked, or diet induced? Fred Collins (281) 357-5324 Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center Cypress Top Historical Park Commissioner Steve Radack Harris County Precinct 3 www.pct3.hctx.net -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of dennis shepler Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:14 AM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] Orange tail tip Waxwing. Howdy Texbirders, Found my first Cedar Waxwing with the orange tail tip that supposedly comes from eating Morrow's honeysuckle. Below is a bit of info I dug up from the TOS site: This *Cedar Waxwing *was photographed at Village Creek Drying Beds, Tarrant County, TX on 1 May, 1999 by Martin Reid. The orange tip to the tail of the lower bird was immediately striking, and it was seen a number of times as the flock of 50+ birds fed in the willows. The Travis Audubon Society web site used to mention a report of such a bird, and states that this color is thought to occur when young birds (with still-growing tails) feed on the fruit of Morrow's Honeysuckle, a non-native plant grown in the north of the USA that contains a red pigment called rhodoxanthin. The report says that there are no other records of this rare(?) form from Texas. Interestingly, Morrow's Honeysuckle is native to Japan and the Japanese Waxwing (*Bombycilla japonica*) has a red tip to the tail (click hereto link to a photo) - I wonder if there is a connection? Any comments ? *Update: November 2006:* I've heard from a biologist in San Angelo that he catches good numbers of Cedar Waxwings each winter, and that 2 - 3% have orange tips, with no apparent intergrades. He feels that this suggests a (genetic) mutation may be at work. The orange-tipped bird is smaller than a second salvage specimen I obtained that was next to it (window collision). The tail of the orange tipped bird is a centimeter shorter than the "normal" bird (vent to tail tip length). This is a young bird with no "wax" on the wings (probably a second year bird according to Mountjoy and Robertson, The Auk 105: 61-69, 1/88) . I will deposit these two specimen either with Fred Collins or at the Nature Discovery Center (...unless Keith Arnold wants them in the TCWC). Is the San Angelo biologist mentioned above, in the TOS notes,Terry Maxwell? Ciao, Dennis Shepler West Houston Harris County -- W. Dennis Shepler TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Fulvous Whistling Duck at Estero From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <Fred_Collins AT HCTX.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 13:30:12 -0600 This sighting is right on schedule for the beginning of spring migration for Fulvous Whistling-duck on the Upper Texas Coast. I would consider your flock of ten an arriving flock to be followed by many more in the coming week or two. Most pass the UTC during March but some still pass in April. Fred Collins (281) 357-5324 Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center Cypress Top Historical Park Commissioner Steve Radack Harris County Precinct 3 www.pct3.hctx.net -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of imhuck3 AT AOL.COM Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 12:27 PM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] Fulvous Whistling Duck at Estero Howdy Texbirders, Just had a report of Fulvous Whistling Duck back on one of the lakes, so Dave went out and found 10 of them on Avocet Pond. They have been very hard to come by this winter, with only one showing up about a month ago and staying just about a week or two and then dissappeared. Perhaps, these will hang around for awhile. Also, one gentleman came in this morning looking for Northern Beardless Tyrannulet and he just stopped by and said that he had found it. Great. OK, just wanted to get this out for those of you that have missed the Fulvous this winter and want to pick it up. Take care, Huck Hutchens Estero Llano Grande SP/WBC Weslaco, Texas TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Orange tail tip Waxwing. From: backus <backus86 AT COMCAST.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 13:09:28 -0600 On February 20, we observed a flock of hundreds of Waxwings as they stripped the berries from two large hollies in our backyard. At least 2-3 of these had the bright orange tail tip as shown in Sibley. We've been observing Cedar Waxwings for years, in different parts of the country, and this was the first time we noted the different tail tip. There were also large groups of American Robins feeding with the Waxwings, and working the Camphor trees. Anne Backus Seabrook -- Anne and Charles Backus 102 Whispering Oaks Drive Seabrook, Texas 77586 281/532-0509 backus86 AT comcast.net TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds Subject: Re: Orange tail tip Waxwing. From: Ross Dawkins <ross.dawkins AT ANGELO.EDU> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 11:22:53 -0600 I have banded well in excess of 1 000 waxwings through the years (135 last Saturday) and would estimate that ~2% have orange tips to their rectrices. There seems to be no correlation to age or sex. The tip is either orange or yellow- never some intermediate. This tends to suggest to me that it is a genetic mutation. This possibly involves a single double bond in the chromophore. Many yellow flowers also have a red/orange variant or the reverse and some birds do also- House Finches, for instance. Ross Dawkins -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3) Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 9:30 AM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: Re: [texbirds] Orange tail tip Waxwing. I have often found such birds when I made a concerted effort. A quick "Google" of rhodoxanthin indicates in is found in Common Yew which is a common and widespread ornamental in Texas and most of the United States. I have observed a flock of waxwings feeding on large yews near downtown Houston in the past. Common Yew was a widespread ornamental in the museum district of Houston in years past. I suspect other Texas plants may contain this compound, so waxwings in Texas may consume it from a variety of sources, throughout their annual cycle, which may account for the orange tail tips. As far as differences in size, one has to wonder if it is genetic, sex-linked, or diet induced? Fred Collins (281) 357-5324 Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center Cypress Top Historical Park Commissioner Steve Radack Harris County Precinct 3 www.pct3.hctx.net -----Original Message----- From: Birding discussion list for Texas [mailto:texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG] On Behalf Of dennis shepler Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:14 AM To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Subject: [texbirds] Orange tail tip Waxwing. Howdy Texbirders, Found my first Cedar Waxwing with the orange tail tip that supposedly comes from eating Morrow's honeysuckle. Below is a bit of info I dug up from the TOS site: This *Cedar Waxwing *was photographed at Village Creek Drying Beds, Tarrant County, TX on 1 May, 1999 by Martin Reid. The orange tip to the tail of the lower bird was immediately striking, and it was seen a number of times as the flock of 50+ birds fed in the willows. The Travis Audubon Society web site used to mention a report of such a bird, and states that this color is thought to occur when young birds (with still-growing tails) feed on the fruit of Morrow's Honeysuckle, a non-native plant grown in the north of the USA that contains a red pigment called rhodoxanthin. The report says that there are no other records of this rare(?) form from Texas. Interestingly, Morrow's Honeysuckle is native to Japan and the Japanese Waxwing (*Bombycilla japonica*) has a red tip to the tail (click hereto link to a photo) - I wonder if there is a connection? Any comments ? *Update: November 2006:* I've heard from a biologist in San Angelo that he catches good numbers of Cedar Waxwings each winter, and that 2 - 3% have orange tips, with no apparent intergrades. He feels that this suggests a (genetic) mutation may be at work. The orange-tipped bird is smaller than a second salvage specimen I obtained that was next to it (window collision). The tail of the orange tipped bird is a centimeter shorter than the "normal" bird (vent to tail tip length). This is a young bird with no "wax" on the wings (probably a second year bird according to Mountjoy and Robertson, The Auk 105: 61-69, 1/88) . I will deposit these two specimen either with Fred Collins or at the Nature Discovery Center (...unless Keith Arnold wants them in the TCWC). Is the San Angelo biologist mentioned above, in the TOS notes,Terry Maxwell? Ciao, Dennis Shepler West Houston Harris County -- W. Dennis Shepler TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds