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The BIRDING SITES, HUMMINGBIRDS, BIRD LIST, and LM REPORTS
pages have all been recently updated!
***A note for sending bird reports***
A bird report should have a date, species, location, observers,
and most important, some details of the observation and bird,
like field marks *that you saw*, and how you eliminated similar
species. These are the standard minimum basic requirements
for any level of bird reporting. Just take a picture,
it is easier! :) But don't send to me if over a meg!
I thank you all for your reports! :)
I am collecting Uvalde County rare bird photos if you have any.
Please no pictures over 1 meg, and prefer 200-400 kb small files.
If you need help in resizing them, I have written instructions
for doing it with the MS photo editor.
I am not interested in photos from other areas for identification.
Please please please do not send unsolicited out of area photos.
Contact your local Audubon Society if you have pictures of a bird
you would like identified, every area has one. From Houston
to Travis to Ft. Worth, Big Sky, Llano Estacado, no matter where
you are there are other local folks interested in your local birds,
and since you are (to have a pic that you want ID'd) you should want
to know them. :) Thank you in advance.
:)
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Commonly used ABBREVIATIONS are:
"in or around town" - refers to Utopia
UP - Utopia Park off 1050 just west of 187
UR - Utopia on the River grounds (2 mi. S. of town)
LM - Lost Maples SNA
SRV - Sabinal River Valley (Clayton Grade to Lost Maples)
SR - Seco Ridge a couple miles west of Utopia
in Uvalde County, our current yard and hovel.
FOS - "First of Season" (usually used for the first
spring or fall migrant of a given species to show up locally)
Odes = Odonata - a dragonfly or damselfly
Leps - Lepidoptera - usually butterflies
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First a few 2011 highlights
Here's a sketch of the Rufous-backed Robin that
Kathy and I saw at Ft. Inge Uvalde on Feb. 19, 2011
which was the highlight of the winter for me.
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Here's a spring highlight ...
Here's a poor digiscope of the Purple Gallinule
at Utopia Park May 12, 2011, was present at least
a couple weeks to late May in Audrey's water lillies.
And here are June and July hummer highlights....
Adult male Lucifer Hummingbird at Utopia June 29, 2011
was a five day wonder, and the first in Uvalde Co.
Albino (mostly) hummingbird at Utopia July 15-18, 2011
seemed to be a Black-chinned Hummingbird to me.
The butterfly of the year was late, on December 3, a
Mexican Tropical (Florida) White (Appias drusilla) at the butterfly
garden was maybe the second ever documented in Uvalde County.
Okay finally ... here's the news:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ BIRD & NATURE NEWS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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Rant warning!
Following 8-9 paragraphs about Lost Maples State NATURAL AREA.
I have really tried hard 8 years to keep anything remotely
political off the website, with only the rare outburst
about usually an injustice against nature, or some of the
citiots that come visit. Sometimes we must say something.
Lost Maples is a State Natural Area (SNA), which would
seem to infer it's intrinsic natural history values
are the priority, since it is not a PARK, but a NATURAL AREA.
Per their website, non-native channel catfish have been
introduced into the pond up Can Creek. I can't
take a leaf out of the park, but the state can introduce
non-native species that eat the native aquatic fauna?
Could this happen if it were a predatory mammal, bird
or reptile? But a non-native fish is OK? What's the
difference? Non-natives have no place in a natural area.
If I can't take a leaf out because the nutrients in it are
considered vital to the ecosystem, why is it OK to remove
literally tens of thousands of aquatic invertebrates from the
ecosystem by introducing non-native fish to the natural area?
All the animals matter and are part of the ecosystem.
It takes all of them to make it work for some reason.
Not just the ones we eat. Wasn't there a good book
that implored us to take care of all creatures no matter
how small? Because they are all there for a reason?
They all play a role in making it work and whether we
dummies know or understand how and why which puzzle piece
does what is not what matters. Intelligent tinkering
requires saving all the parts. It's our job to at the
least save all the puzzle pieces. Introducing non-natives
into the NATURAL AREA is not saving all the parts, it is
destroying some of them, willfully and intentionally for
some (mis-) perceived gain.
There were non-native trout introduced there for a year or
two, a couple years prior to this. This is ridiculous
to have as pristine a natural waterhole as we have left
that is publicly available, that is IN an official State
NATURAL Area, and be constantly introducing non-native
(some high-end predator) species in it. Aren't there a
million waterholes in Texas full of introduced fish already?
Can't we have one without more non-native introduced species?
Wasn't Lost Maples saved to be preserved in its natural state?
Why does the aquatic invertebrate fauna not matter, but
a fallen leaf does?
This is simply more human folly that causes detruction of
the environment and ecosystems, a little piece at a
time, the damage is insidious and no one notices, save
perhaps a nature nerd studying it, whom then are labelled
as radical environmentalists. If this is a natural
area to be preserved as such, why is it up to someone's
whim and fancy whether or not non-native predators are
introduced that will absolutely positively have detrimental
effects on the ecosystem and animals that are native in the SNA?
I have little doubt why native dragonfly populations have
crashed at the ponds since non-native fish introduction
began at the State Natural Area. Odonata are the only group
I've looked at hard enough to see the *catostrophic* drop in
their numbers at the ponds at Can Creek. The pond has
stayed at the same level, but odonata populations haven't.
Surely all the aquatic invertebrates have taken the beating as
well. That pond ecosystem is a unique habitat, and is being
destroyed from the inside out, with public money, because
TPWD is soooo flush with bucks? We just can't see
the damage for the most part so it's OK? Aquatic
non-native fish introduction negative impacts are
just as sure as a goat's or cat's is.
For some entrance fee money TPWD takes the natural history OUT
of the State NATURAL Area? They don't seem to know or
care about what natually lives in the ponds. I thought
mistakenly apparently, the site was one where being conservative,
saving what we have, the conservation of our natural history
and resources, was the prime directive.
Aquatic ecosystems get no respect despite them being the huge
part of what makes the terrestrial ones work. Lost Maples
is only a natural area in name apparently. Write or
call TPWD and tell them to stop introducing non-native species
that upset the balance of nature, in the State Natural Area.
You'd have thought after TPWD in the not too distant past recently
nearly caused the extinction of our endemic Guadalupe Bass by
introducing Largemouth Bass into every wet hoofprint in the state,
that they'd have learned something. Can't we have just one
REALLY natural as possible waterhole hidden in the hill country,
in the SNA without introduced non-native predators and study what
is there, and what goes on, naturally? Seems too much to ask?
They couldn't begin to tell me what lives there, and are systematically
removing it with non-native fish introductions.
Natural means WITHOUT Channel Catfish or Rainbow Trout in
the case of the ponds up Can Creek. That is not natural.
Those are not native species in the headwaters streams here.
I have seen Golden-cheeked Warblers take teneral (just emerged)
damselflies sometimes there. Well they used to, when they were
there, that food source at the pond has been mostly eliminated,
by man's folly. You'd think it was someone's private play
pond, not a State Natural Area. To me it goes against the
the very reason it was given to the state, to save and protect it,
in its natural state, and to NOT treat it like any game ranch
endlessly introducing non-natives, upsetting the balance of nature.
One of the reasons we moved here was to study the natural area,
so it is extremely painful to watch the natural be removed.
It is a shame man can't watch and appreciate nature, without
having to play God and have a hand at being mother nature,
which seems invariably to result in an epic fail.
End of Rant. I feel much better now. If you agree
please do call or write TPWD and tell them you don't agree with
them introducing non-native fish at the pond in the natural area.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ BIRD NEWS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012
Feb. 2 ~ fog, mist, drizzle, and scans out the window from the
keyboard. Supposed to get some rain overnight.
February 1 ~ FEBRUARY!?! Is time speeding up or something?
At least we get an extra day this month. Well to start the
month there were two new for the year *fresh emergence* butterfly
species in the yard today, Little Yellow and Dainty Sulphur.
A couple Snout passed by, and a couple new and couple old worn
Variegated Fritillary continue in yard. Had a Sleepy Orange
or two pass by as usual too. All are visiting the only native
wildflower blooming, the little yellow bell-shaped Dutchman's Breeches,
which acquires its breeches when it goes to seed. Being the
first and only thing blooming is a good way to insure pollination.
Since I'm sure some local eyebrows will go up about Dutchman's
Breeches being the first thing blooming..... Yes I too saw
there is some short purple Henbit blooming around town parkways in
late Jan., but which is a non-native species introduced from Europe,
not one of our Texas hill country native wildflowers. :)
The next natives to open by appearances might be Agarita (Texas Holly)
which should be opening in a couple or few days, followed by Redbud.
~ ~ ~ ~
January totalled 10 species of butterflies, pretty good, decent,
with the Elfin and Olive Juniper Hairstreak being record early
emergences methinks. The rest save 1-2 Variegated Frits end of month
were last years' worn leftovers. No odes were seen in Jan. after
the first week or 10 days of the new year when the last Vareigated,
and Autumn Meadowhawk were seen, as usual.
I saw about 75 species of birds around Utopia in Jan., but had
too much to work do and so got out and birded only a little.
Being a quality over quantity guy, the albeit brief views of
White-winged Crossbill and a small flock of Smith's Longspur,
were as good as any sighting I've had here in over 8+ years now.
The Mallard and Turkey Vulture were great too, one hour wonders.
My 2 wintering Selasphorus left mid-January.
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Jan. 31 ~ fog mist in a.m. and p.m., but at some point in the morning
it was clearing out up here and I heard a Rusty Blackbird calling
overhead, ran out from under porch and spotted it and got a bin look.
Coming from Bear Creek Pond, going towards river, the opposite of the
one in Dec. going to the pond, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were
the same one, wintering locally.
Jan. 30 ~ Cool, breezy, and light showers in p.m. totalled .17" at
the Rogers station nearby on Seco Ridge (SR).
Jan. 29 ~ Right about freezing this a.m., but little wind, so got nice
quickly. Between a couple banks of feeders in town and ours
here there were at least 50 American Goldfinch around, and nearly
a dozen Lessers, and Siskin. I only know of two pine trees in town,
checked them both, their cones look old, probably not this year's.
That is all I have to report about them.
UP had 5 Gadwall, 3 Ring-necked Duck, 20 Green-winged Teal, upriver
one each Green and Belted Kingfisher and Pied-billed Grebe. There
were virtually no fruigivores to be found around town (Robin,
Waxwing, bluebirds). There were a couple Song Sparrow below
the dam, the usual Black Phoebe, a few Myrtle Warbler about, and
at the north end of town a dozen Savannah and one Vesper Sparrow.
The local Eastern Bluebirds are getting territorial around boxes.
Saw out of the corner of my eye right before it went behind trees,
a woodpecker which it called a weird a wirr-r-r-r-r as it flew, but
it kept going after it went behind trees and I never got it.
Jan. 28 ~ Cold front passed pre-dawn so windy and chilly, will
continue working here in the office. High upper 50's dF,
with gusts to 20 MPH on it. Some Purple Martin are back in
San Antonio, so shouldn't be too much longer here, another week or
two if early returns maybe. There've been some on the coast
for a couple weeks now. An aerial insectivore is a real sign
you're on the back side of winter, perhaps why they are so eagerly
anticipated, and impatiently awaited. Time to do your nest box
cleaning for all your boxes, the local residents like Titmouse,
Wrens, Chickadee, Bluebirds, will all commence nest-building in Feb.
if conditions allow so spring-clean those nest boxes.
Jan. 27 ~ Spring migrants! As usual the first obvious bird
species to pass northward in spring is White-fronted Goose, and
this morn at 8:10 p.m. luckily I was outside to hear them, so got
a 160-175 count on a nice flock going due north at 1000'+ altitude,
from my 1550' ASL.
Keeping migration dates can get interesting very quickly, as I
see in 2010 a flock first passed over northbound on Jan. 22,
my earliest date for this. Then the two prior years (08-09) they
showed on Jan. 28, and Jan. 27. Since 08, all first detection
dates of northbound migrant flocks are in January. Whereas the
four springs prior (04-07) all first detections were in February,
and mid-Feb. were the earliest at that! It is not enough data
to do much but get in trouble with, but certainly piques the
imagination. Often things like severity of winter as in
temperatures, precipitation, and climatology are factors for normal
small annual fluctuations in migration departures or arrivals.
I'd sure love to have a set of these dates from say 10, 20, 50 and
100 years ago. It seems from this little bit, they are leaving
northward earlier, but it is too soon to tell, and there is no
historical baseline database against which to compare. This is
why I record what I see. At least in 50 years someone will be
able to say look here, they used to go north in mid-Feb., then late Jan.,
and now it's mid-January, or whatever. Usually the import of the
data will not be realized until long after you're gone. It often
all seems the same when it is being collected.
The changes over time are what make it interesting. Sometimes
there are good hard clear breaks, like how Lesser Goldfinch did not
winter here in numbers yet as of 03, 04, 05, but by 08 or 09 had begun,
to over-winter at thistle seed socks and sparingly at sunflower tubes,
first a few, then small numbers and now clearly increasing with
likely a dozen or more around town this winter.
A quick look at the park saw the Pied-billed Grebe and one male
Ring-necked Duck upriver. A couple Common Raven flew over.
Jan. 26 ~ Talk about getting gobsmacked! I get an e-mail
today telling me of a report with poor photos of an apparent
White-winged Crossbill towards Tarpley early November! OMG!
A female or immature type. Reaffirmation is what I call it.
I am sure as the day is long that is what I saw Friday the 13th out
the office window barely at 15' away if that, and have been looking
hard since without seeing it again. Check your pines and
golfinches and siskins at your sunflower feeders.
Jan. 25 ~ The real news today was rain, another .79 here on SR!
I heard up to 1.5 inches out B & R, so this puts us at SR at
2.25"+ for Jan., at least, and maybe 2.5 to 3" in town
and to north and east for month! WEEWOW! If it keeps
this up in Feb. and March, a couple inches each month, we'll have
a spectacular spring bloom, especially since last year most of the
wildflowers took a by-me and passed on so much as sprouting.
Jan. 24 ~ Still on super mega rary patrol and still no
super mega raries. That is all.
Jan. 23 ~ Low in mid to upper 30's in a.m., chilly, nice
as long as there is no wind on it. Mid-morning for
over an hour there was a large flock of Robins about SR,
looking for berries in the junipers, to no avail. There
were at least 150, perhaps 200 total, plus a couple dozen
Cedar Waxwing. I heard a weird two-note call I did
not recognize and was looking around when I saw two birds
in a snag from the porch, they were large fat finchy things,
they flew, and gave the odd two-note call I'd heard.
Don't know what they were but good birds. So I went
around a bit working the area and came up with nothing.
Then unrelated to the two big fat finchy things, at about
10:30 a.m. I pick up 7-8 odd passerines heading right over
the porch, get them in binocs, sorta House Finch-ish at a
distance, but flight very different, faster, more level,
and as they approach I see they are all carmel butterscotch
colored below, then a couple of them call. SMITH'S
LONGSPURS! It sounded like two of them calling back
and forth, their unique rattle unlike any other species,
right over head, 50-60 feet up at most. They were
heading west toward the goat farm pastures and Bear Creek
Pond. There has been a southerly invasion of them
this year with a flock at Houston for a few weeks now,
and a single at Port O'Connor on the beachfront last week.
WOW! Most amazingly not even a yard or county bird, but a
darn good one with which I'll take any encounter I get,
and a fly over calling flock suits me just fine. Now
if I could just find them in a field locally.
Jan. 22 ~ More of same, too much work to go anywhere,
so covering the yard. It was fog-mist all morning,
until a dry-line and front passed in p.m. when it warmed
to upper 70's!.
Jan. 21 ~ was a bit windy in a.m. as a minor cold front
came through. A week of scrutiny around here and
on the feeders has produced no further sighting of any
two-barred bird with a crossed bill durnit. Almost seems
the two Rufous Hummers weren't about the last two or few days
either. It is getting near spring migration time for
them, they move early, I think these two are gone, they left.
I did see my first new fresh spring flowers of the year
today under the dried brown grasses of last fall there
are a few Dutchman's Breeches with flowers, almost always
the first new fresh thing to sprout and bloom each year.
Jan. 20 ~ An mint fresh Olive Juniper Haristreak was the day's
prize, probably my record early emergence date for last 9 years.
Wow TWO record early butterfly emergence dates in last 3 days.
Do they know something we don't? Think I'll have a look
for buds on the Redbud and Agarita. A Coop flushed all the
White-winged Dove, 100 count! Never got that in Jan. before.
There were not this many earlier in Jan. or in late Dec., half that.
It means spring migrants are returning already.
I just had a quick look in town between stops, but it really
seems the frugivores are gone from town, trees are berry-stripped
for the most part. Ligustrum is about what is left now.
Waxwings don't mind it. At UP there were the Great Blue
Heron, Belted Kingfisher and Pied-billed Grebe all continuing.
There were 2 drake Green-winged Teal and 5 Ring-necked Duck
above the island. Passerines must have been sleeping,
it was heat of afternoon, some mayflies, no odes, and I still
can't get over that big bee hive in the big cypress really did
get wiped out by a honey predator. Only lasted two years or so.
Jan. 19 ~ If you look through the dried brown knee-high grasses,
there are lots of green sprouts breaking ground down low.
Still a couple Paralena flowers out front, and a new Slender-stem
Bitterweed has opened, to replace the old dead bloom.
Jan. 18 ~ Amazing was a beautiful Henry's Elfin (Callophrys henrici)
butterfly out in the front yard in the afternoon heat, surely must
be my record earliest date for one, normally the first ones I see
flying emerge the first week of February when the Redbud and Texas
Holly (Agarita) start blooming. Maybe it knows something we don't?
It is the first NEW butterfly of the year. All of the other
6-7 species flying now are leftover beat, worn, rode hard, old ones
from last year, this is the first newly emerged butterfly of the
new year and butterfly season.
Maybe that is part of why a brown butterfly can be so exciting?
Here it is very ephemeral in nature, a short-season early spring flyer,
coupled with that fancy unique hindwing shape, scalloped, a special
beauty. The scalloping wears, lessening the effect over time,
the fresh ones are most impressive.
About 10 a.m. a flock of 70 Robin and 30 some Cedar Waxwing were
about for a few minutes. Late in the p.m. a male No. Harrier
flew over the knoll and it looked like it went down (to roost) in
a dense cluster of junipers.
Jan. 17 ~ Merlin! A great look at one spotted a half mile out
while scanning a kettle of Black Vulture. Once it got altitude
it broke and bolted, came right over the porch for great views
continuing west toward Bear Cr. Pond and divide. For being small,
they are soooo fast, and deceptively so, they appear to hardly be
doing anything, except going 60 MPH like a bullet. This is
what the Robins are nervous about.
Jan. 16 ~ Still two Rufous Hummer here, imm. male getting more rufous
on back, other seems ad. female. Lots of Goldfinch and Siskin,
House Finch way down, couple pairs of Lesser Goldfinch. Sharpy
grabbed a Chippy so fast I couldn't believe it and I see it all
the time. Faster than the eye. The sparrow is looking out
for this so it doesn't happen, and can't stop it. That is how
fast it is.
Jan. 15 ~ In yard two dozen American Goldfinch was impressive as
was 2 dozen Slate (-colored) Junco, but no fancy raries. Of two
Rufous Hummers the imm. male is getting rufous on back now. Was
clear at dawn and by 8 a.m. clouding up with southerly flow, then got
misty and drizzly by late morning, but as of late p.m. none of the
strong winds they forecasted, dead calm, some light showers. Too
drippy to tape though. Guess I'll just watch the Coop & Sharpy
feeding station.
Jan. 14 ~ Was allegedly in the upper 20's dF for a few hours,
but no ice on water here on SR, just frost on truck. Was
cold in JCT and HDO, both were 23dF, KVL was 30, so was no
doubt a freeze down in town here. Kept an eye out here
all a.m. and no rary was to be seen. The couple dozen
plus each of Robin and Waxwing were about first hour of sun as
usual, then they head toward town and look for hackberries.
The same as yesterday for the yard regulars, except the stray
one that I wanted to see again. Lookin' like it was a
one look wonder. I am certain it was a White-winged
Crossbill, dang it. That got away.
The mega flock of frugivores that was in town in December is gone
and the hackberry trees are about stripped, waxwings are on
ligustrum sometimes now. Interesting they'd rather have that
mostly pit of a hackberry (they don't call it that for nuthin')
than a far more pulpy and juicy (non-native) ligustrum berry,
but will go to those when the hackberries are depleted.
A couple hours mid-day around town turned up nothing unusual.
An imm. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is attending holes in trees
in the yard at the NW corner of the intersection of 187 & 1050
at the south end of town. Robins, waxwings, bluebirds,
Myrtle Warblers about, and while audio taping waxwings from the NW
corner of that yard I picked up a couple Audubon's Orioles in
background, I presume in the Ligustrums or Hackberries nearby
to the north of Broadway, they're runnin' loose in town now.
In the park it was mostly the residents, but at least two
Golden-crowned Kinglet, a nice male was really aggressive
toward the other and constantly displaying its full crown patch,
which when erected, the red is almost like a Ruby-crowned,
and most impressive. It is also the first adult male I've
seen here, they are virtually all immatures or females. Got
some audio tape of them too. Upriver there were the 17 Green-
winged Teal, 7 Gadwall, couple Ring-necked Duck, while the Pied-
billed Grebe and Belted Kingfisher continue. A few Sleepy
Orange butterfly were out, some few mayflies over the river.
At the park the beehive in the big cypress looks to have been
destroyed, something ransacked it when it froze no doubt,
opened it up and had a party it appears. The wax cover
over the opening was all torn up. Lasted 2 years plus.
Coon? Ringtail? Had to be a climber, that knows
once it is sub-freezing they can open that thing up and
immobilize the bees, just like the dillo did to the big
in-ground yellow-jacket nest a year or two ago in winter.
Animals are sure smart.
Jan. 13 ~ Nowhere near the advertised 22 at KVL, twas 32 there,
and probably 34 or so up here on SR. One more cold
one tomorrow, then a week break from the freeze is forecast.
Pretty active as usual on cold mornings, a few Audubon's Oriole,
couple Orange-crowned Warbler, a couple dozen Robin, a couple
dozen Waxwing, dozen each American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin,
nearly two dozen House Finch, 5 Spotted Towhee, 20+ Slate Junco,
150 Chipping Sparrow, 2 (Rufous probably) Selasphorus Hummers,
couple Sharpy, and the regulars like Cardinal, Carolina Wren
and Chickadee, gaggle of Titmice, Bewick's Wren, Field and Rufous-
crowned Sparrow, and one bird I'd give $10, maybe $20 to see again.
The bird of the day so often gets away.
From the desk at the keyboard, out the office window I thought
man that is one big fat Siskin on the Juniper as it had streaking
below and had some greenish-yellowish tones to it. Then I
couldn't help but notice the two big bold wingbars were equalish,
bright white, broad, and fairly uniform appearing twin white bars.
That didn't click all the way to home, but enough to make me look
at the bill, whence I thought it must have a sunflower seed or thingie
hanging from beak. So looked harder still bare-eyed but now
really hard again: kinda like a big and fat siskinish due to being
streaked below, lightly, diffused, with two big white bars on wing,
some yellowish-greenish tint, and a thingie hanging off tip of the bill.
I reached for bins as I realized the thing at the tip of the bill
wasn't a seed, it wasn't falling off, just as I got them to eyes,
the bird flew and I haven't seen it again, yet, so far. Just
makes you want to cry.
Right before it flew as I was lifting binocs (probably my motion
flushed it) I thought geez that looks like a White-winged Crossbill.
But was so out of place, that I didn't think it the 7-8 seconds
I saw it bare-eyed at 15' trying to figure out what the samheck was
goin' on with that big fat siskin with the two white bars on wing
and thing hanging off tip of bill. Haven't seen one in decades,
so totally off the radar. Kept an eye out all afternoon and didn't
see anything. Will do some due diligence at feeders and about
tomorrow. I generally don't turn in 10-second sightings,
(least of all bare-eyed) of rarities, hope I can come up with
something more for this one. Locals keep an eye on the feeders.
Jan. 12 ~ A dozen American Goldfinch, a couple Lesser here
at the sunflower tubes, a few Siskin, ca. a dozen Waxwing and
2 doz. Robin going over, the adult female Rufous/Allen's type
Selasphorus Hummer still here but no cuthroat (imm. male) today.
I made a record high count of 25 Slate-colored Junco in the
afternoon! Didn't see any anywhere else on the count,
as usual too. At least 150 Chipping Sparrow here now.
Sharpy or three diving on them relentlessly.
A quick look at the pond at the park found 17 Green-winged Teal,
2 Gadwall, and 7 Ring-necked Duck! Mud in the eye was the
Great Egret which was present for 2 months up to a week before
the count, and not the last couple weeks, and now seems back
again, our first overwintering Great Egret, successfully dodged
count week. The wind blew all night and day, finally
laying down in afternoon. Get ready for it to get cold,
forecast is low-mid 20's in morn.
Jan. 11 ~ An amazing pre-frontal high in the mid 70's dF was
great, but you know the cold is coming when it is like that.
I counted 5 Spotted Towhee at the bird bath taking turns
bathing mid-morning, 3 males and 2 females. A Mockingbird
came in to drink quickly.
Jan. 10 ~ A drive-thru look at UP saw 10 Gadwall and 2 drake
Green-winged Teal on the pond, and Little Creek Larry said he has
seen 2 Wigeon (means they were around still count week and missed)
and some Ring-necked Duck. Here at SR I saw both Black
Vulture and Common Raven in pair bond display (love) flight.
Ahhhhh..... spring is in the air.....
Jan. 9 ~ Did you see NOAA last week talking up the La Nina
pattern they touted for the winter (before the last 9"
of rain) finally settling in, mild and dry, through spring?
So of course it rained, we got 1.5" midnight to dawn
and a great slow soaker for the most part! I heard some
NE of town got over 2" in the guage. Now we're
over 10" since mid-September when the dry pattern broke.
All we need is an inch or two in each of the next few months
for a great spring bloom.
The adult female Rufous/Allen's was about, but that was the
only hummer I saw, methinks the Anna's are gone now. There
were 21 Junco in the yard, my record high count locally.
There was one possible Pink-sided, and one possible Oregon,
the rest Slate. Few dozen Robin went over early a.m..
Jan. 8 ~ Now to unpack the mess, didn't get out as weather wasn't
appealing. At least 16 Junco in yard, maybe 150 Chipping
Sparrow, 10+ American Goldfinch, male and female Lesser Goldfinch -
the male I saw Sat. a.m. before we left. The white-winged
Field Sparrow continues. New Inca Dove high count of 10 in yard.
Jan. 7 ~ Supply run to Uvalde for the first time in a month, we're
good at avoiding the holiday season. A mile south of town
just before the Waresville turn at the backyard pond there was a
flock of 25 Ring-necked Duck and a few Gadwall. Just over
Clayton Grade on the escarpment there was a flock of 29 northbound
Double-crested Cormorant. I have about one, single bird,
January sighting locally.
Overall the roads to Uvalde seemed fewer of birds, perhaps
lots of the light seed crops are depleted now, many fewer sparrows
for instance, only a hundred Lark Bunting. One Harris's Hawk,
the little blackish male (western) Red-tailed Hawk is still
along Old Sabinal Rd. just west of UvCo 308. A dozen
Caracara were together in a field on the Sabinal cutoff (UvCo 2730).
A few cranes, but no goodies in the fields. Three hundred
plus Brewer's Blackbird at Driskill Feedlot on 127 NW of Sabinal.
Ft. Inge is closed still, and no one opened up Cook's Slough,
so we walked the upper ponds there, which were loaded with
ducks. At least a hundred each Gadwall and American Wigeon,
a couple hundred Black-bellied Whistling Duck, a dozen or two
of each Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck, some Pintail.
About ten White Pelican, a hundred Double-crested Cormorant is
the most I've ever seen there, heard a Kiskadee. Four
Orange-crowned Warblrer, a Swamp Sparrow (several Song),
and two Black-crowned Night-Heron, adult and a second year.
One Ringed Kingfisher showed briefly, it can be easy to miss
in the willows around the upper ponds.
The Uvalde National Fish Hatchery had a great waterfowl collection
as well, with 13 species, essentially all the regularly possible
species in the county save Geese and Wood Duck. 3 Redhead,
6 Canvasback, 7 Bufflehead, 8 Ruddy Duck, a dozen plus Lesser Scaup
and 2 dozen Ring-necked Duck was a good diving duck selection.
Then for puddle or dabbling ducks there was a drake Cinnamon Teal,
a few Blue-winged and some Green-winged Teal, Shoveler, 45 Pintail,
a few American Wigeon, several dozens of Gadwall.
Another Swamp Sparrow showed well there, more Song, Savannah,
and Vesper Sparrow, a couple Field Sparrow, 2 Lark Bunting which
I hadn't seen there before. Did see one bluet (Enallagma)
damselfly out, looked Familiar.
At Wally's World parking lot besides the usual bunch of
Bronzed Cowbirds in the little planted live-oaks in the lot,
there was a pied Great-tailed Grackle, partially albinistic,
(leucistic is the correct proper term, but I think the pied
birds are well-defined by the term partially albinistic) admixed
of white and pigmented feathers. It was pretty ugly, which might
seem an oxymoron but is not. Context and usage is everything. ;)
Jan. 6 ~ Always of great interest is the first bird in a new year
you didn't see last year, especially when birding in a very small
area, like I do. After seeing 279 species in Uvalde Co. last
year, it took only 6 days to see one I missed, in fact one I that
I haven't seen in a couple or few years locally. Nationally they
may be common but locally they're very scarce so was exciting to
find a drake MALLARD with some ducks on the temp pond just off 357 at
the end of the first loop. What a beautiful duck! Just
last week Scott McFarland told me that a month or so ago he had
some drake Mallards at the wet spot by Haby's on W. Sabinal Rd..
Mallard is a rare bird here. It was one of the most exciting
Mallards I have seen in a long time. There were also 8 Gadwall,
4 Green-winged Teal, 7 Ring-necked Duck, and might have been a
Wigeon too, hard to see all the water through the brush from 357.
This pond is usually a mudhole with nothing on it 99.9% of the time,
and today it was the honey hole jackpot!
A Pipevine Swallowtail on SR was butterfly species #7 for the
year. Park and town seemed dead. Was a Hutton's Vireo
was here in the yard again now that count week is past, it's safe.
Jan. 5 ~ A flock of 44 Robin flew over heading toward town
with one male Common Grackle in with them, no doubt the one I
saw criss-crossing town 10 days ago or so before count week,
which has taken with the Robins for the meanwhile, but so add
another species around but not seen count week. The female
Selasphorus (Rufous/Allen's) Hummingbird was about, yesterday I
saw it and the imm. male I call cutthroat, but not the other imm.
male, but at least three R/A Selas. around, though did not see
Anna's today, seems only one left which was here yesterday the 4th.
Sphinx moth of some sort late last night.
Jan. 4 ~ The day after count week ends I'm afraid to go outside
and see what shows that hid the last week. First thing
the Hutton's Vireo was calling away out there, the little rat.
Then as if that wasn't enough an amazing TURKEY VULTURE was
soaring about! The normal return dates for TV's in spring
are the third week of February, I have only one other Dec. or
Jan. sighting in 9 winters. Whether or not this is a local
breeder returning early or a wander from the I-10 winterers is
anybodies guess, we'll see if it is about the next week which might
tell us something. So there are two more birds that missed
count week by a day, and there were two (Golden Eagle and White-
fronted Goose) the day before count week for a total of 4 very
near-misses for count week. It was 73 sps. count day plus 3
count week, so 76 count week, and 2 additional subspecies (forms)
count week. And four that missed count week by a day.
I bet there are 10 more things out there I wished I knew of too.
Out the office window I saw some very interesting behavior today.
There was a Common Ground-Dove kicking the Inca Doves arses,
which was quite amazing. A very interesting wing-flicking
behavior as a threat display when the Incas got too close, then
when an Inca went to displace the Ground-, that was it, the
little guy went ballistic on the Inca, and then 3 more, beating
the whole gang back single-handedly, all the while doing this
quick slight wing-flick as a threat. Wow, that is neat behavior
to watch. This is birdwatching at its best, interesting
behavior, and we really know very little of it for many species.
For me it is not seeing new species, but seeing new behaviors that
is most fascinating.
Four days into the new year, and a fourth species of butterfly
for the year, a pale morph female Orange Sulphur, which went to
the hose so I dipped my hand in a bucket and sprinkled some water
near it. The butterfly ran several steps to the water,
reeled a bunch of tongue out and began imbibing immediately.
The Dainty Sulphur was still hitting the Paralena flowers.
I couldn't believe it in the afternoon a Buckeye flew by
me out front, then a Snout flew by later, so 3 new species
of butterflies for the year today, and 6 species total now.
A Green Lacewing was my first of year.
Jan. 3 ~ Last day of count week, be nice to pick up a couple
things, but can't get out to go look, will have to be in the
yard. Was probably 33dF here on SR this a.m., did not
freeze per my buckets of water, glad we're not down on the
valley floor in town on cold mornings. Was 22dF in
Junction, 24 in KVL, 29 down in HDO, so we're in a hot spot
up on the ridge. Nice except in summer.
There were 15 American Goldfinch at once on the sunflower
tubes this a.m., one Lesser Goldfinch female, about 18 House
Finch, until two Sharp-shinned Hawks cleared it out. The
Anna's Hummer was out there, and 2 Rufous put in an appearance.
A Gulf Fritillary cruised by about 1 p.m., butterfly sps. #3
for the year behind Variegated Frit and Dainty Sulphur. The
male Variegated Meadowhawk (ode) was still about the yard too.
Had a Mesquite Bug flying about, been seeing one a week last
few weeks.
Jan. 2 ~ The local Roadrunner walked 10' from me today, to
be counted for count week I suppose. Where was he on
count day? Saw a Dainty Sulphur to double the number of
butterflies I've seen this year, yesterday I saw one Variegated
Fritillary. I missed the Anna's today, but had the two
Rufous Hummers. Was supposed to freeze in a.m. but did
not, was about 35dF here, maybe down in town it froze, as in
HDO and KVL they were both 32, Junction was a chilly 24dF!
January 1 ~ HAPPY NEW YEAR! Cheers! Wow we made it
through another one, can ya believe it!?! Gluttons for
punishment, here we go for another! Cold front hitting
in a.m. with a high nearly 20dF lower than yesterday with
dreaded (for birding) gusty winds, so little hope of adding
any count week birds for the list. 10-20 MPH gusting 25,
so will work on the count results. Barely made 60dF,
was about 80dF yesterday.
The bird event of the day was singing Bewick's Wren, the first
song I have heard from them in months. Ahhh, spring is in
the air (besides the pollen from the junipers which has begun).
Yesterday morning the Carolina Wrens duetted for a while, their
first real bout of song for the new season as well. Already
Cardinal, Black-crested Titmouse and Carolina Chickadee had
all started singing earlier, so now it's 5 species that have
begun "spring" singing in the last 10-12 days or so.
A couple Paralena and one Slender-stem Bitterweed flower
are still open, in poor condition as they are.
begin 2012 above
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
end 2011 below
Well that is it for 2011! Went out in a ball of glory
with the 73 species on the winter bird count, the vast majority
of that within four miles of town. Nothing new for the
Uvalde County year bird list on the count so 279 it is, my
best annual total so far, eclipsing 2010's 259 and 2009's 245.
Was a poor year for shorebirds, no gulls/terns, but was the best
year for warblers, which was the real boon. On the other side
of the coin, butterfly and dragonfly diversity (like the river)
were at their lowest in 8 years, the drought got worse, save
the last 3 months of the year over which we got 9" of rain,
enough to save the plants but not to catch up the aquifer.
The butterfly total species diversity for the year was 68 species,
we've had single months with higher totals numerous times.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dec. 31 ~ Count Day! Since the 1st tomorrow is a wash for
weather with the front hitting (and I have other things to do
next weekend) and since it is best to keep the survey dates as
close together as possible, today was the day. Low about
40 dF, and high reached 79dF, over 15dF over normal. No
wind to speak of which is the crucial item besides rain that
kills bird finding in most situations, but especially wind
roughs up landbirding, which is most of what we have here.
In the afternoon it almost got warm out.
I did a few hours here before setting out, and spent 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. scouring the local area finding and counting every
bird I could. I again blew Lost Maples off, you need a
seperate party for it, a long haul for a couple species, more
than doubling driving time and miles. I only drove 50 miles
total covering all the local roads I could from town and up-
valley in Bandera County. I imagine some of the folk
in town wondered why that blue pickup with white shell kept
going in circles around town, again.
It was a great day, and it seems I found 73 species, which
ties the highest total in the 8 prior counts. Remarkable
if I must say so myself. 75 is still a dream here, but
just a matter of luck, like if you run into a Roadrunner or
Turkeys, which I missed both this year, probably looking out
the wrong side of the car as I was driving, both species
likely saw me.
Best birds are the 3 new to the count, this being the NINTH
effort at this, something not yet seen on any count rates high.
Wilson's (Common) Snipe at Haby's wet spot on West Sabinal Rd.
was a good new one. Then 6 Lark Bunting at the Prickly Pear
patch on 187 near the historical marker just north of the
W.Sab.Rd. turnoff was another new one. At least one
Anna's Hummingbird was here at the house, I thought I heard
the other while watching it but just counting one. This
puts the 9 year total at 129 species recorded combined from
all 9 counts.
There was a flock of 8 Mountain Bluebird on W.Sab.Rd., just
east of the first low water crossing on south side of road
feeding from the tops of short mesquite. Another Mountain
Bluebird was still in the flock in town. I've only seen
them (2) on one prior count.
Ducks were great with 7 Pintail (SLC) and 18 Ring-necked Duck,
both of which I'd only seen once before on count day. Then
20 Gadwall (SLC & UP), and a surprise male Green-winged Teal
(at UP) were good. One of the Ring-necks was upriver at park,
a first year male, alone.
Cypress Hollow had a nice first winter male Red-naped Sapsucker,
the only sap I saw all day, working the wells on those drilled
Cedar Elms. The only Hermit Thrush of the day was there too,
as was the heard only Green Kingfisher. I missed the male
that has been at the park a couple weeks, two times today.
I had 5 each of Caracara and Say's Phoebe, often I struggle for
one on count day, a big flock of 90+ American (Water) Pipit at
McFarland's fields on Lower Sabinal Rd. off W. Sabinal, a male
Northern Harrier crossed Lemond, just west of W. Sab. Rd.. I
was scrutinous this time so got Eastern and Western Meadowlark.
The Loggerhead Shrike was still out front of park, I saw it at
5:01 p.m., the last new bird for the day, after not getting a
response from the Barred Owls at the park (missed 'em).
Other misses (besides Turkey and Roadrunner) were Red-shouldered
Hawk and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, both of which I saw Friday
(the day before) at the park so have for CW, count week. Then
no Bushtit or Canyon Wren, those two most likely at Lost Maples
which I didn't do. Also missed Lincoln's, White-throated,
and Lark Sparrow, House Wren, Hutton's Vireo (usually around yard),
no Golden-crowned Kinglet, and no thrasher was seen, was hoping
for a Sage if not Long-billed. That's a dozen more one could
get if lucky on the best day, meaning 85 sps. for a day would be
possible if you had a small army out covering the valley.
With a few groups a few more rarer things would get dug out and
so 90+ is probably possible in a day in the valley in winter.
I bet that the Broad-tailed and the adult male Allen's Hummers
are both still around too, but didn't show for the count.
By not doing the count Friday, I lost the White-fronted Goose
and Golden Eagle as count week birds by one day. After dark
I went out every half hour or so until 11 p.m. hoping to hear a
Screech-Owl or Great Horned Owl to no avail, and no geese or
cranes went over after dark either. There was a real nice
Chorus Frog chorus though at 11 p.m..
The whole list is up on the winter bird count page (link above).
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3) and Myrtle Warbler (14) were 25% and 50%
respectively of their average numbers, these being mayfly dependent
winterers here, no river = no mayflies = no winter insectivores.
Hermit Thrush was 1 instead of avg. 5, no doubt due to lack of
a juniper berry crop this year due to drought. Have I told
you lately how everything is connected in nature?
The bird that got away today was an Athya duck that flushed with
the Ring-neckeds off the pond behind Jones Cemetary. I saw
a bold all green head, like a Greater Scaup, and so checked for
a wingstripe which was white, and seemed all the way out wing,
not gray, but they flew off and that was that. It looked
like a Greater Scaup to me, though it is possible to get green
off the head of a Ring-neck this seemed too solid and saturated
for that, besides the white trailing edge of wing. But for
a rare bird like that here, a flying away view is not satisfactory.
It was probably a Greater Scaup, but we'll never know for sure.
Always better to let them go than stretch for a positive ID.
It would be a very rare record for Bandera County.
A surprise was the dozen species of butterflies found as I looked
around, TWO of which were new for the month; a Buckeye along
187 in Bandera Co., and a Northern Cloudywing at the Spring
Branch crossing on the West Sabinal. A Pipevine Swallowtail
was nectaring on the big (still blooming) Loquat in town.
One Question Mark and a late Gulf Frit was neat too. I lost
count of Dainty Sulphur but must have been a dozen. The two
new for month species made for 27 species this month, one of my
better Decembers, but half those species weren't seen after the 3rd.
Autumn and Variegated Meadowhawk were the two ode species today.
Dec. 30 ~ Was seriously going to do the count today, did a
couple hours around house early as had a few things had to
do, and then the wind kicked up to 15+MPH. Went to town
for a couple things and looked around a couple hours just
in case it was hoppin' I'd go for it, but 'twas deadish, so
tomorrow is the big day. One male Variegated Meadowhawk
dragonfly out front in the driveway here on SR though.
At the pond south of 355 where that hits S. Little Creek were
15+ Ring-necked Duck, 6 Pintail, and some Gadwall, but the
Redhead, Wigeon, and Green-winged Teal were all gone. The
weak hackberry crop is really getting depleted quickly in town
and that huge bird flock was nowhere to be found for the
second time in a week, perhaps they've moved on, but only
one Robin, a dozen bluebirds, maybe 50 waxwing, 10 Myrtle
Warbler. It is the nature of frugivores to move around,
hunting the next patch of trees with food. I was hoping
they'd stick until I did the count, especially since there
were 2 Mountain Bluebird in the flock.
At the park was the male Green Kingfisher, heard the Belted,
no Great Egret it's gone, one Great Blue Heron, a Red-shouldered
Hawk, an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a nice male Audubon's
Warbler, the Black Phoebe, but missed Blue Jay there and in town
and a bunch of stuff just wasn't out and about it seemed. The
wind had lots of stuff down I think, it was just enough to be
irritating for landbird hunting.
Other things about were a female Large Orange or Cloudless
Sulphur butterfly, one Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, both at park.
A Pipevine Swallowtail was in town, new for Dec., sps. #25
for the month and probably one of my latest ever here.
A couple each of Orange Sulphur, Variegated Frit, Sleepy Orange,
Common Checkered-Skipper, and one Red Admiral were out in the
ca. 70 dF highs.
There was a flock of 18 or so Eastern Meadowlark out UvCo
Stub 378 off the NW corner of town. Just after I'd
decided visually they were Eastern the one I was looking at
called, veeet, a couple times, a diagnostic call of Eastern,
which was neat, that it didn't call like a Western after I'd
decided they were Eastern. :)
On a botanical note, the junipers (cedar) are starting to
pollenate, I see the rust colored tips on the male trees,
so get your allergy stuff ready, it's about to start.
Dec. 29 ~ Here at the hovel on SR, one Lesser Goldfinch was
with a hlaf dozen American, and 18 Pine Siskin was my count.
There were 2 pairs of Ground-Dove on the seed, 8 Inca, saw
one Oregon Junco, and the same hummers as yesterday. Best
was a Question Mark butterfly, new sps. for the month, #24.
Dec. 28 ~ Trying to decide when to do my one day winter bird
survey. Most have been on the 1st, and best to keep it
close as possible to the same date, but this year there is a
front predicted to hit some time that day. So methinks
Dec. 31, but, if I did it Dec. 30, it would be a nice day the
31st to mop up for count week species, whereas on the 31st the
following day the front hits sometime so would not be as good
a day to try to get a few misses for count week. Decisions,
decisions. Since on the 2nd its back to the salt mine
and no chance but for flyover count week birds..... hmmmmmm.
Anna's, Rufous, and mystery hummer all still about off and on.
Audubon's Orioles, Pine siskin, American Goldfinch, lots of
House Finch. TWO pair of Common Ground-Dove were out there
on the seed, which would be good for count week insurance, if I
count by Saturday, as you get three days before and after count
day for count week (CW). If I do it Friday the 30th, the
White-fronted Geese and Golden Eagle from Tuesday would be CW birds.
Hmmmmm.... tempting isn't it?
Dec. 27 ~ The bird of the day was at 12:30 p.m. when I went out
on front porch for a minute and heard geese. Grabbed bins
so I could check for anything mixed in. Was 2 big skiens
of White-fronted, 175+, heading due south at 1000', homogenously as
usual. Because I went through them in the course of seeing
some sky I saw a large dark soaring object I couldn't instantly
get a fix on for species. When things are at a distance
size is hard to judge, but once in bins I saw it had a big white
tail base, which meant it was going to be good. I ran inside
for scope and in five seconds had a bead on it.... GOLDEN EAGLE!!
An immature, without the white patches at wing bases, only the
white base of tail, they can be either way. It started
to head down-valley, got about to 1050 and turned around drifting
north back up toward the big ridge behind Seco, the divide, and
back into Bandera County.
I just recently counted since I didn't expect to see any new
different species in Uvalde County this year, so know that was
the 279th species I've seen in Uvalde County this year. One
more for an even 280 would be nice. I'm sure it is the
highest total for a county year list here ever. I had done
244 and 259 as my two best prior years, and this year was much
better, really great, despite less coverage than normal for me
down around Uvalde at the great watered hot-spots and in the brush
country, and despite (or because of?) the drought. I'd guess
if you were retired and worked at it all year, in a good year,
300 species would be possible in Uvalde County.
It's been a few years at least since I've seen Golden Eagle locally,
and have only seen 4 maybe 5 in now 9th year here, less than
annual for me. If I hadn't have gone out for a minute I wouldn't
have heard the geese, then if I hadn't have checked them out
for something else, I wouldn't have seen the eagle. This
is the serendipity of birding. How many things are going
over all the (most of) time we aren't out there looking up?
I didn't see the Great Egret at the park, just the Great Blue
Heron, Belted Kingfisher, and Pied-billed Grebe. At least
15 maybe 20 Phaon Crescents were still down around the now
defunct Corn Salad, Marsh Fleabane, and Frogfruit, the last
3 things to go in Dec., there are no nectar sources out there now.
A few other butterflies were around, a Red Admiral, 2 Orange Sulphur,
2 Dainty Sulphur, 2-3 Variegated Fritillary, a Com. Checkered-Skipper,
and a couple Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies were at the park.
Finally I did see some Mayflies above the island in the still
wet section of river that didn't dry out. Not lots, but
some. It seems most of the wintering passerines that subsist
on them came in, saw the dry riverbed, and left after a short while,
knowing there wasn't going to be the customary mayfly madness to
sustain them all winter. I've never seen the park woods so
consistently dead for a flock of wintering insectivore passerines.
Sorta seems the hackberries are quickly getting depleted in town
as well, and when they do that big bird flock will also leave the
area. With the bluebirds, robins, waxwings and chippies,
plus hangers on like goldfinches, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler
and others it is 300+ birds. Hope I can find them on count day.
Dec. 26 ~ Happy Boxing Day! Today we celebrate making it through
Christmas. :) Black-crested Titmouse singing its "phone ring"
song out back. I think this is early date wise for that,
have to check prior years notes. Still cool and breezy
with low 30's/low 50's for a Hi/Lo spread.
Dec. 25 ~ Merry Christmas! Now go birding, there is
hardly anyone out there moving around, the places are empty!
A bit chilly in the 30's this a.m. with some wind on it,
chill factor was freezing. Waiting for afternoon warm-up
to upper 40's I hope to take a peek in town. Meanwhile
here at the ranch (campsite is more like it) on SR, I heard
what I thought sure was that adult male Allen's Hummingbird
wing-whistle, snuck out front, and sure enough on the feeder
and later perched in the tree a fully gorgeted fully green-
backed adult male Selasphorus Hummer, the ALLEN'S continues!
I hadn't seen it in a month! Must be some other feeders
up nearish-by. Two imm. male rufous and two Anna's make
at least 5 hummingbirds here now. Now if that imm. male
Broad-tailed would show back up I'd have 4 species, and I bet
it is still around. We have a near-freeze for the next
couple/few nights, then is supposed to warm into 40's for lows
and those lovely 60's for highs.
The weather people we're joshin' I guess about that 3-8 dF
warmer today as it no way got over 43, maybe 1 dF over yesterday,
and with the wind the chill factor no way got out of 30's today,
so we stayed in where it was warm and watched Seven Days in Utopia.
Just in case we ever go there ..... :) I don't know
how those Hollywood special effects people made it so the waitresses
thumbs weren't in the water, they are really something there with
those special effects. How did they get all those skyline shots
without a single vulture once ever? And no roadkill?
Dec. 24 ~ A cold wet day, supposed to be last rain for 10 days
at least as jet stream moves north. Low and high was
about 42 dF, with rain is enough to keep me indoors working,
on feeder watch all day. Will be nicer tomorrow so will
peek around town then. Not much for precip total though,
as of p.m. maybe 1/8" again, but nearly 3" for last 3 weeks!
And probably about 9" in last 3 months. Spectacular!
We're still 2' short from having a river again, but for the
plants, biologically, it's a lifesaver.
Best bird here was a record count of Junco, 20 individuals, the
highest count I've ever had here, 1 Oregon, 1 Pink-sided, the
rest Slaty. Chipping Sparrow count is 135+, maybe 150 now.
A few Field still here, including one white-winged one, and a
Chippy has about 3 white outer primaries on each side as well.
Ten or so Pine Siskin including the yellow-tinted one were
on the sunflower tubes. The two Anna's and two Rufous
Hummers continue. The other best bird of the day was a Turkey,
with the most tender juicy breast meat you can imagine. :)
Dec. 23 ~ Two ANNA'S and two RUFOUS (prob.) Hummingbirds are
still here for sure as of today. Didn't see the Broad-
tail since last weekend, and I haven't seen the adult male
Allen's since right before Thanksgiving. It sure seemed
like winter with the couple dozen Robin and Waxwing in yard,
a half-dozen each American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin, a couple
Hermit Thrush and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and 125+ Chipping
Sparrow now, maybe 150. Today I heard Titmouse give the
ringing phone song for the first time this season. One
Lady (Vanessa - butterfly) was about that looked American
but it got away. Cold north wind all day, high in 40's,
and rain supposed to move in tonight billed as last for bit
with great forecast for my planned 9th winter bird survey
and count next weekend, warmer and mild.
Dec. 22 ~ Some MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD flew over calling at SR this
a.m., a unique call, sorta like terp or tyerp, but I couldn't
pick them up against the blue sky so don't know how many, it
only sounded like a couple or three. Down at UP there
was my second ever park Roadrunner, while 2 Great Blue Heron,
the Great Egret and Belted Kingfisher continue, plus I heard
the Green Kingfisher upriver. It warmed to mid-60's in
afternoon and I saw a couple Orange Sulphur, a Dainty Sulphur,
a couple each Sleepy Orange and Variegated Fritillary. A
couple Autumn Meadowhawk (odes) were at the park.
Dec. 21 ~ Happy Winter Solstice! The days will start
getting longer and birds will start to sing. What could
be better than that? :) Quietly and intermittently
at first, but within a few weeks on nice days there will be
a few species like Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, Black-crested
Titmouse and others starting to get after it pretty well.
Increase in photoperiod triggers testosterone and voila!
Another 1/2" of rain in the evening so now 2.5 " in 12 days or so.
WOW! Heard N. Little Creek got an inch, northwest of town.
One female Oregon Junco was in with the dozen plus Slaty Junco.
We don't call it Blue-colored Jay, or Green-colored Jay, or Brown-
or Gray-colored Jay, why is it Slate-colored Junco and Clay-colored
Sparrow? The word "colored" is superfluous isn't it?
A Red Admiral (lep) came out in the afternoon.
Dec. 20 ~ Sunny and windy, the post-frontal blow, so cool too.
There is a little bit of Cardinal song beginning out there off
and on the last few days, mostly under-the-breath, no full-blown
beltin' it out, but some bits of song for the first time in months.
Dec. 19 ~ Anna's and Rufous Hummers still here at SR, Hutton's
Vireo, a Caracara passed by in the p.m. after the front cleared
it out, 'nother 1/8" + of drizzle and showers in the morning.
We're over 2" in last 10 days for precip.
Dec. 18 ~ Today would have been a great day to do the winter
bird count, except it's 2 weeks off schedule so data would not
as directly comparable. Every two weeks things change a bit,
it's different, and one critical aspect of comparing data year to
year is to survey as close as possible to the same date, every time.
Watched around the house a bit in the a.m., went out at 11, and was
back at 2:30 p.m., just birding around town. I saw what to me
was an incredible 63 species. In a few hours! I've had
whole count days I worked 12 hours and drove a hundred miles locally
and only found 59 species. Several of the species were ones
I've never recorded on the count, so it really would be neat if they
stayed two weeks.
A male Lark Bunting is at the north end of town near the med.ctr.,
I think the same one for a couple or few weeks now, haven't ever had
one on the count. I worked the bluebird flock at the park and
the hackberries on Cypress St. at entrance and found 2 MOUNTAIN
BLUEBIRD in with 50+ Easterns, neither an adult male, but very good
birds here, only had them on one count in last 8 years. Ya gotta
look at EVERY bird, EVERY time. 20 Waxwing and 10 Robin, were
in the hackberries, along with Chippys underneath them.
A single male Common Grackle was flying over town in most directions,
calling, usually miss them. At the park was 8 Gadwall and the
male American Wigeon continuing, very good birds. Upriver in
wet section above the island was a male Green Kingfisher and a Pied-
billed Grebe, and the Great Egret continues (never had one on count).
No Winter Wren though. The live-oaks are deadsville, being that
they were in drought mode all year, they have no bugs, and there is
no bird flock. Heard the Downy Woodpecker, and a flock of 27
Brewer's Blackbirds flew over the dam while I was on it, 'bout fell off,
for the hundredth time, tracking overhead is so hard to do on a 18" wide
foothold.
There was the rest of the bluebird flock, 40+ more, so nearly 100 total,
on the east side of town, hitting the hackberries with 75 C. Waxwing,
30 Am. Robin, some American Goldfinch and Chipping Sparrows.
Maybe 9 white-crowned Sparrow in 2 small flocks, no Harris's love,
one male Pyrrhuloxia at east end of Lee St. (first corner), a Say's
Phoebe just past west end of Lee St. on UvCo stub 378 (Black at dam
at park and Easterns everywhere), a Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird at Judy
Schaeffer's place along with Pine Siksin and Lesser Goldfinch.
The real motherlode of the day though was out at Little Creek, at
the pond south of where the road curves along creekbank, which has
ducks! DUCKS! Good thing I had the scope with me though.
It's a hundred yard scan. Best bird was a female Redhead! WOW!
Then there were 6 Pintail, 5 Ring-necked Duck, 4 Green-winged Teal, 5 Am.
Wigeon and 35 Gadwall! It was the jackpot for here. 6 species!
Other odds and ends were Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, which I miss
as often as get on the count. Hutton's Vireo in the yard, another
easy to not see when you want it, Audubon's Oriole, Anna's Hummingbird
and Broad-tailed Hummer, 12+ Slaty Junco, here at the SR hovel,
The Hutton's was #64 for the day when I got back in p.m..
I have little doubt I would have seen 75 species had I birded all day
starting early, staying out late, covering all the local roads, and
now hackberries are the key, it is where the food is since junipers
berryless as most live-oaks are bug and acorn free. 75 sps. is the
holy grail 100 species here, as it is a figure I have yet to reach on
count day. Coulda done it today. It is easier in spring
on a good passage day to reach 75 locally.
I saw Little Creek Larry and he mentioned he had a Catbird in Oct., so
that would be at least a fourth here this fall with 3 I had in Oct at UP.
Most falls I don't see one.
Dec. 17 ~ More cool and damp, high in low 50's so worked here
at the office today. Tomorrow a bit warmer, will look then.
We wish the bird counters well....
Dec. 16 ~ One thing neat about this season is all the annual
Christmas Bird Counts going on all over the country. Often
you can see reports at say www.birdingonthe.net where you go
to (click) bird mail, then scroll down, to peruse states, many have
multiple lists, and click to see what is being seen around the country,
since the whole army gets out and looks to do them. Check
out your home state, you'll be amazed I'm sure. I like
checking out say NJ and Mass. since we lived there and the
winter birding can be so exciting. The Uvalde CBC is/was
the 17th. Fortunately I had too much to do to get up
at 4 a.m. to drive there for a good cold and muddy day birding.
But it is always interesting to see what all the counts find
without having to wait 9 months for an official publication.
I plan to do another January 1 local count here ..... #9!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dec. 16 ~ More breezy, chilly and humid, drizzle, in 40's,
finally for a short bit in late afternoon broke into 50's,
maybe 55 for an hour or so. Mostly the SOS here out the
office window and about yard, heard some Cranes southbound
early afternoon. The NBE, near-bird experience, of the
day was while I was standing on back porch looking through
the Chippies and Juncos. The lower-most 6' or so of the
immediate juniper patch is all cleared, for visibility across
it and brush piles every 10' for stuff to dive into when
the accipiters visit. There is a full solid canopy above.
A hawk, an odd looking hawk, comes sailing into the lower
open area, Chippies bolting in every direction as are Cards,
and Juncos, all alarming of course, and thinking accipiter.
Quickly I am realizing this is a big slow hawk, not whatsoever
accipiterine, and it turns on a dime, standing on a wing tip and
does a pirouette around a juniper trunk, just hanging in the air,
like a Pterodroma or Albatross. Sending the second wave of
previously frozen Chippies bolting in every direction. Then
it came down the cleared path right at me on the porch and I saw
the facial disks, at about 8' distance, MARSH HAWK! OK
Northern Harrier, I'm an old guy that learned a long time ago.
It continued right past me perhaps 4' away at most, I could have
caught it with a butterfly net as it went across the little clearing
and through an opening in the junipers out the other side.
A Marsh Hawk (N. Harrier) hunting UNDER the juniper canopy!
It did not seem like it was this birds first try either. Not
kidding, I coulda grabbed it, 'twas at arms length, and turned its
head to take a look at me as it floated silently by. Was a female.
WEEWOW! Always something amazing to see, right out the door!
Just get outside the box. :)
Dec. 15 ~ Two Anna's, two Rufous and a Broad-tailed Hummer
continue here at SR. A few Pine Siskin were on the tubes.
Dozen Junco (Slate), a hundred Chipping, a few Field and a
couple Rufous-crowned Sparrow. A Myrtle and 2 Orange-crowned
Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, an Orange-winged Flicker, two
Audubon's Oriole, Robin, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, a few Spotted
Towhee, and the regular seed theives: 6 Black-crested Titmouse,
2-4 Carolina Chickadee, 5 Scrub-Jay, 2 Carolina and 2 Bewick's Wren,
plus 75 White-winged and 9 Inca Dove, a couple Ground-Dove.
Orange-winged Flicker about again.
Dec. 14 ~ Astounding was a flock of 10 WESTERN BLUEBIRD flying
east over the hovel on SR in the a.m., calling all the way.
Their flight note is much shorter duration, lower pitched, and
more guttaral than Eastern Bluebird, quite obviously different.
At least 2 were blue headed adult males. In the afternoon
a Pine Warbler was flitting about the junipers. As if that
wasn't enough for the first time in many months the Chorus Frogs
burst into song! This our 'spring peeper' tree frog which
has been silent most of the year. It got to 75 dF today,
and the drizzle continued, a week of wet now, and bam! the frogs
go into song. We're at 1.5"+ (prob.1.75"+) of rain in last week,
a slow drizzle and mist with some light showers, but around the
clock for a week and it adds up. Great Horned Owl out there
calling after dark as well.
Dec. 13 ~ A run to town netted a quick check of the park where
there were 7 Gadwall and a drake American Wigeon, good birds
at the park. One Brown Creeper and a couple Audubon's Warbler
were all I saw in with the Titmice and Chickadees. One
Belted Kingfisher and two Red-shouldered Hawk there, lots of
Cardinals. On the way down SR a flock of 200 Chipping
Sparrow flushed from the edge of the road. Add the 100
here and the 100 plus at the park and they are the most common
species here in winter easily. On the ridges especially
the Spanish (Buckley) Oaks are still really good with color
if they still have their leaves, though overall they are past peak,
what is left is very nice and intensely colored.
Dec. 12 ~ Did Uvalde run in the fog-mist and drizzle making
birding about impossible. At least it had warmed up since
Sat. a bit. Along the way a hundred+ Lark bunting, a Say's
Phoebe, few Pyrrhuloxia, one Harris's Hawk, but stuff was trying
to stay dry so hunkered down. 20+ Turkey were right at the
base of Clayton Grade. Had one Merlin shoot by but with
the fog the visibility was so poor we couldn't scan fields.
We got a 30 minute break in light showers at the Uvalde National
Fish Hatchery so took a quick walk to pick up 20 lbs. of mud
on the shoes. The waterfowl was a great show. Water
must be freezing up, up north. Perhaps best was 27 Redhead
(I think more than the total I've seen in the county in 8 years),
7 Bufflehead is a good count here too, one Eared Grebe is always
good in UvCo, one female Ruddy Duck and one female Canvasback
might be continuing birds, at least 50 Ring-necked Duck and a
dozen Lesser Scaup made for an impressive diving duck showing. For
dabbling ducks there were 100+ Gadwall, 35 Shoveler, 30 Am. Wigeon,
85-100 Pintail, 4 Green-winged and 1 drake Blue-winged Teal.
At least 40 Coot were there as well, heard a Swamp Sparrow,
a dozen American (Water) Pipit were in one of the dry ponds,
at least 6+ each Great Egret and Great Blue Heron but it started
to rain again so we had to duck out.
Dec. 11 ~ More of the same cold, wet, drizzly mist so more work
here. 2 rufous, 2 Anna's, 1 imm. male Broad-tailed Hummer,
maybe a couple other hummers too. Never seen it like this
here for hummers in the winter. A dozen Pine Siskin were
around hitting the sunflower tubes. One of the times I went
out back I heard the explosive smack! of a Brown Thrasher, but
never saw it, and would be a yard bird durnit.
Dec. 10 ~ A weak cold front has passed this early a.m., so we
cancelled our Uvalde supply run due to weather, cold rain makes
the birding not to mention shopping a lot less fun. Work
here until I maybe figure out something we need down in town.
:) Eggs! that's it, I think we need eggs! That
would of course take me right by the park. :)
Didn't make it out after all, too wet, turns out it was
100% chance all day here, and maybe hit 45dF tops. Chilly
and damp. Did have Rufous, Anna's and Broad-tailed Hummers
at the feeders. At least a half-dozen Pine Siskin, a couple
American Goldfinch, pair of Lesser Goldfinch, dozen House Finch
on the sunflower tubes, besides the Titmice, Chickadees and
Scrub-Jays. The Ladder-backed Woodpeckers hit one of the tubes
taking each sunflower seed to the live-oak adjacent, opening and
eating it, returning for another. The female did it for
months before the male tried. He prefers the peanut feeder,
but now that it's freezing, they're not so bad I guess.
There was a Bushtit or two that were out back for a bit.
Dec. 9 ~ Still the same half-dozen hummers here seeming to
just visit occasionally though, probably working a trapline
of feeders out there, so the three feeders seems enough.
A pair of adult Audubon's Orioles were on the feeders in the a.m.
and a pair of first-winters were in the bath together late
in the afternoon so at least four here. One white-winged
Field Sparrow continues, the Slaty Junco count is a dozen now.
A quick run to town got me 20 minutes at the park and the
hackberry row out front of it on Cypress St.. The same
huge flock of Chipping Sparrows and Eastern Bluebirds was
all over the place, some couple dozen Cedar Waxwings with
them was the high count so far this season, a dozen Robins,
some American Goldfinch, a few Lesser, some Myrtle Warbler,
one Audubon's, a Slate Junco. Nice big group of birds
to work.
There is an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (or 2?) coming
to some sap wells on a tree in the park, maybe have a stakeout
for my winter bird count, and the female Downy Woodpecker
continues as well. Black Phoebe on the dam as usual,
and the Great Egret, Great Blue Heron and Belted Kingfisher
all still there at the last puddle which won't go down any more.
Some Blue Jay, a Song Sparrow below the dam plus the regulars.
I hear they are still waiting on a permit to doze the silt out.
I guess they can't find a state government person awake in Austin?
The state owns the river, the state knows the pond is silted in
from the flood of '02, but the state must issue itself a
permit to clean the silt out. The permit should require
of one person about 5 minutes, OK, it's the government, perhaps
a few could make a day of it. My guess is that a large
group of them will take 5 weeks to 5 months to do it by when
water will fill it back in before they get it done, making it
impossible to doze. :) So call me a cynical curmudgeon.
Dec. 8 ~ No ice outside this morning so must have been 33dF.
There were 3 Cedar Waxwing, so the loner with the Robins
maybe found some friends. The bird event of the day
was at night as can happen, at 11:10 p.m. when I went out
for my last look and listen. A couple biggish birds
bolted over in what surely was a high speed chase and pursuit.
About a hundred yards past me they called revealing their
identity, fortunately, so I could sleep later. They
were Common Ravens, two of them, one chasing the other at
11:10 p.m. in the black of night! Yeah there is a lot
of moonlight (near full) but Ravens running around at night?
This is what bird watching is about. Something new to make
you think, and be wondered, at your doorstep, everytime you go
out and look, forever. For me seeing the common thing
in an uncommon way is as exciting as it gets, 'lifer' behavior.
So what about a name and number on a list. 'Bout the birds.
I was straining soooo hard to see them (black birds) against
the (black) sky, but they were too low, so against the knoll,
and hearing the wingbeats and not knowing what it is was just
killin' me, then after they pass and you think you'll never know,
they call, to get the ID with vocalizations (clearly from 2
different birds) and so you can figure out what happened, and
then all the questions that arise from that...... This is bird
watching at its best to me. How was I to go to sleep then?
What if I was missing a big nocturnal Raven movement?
Dec. 7 ~ The coldest morning of the season so far with a
21 dF in KVL, 24 in HDO, likely between that down in town, and
up here on SR perhaps 25dF, and a nice crispy cruchy ground
from the frost. I can't believe all the hummers here.
At least 6, maybe 7, at least 2 Rufous, 2 Anna's, a Broad-
tailed, and what seems an Archilochus I'm still getting glimpses
of. and maybe a 3rd Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus too, just
remarkable. What I'd been thinking was an adult female
Rufous due to triangle of gorget in lower center of throat has
now acquired a gorget feather higher up away from patch showing
it to be an immature male. An immature White-crowned Sparrow
(Gambell's) is still here, Hutton's Vireo was out and about.
Dec. 6 ~ Third day with highs in the 40's dF, with the wind
a bit chilly (sub-freezing chill). Freezing mornings
are fine when it gets into the 50's or 60's. I thought
it was supposed to warm up in the daytime? It froze
here on SR this a.m., ice on the water outside for the first
time this year, and forecast is for colder the next two morns.
I stopped by Jerry & Judy Schaeffer's, Judy showed me the different
hummingbird there, which is an immature male ANNA'S, with a mostly
red throat. So with the two we have here at SR which
are obviously different that is three here, and the Sharp's
10 mi. west of town have a fourth! While we were watching
and waiting a Roadrunner came up and took a House Sparrow for
dinner. If we could just train them to just take that
(non-native) species it would be great. Their adult male
Hooded Oriole was about as well, with a bit of droop to one wing,
Judy says it was a bibbed bird (immature, not full adult) this
past spring (so a year old then) and it molted into adult
plumage over the summer/fall. An amazing record, even
though through accident, hope it lives through the winter here!
Here at our hovel we have two different Rufous Hummingbird,
two different Anna's, and a Broad-tailed appeared that is
clearly the same one here in late Nov. by the few dark
gorget feathers on lower right of throat. Hadn't seen
it since Nov. 28, a week. A Northern Harrier was down
at the base of 357 near 1050, the only one I've seen locally
this fall/winter so far.
Dec. 5 ~ Low maybe <40 dF, freezing chill factor, breezy, overcast,
rained a bit overnight, almost glad its Monday at the desk.
We probably got a quarter inch of rain Sunday, and another
quarter overnight, so about a half-inch total from the event.
We're pushin' 9 inches of precip since it broke in mid-September
when they advertised no relief in sight.
Judy Schaeffer called, she has a hummingbird at her place
with dark red in the throat, sounds like another ANNA'S! Our
adult female is still here, and with the Sharp's over Rio Frio
way, that is at least THREE Anna's here now! Quite an invasion.
Judy also has a couple Rufous, and most amazing a Hooded Oriole
that is crippled (maybe it was wounded?) and can't fly right,
been there months, didn't migrate, now trying to winter at her
feeders. Thanks for the news Judy!
Besides an anomolous late Nov. 03 record (ad.ma., not near town!),
I have no Hooded Oriole records from mid-October to mid-March,
and of course if this one wasn't injured we still wouldn't.
We have a second non-Rufous hummer here, which may be a second
Anna's, I'm not sure yet, mostly glimpses of it here and there,
but if so is an imm. female, as it has no dark area in throat.
Plus the Rufous and we have 3 hummers now. Wow!
So does Judy, so do the Sharps with a couple Rufous and an Anna's.
Seems like a lot of hummers for freezing weather. That's
just at three feeder banks I know of right now. I did
get OK docu shots of the adult female Anna's here today.
While at the desk a Cooper's Hawk hit the window less than
two feet from my keyboard, saved me a cup of coffee this a.m..
I thought it was coming through it. Couldn't tell if it
got something or not, was an immature, and seemed OK as it flew
off. 9 Inca Dove still, and as many Junco (Slate).
Pretty sure it was three Audubon's Oriole.
Dec. 4 ~ Cold, wet, and windy, so worked here and watched the
feeders a bit. The adult female ANNA'S and the ad. fem.
Rufous/Allen's Hummingbirds each settled on a feeder for the day.
Surely a hundred Chipping Sparrow out there now, one White-crowned,
a couple Field and Rufous-crowned, maybe 8 Slate-colored Junco.
Still a pair of Ground-Dove about, 7+ Inca Dove, bunch of White-
winged Piggie-Doves. A Ladder-backed Woodpecker can sure
eat a lot of peanuts in a day, in case you were wondering. I'd
to have to feed a couple Pileated!
Dec. 3 ~ On my way out shortly, but first thing, sorta, 7 a.m.
I heard a couple/few blackbirds go over, didn't see them but
they sounded odd, then at 8 a.m., I got a good look at a single
calling RUSTY BLACKBIRD as it flew over! Probably headed
toward Bear Creek Pond? They have a much deeper fuller rich
chuck note, more Common Grackle like, than the thin kik of Brewer's.
Then besides the adult female Rufous Hummer, a new one showed
this a.m., an Archilochus (!) that seemed a Ruby-throated to me.
No curved primary tips, short straight bill, very emerald green,
very white below, dark crown to lores, white speckled throat.
WEEWOW! Better go have a look around before the weather
goes south on us as forecast to do by tomorrow morning. Back
in a bit..... BTW, never saw that hummer again(!).
On the way down SR I saw a four ducks going down on a tank way
to the north and not anywhere accessible, methinks were Gadwall.
Overall birds were weak, I really think stuff is hittin', and finding
little to no food, and moving on. There was a ZONE-tailed
Hawk at the park, the first I've seen locally in a few months.
Which reminds me Anthony Sharp said he saw one last Sunday
Nov. 27 along Frio River in Rio Frio, and hadn't seen one in
a while either. My guess is the fewer winter birds we
get are not the summering nesting population, which seems to
have long departed when a rare few winterers move in. So
though you may see them seemingly 'all year', they are not
likely the same birds. Another thing to keep in mind with
Zoneys is that though they may be passed off as a Turkey Vulture,
at this time of year there are no Turkey Vulture here, so if you
see something you think is a TV, double check it well from November
to mid-late February when Turkey Vulture returns.
I checked the 1050 pond (Bear Creek) on the way to the pass,
no blackbirds, no ducks, no nuthin', as usual, at the deadest
puddle I ever knew. Why is the question. But the
pass was beautiful at peak color for the Buckley (Spanish)
Oaks, with a brilliant layer of yellow, orange, and red, on
the hills in the belt where they grow. At the top of the
pass at Post Gap there was a flock of Chipping with some Field
Sparrow, and some Bushtit (5+) (hard to come by randomly here),
one Ruby-crowned Kinglet with them.
I checked the butterfly garden twice, first noonish, cool, so then
after going up to the pass and it had warmed up around 1:30 I
stopped for a quick second look, the smartest thing I did all day.
There was a female FLORIDA WHITE (Appias drusilla) there, which
I got a couple pix of. Though I have been certain I've seen
a few here before, and at Ft. Inge in Uvalde, I've never had one stop
long enough to document as this one did, which is likely the first
documented locally here, though not a first ever Uvalde Co. record,
Charles Bordelon (pers. comm.) has taken it in the county, probably
Concan vicinity. Note pic above in highlight photos.
A very rare stray to the county, and rarer up here in the hills.
Always great to add a photo behind the name of one you've only seen
prior, for documentation purposes. I have photos of about 90% of
the butterfly species on the local list, just can't get everything.
Florida White wasn't on the Overton Uvalde Co. butterfly list (2002,
Rev. 2008). The only reason I don't have a voucher specimen is
I missed it when I swung the net. I suggest they are deceptively
fast and agile, or I'm getting older and slower.
It was last seen fearing for its life as a south-end view of a
northbound butterfly, in rather rapid progression accellerating
and gaining altitude quite impressively I might add. Who
would have thought they had afterburner like that? They are
known, I think rare but regular in far southmost Texas, and primarily
coastward, though odd strays have shown up to Colorado and Kansas,
and now we have one for Utopia. It was pretty torn up.
Consider we have had two days of very strong southerly winds
and flow in front of the system bearing down on us.
It is the only new butterfly species I added to our local list
this otherwise dismal year. Talk about going out in a
flaming ball of glory, you'll see below I just said how I've
never added a new butterfly for the year in December, much
less first docs of a new one for our all-time local Utopia
area list! WOW!
Other butterflies were a couple Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak (new for
Dec.), couple Reakirt's Blue, couple Fatal Metalmark, a couple
Dogface around town (new for month), a couple Lyside around town,
two Queen at garden, 8 Painted Lady there too, a few Fiery and
a Sachem (Skippers), still lots of Checkered-Skipper and Dainty
Sulphur, a few Little Yellow (new for Dec.) over by the hackberry
row behind library, a few Cloudless and a Large Orange Sulphur,
several Sleepy Orange, a couple Snout, most all frantically nectaring
in the last 70 deg.F we'll see for a week or so methinks per forecast.
It will be a new ballgame when it drys out and warms up in a week.
At the park were still 30 Phaon Crescent and 20 Checkered-Skipper.
Some Variegated Fritillary were about as well of course, so saw
an amazing 22 species of butterflies for the day with a super-
mega-rary, a great to spectacular showing for a December date.
The best bird around town was an Audubon's Oriole in the
blooming Loquat near Broadway and Garden in the SE quadrant
of town. That tree had a few Myrtle Warbler and Titmouse,
likely picking off bugs, a dozen Pipevine Swallowtail, a few
Painted Lady, a Red Admiral (new for Dec.), THREE Monarch still (!)
besides the fancy oriole poking around the flowers. Last year
there was an Aud. Oriole in Ligustrums near the same area in January.
Amazing you can pick one up just rolling around town, and with the
Zone-tailed Hawk at the park, not bad for city birds. The Great
Egret and Great Blue Heron continue at UP as does a Belted Kingfisher.
Then out back here at SR, 3 p.m. I hear a sound I've heard a million
times, or two, the sharp metallic clicking of an ANNA'S Hummingbird!
Having lived a couple decades in coastal socal this is a sound
that gets ingrained like only a million repetitions can do.....
and the nanosecond you hear the first click you know what it is.
I get a quick look, seems an adult female, and grab the audio
tape recorder. So within a minute, I get a minute of tape,
it shuts up, and I never see or hear it again all afternoon. The
ad. female Rufous was about quite a bit seeming defensive, perhaps
a problem for it? Tape was quicker, easier and surerer
than hoping auto-focus could find it in the snarl of juniper
branches for first-thing immediate get-the-docs purposes.
Didn't have to see it, just hit record and I got the docs.
So add a hummer species for the yard this year, number 8 (!) for
some surprising and incredible diversity in 2011. A very good
hummer year it was, as I just rounded up some of, uh, yesterday (next).
Lots of Variegated Meadowhawks around town, even at the rain ponds
on the roads, one odd Green Darner sorta thingie was seen.
Dec. 2 ~ A possibly new adult female Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus
showed up, I didn't see/hear any hummers at all the last three days.
I've tried to keep track best I can with mapping and dating all
the throat patterns present, and come up with 16 Rufous/Allen's
this fall passage (since first one in July or August) while the
previous best season was 10 maybe 12 and average per fall is 6.
The Broad-tailed last weekend was the fifth of that sps. fall 2011,
double norm, and the Calliope total was at least 8, maybe 10
individuals for the whole passage, triple or quadruple normal.
So all the Selasphorus were way above baseline numbers (n~8 falls)
this passage. Was it drought driving them to feeders,
or were there really way more and then why?
I suspect it was some of both. Toss on the long-staying green-
backed adult male Allen's, unpredictable as he is, it made it a
spectacular Selasphorus showing, over 30 different individuals
at minimum, four species, it's really amazing to me. Consider
too a couple locals with feeders have told me they had lots of
Rufous this fall too! They might have each had ten or a dozen
too! So then, how many then go through the area?
Are the late ones going east and the early ones south? This is
where banding studies can give us info we'd never otherwise come by.
There are plenty of unsolved mysteries out there and so recording
our sighting data if nothing else helps us ponder questions.
This late Nov. wave phenomenon is something else isn't it?
An amazing hummer report right now is a Violet-crowned out in
the Christmas Mountains in Big Bend area. It pays to keep
your mind open, and maybe a feeder up, but watch it those freezing
mornings. Best to have a couple so you can rotate them in
and out of house to let one thaw if need be.
A Merlin shot over doing Warp 1 at the NW corner of town where
UvCo 375 (or 378?) takes off to river at west end of Lee St.
Dec. 1 ~ Had to do some errands in town so stopped at
the butterfly garden quickly to get some December diversity
before it's frozen out. I see more freeze damage and
very few good flowers left producing nectar but still some
desperate butterflies on them. 60 or more Common
Checkered-Skipper and 30 Dainty Sulphur for the two numerous
species. One each Queen, Reakirt's Blue, and Fatal Metalmark,
a couple Painted Lady and Variegated Fritillary, a few Fiery
Skipper, a Pipevine Swallowtail, a Cloudless Sulphur, a few
Sleepy Orange, 2 Snout, so a dozen species and I'm forgetting
something. Then at the park 35 Phaon Crescent and 45 more
Checkered-Skipper on Corn Salad. Here at SR the Large Orange
Sulphur was still about sometimes hitting a hummer feeder, but so
saw 14 species to start the month with, and with the rain and
freeze on the way it might be the last hurrah.
I don't think I have yet added a new butterfly species for the
year in any December, so I'll get the woeful annual total shortly.
No hoped for towhee in the yard today, darn it, I hate when
that happens. No hummers either. It never ceases
to amaze me, here today gone tomorrow. And wow, just paying
a little attention to the natural world as it goes by, can make
it astounding when you think about it.
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January through June 2011 are now Old Bird News #15.
July through November 2011 are on the new Old Bird News, #16.
Links to all 8 years of archived bird news pages below.
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