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Bird Reports from Lost Maples SNA |
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Spring 2009 Lost Maples birding news.... SPECIAL NOTE ** Sometimes I can guide you or your group on a bird and or nature walk at Lost Maples (or locally). If you would like to have a naturalist and birder with expansive and intimate knowledge of all birds and beasts here, that knows all the calls, at a level past the field guides, to help you find, see, and enjoy things, send an e-mail. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SPRING 2009 UPDATE I have been too busy to keep this current so always check the bird news page. We made a couple trips there and I made a couple guiding people and groups since the last entry March 22. So here I will summarize highlights of the last 6 weeks of trips and news. Starting with the oldest first, on March 29 Kathy and I had a calling pair of WESTERN Wood-Pewee behind the ponds. Perhaps a new park bird. Brreeerrr they called back and forth. Also a dozen Nashville and two dozen Orange-crowned Warblers was serious movement. LOTS of singing Golden-cheeked Warblers. A Mourning Cloak butterfly was my first ever there. It was also my dullest, surely an overwintering individual. No Indigo Bunting or Summer Tanager back yet. April 10 - Dan Sherick of Katy photographed a male BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD at the HQ hummer feeders, this day. Surely a new park record! April 13 - I saw two male Lazuli Bunting at the overflow parking feeding area. A beautiful mint Red-spotted Purple was puddling for pictures. Some female Golden- cheeked Warblers were nest material gathering. Red-eyed Vireo was back. April 23 ~ I led a Nature Quest group and we got to see male Lazuli, Painted, and Indigo buntings at the feeding station. Also first returning nester Acadian Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee. I had a glimpse of what was surely a Short-tailed Hawk. Bird of the day got away. Several good looks at Golden-cheeks for everyone. April 28 - I found it written in the bird report book at HQ that the temporary park bird hosts this day, on their last walk before they left saw a VARIED BUNTING at the overflow parking lot feeding station. May 3 - The Varied Bunting was posted to Texbirds, and there was also a sighting date of May 2 (according to notes at park). May 7 - Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was at the HQ feeders. May 10 - Kathy and I did the Can Creek trail. We had a 10 second look at the male VARIED BUNTING at the feed station at 9 a.m.. Also there was about 5 Indigo, a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a FOS Willow Flycatcher. Up the trail to the ponds and beyond, we saw about 10 Golden-cheeked Warbler, one feeding a fledged young. My FOS Swainson's Thrush between ponds was a highlight. Lots of Yellow-throated, Red-eyed, and White-eyed Vireo, one migrant Blue-headed. Several each Acadian Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee, a couple Great Crested Flycatcher (migrants?), a couple Scott's Orioles at the HQ hummer feeders, 3 Hutton's Vireo (so regular I'm starting to forget to mention them), 3 seperate Bushtit, a quick look at a Zone-tailed Hawk, Canyon Wrens, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, all the regulars. May 20 - A male Golden-cheeked Warbler was right around HQ early in the a.m. as was Scott's Oriole again. A few golden-cheeks were singing, but they were hard to see. No Varied Bunting. One Yellow- throated Warbler singing below overflow parking lot. I'm surprised how quiet some things are already, which is an indication of being secretive due to breeding. Vireos are noisy though as are Summer Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Acadian Flycatcher and Eastern Pewee. May 25 - Eyed Elatarid, baby Louisiana Waterthrush being fed, 400 Reakirt's Blues on Mexican Hat, see the regular bird news page for more notes. So there you have a brief readers digest version overview of the last 6 weeks' highlights. And now we will go back to noraml - reverse chrono order. FOS = first of season (spring here) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ And now back to reverse order where we were..... March 22, 2009 11a.m.-4p.m. Lost Maples SNA Can Creek trail to ponds and past a little. Kathy and I, very windy mostly cloudy 70-80 deg.F Almost drizzly at start, warm, clearer by end. I do hope I don't get in trouble with the state. I removed an animal from the park. Unknowingly of course. I got home and found a tick. It made me wonder if I could get in trouble when I get chiggers? Like fined for each chigger? One day I took 500 out of Aransas NWR. :P Mountain Laurel was in heavy bloom so the whole trail smelled from wonderful to amazing. Many metallic dark turquoise hymenops, bees methinks, on it, more than twice the size of halichtids, about like honeybees. Also at least a dozen Monarchs were seen, the first multiple numbers of the returning migrants from the Mexican overwintering population I've seen locally this spring. Other butterflies included two Sachem (was Field Skipper), a bunch of Erynnis Duskywings (most Horace's/ Juvenal's, and Funereal or unID-d), some Pipevine Swallowtail, a Question Mark, some Sleepy Orange, and a Gulf Fritillary, was about it for butterflies. Very few other nectar sources besides laurel were available. A little Texas Buckeye still blooming, and some of the Redbud trees were still blooming well. The Bigtooth Maples were in full bloom as were some of the live-oaks which are often leafless now. Lacey and Buckley Oaks are just budding out. Overall a nice "spring green" tone to the hills. A Eumeces sps. skink was spotted by Kathy, that I may have gotten a docu shot of for ID later. Blanchard's Cricket Frogs were occasionally calling. Streams flowing well, but must have been low until last week's 3-4" or so of rain there. Red-breasted Sunfish starting to get some color now. Very few Odes (dragon or damselflies) out in the 20-30 MPH winds. You can usually find a dogleg in the canyon every half mile or so that is not a hurricane gulch where near-normal bird or insect activity is taking place. Birds were good as always in spring, and it will only get better the next 2 plus months. There were by my count at least 2 dozen (24+) singing male Golden-cheeked Warblers, in the small section of the place we did. I did not see a female. I got the feeling they aren't here yet. The males are of course fighting with each other alot now, and the lack of leaves on many trees makes for excellent to outstanding viewing. We saw many very well. We did not cover but <5% of the trails/habitat. There are very very many present undoubtedly. There were 2 Louisiana Waterthrush, one sang briefly. I was very surprised to hear the song of a Red-eyed Vireo, which made more sense when I found it being made by a White-eyed Vireo. There were two Hutton's Vireo. At least a dozen Black-and-white Warblers were also singing on territory. Migrant Myrtle, Orange-crowned, and a Yellow-throated that will stay a while at the pond, and then depart, made for 5 species of warblers there. The best bird I thought, since it was the first time I have detected it there, was a couple heard only Audubon's Orioles. They were up on the west hillside just before the first big pond, but way up. I heard a series of the quiet contact calls, single notes, sorta like few, .... few, well spaced from each other, back and forth. Had to be at least two birds. Hear 'em in my yard daily. New for my personal LM list, but there is at least the previous 1986 park record. Any others? Expected suspects were present: Common Raven, Canyon Wren, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Ash- throated Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, N.Rough-winged Swallow, White-eyed Vireo, Bushtit, and texana Scrub-Jay, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (nesters), Carolina Chickadee & Wren, Black- crested Titmouse, Bushtits, and a couple Green Kingfishers. What I didn't see in yet was Yellow-throated Vireo (though one was at Utopia Park day before 3/21), or Red-eyed Vireo, Scott's Oriole, Eastern Wood-Pewee (about 3 weeks away still), and Acadian Flycatcher (about 4 weeks or more). Summer Tanager is still 7-10 days away too, Indigo Bunting about the same. No Zone-tailed Hawk yet either. So much is not here yet. The flip side is that the dominant song you hear is Golden-cheeked Warbler right now in all flavors and variation. In two to four weeks they will fall into the background of the din of the songbird chorus there. Staff said someone had Black-capped Vireo "up on top" which means above the pond probably up the steep trail to the highlands, not the canyon floor trails. So the spring birding season is open and the returning neotropical migrants are arriving daily. There are still Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, and other signs of winter about, but not for too long I think. Lots of Black-chinned Hummingbirds around too, a sure sign of spring arriving here. In the bummer department was the negative human effects we always seem to see signs of. This time it was finding TWO freshly stepped on dying millipedes. The hoardes of spring breakers that walked down the trail from the ponds Sunday a.m. before we got up to them (which were devoid of tents and people before noon and staff said it was packed) apparently had some of those "stop the millipedes" people amongst them. Wonder why I call 'em citiots? Is this what happens because an animal crosses the path? Yes, TWICE on one short piece of path on one morning. What are we doing out there? Have we become oblivious? Are we that out of touch? Somehow every entrant to the park needs to be absolutely informed that the millipede has more right to be there, than them. And that in the web of life, everything is connected. Just because you can't see the millipedes importance, does not mean it does not posses more than you, there. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Spring 2008 birding notes..... ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ May 18, 2008 Lost Maples SNA - Kathy and I walked the Can Creek trail, past ponds to Mystic Canyon and 1/2 mi. up that before turning around. About 5 miles total roundtrip, 8:30 to 2:30 p.m.. Still cool early, very nice out. A long walk, with lots of cool critters seen. No migrant bird species were seen, but two were heard. Regular migratory breeders were generally common to abundant such as Indigo and Painted Bunting, Summer Tanager, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Acadian Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Yellow-throated, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Also common were resident species like Carolina Wren and Chickadee, Black-crested Titmouse, Bewick's and Canyon Wrens, and Rufous-crowned Sparrow. Most obvious was the near constant begging of juvenile warblers along the trail. Most were Golden-cheeked, but Black & White and Louisiana Waterthrush were numerous too. If watched for a while, good views of adults were had. At least a half-dozen of each species were seen as begging juveniles getting fed or foraging on their own already. Some of the Golden-cheeks were golden cheekless, just gray, white and charcol. No green back yet, no yellow on face, just out of the nest. White wingbars and outer tail feathers are still conspicuous, and a dark eyeline. Many adults are starting to molt now. A pair of Red-shouldered hawks were in the area of the creekside spring ca. 1/2 mi. above the ponds. One flew over with a Ringneck Snake in its beak! A Black Rock Squirrel was seen in this area too. They are so very cool looking, and have a very different sounding (soft quiet) alarm note. The highlight of the 5 miles for me though was seeing a new to me beast of a lizard, way back in Mystic Canyon. It was a Crevice Spiny Lizard Sceloporus poinsetti. And I do mean spiny. This is a lizard you should use a glove to grab, if so inclined with ignorance to think you could catch it! (AND OF COURSE DO NOT CONSIDER IN STATE PARKS!!) It wouldn't let me get but about 7' away. They're noosers. It was a colored up male about 11-12" long and looked at least a half pound (I've kept smaller fish to eat). It had some blue scales on the sides of the black collar, a blue throat and ventral sides, but it was changing that quickly, and some pale cerulean sky blue running dorsally down the back behind the white bordered black collar! Holy lagarto ! I got a couple so-so photos I'll have to try to work some magic on. He was breathtaking unbelieveable spectacular! It was on a limestone outcrop with a big crevice it dashed into as we passed by too closely. It made up for seeing a Ring-necked Snake in the beak of a hawk. Misses were buteos, neither of the two Short-tailed Hawks I've seen there in the last month were seen (both morphs), or was Zone-tailed Hawk, but both are the easiest to miss birds. Both species were present and easy my last visit 10 days ago. No Hutton's Vireo either, which was singing last trip. Migrants heard were one Least Flycatcher, and one Thrush. At first I thought the thrush was a Swainson's but then the song fell like a waterfall, so couldn't have been. I presume Gray-cheeked, since Veery wouldn't have ascended anywhere and mislead me for two or three nano-moments. I couldn't get to where it was across a pond on an impenetrable slope where you aren't supposed to go off the trails anyway (so I don't). and I only heard it twice and it shut up. One Yellow-throated Warbler was still singing near the ranger's residence at the intersection of East and West trails. Bird behaviorally the most interesting thing perhaps was a Golden-cheeked Warbler responding to begging. I can not yet tell the begging notes made by a fledgling Black-and-white Warbler from Golden-cheeked Warbler fledglings. The fast repeated bkbkbkbkbkbk metallic "I see a warbler bill with food" begging notes. The Golden-cheeked moved toward the begging notes. I thought for a moment "its going to feed the B & W !. At about 6' to 8' distance though, it made the ID, of a fledgling Black-and -white Warbler, and quickly moved away when another fledgling saw it and went off begging, it a Golden-cheeked, which got fed. Then a male Black-and-white moved in and fed its young. The fledgling Golden-cheeks are golden cheekless and without green on back yet either, so are very similar in appearance to fledgling Black-and-white Warbler, but not to them. :) The second "best-of-day" was an easy great close view of a male Black-capped Vireo right on the trail. At one point it went to a mostly obscured female and fed it. The fed bird had a smooth even pale gray sharply defined cap. That male though is one of the sharpest looking birds in North America. It sure made that last third mile back a whole lot easier! There were a few insects out, but they were really just starting to get going as we were on our way out, and 5 miles tired. A large dark dung-beetle was circling around the big pond. A number of Pompilids and a Staphylinid were seen some neat Syrphids and Bombyliids, and a hornet or two. We did see of butterflies Red-spotted Purple, Spicebush Swallowtail, Cloudless Sulphur, Lyside Sulphur, dozens of Duskywings, probably mostly Horace's, a Southern Broken-Dash, and numbers of Little Wood Satyr (1 Viola's) and Sleepy Orange as always. Amongst Odes were a few Flame Skimmer way up in the back country canyons where they always are, and on ponds some Prince and Dot-winged Baskettails, Black, and Red Saddlebags, Blue Dasher, Common (Eastern) Pondhawk, Common Whitetail and Widow Skimmer, and lots of Pale-faced Clubskimmers. Some of the damsels were Aztec, Violet, Dusky and Kiowa Dancers, and Rubyspot (Am.) but I didn't work them really. In the back country canyons were numerous Great Spreadwings where there was surface water. Where is the Real Co. line back there, I didn't see a sign? Other things seen included a 15" Softshell Turtle, Red-eared Slider and another type I'm not sure of (cf. Map or Cooter type), then Blanchard's Cricket Frog (100+ heard, few seen) and Rio Grande Leopard Frog (heard, and saw tadpoles). A Water Snake was photo'd. Largemouth and Guadalupe Bass were seen, as were Long-nosed Dace, Texas Shiner, Sand Shiner, and one other unknown minnow (!&%*^^&%!). Several species of Lepomis sunfish were seen: Bantam, Longear, and Red-breasted at least. A few beasts got away as always. We'll just have to go back and look again. :):) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Between April 20 and May 8, I made four trips birding Lost Maples, sometimes guiding folks or groups there. I'll summarize some of what we saw here. NOAA's "Fog-mist," of course is common in the early mornings, but generally clearing late morning or noonish this time of year. The best birds were the two SHORT-TAILED HAWKS I found, first a light morph on April 24, and a dark morph was seen (some in the group got photos) on May 7. In prior years when one light bird has been present, most people miss it most of the time. They are often quick views when they are seen. These two both soared in the open low overhead with other birds (vultures) right over the groups. If they are of opposite sexes, we might really have something. The May 7 trip every 30 mintues there was one or two Zone-tailed Hawks in view, never have I seen them so often or easily before. Usually lucky to get one, and often missed is the norm. The April 24 trip we had a migrant Peregrine Falcon soar over for everyone to see. I have not been seeing Green Kingfisher though, which was also seemingly absent last year, after the ice storm. It seems to have become very scarce locally as typical after severe cold events historically. Eastern Pewee and Acadian Flycatchers are back and singing, and we found 3 JUVENILE just-fledged Black Phoebe that Ron Sprouse of Concan got photos of. It is the first fledglings I have seen there in 5 years. Yes a Black Phoebe at the pond, but I had never seen actual fledglings before. On April 20 there was a COUCH'S KINGBIRD calling from up on a hillside, probably new for the park. The abundant nesting Red-eyed, White-eyed, and Yellow- throated Vireos, remain so. There are some HUTTON'S VIREO singing, mostly in the back country past the ponds. We had a pair of Chihuahuan Ravens fly over the ridges high, in heavy molt, but did not see the Commons (two nests unattended when checked). There is a Great Horned Owl nest on a cliff there, besides the Red-tail Hawk nest. A migrant Ruby-crowned Kinglet was still there May 7. Bushtits have been easy too, with some dark-eared birds. Migrant warblers are very limited, save Nashville. A few Wilson's, maybe a Yellow, some Orange-crowned, a couple Yellow-rumps and that's about it. As last year multiple Yellow-throated Warblers are singing, but they will probably not stay again. They just have to stop and sing in every Sycamore they pass. If we could get a female there, nesting could be possible. Breeding warblers make up what is lacking in migrants of course with Golden-cheeked Warbler being abundant. April 20 I saw copulation. April 24 I saw a bird taking food to a nest, and May 7 fledged young being fed. Before June 15 they will be getting hard to find here. This is a beautiful, wonderful, special, warbler. Nowhere is it easier to get more intimate views without disturbing the birds. By mid-May, they are already becoming harder to find. Please do not play tapes for it or the Black-capped Vireo (which we heard only). Good numbers of Black-and-white Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush are nesting as usual, and both also had fledged young out of the nest they were feeding May 7. To me the best sparrow was a CASSIN'S on May 7, clearly a grounded migrant. It was my first ever there. Lots of migrant Clay-colored Sparrows of course, and the resident Rufous-crowned have been easy at the nice new feeding station at the overflow parking area, or Can Creek Trailhead. Also at that seed pile were a couple male and a female LAZULI Bunting, amongst many Painted and Indigo Buntings, and a male Black-headed Grosbeak was there. I haven't heard Scott's Oriole though yet this year, but on April 20 there was a migrant sub-adult male Bullock's Oriole there. Pine Siskins continued with 3 at least still on May 7. So now you have a bit of an idea of how its been birding Lost Maples this spring, which is great as always. I haven't mentioned many of the common species like Canyon Wren, whose songs are constantly dripping off the cliffs, or Indigo Bunting or Summer Tanager, whose singing also never seems to stop. The butterflies and dragonflies are just getting going, and with the fog-mist, they really don't start till much later in the day, after noon. I haven't been there in the heat of the day to see much. Elsewhere locally it has been weak so far, but it is early in the season. May 7 I did see Large Orange and Cloudless Sulphurs, Red-spotted Purple, Southern Broken Dash, Dun Skipper, Spicebush and black Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2007 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ August 5, 2007 We went for a walk through the afternoon heat, which felt like a sauna, up to the ponds, along Can Creek. It is always interesting to see what is gone as much as what is there. Done nesting and not apparently present were Black-and-White Warbler, Golden-cheeked Warbler (of course by this date), and Yellow-throated Vireo. All 3 are March arrrival breeders. Still present singing and apparently territorial, which means on probably 3rd nests by now, were Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, lots of Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos and Indigo Bunting. A couple Lousiana Waterthrushes were heard and still present. No Black-capped Vireos were heard. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were abundant. I don't know if those are young from nestings there, or migrants (presumably somewhat local), as I've been getting in the yard for over a month now. On the butterfly front, Swallowtails were showing well with a sweep of all the regular expected species. There were lots of Spicebush flying, at least 6 or 8 were seen. Also at least 2 of the large black form female Eastern Tiger were seen (ph). We also saw a couple Two-tailed, a Giant, a Pipevine and a Black Swallowtail. A Silvery Checkerspot was on some frogfruit. A few Sleepy Oranges and Little Yellows were puddling. One Clouded Skipper, a probable Desert Checkered Skipper, and Western Checkered Skipper of course, but seemed slow in numbers. The flowers were largely in between blooms, but the frostweed and snow-on-the-mountain is about to go off. Odes were worse than butterflies. There was hardly anything. I wonder if the 40" of rain for the year there has washed away lots of the larvae that were here. The numbers are nothing. These 8" rain events in narrow canyons can have scouring effects. I did see one Banded Pennant, a Green Darner, American Rubyspot, Violet Dancer, Kiowa Dancer, and a few unID'd Argia, but it was the most dismal I've ever seen it in summer. There was clearly lots of aquatic vegetation cleared out of the ponds by the water. I saw the bottom where I hadn't in years. It was plenty warm for them at 85-90 degrees from 2 to 5 p.m.. The highlight though was a small baby lizard I found, which I haven't ID'd yet, but it may be a Collared Lizard. Young small lizards can be tricky to ID..... At least I got a small picture, so someone who knows better than me should be able to figure it out. It was nice for the lack of people as compared to busier peaks of camper, hiker, tourist season. It was quiet enough that you could study things along the path without too much disturbance most of the time. Except for Labor Day, from August until when the leaves change, is a great time to visit, for the reduced hominid populations on the trails, and what seems like should be high potential for unusual or rare birds, butterflies, or dragonflies! I did once have a Black-billed Cuckoo there August of 96, and a Common Black-Hawk in 86 or 87 I never reported. Late summer to fall is probably the best time for vagrants. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2006 - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lost Maples SNA 6-25-06 11 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. to pond on Can Creek. Very warm and humid - drippin' Odes: Anisops (Dragons) Darner sps. ~ Anax sps. NOT junius - prob walsinghami Sulphur-tipped Clubtail - Gomphus militaris 5-striped Leaftail - Phyllogomphoides albrighti 4-striped Leaftail - Phyllogomphoides stigmatus Prince Baskettail - Epitheca princeps Libellula luctuosa - Widow Skimmer Common Whitetail - Libellula lydia Comanche Skimmer - Libellula comanche - 3 males, 1 fem. ovipos. Neon Skimmer - Libellula croceipennis "E. type" Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicicollis Black Saddlebags - Tramea lacerata Banded Pennant - Celithemis eponina Checkered Setwing - Dythemis fugax Swift Setwing - Dythemis velox Black Setwing - Dythemis nigrescens Pale-faced Clubskimmer - Brechmorhoga mendax 16 sps. ~ 12 at once at the pond. A bunch of Damsels, probably 10 species of them seen. Aves: just the regulars: one male Painted Bunting, one Scott's Oriole, heard both Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo (singles), Acadian Flycatcher, E.Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireo still common, did not hear Black & White Warbler, did hear 2+ Louisiana Waterthrush, 1 Hutton's Vireo out at entrance turn, lots of Indigo Bunting, Canyon Wren, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, one Common Raven, lots of Caro Wren, few Caro Chicks, lots of Tits (Black-crested) and Cardinals. Leps: not lots, flowers scarce. Numbers of Pipevine and few Spicebush Swallowtails still. One Two-tailed Swallowtail. Several Large Orange Sulphur including one pale morph female, few Cloudless Sulphurs, lots Sleepy Orange, one Dogface, many many Lysides, some Snouts, a Sister, few Queens, one Hackberry Emperor, a Hairstreak that looked to me like a Red-banded, not a Dusky-blue (Calycopis). But it got away before I got a shot of it... One Checkered Skipper. Besides the dragon diversity the highlight of the walk was a 2" Eyed Elatarid. A ginormous click beetle with false eye spots on its thorax. I've seen a few around each summer, and may have gotten some poor photos of this one. For insect collectors it is a cadillac in the collection. P.S. ALL living things are fully protected in Lost Maples SNA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lost Maples ~ June 18, '06 ~ Maples Trail 1-3 p.m. few birds due to heat of day syndrome but the persistent singers were still at it: Indigo Bunting, Cardinal, Summer Tanager, Red-eyed, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos (all recorded at once), Canyon Wren, Black-crested Titmouse, Acadian Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee, Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. I did hear both a Golden-cheeked Warbler and a Black-capped Vireo call from up a hillside. A couple Spicebush Swallowtails were about, lots of Lyside Sulphurs, numbers of Sleepy Orange, a few Gulf Frits, a Large Orange Sulphur, a Checkered Skipper, but low #'s of butterflies and flowers. Dragonflies were a bit better. There was a Dragonhunter, a Marcromia sps. River Cruiser (ph.), Neon Skimmers (ph.), Pale-faced Clubskimmer, Wandering Glider (ph.), and a few others I can't recall at the moment, but the photos of Macromia and Pantala (the Glider) will be new for Bandera Co.. The highlight of the walk though was a Texas (Greater) Earless Lizard. A spectacular 7" or so beautiful male, one of the prettiest lizards in the U.S.!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lost Maples SNA - May 29, '06 ~ 2-6:30 p.m. Can Creek trail We arrived as most of the holiday visitors were leaving and the park was surely quieter than the previous few days. Also because we went in the heat of the day we naturally were going to see more butterflies and dragonflies than birds. We went past the ponds and for a couple hours above them saw NO people! That made up for the second trip in a row having screaming people jumping off the rocks into the first pond. We did hear the Kentucky Warbler chipping again, so it is now a 10 day "territorial" record. There were just fledged Louisiana Waterthrushes about, quite unlike anything in the books. From the side in profile there were NO streaks visible on the underparts. Only a short necklace of them on the center breast could be seen when it faced you. There were some butterflies, but not the numbers I am used to.... the drought is having its effects. Most numerous were Spicebush Swallowtails with nearly a dozen seen. A few interesting dragonflies were seen that are not often noted at Lost Maples. I photographed a male Flame Skimmer, a male Blue Dasher, a male Eastern Amberwing, a Dragonhunter, and a couple Orange-striped Threadtails. A few other things I'll need to wait to see pictures of to ID. About .75 mi. past the ponds where the trail drops down to the creek junction there was a LEECH in a pond. It was olive green with a row each of small black and red dots. Quite neat looking since it wasn't attached to you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ LMSNA May 20: Mostly a visit to record some bird songs (not play tapes). Did record a singing Kentucky Warbler at the start of the 2nd pond behind the TPWD bass sign. Few Black-capped Vireos singing. The best find was probably the Rough Green Snake (photos). Not a Smooth Green as previously reported.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lost Maples - 4/30/06 - 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. As substitute leader for bluebird society walk ~ past ponds on Can Creek Black and Turkey Vulture, 1 Mississippi Kite, 1 Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Eastern Screech-Owl, 50 Black-chinned Hummer, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black and Eastern Phoebe, Ash-throated & Great Crested Flycatcher, Acadian Flyc. Least Flyc.-1, E.W-Pewee, White-eyed, Red-eyed, Yellow-throated & Black-capped Vireo (HO), Co.Raven, N.Rough-winged, Barn and Cave Swallow, Carolina Wren and Chickadee, Black-crested Titmouse, Canyon and Bewick's Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet-1, Nashville Warbler-1, Golden-cheeked (heard 12+ saw one ad.male incubating), Louisiana Waterthrush -4, awesome song; Black-and-white 6 (saw 2), male MacGillivrays -1, Wilson's Warbler - 1, Chippy 25, Clay-colored2, Field 1, Lincoln's 2, White-throated 1 (very late); Cardinal 20, Blue Grosbeak 5, Indigo Bunting 15, Painted Bunting 12, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch. HO = Heard Only ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ April 22, '06 We walked the Can Creek trail to a ways past the ponds. Almost no migrant birds were present, which was surprising after yesterday's fallout in the valley. I guess the clear skies and light southerlies were enough for them to be "good to go", and they left. The only real migrant seen was a lone adult Broad-winged Hawk (photos). Some new/recent arrivals were Acadian Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee. Vireos present were Black-capped, White-eyed, Red-eyed, Hutton's and Yellow-throated. Golden-cheeked Warblers are thick (males fighting), as are Black-and-white Warblers, and a couple Louisiana Waterthrush were in the "ponds" area. A freshly fledged juvenile Green Kingfisher was at the upper pond. Lots of Spicebush Swallowtails were out and about. One Silvery Checkerspot was seen. Odes (dragonflies) are just starting to get going at nearly 2000', but the pond does have good activity as always. Park personell said there has been a male Lazuli Bunting around the HQ feeders. Two March '06 visits (Notes will be coming soon) Of course, Golden-cheeked Warblers are back in high numbers; some Louisiana Waterthrushes and one pair of Green Kingfishers are up Can Creek, near the pond; and, Hutton's Vireos are singing everywhere in the park. 2005 Sorry but we haven't had any outside reports from Lost Maples (e.g., from visiting birders) and we haven't been hanging out there this year.... We decided to check every county road and creek crossing we could find locally (there are dozens and dozens) for birds, odes, butterflies, etc., instead of doing Lost Maples so much this year.... I'm sure we missed some great stuff, but we found great stuff too by looking in places that otherwise would never get looked at.... always trades... However, if I might say, there is a fair account below from which you might get an idea of what to expect expect from a spring or summer visit to Lost Maples in the way of birds, butterflies or dragonflies. We will insert a winter (Jan. 05) quick look here shortly. 2004 Sept 6 - Kathy and I walked the main canyon on the paved road since we usually pass it for the trails... Again it was cool and had drizzled so there was little insect activity. We saw besides the common expected birds, about 8 Indigo and 2 Painted Buntings. The highlight was damselflies: about 5 Coppery Dancer (Argia cuprea) at the cement bridge over the river where you turn to go to the overflow parking (Can Creek trailhead). These red eyed beasts have a copper thorax that glows if you get the sun on them at the right angle, otherwise looking black. They are stunning beauties you'll never forget seeing! August 22 - The Texas Bluebird Soc. sponsored a birdwalk... It was a bit slow, even drizzled a little up by the ponds. We saw Northern and heard and glimpsed Louisiana Waterthrush though. Also Yellow Warbler, Orchard and Scott's Oriole, some Indigo Buntings, an Acadian Flycatcher still there, 3 Red-eyed Vireos, 2 Green Kingfisher at pond, and a first of fall Loggerhead Shrike by the maint. bldgs.. An Upland Sandpiper flew over calling early in the a.m. at HQ. Very few butterflies or dragonflies out due to cool temps, but a nice walk as always. July 24 - A Common Black-Hawk was on the bird list kept at HQ for visitors to log their sightings in, dated July 18. Such a rarity should be posted to listservs, or otherwise made public, etc., so others might know to look for it, or better, attempt to document it. I saw a Zone-tailed Hawk there 7/24 as expected. There was also a male Golden-cheeked Warbler up at the pond. It was a comparitively cool overcast afternoon, so butterfly and dragon/damsel fly activity was slow. There were some of the usuals at the pond....Black Saddlebags, Red Saddlebags, Eastern Pondhawk, Blue Dasher, Common Whitetail and Widow Skimmer. The highlight of the trip was at least two, maybe four, of a species new to the park (and only once seen in Bandera Co.), Orange-striped Threadtail (Protoneura cara). This damsel has an incredibly long thin abdomen deserving of the Threadtail name. Of course the usual array of Dancers (Argia sps.) were about, and American Rubyspots. We also saw one of those amazing looking Black Rock Squirrels about a quarter mile above the second pond. The Threadtails were at the top of the 2nd pond on Can Creek. There were many Eastern Wood Pewees, Red-eyed Vireo , a very young fledgling Yellow-throated Vireo, lots of Indigo Buntings, and the regular stuff (Titmice, Chickadees, Wrens, etc.). June 20 - With visiting friends we again took the Can Creek trail up to the ponds. The butterflies were lackluster, coinciding with an apparent a lull in the flower bloom. But birds and dragonflies made up for them.... We had great looks at an adult male Golden-cheeked Warbler between the two ponds. Two Green Kingfishers were at the upper pond. A pair of Black-capped Vireos were above the restroom on the East trail, just above the ponds a short way. The male was singing and after quietly sitting for a short while he came by closely and gave us great (brief) views. The Black Phoebe continues at the first pond. Another Golden-cheek was seen on the way back down. Then of course were the regular expected things like Red-eyed Vireos, Summer Tanagers, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Yellow-throated Vireo, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, singing Canyon Wrens, Carolina Wrens and Chickadees, Black-crested Titmouse, and fantastic looks at an Acadian Flycatcher feeding several young. The only butterflies of note were 3 black form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, stunning beauties that they are. There were about 20 species of Odes (Dragons and Damsels) in the area of the ponds. Nothing unusual, all the regular most likely expected species, but that type of diversity in that small and area is always impressive. Those male Widow Skimmers I never tire of looking at! Surely someone who knows their damsels well would have seen a few more species than I did. As always too, our friends were thoroughly "blown away" by the scenic beauty and bio-diversity of Lost Maples. May '04 news May 16 There are two reports for this date. First, one given to me by Derek Muschalek who walked up the pond trail, over the top, to the east/Maples trail, to the camp, and back up to the overflow parking lot. He was mostly counting butterflies. But by accident he recorded about 3 dozen Golden-cheeked Warblers including adults feeding young. Also he had 4 singing male Black-capped Vireo, 4 territorial singing Louisiana Waterthrush, a couple Scott's Orioles, 5 Great Blue Herons, and a tardy Lincoln's Sparrow! He saw about 44 species of Butterflies, which will be on the BFLY news page in a few days (when I get some time!) Kathy and I went up mid-day to the pond, waiting for Odes to become active. We did see a House Wren, and an Olive- sided Flycatcher, two migrants. Also a Green Kingfisher was at the pond. Then it was mostly the regulars, White- eyed Vireo feeding a young out of the nest was nice. A Western kingbird was near the maintenance building. We had a 7-8 species of Dragons at the pond, and about 7 species of Damsels with the highlight being a male Widow Skimmer (ph.). See the full list on the Ode News page in a couple days. May 9 The first excitement was seeing my first Bandera Co. Black-headed Grosbeak at the feeder at HQ. Don't forget to look for Inca Doves there too. We deceided to check the Maples/East trails. We walked the Maple trail up, and a quarter mile past its junction with the east trail, and came back down the east trail, which makes a nice mile loop. Mostly it was the expected regulars, like Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Black & White Warbler, Summer Tanager, Eastern Wood Pewee, White-eyed Vireo, Canyon Wren, and hearing Golden-cheeked Warblers. We did however have an Osprey go over up high moving north, and a Zone-tailed Hawk. Only migrant Warbler was a single Yellow, and saw what was likely an Alder Flycatcher. On the slope above the picnic area I heard a Black-capped Vireo call. It was too cold for Odes (Dragonflies) for the most part, but the butterflies were good at the Mealy Sage patch above the two aforementioned trails' junction. It had numerous sps., about 20 in all with highlights being Green Skipper, Nysa Roadside-Skipper, Question Mark, 3 Monarchs, California Sisters, Vesta Crescent, and the normal stuff. April '04 news April 26 Our friend Bob Beckler from CA was visiting so of course he wanted to bird LMSNA again, which is always OK with us! We went up Can Creek as usual. We saw a female Audubon's Warbler on the way, and the Short-tailed Hawk flew up canyon in a big hurry offering only a brief ID look. Also saw a Red-shouldered and a Broad-winged Hawk to round out the small buteos. We got good brief looks at a male Black- capped Vireo singing by the restroom above the pond. Saw a few and heard many Golden-cheeked Warbler, a couple pairs of Louisiana Waterthrush, Kathy saw Green Kingfisher at the pond. I heard 3 and saw one Acadian Flycatcher. Lots of the regulars like Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos, Indigo Bunting, Summer Tanager and Eastern Wood Pewee. There were 13 species of dragonflies at the pond, plus about 5 species of damselflies! They were outstanding! Then there were 5 species of Swallowtail butterflies, and other ones like Red-spotted Purple, Green Skipper and Silvery Checkerspot! This place is sooo unbelieveably awesome, everytime you go! April 24 There was a note in the bird/guests notebook at the HQ for 4/24 citing flyovers of a large flock of White Pelican and a smaller flock of Franklin's Gull! Good SRV birds! April 16 Our friends Dave and Carol Roelen were visiting from CA, and we made a couple hour (quick) walk up Can Creek. Things were amazingly different from 4 days ago with Derek!. It was cool, and misting so there was no butterfly or dragon- fly activity, nor raptors soaring. But, many "new arrival" migrants and or breeders present. Besides lots of Golden-cheeked Warblers singing (we saw a few), and other already present regulars like Yellow- throated Vireo, and Summer Tanager, we saw one and heard several Red-eyed Vireos and Indigo Buntings. Many Nashville Warblers were singing, and many Black & White Warblers too. A male Orchard Oriole was new, as was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in the day use picnic area. A Lazuli Bunting sang from the bluff just before the pond. A Blue Grosbeak was just south of the park entrance. April 12 Derek Muschalek, my wife (Kathy) and I walked up Can Creek on a brisk, windy, wintery day. The low in the morning was in the upper 30's!! Regardless Lost Maples came through as usual. We did not see the Short-tailed Hawk, though it was seen a half hour before we got there. A late female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was in the "overflow" parking lot, as were White-crowned, Rufous-crowned, and Clay-colored Sparrows. Up the trail we saw Yellow-throated Vireo, Summer Tanager, heard lots and saw few Golden-cheeked Warblers, and in the "ponds area", Louisiana Waterthrush, Green Kingfisher, and a Black Phoebe. We also saw a first of season Eastern Wood Pewee, and I saw a Zone-tailed Hawk from the car park. Also of interest were 7 Common Whitetail Dragonflies, Spicebush Swallowtail, Question Mark, and Derek had a Silvery Checkerspot. I photographed a Ring-necked Snake while he was working the Checkerspot. Sometimes you just have to make decisions :) ! April 3 Kent Nelson saw an adult light morph SHORT-TAILED HAWK above the pond on the Can Creek Trail on April 3! (I'm betting it was the bird that went over my place 3/26). This bird was in the notebook for having been seen there 4/2. The first report of Black-capped Vireo was also April 2. There will be lots of them in a week or two .... March 28 '04 Cool, wet, drizzly, temp in 60's Notes of Mitch & Kathy Heindel Golden cheeked Warblers were singing everywhere, including the headquarters building hillside. We went up the 'West Trail'. We saw a couple of them very well very closely right overhead. There were also singing Yellow-throated Vireo and Black & White Warblers as expected. A Two-tailed Swallowtail was seen as was a Red Satyr, but it was too wet and cold for insects. Regulars like Rufous-crowned Sparrow & Canyon Wren were 'easy'. Can't wait to go back when the weather is nice! Others had reported Louisiana Waterthrush at its regular haunts just above the pond on the Can Creek Trail. January 4, '04 Warm, mid-'70's peak in early afternoon Notes of Mitch & Kathy Heindel This visit was part of our inaugaral or test CBC for the "upper Sabinal River Valley" area. We were there about 3 hours, and tried to find and count everything we could in that brief period. The main lower canyon around the entrance and campground was birded, as well as a half mile of the "maples" trail, and a quarter mile of the "ponds" trail. Surely, many more birds are there than we found in the brief period alloted, and a more extensive scrutinous winter search is merited. Hopefully we'll be able to do that in early February. Bird List: Ladder-backed Woodpecker 6; Eastern Phoebe 2; * White-eyed Vireo 1; Western Scrub-Jay 3; Common Raven 1; Carolina Chickadee 6; Black-crested Titmouse 10; Rock Wren 1; Canyon Wren 2; Carolina Wren 4; Bewick's Wren 2; House Wren 1; Golden-crowned Kinglet 2; Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3; Hermit Thrush 2; Northern Mockingbird 2; Orange-crowned Warbler 2; Spotted Towhee 2; Rufous-crowned Sparrow 2; Chipping Sparrow 95; Field Sparrow 1; Song Sparrow 3; Lincoln's Sparrow 4; White-throated Sparrow 1; Northern Cardinal 16; House Finch 25; American Goldfinch 1 27 species, 201 individuals. The White-eyed Vireo was in a mixed species winter flock, and is not on the park list for winter. This is probably the first winter record for the park! As it flew across the road/trail, I said to Kathy "it was olive and yellow with wingbars". It responded well to a Screech-Owl imitation and gave me great looks at 20'. I was able to note the bright yellow spectacles and sides, grayish head, olive back, two bold wingbars, and that the eye was dark (1st yr.). Significantly, there are two other White-eyed Vireos wintering in the Sabinal River Valley this winter. Of interest nearby, a couple miles south of Vanderpool, a flock of 38 Turkey flew across the road (187). |
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