Bird News Archive XVI July 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011

Some commonly used abbreviations used are: "in town" - means in Utopia LM - Lost Maples SNA; GSP - Garner St. Pk. SRV - Sabinal River Valley FOS - "First of Season" (usually used for 1st spring or fall migrant to show up locally) SR - Seco Ridge a couple miles west of Utopia in Uvalde County. Ode - Odonata (dragonfly or damselfly) Lep - butterfly ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ July 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011 in reverse chronological order, unless you read from the bottom up. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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. Butterfly total species diversity for the year, a paltry 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 Cemetery.  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 stinks for a count, and it would probably be a very rare record for Bandera County. Update: I spent the rest of winter watching every Ring-necked Duck flush I could, here, at the hatchery, the slough, I watched a couple hundred Ring-necked Ducks flush and fly off in Jan. and Feb. just studying how their wing looked.  The count bird was a undoubtedly Greater Scaup as I thought when I saw it. I am now confident to add it in to the count totals.  Sometimes additional study is required to make a positive identification. 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 MEXICAN TROPICAL (was FLORIDA) WHITE (Appias drusilla) there which I got a couple pix of.  Though I have been certain I've seen it 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 "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, ya just can't get everything. 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 a surer deal 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 2 at the NW corner of town where UvCo 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. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ November butterflies topped out at 39 species, the highest species diversity of any month this year, and never before has the peak been in November.  Lots of it was individuals from elsewhere, immigrants, as was often visible by their worn condition.  It is now all but certain no month this year will break 40 species (I tried) as December is typically a major retraction from November with regular freezes becoming the norm. We lucked out not having a real hard freeze throughout November.  The flowers which had a late bloom due to the fall rains that began mid-September stayed nectar- bearing and attracting the few butterflies about, all month. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Nov. 30 ~ Still mid-30's a.m.'s, 60's in p.m., very nice, and I can't believe it but no hummers again today, after that wave the few days prior, they seemingly were just tanking up then.... and I have not seen the full adult male green backed Allen's type in a week I think, since the first real near-freeze at 33dF or so.  That bird had been here since September, and I've missed it for a week before, so hold out hope it is still around. The bird of the day was a quick look out the office window of a female EASTERN TOWHEE!  The female Spotted Towhee chased it off!  I have not reseen it.  It was one of those 10 second sightings I hate.  In full sun at perhaps 20' out the window, a very different tawny shade of brown than the Spotted Towhee females are.  It had not one speck of white, buff, or nuthin' on the upperparts, very uniform, however a big white area at base of primaries. These darn Spotted Towhee did this to the Green-tailed Towhee recently.  Chased it off when it showed up.  Two male and a female Spotted are returning birds methinks, and quite territorial about it to other towhees, though nothing else seems to raise their ire.  There is a Concan E.Towhee record, so not new in the county, but I have never seen one in the hill country before, they are quite rare west of their normal range, east of the Edwards Plateau. I threw extra seed around the periphery and kept an eagle eye out all day, to no avail.  Two immature White-crowned Sparrow were it besides the regulars.  Cooper's and Sharp-shinned relentlessly hounding the birds out there. Few Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch, some Robin too, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Flickers, Myrtle Warbler, Eastern Bluebirds, but watch for other types of bluebirds this year. Our problem is we don't have much fruit or seed crop so lots of stuff won't likely stick.  No juniper berries even on our big productive one that gets the bird bath drip overflow, so would be considered watered.  No river so no mayflies and all the little insectivore passerines know it. Very little seed crop, only for the rains since mid-Sept. or there wouldn't be a thing.  Hackberries seemed to have pulled off fruit though not dripping with them as they can be. Nov. 29 ~ TEN was the yard Junco count, all Slate-colored. Fitting for the just above freezing temps again here up on SR, mid-30's or so, might have frozen a bit in town. I heard a Rufous/Allen's hummer in the a.m., but that was it for the day, I didn't see one.  'Tis as if everything, at least four birds here the other day, are gone. Belted Kingfisher, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron still at UP, but only a couple Myrtle Warbler besdies residents. Still 30 Phaon Crescent and 30 Checkered Skipper on the Corn Salad at park.  The butterfly garden had some plants that froze, and some were OK still.  There were 75 Common Checkered-Skipper, at least one Desert Checkered, a few Fiery, one Sachem, one of those miniscule Ceraunus Blues (not much bigger than Western Pygmy), a new Marine Blue, a Snout, couple Queen, 7 Painted Lady, Red Admiral, 4 Fatal Metalmark, 2 Orange Sulphur, 1 Large Orange Sulphur, 20+ Dainty Sulphur, 6 Pipevine Swallowtail, but it's fadin' fast. Was hopin for one last new one for November. Nov. 28 ~ Saw the two regular Ruf/All types (1121 and 1122 - yes arrival dates) and the Broad-tailed out there all day, sometimes fighting with each other, despite me thinking 3 hummers with 3 feeders on different sides of the house maybe should eliminate that.  Guess again.  Then in p.m. saw what seemed a fourth new different R/A hummer! Major hummer wave going on.  I talked with LeAnn and Anthony Sharp and besides some imm. Rufous/Allen's types, they have what seems an ANNA'S Hummingbird (imm. male) at their place out 1050 over Rio Frio way.  It seems another Anna's year as they are being widely reported all over eastward of us to the coast. I had a couple Anna's here fall '05 I think it was, and maybe one since, but it is far less than annual so a real good bird. We hovered just over freezing up here on SR, but it probably froze down in town, can be 2-5 dF difference on the lows, and 10 dF difference is common the first few hours of morning when it warms up here on the ridge quickly, and the cold air stays sunk on the valley floor until past mid-morning often. Nov. 27 ~ Hummingbirds were the big story today, besides the chilly morning with freezing chill factor, high in the 50's, and still breezy so worked here instead of went out.  The two different immature male Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus) hummers were both about a lot, and then an immature male BROAD-TAILED showed up!  And another different Rufous/Allen's type appeared late in the day!  I map the gorget feathers on my desk pad so I know which showed when, stayed how long, etc. Nov. 26 ~ Rained overnight, about a half-inch up here on SR, but south of town to NE of town they got an inch. Actual front hit in a.m., wind blew all day, supposed to keep blowing all night and tomorrow.  And we're to get to freezing tonight, and below 30 when the wind stops tomorrow night, which then will be the first real freeze of the year, and probably wipe out the remaining flowers and butterflies.  At least we 'bout got through November without a freeze, always good for butterflies. Nov. 25 ~ Both immature male Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus hummers continue plus thought I heard the adult's wing whistle. Hutton's Vireo and Ruby-crowned Kinglet in yard, a Myrtle Warbler or two, couple Orange-crowned, few Junco, couple Audubon's Oriole, and one hungry Sharp-shinned Hawk. Quick look in park found the Winter Wren still there, maybe it's in for the season, mostly in the huge root balls and debris at the very north end of the island. The Great Blue Heron and Great Egret still there too. Nov. 24 ~ Happy Bird Day turkeys!  Best bird was a SAGE THRASHER from the porch in the a.m., T'd up in the top of a close Spanish Oak.  Not new for the yard, but great anytime here.  The Robins flew over, some stopping for water again, the Hutton's vireo was noisy, I saw one of the new immature male Ruf/All hummers and heard the adult male green backed Allen's, so that is still here, sneaky one it is. While watching a Sharpy soar off after missing, as it got way high all of sudden there was a Say's Phoebe in my bins. Way up, moving south but slowly, I thought the Sharpy might go after it, but it didn't, probably knowing the Phoebe can evade it in open airspace.  Say's is very rare up here on the juniper covered ridge.  It was 500' up going south, and we're a couple hundred feet higher than the valley floor.  If I hadn't have been watching the Sharpy soar away in the bins (and don't ask me why I was, the good viewing was long over, just an old habit, birdwatching) I would have never seen this bird, probably only my 3rd from porch in more than twice as many years. UP had the Winter Wren, and finally I saw some FOS American Goldfinch, 8-10 or more of them below the dam coming in to drink.  I really prefer seeing FOS things though was pretty sure I heard singles three times in the last week, but never laid eyes on them. The butterfly garden had a new (male) Great Purple Hairstreak (the two last week were females) that was a stunning fresh individual.  Another Vesta Crescent was there, a couple Ceraunus and Reakirt's Blues, a Lyside, few Cloudless Sulphur, couple Fatal Metalmark, 50 Checkered-Skipper, 8 Fiery Skipper, 12 Dainty Sulphur, 6 Painted Lady and Queen, one Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak, a Eufala Skipper again, one Sachem, Red Admiral, couple Orange Sulphur.  At the blooming Loquat in SE quadrant of town were at least a dozen Pipevine Swallowtail and two tardy Monarch.  Man that tree sure smells good. Due to an accipter flush this a.m. at the house I got all the White-winged Dove in the air at once and counted, twice, over 130, a yard record for the pigs with wings!! No wonder it seems like I turn around and the seed is gone. Nov. 23 ~ Over 55 American Robin flew over in a few waves, with the lone (C.) waxwing still in the big group. A dozen Robin stopped and came into the bath for water. They got the place staked out already.  I thought sure I heard an American Goldfinch, but didn't see it. There were at least 4 Lesser Goldfinch here, and they are still scattered in small numbers at park and in mixed flocks around.  Late, 11 p.m. Great Horned Owl calling, and a yearling dillo was out front tearin' it up. Black Vulture count in the a.m. was 50 in one kettle as they got up off a kill north of SR. Nov. 22 ~ OMG ANOTHER new Selasphorus immature male, which is clearly different from yesterday's new one, which I've seen better and is an immature male as well, but they both have gorget feathers coming in differently so can tell them apart.  Two new hummers showing up in two days here is most unusual in late November.  NINE was the Inca Dove count, and 8 Pine Siskin were about yard briefly. At UP there was a Pyrrhuloxia out front, hard to get at the park, and the Winter Wren was still at the north end of the island.  Thought sure I heard American Goldfinch there again, but again, didn't see it.  Four Field Sparrow were at the island, and 35 Phaon Crescent with one Vesta, and 45 Checkered-Skipper still on the Corn Salad. At dusk I heard a Cardinal go off with super-accellerated high speed alarm notes, followed by the last two notes they make when they expire.  I ran outside and it was raining red feathers.  One of the Sharp-shinned Hawks no doubt, got a male I think. Nov. 21 ~ I can't believe it a new Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus hummer has shown up, either an imm. male or ad. female, can't tell yet.  20 Robin in town, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Hutton's Vireo in yard at SR. Nov. 20 ~ Saw the Brown Creeper at UP, and at least 3 Song Sparrow, over 85 Eastern Bluebird in the fields out front. Went out West Sabinal Rd. to Lower Sabinal Rd..  Couple Shrike in Bandera Co., but didn't see a Harrier, sparrows a bit slow too, but was late p.m..  There was a Pyrrhuloxia in Bandera County where you come near river channel (first place close) at end of goat farm, and better, there were at least two or three a third mile past the first crossing at the bent (run) over county maint. sign (end Bandera) so in Real County where kinda hard to come by.  Tony Gallucci said he knows of one Real Co. record at Big Springs Ranch once so a good Real Co. bird. They were in a mixed flock with a couple dozen E. Bluebird, some Myrtle Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 sapsucker of which 2 were immature Yellow-bellied, and a bunch of Chipping Sparrow, a few Field.  At the crossing which is still in Bandera Co., there was a Pine Warbler (FOS) right where I've had them before.  On W. Sabinal or Jones Cmty. Rd. there was a Say's Phoebe.  A few White-crowned and Vesper Sparrow, more Chippies and Field, some Savannah, some Meadowlarks I didn't ID, no love on Sage Thrasher or Green-tailed Towhee.  Did have a Merlin in Bandera Co. though. FYI this road comes out on 337 at the Lodges at Lost Maples, which means over the first divide west from Vanderpool. The river crossing there might be called Little or West Sabinal River, and (this) Lower Sabinal River Rd. goes south from 337 (while Upper goes North from 337).  Lower goes south first 4-5 miles in Real Co. then from just above the river crossing the next 4-5 miles or so through Bandera Co., where it comes out on W. Sabinal Rd about 3 mi. NW of Utopia. It has potential to be birdy.  All land is private and so you can't go off the road but it is fairly untravelled and wide enough to pull off to the side and anyone could get by.  I did see a Gray Fox up in Real Co..  Right on the road there was a nice patch of Thoroughwort or Boneset (white) Eupatorium blooming in Bandera Co. that had a lot of (the regular expected) butterflies on it. Nov. 19 ~ Four Slate-colored Junco in the yard, but I didn't see the male Oregon.  Must be 90-100 Chipping Sparrow now, maybe 8 Field.  Missed the hummer now for a couple days, hope he's just being sneaky.  The Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks are seemingly nearly constantly diving on everything out there.  And I'm seeing them at the park, around town, they are everywhere. So are Flickers, in the air mostly, I'm seeing them moving. At the park was finally a FOS Brown Creeper, large numbers have been being seen 100 miles east at Bastrop St. Pk.. Two male Audubon's Warblers were among 8+ Myrtles, no Pine still yet.  125 or so Chippy still around the ball diamond, and had a couple Vesper, White-crowned, and a Lark Bunting on the fences too, a hard-to-get park bird. Two Starling on the pole in the field, Song and Lincoln's Sparrow were in the weeds below the dam. No Winter Wren on the island today but a beautiful bright fresh Blue-headed Vireo was there.  Still a few dozen Phaon Crescent on the Corn Salad mostly out there. The Eastern Bluebird flock out front of and in the park was 60 at least, a few Robins were about, no waxwing. Still a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret, and a Belted Kingfisher hunting the last pondlet, which came up a bit since the last rain. The butterfly garden had the torn up Great Purple Hairstreak, now there a week.  It also had 7-8 Painted Lady, the first for the month, and a female Orange-barred Sulphur, also new this month, so species # 37 and 38, pushing Nov. to the top diversity month of the year, and done on immigrants from elsewhere of course.  Lucky it hasn't really hard-froze yet, so there are still bugs and flowers. Still 2 Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak there, 45 Common Checkered- Skipper, a dozen Variegated Fritillary, 6 Monarch were seen today, 4 at the garden.  A nice white morph Orange Sulphur was among a few nice males, Red Admiral nectaring, a few Fatal Metalmark still, over a dozen Fiery Skipper, one female Sachem, a Eufala, at least 6 Cloudless Sulphur of the regular flavor, and a couple marcellina spotted types, 1 Lyside, 1 Little Yellow, Pipevine was only Swallowtail but several, and one torn up (migrant) Buckeye nectaring. Looks about 29 species and nearing 200 individuals, so suffice it to say it was pretty busy.  The white Eupatorium, Thoroughwort is the one methinks, is the hot thing there right now.  Might have had a Desert Checkered-Skipper, and a Large Orange Sulphur, I was not being really thorough with everything, got distracted taking pics of a Reakirt's Blue that was tame. A Say's Phoebe was at the NW corner of town on the fence past the jog in Lee St. as it heads to the river, two Black Phoebe were at the park, and Eastern are everywhere as the wintering population has moved in now. Many cypress trees now are in full rust or rufous glory, along the river channel, and the leaves left on the pecans are mostly very yellow, half of their foliage has fallen already.  The Spanish Oaks are just starting to get some color, usually late Nov. to early Dec. is their peak, they are the best dependable color show out here, along every and any road at that time through the hills/divides (not so much on valley floors in other words) virtually every year they show very well. Nov. 18 ~ 'Nother chilly morn, and high in the low 60's. Not complaining.  A nice male Oregon Junco was new with two+ Slate-colored continuing, but not seeing the Pink-sided around.  One new (leucophrys) White-crowned Sparrow was an adult.  Two Orange-crowned Warbler at once on a hummer feeder, so not just one of them here again this winter.  In the p.m. a flock of 20 Am. Robin flew over westward toward some roost site, I saw them in town on the hackberries. At least 50 Eastern Bluebird in the flock often in the field adjacent to and east of the park.  At the NW corner of town where Lee St. jogs and heads toward river there was a single imm. Lark Bunting, a couple Vesper and a few White-crowned Sparrow - leucophrys, small pink bill with black lores.  Flickers seem more numerous this year than usual but most seen just in flight.  Thought sure I heard an American Goldfinch flyover at the park, though haven't had one yet this fall it is time they show.  At the north end of the former island there was a Winter Wren. Nov. 17 ~ Low felt like upper 30's dF, and high in low 60's. Had an American (Water) Pipit go over in the morning, and 45 Sandhill Crane in the p.m..  The regulars about the yard. Nov. 16 ~ Sure seems like winter might be on the way out there, judging from the birds in the yard.  This morning there were 8-10 Robin, one Cedar Waxwing with them, looking for Juniper berries, seemingly mostly absent this year, a Pine Siskin, two Junco, one each Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Myrtle and Orange-crowned Warbler, heard a Flicker, a couple Hermit Thrush and 3 Spotted Towhee.  You could almost expect it to be cold soon.  The Allen's Hummer showed, but it doesn't like the bees that have just the last few days shown back up on the feeders, having been gone all year since spring. Interesting after a few at the garden was a Desert Checkered- Skipper in the yard today, and better since new for the month, a Eufala Skipper was on the Blue Mist Eupatorium. That was number 36 tying my highest monthly diversity counts for the year, so one more and November will turn out the best butterfly diversity month of the year.  That would be a first, peaking in November, though it is often good for southern origin vagrants, it is not usually the peak of annual diversity.  There were 35 species locally in March, and 36 in April and May, those being the three (woefully low) high diversity months this year. Nov. 15 ~ Wow, RAIN!  Early pre-dawn a good bit fell, seeming between 1.75 and 2" as a line of storms went over. The hissing sound of the ground sucking water up woke me. This puts us at 8" of rain roughly since mid-late September. More in the last two months than the year prior. Good thing, we need it badly.  The junipers on SR look a world better since the prior 6" fell, but I'm not seeing berries on them this year, due to drought no doubt. Things like Robins and Waxwings, and even Sage Thrasher feed heavily on them in years they show up, so this year if numbers show, they likely will not stick long without a juniper berry crop, though the hackberries look OK. Ran to town but didn't have time to check the park, about 15 minutes at the butterfly garden was it, and was 4:30 p.m. so late at that.... but saw TWO Great Purple Hairstreak, the torn up beast of a couple days ago, and a mint fresh new one, both females.  Otherwise the regulars, and no warblers.  The good bird, and I can't believe I'm saying that about these, was a pair of Great-tailed Grackle that crossed 1050 at the river (bed) and eventually landed on the wire out over the field on the east side of the park by the ball diamond. Male and female.  Weird this time of year. Nov. 14 ~ Missed the Allen's Hummer, had it yesterday. Nine was the Inca Dove count, my highest ever here, and since I caught the whole group up high after an accipiter (Coop) stoop, I was able to count the White-winged Dove flock, 100+ birds, I got 103 one pass, 104 the other.  Those are truly pigs with wings. Note if your feeders or feeding areas often seem empty now it is likely a Sharp-shinned or Cooper's Hawk causing it.  We have both here now hunting sparrows and doves coming the ground seed we toss out and much of the day there is nothing out there.  Roadrunner too often lurks in the brush too, hunting ground feeding sparrows especially. Nov. 13 ~ A late start but seemed slow compared to the brush country flatlands yesterday.  One Wilson's Snipe still at the cattail pond on the golf course.  Ground-Dove drinking at the park, Loggerhead Shrike out front there. Best was a double-red Yellow-winged Flicker, a hybrid male with yellow wings and both the nape crescent and the malar whisker were red.  Funny since below, you'll see a few days ago, I just discussed this..... so won't here. The show of the day was the butterflies.  They were fantastic. They were outstanding at the garden (behind the library). After checking the garden about noon, almost two hours later I stopped back since birds were so slow, and saw a bunch of new stuff that wasn't there earlier. I saw 30 species there alone today, the biggest species diversity day of the YEAR locally!!!  Obviously lots of immigrants from elsewhere (southward generally) coming in, and little in the way of nectar sources in most areas around.  There were 8-9 species there I hadn't seen this month, half of which I hadn't seen locally this year!! Ocala Skipper doesn't even occur here every year so probably the best bug today.  A Great Purple Hairstreak is always a prize.  My first Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak (2+) of the year (finally - I was getting worried), Ceraunus (2) and Marine Blue were both first of them here this year, and at least 4 Reakirt's Blue made for some good blues.  Some Vesta Crescent were the first since summer, a couple Whirlabout were new, a Dun Skipper was the first this month, 5 each Fiery Skipper and Sachem. Common Checkered-Skipper was THE abundant butterfly with at least 40 of them, in with which I found 2-3 Desert Checkered Skipper and no Tropical. Along the immediate river banks still the Maxmillian Sunflower and Corn Salad are going, and those had butterflies on them, but Frogfruit is done and Marsh Fleabane nearly so, some Water Willow (Justicia) still with flower, but in the lowest spots in river bed it froze.  Otherwise virtually no signs of a freeze-off from last week, or yet.  Amazing was the Phaon Crescents, at least 35 on the Maxmil. Sunflower and the Corn Salad at the S. tip of island.  A couple dozen Checkered-Skipper was almost the only other thing there, but one Buckeye, the one species I saw that wasn't also at the garden.  So 31 species leps locally today, as good as most of the totals for entire MONTHS this year! I heard a warbler chip at the garden I didn't see but it was a thick rich Yellow Warbler type note, and probably a Chestnut-sided was my guess.  There were Myrtle and Orange-crowned there, Kinglet, but someone came in and the stuff flushed and I never saw it.  The bird of the day gets away, again. Along the water in the river bed at the park one Autumn Meadowhawk and a dozen Green Darner were seen, no damsels. Nov. 12 ~ Ahhhh Uvalde.  A pair of Common Raven were 8 miles north of Sabinal on 187, again, in the last good belt of Live Oaks before it turns to mesquite and juniper, as you drop onto the flatlands brush country, but before, still a bit of gradient, barely, a couple miles below the D'Hanis cutoff.  Interesting though since 8 years of driving this road didn't regularly produce Ravens in that area but has been lately, probably living on road-kill. Once in the ag lands with hedgerows near Sabinal, Lark Bunting flocks were regular, at least 400 is a low conservative estimate, likely 500+, quite a few were along Old Sabinal Rd.(OSR).  Vesper, Savannah, White-crowned & Lark Sparrow were also numerous all along the way.  A few Shrike, lots of Western Meadowlark (hundreds), a few Caracara and Fuertes' Red-tailed Hawk, one eastern Red-tail and best the small blackish (Western) male has returned on OSR, and I got a photo as it jumped off the pole.  A beautiful bird. At Cook's Slough there were 4+ Golden-crowned Kinglet, one Audubon's Oriole, heard Green Jay, Kiskadee, and Long-billed Thrasher, two White-eyed Vireo (one doing Black-capped Vireo imitation so we know where its from - White-eyed doing Black- capped is the most common vireo mimicry I hear in the central hill country).  Saw Olive Sparrow, some Myrtle and Orange-crowned, 2-3 Green Kingfisher, no swallows, but 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 14 Least Sandpiper, and 1 Wilson's Snipe. One Blue-eyed Darner dragonfly was still flying among a number of Green Darner. At the fish hatchery there was a nice collection of ducks, which were great to see, a sign of winter in southerly climes.  At least 60 Gadwall, 10 Shoveler, 12 American Wigeon, 16 Green-winged Teal, a Ruddy Duck is always good, 14 Ring-necked Duck, and best was 3 Canvasback which I ID'd in flight as they flew in from elsewhere, while we were just getting stuff ready at the parking lot, so good to see them when we got to the pond with the waterfowl. I knew those were Canvasback as they shot over high and fast.  One male, two female, poor docu digishots. First time of multiple individuals for me here, only a couple records of single birds the last 8 years. Three Wilson's Snipe were at the East Pond across from HQ, and a nice-sized Indigo Snake crossed the pond too. Then the usual Lincoln's, Vesper, Savannah, White-crowned Sparrow.  I got a good digiscope of one ORIANTHA White-crowned, the first I've positively seen here. Black lores, bigger orange bill (than little pink-billed leucophrys, the normal eastern one at Utopia). Maybe they're out there in the flats of the brush country? Too bad there is no one down there paying attention. There are probably 3 subspecies wintering locally, regularly: leucophrys, gambellii, and oriantha, and all are ID'able in the field visually by bill and lore color. At Utopia they are Eastern leucophrys with black lores and small pink bill for the most part, while Western Gambell's is scarce but regular with its gray lores and bigger orange bill.  Oriantha (Rocky Mtns.) is orange-billed like Gambell's, but black lored like Leucophrys.  I suspect it is likely scarce, I've never seen it up in the hills. Again, perhaps they are out in the brush country flatlands westward?  Most of what I'd checked from the area of Uvalde to the EAST to Sabinal was seeming to have been primarily leucophrys, but perhaps I'm not checking enough of them hard enough. An Osprey flew over the hatchery, a dozen Double-crested Cormorant were there (and as many at Cook's Slough), heard a Verdin, and a hundred Sandhill Crane were in the field adjacent to the east of the hatchery offering very good scope views.  Another hundred or two Cranes were seen along OSR.  No love on Mountain Plover, Longspurs, no geese, but we didn't go out to Dunbar Lane, the geese might be here or starting to show by now or real soon.  Lots of bluets (damselflies) way out over the pond too far to tell past Enallagma sps.. A few Black and one Red Saddlebags were there too. Nov. 11 ~ There was frost in town this a.m., and some said 32 in the shade, so likely the first of that this season in town, but not a hard freeze, the flowers at the butterfly garden looked fine.  At the park and the garden each had a Fiery Skipper.  The rest was the regulars but still chilly in the late a.m. so it was just starting to get active.  Must have been over 55 dF because the bees were out. Up here on SR it was about 35, but JCT was 28 and KVL 30. I heard someone had 29 up at Vanderpool this a.m.. Between the two loops on 357 I was surprised to see the Mockingbird sharing the Pyracantha bush, which it is usually loathe to do, with a SAGE THRASHER! Down in town on Cypress St. was a flock of 35 Cardinal. At the park besides 50 Eastern Bluebird, new there were 30 Am. Robin and 20 Cedar Waxwing.  A few Myrtle Warbler, but still no Pine yet.  A couple Sapsucker flew off one chasing the other, and no ID.  A couple Common Ground-Dove flew over the spillway, scarce at the park. A hundred plus Chipping Sparrow across the dam, and one male Slate-colored Junco with them.  Thought I heard a White-throated Sparrow but didn't see it. One ea. Lincoln's Sparrow and Orange-crowned Warbler across spillway too, and a Black Phoebe below it. Nov. 10 ~ A chilly near-freeze morning, as the winds are finally dying down, high in low 60's dF.  A nice black Slate-colored Junco is about the yard, maybe a returnee?  Yard had Allen's Hummer, Audubon's Oriole, Myrtle and Orange-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Hutton's Vireo, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, one white-winged Field Sparrow, 3 Spotted Towhee, 75 Chippy, one Roadrunner hunting them, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawk diving on everything, Scrub-Jay, Black-crested Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee and Wren, 30 White-winged Dove, a few Ground-Dove and the 8 Inca.  Far far fewer House Finch and Lesser Goldfinch around now, as evidenced by a welcome major dropoff in sunflower seed usage. Nov. 9 ~ Post-frontal blow all day so chilly.  Four Audubon's Oriole for sure today.  The local Caracara, Common Raven, and Red-tailed Hawk blew by.  The Allen's Hummer still here. Nov. 8 ~ On a front, in the a.m. mostly there was about a quarter inch of rain.  A Large Orange Sulphur was on the potted blue mist Eupatorium, more remarkable were 20 species of butterflies for the day, most at the butterfly garden in a quick p.m. check.  A Monarch is getting late, the neat thing was a Clouded Skipper, the first I've seen this fall, was quite beat up and so likely an immigrant.  I've seen a hundred there at once in a day before, amazing that one is a highlight. A couple Reakirt's Blue, a Fatal Metalmark, 2 Lyside, 2 fresh American Lady, 2 fresh Red Admiral most all nectaring on the white Thoroughwort Eupatorium.  One Little Yellow and a bunch of Phaon Crescent at the park. Dainty Sulphur (8+) and Common Checkered-Skipper (10+) were the two most numerous species at the garden. No Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at the park so it seems they've finally left, with one young making it all the way to leaving the breeding grounds, they started with at least 8, Larry said 10, and they still had 5 just over 3 weeks ago.  Only one made it out alive.  If the river had water, surely they'd have fared much better. Had a long look at the green backed adult male Selasphorus in the p.m. at the front porch at 3', and perhaps the missing area of green is due to molt, ergo its a good Allen's. Wing-whistle sounds Allen's, higher and thinner without the reverberating zzzzzssssshhhhhh in the whine.  A narrowed tip of the outer primary is what makes the noise, and is quite like a Broad-tailed's if you know that feather. Nov. 7 ~ The Allen's Hummer continues.  Chipping Sparrow numbers are a solid 75, and one new arrival is a dilute plumage, or leucistic, individual.  That is, not fully pigmented, this one appearing as though it just climbed out of a bowl of milk.  The patterns are all there, just very faded and pale, but discernable, while at a distance it appears milky white.  Yes got photos and will put on oddities page when I get them done. Eight was the yard Inca Dove count, one a new fresh juvenile, following a new fresh one in early October, seems late. Nov. 6 ~ The probably Allen's Hummer is still here at SR. The action today was at the entrance area of the park mid-a.m., and at the furthest water below the dam where everything came to drink and bathe.  I hid in the cypresses less than 20' from the water and watched a couple hundred birds come in over a half-hour and change at near point-blank range. At least 50 Eastern Bluebird, 1 Robin, 3 juvenile (streaky) Cedar Waxwing with barely tufts of crests, no wing markings, so very young birds, and there were 7 Myrtle, 2 Audubon's and 1 Myrtubon's (male) Warblers. Most of the 150-200 Chipping Sparrow, which were mostly out in the ball diamond, the rodeo ring, and the field by the gate came in to the water too.  The highlight a BREWER'S SPARROW in with them and a CASSIN'S SPARROW, both by the gate, and both very scarce in Nov. here.  Might be my first fall Brewer's, and methinks first Nov. Cassin's here, which was a fresh lacy beauty.  I saw one Clay-colored, which is late, they've been gone a week plus, even the slow ones at the feeders that dawdle.  Other sparrows at UP were Song, Lincoln's, Vesper, Savannah, and Field, so about 9 sps. of sparrows in a hundred yards tops!  No love on a White- throated in the woods unfortunately. Three White-crowneds in town were ad. and imm. leucophrys, and an imm. Gambell's.  One Lark Sparrow was down 360 in the pastures, and Rufous-crowneds were here at the SR seed so 12 sps. of sparrows locally today.  Then beside White-throated, I missed Swamp (checked 3 mile bridge and cattail pond at golf course).  But so, 14 species of sparrows is possible here in a day, and toss in a rarity like a Grasshopper or Black-throated and 15-16 is actually in the realm of possible!?!  Remarkable sparrow diversity! Almost makes you want to try a big sparrow day doesn't it? Of near-sparrows, did have (Pink-sided) Junco here at the hovel on SR this a.m..  And for oversized nearly-sparrows, two Lark Bunting were just south of 3 mile bridge on the fence by some Prickly Pear as were 8 Vesper and 4 Savannah.  Spotted Towhee was a good bird at the park, the 3 here at SR seem in for the winter.  I didn't see any Sage Thrasher down 361, but 'twas late by time I got there. At the park there were 10 Northern Flicker, which I didn't get to study all of them, but a few were good pure Red- shafted, a few were good pure Yellow-shafted, one was clearly a hybrid with orange wings, and a few red- and yellow- *winged* ones got away without being able to check the other characters.  Here at SR in the a.m. another orange winged hybrid flew over early, there've been 3 Flickers here, the other 2 are pure males, a Yellow- and a Red- *shafted*. They should just be called Red or Yellow *-winged* in flight, until you can check face, crown, nape crescent, throat and moustache colors for correctness to call them *-shafted*.  Many here with red or yellow wings are hybrids if the other parts of the head are checked carefully. Remember Mitch's real simulated ancient proverb: One who call flicker here in flight by wing color alone, get shafted.  :P The *-shafted* term denotes it is pure to that type, that subspecies (formerly species), which can't be known without checking the parts of the head where the impurities generally show up most obviously.  It's pretty hard to check them in flight most of the time.  We live in a zone where the overlapping parts of their populations winter.  At least 5% or more with red or yellow wings are impure here. I would never claim any ID if I thought there was a 5% chance of error. Heck, I won't claim one if there is a .05% of chance of error to the best of my knowledge. Other things at the park were the female Downy Woodpecker, the continuing Black-and-white Warbler, two Golden-crowned Kinglet were new, several Myrtle and Audubon's, and one Orange-crowned Warbler, but no Pine Warbler yet.  One young Black-bellied Whistling-Duck still with the 3 adults. Couple Hermit Thrush, Blue Jay, Black Phoebe, Golden- fronted Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Hawk, and the regulars. Three Belted Kingfishers fighting incessantly over the dwindling pond and food resource, wish I'd have had my audio gear for taping.....it's always like this, don't carry it, you'll hear the audio show of a lifetime, carry it, and it works like a camera, and you won't see or hear a thing.  ;) A few butterflies were out.  Three Monarch, one at the garden, one going WSW at golf course, and one going North at SR, all probably migrants.  Ten Queen at the garden, a Gray Hairstreak, a Metalmark probably Fatal, 3 Checkered-Skipper, Gulf Frit, Varieg. Frit here at SR, a few Dainty Sulphur at garden and 6 at N. end of town, a Red Admiral flew by me somewhere, Giant Swallowtail and Lyside were at Audrey's Mealy Sage patch which is still in full roar, 9 Phaon Crescent were at the Corn Salad at the south end of the former island at the park.  One pale morph Orange Sulphur flew by somewhere, and at UR there were a couple Cloudless Sulphur, and one Large Orange Sulphur, a couple scattered Pipevine Swallowtail were seen. Some Sleepy Orange were at each stop.  Might have been 17 species of butterflies today.  Not bad these days here, considering, though should be 35 species at least here now. There are some Bluets blooming at the 360 crossing I keep forgetting to mention, a few Lindheimer Senna still going. The Boneset Eupatorium is blooming at the park, and some Sida in disturbed areas at N. end of town.  The Frogfruit at the park is about done as is the Frostweed, Marsh Fleabane still going a bit.  The Prairie Flameleaf Sumac is coming into full flame though as its leaves turn. A few Zexmenia flowers still, and I can't believe how the Damianita continues its first fall bloom I've seen here, lots of Paralena going, and the Maxmilian Sunflower is still strong at former river-edge, where a bit of Goldenrod is still going, and a few Fireweed here and there. Narrow-leafed Thryallis still has some flowers on it, and the Brickel-bush is going well, but half normal height. A few Green Darner dragonfly were seen, a couple dragons shot by too quickly to tell, and one Autumn Meadowhawk male was still patrolling at the 3 mile bridge crossing, where there was only one Song Sparrow for birds but 'twas late-ish, around 2 p.m.. The Porcupine was sleeping in the same spot in the same tree as last week at Utopia on the River (UR). Nov. 5 ~ One lone Cedar Waxwing here at SR was my FOS. The 2 Pine Siskin were back, the mostly green-backed ad. ma. Selasphorus continues, a new pink-billed (our normal one) ad. White- crowned Sparrow showed up, didn't see the immature Gambell's that has been here over a week though, maybe I just missed it today.  Selasphorus still here, Hutton's Vireo. Amazing the Damianita still blooms out front, never seen it bloom in fall before. Nov. 4 ~ It was a near-freeze, the closest we've been so far this fall, 35 dF up here on SR, I don't know if it froze in town.  Two Pine Siskin were my FOS this fall here at the sunflower tube.  And yep, it's hopefully a returnee for the winter, a nice PINK-SIDED Junco is out back, we'll know if it stays.  A pale morph female Orange Sulphur hit the flowers of Paralena and the (potted) Blue Mist Eupatorium. Only one young Black-bellied Whistling-Duck left now, with the three adults.  They'll leave when this last one gets picked off.  Coyote have been out there I know, one is dying on the island, and I've been hearing them for a month now, nearly nightly, which I love and am not complaining about.  It is to me one of the great quintessential calls of the wild and to be able to hear them outside at night is fantastic in my book right there next to dark skies without light pollution at night. The butterfly garden had a few things in the late p.m. heat, 2 late migrant Monarch, 2 Queen, a Gulf Fritillary, a Snout, 2 Fatal Metalmark, a Cloudless Sulphur, a Sleepy Orange, 10 Common Checkered-Skipper, a Pipevine Swallowtail and 6 Dainty Sulphur.  Wow, ten whole species. Post Office had a Sachem, a Fiery Skipper was at the park plus another pale morph female Orange Sulphur, 'tis their time. Some Variegated Frits here at SR, 3 Sleepy Orange and more Checkered-Skipper.  About 14 species in an hour or so is dismal at best, should have that on one bush at once at this time of year.  Worse than I ever imagined for butterflies here now.  Surely many other groups of insects I don't study and watch are equally in a hurt due to the exceptional drought. Nov. 3 ~ Windy with the post-frontal blow, high in low 60's. Selasphorus hummer still here, one white-winged Field Sparrow, 6 Inca Dove, and at least 60 Chipping Sparrow now, the little piggies.  Got a glimpse of a junco that looked maybe like Pink-sided.  The single Robin was out there again at dawn.  A couple Hermit Thrush are hanging around. The mccallii Tex-Mex Screech-Owl gave the longest burst of calling I've heard in a couple months at twilight, and later at 11 p.m. the Great Horned Owl was calling. Nov. 2 ~ A front came in the evening and it blew like the dickens all night.  Selasphorus hummer still here. Roadrunner out there hunting Chipping Sparrows, all there is for them to eat here now. Nov. 1 ~ Adult male mostly green-backed Selasphorus still here.  Only 2 of the young Black-bellied Whistling-Duck continue at the park, they've lost 3 in the last couple weeks, since the water is being drained out of the remains of the pond making them more vulnerable to predators. ~ ~ ~ ~ October butterflies totalled 31 species, deplorable. Numbers are a tiny fraction of normal for the few types that are about.  Most years any day of October one can go to the butterfly garden and see 30 species in 30 minutes.  I don't think I had 10 species there any visit this month, barely mustering the 31 species in the whole area locally all month.  The paucity of butterflies surely extends to all manner of insect life, which have many critical roles from being pollinators to wildlife food. Oct. 31 ~ The ad.male Selasphorus hummer with the mostly green back is still here but I didn't see the Ruby-throat. The FOS for the day was American Robin, one single in the a.m., and p.m..  No sign of a Green-tailed Towhee. Had a Junco but couldn't tell type as it flushed. Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawk are hitting the yard multiple times daily now.  Just two Audubon's Oriole come through a few times each day for sugar water and peanuts. Seems only one white-winged Field Sparrow is still here. Oct. 30 ~ Poked around town and south a bit for a couple hours.  At UP was my FOS Winter Wren, but otherwise pretty slow, a couple few Myrtle, a Lincoln's Sparrow. Out front in the field there were 12 Starling on the pole, some Red-winged Blackbird, W. Meadowlarks, E. Bluebirds, a few Chipping Sparrow (50 Chippy at the SR hovel now). At the cattail pond on the golf course near Waresville there were 25+ Red-winged Blackbird and 20 E. Bluebirds on the course.  At the 360 crossing was a Song Sparrow. At Utopia on the River (UR) there was an FOS Golden- crowned Kinglet, and a male Downy Woodpecker, the first adult male I've seen here in 8 years.  One Orange- crowned Warbler was among a half dozen Myrtle and Audubon's, and one Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Just south of 3 mile bridge (3 miles south of town) there were 3 Lark Bunting on the fence along the road.  South of the bridge I went down UvCo 361 a bit and just after the initial mesquite patches it opens up to pasture.  There I saw FOUR SAGE THRASHER AT ONCE!  Never had but singles locally, quite remarkable methinks, I don't even get them annually here.  Scattered about were some White-crowned, Vesper, Savannah and Field Sparrow, a couple Lark Sparrow, and a tardy female Indigo Bunting. A few Eastern Meadowlark were down there too. Under the 3 mile bridge at the crossing was a good flock of birds that had a Swamp Sparrow, 4 (!) Song Sparrow, few Lincoln's, 10 White-crowned, Myrtle and Audubon's Warbler. A male Green Kingfisher caught a fish close enough to see it was Astyanax mexicanus, Mexican Tetra, the only tetra (Characin) native to the United States, and quite a neat local "minnow" that is for the most part found in the U.S. only on the Edwards Plateau. Adult male Selasphorus and Ruby-throated Hummers still here, Hutton's Vireo, Hermit Thrush, and I'm sure I heard a Green- tailed Towhee do it's hissy cat-call up the hill behind us. It is distinctly two-parted with a break after the short intro hiss whereas Spotted Towhee hissy fit is one drawn out long note. Also Spotted Towhee's hiss is somewhat musical sounding, while Green-tailed Towhee's is strictly a dry mechanical hiss. With the Rufous-crowned Sparrow in yard, I saw TEN species of sparrows locally today, not counting the Lark Bunting or Spotted Towhee. I thought I was done but at 5:50 p.m. I was on the front porch when the blood-curdling "curleee" of LONG-BILLED CURLEW rang out 3 times, southbound, but must have been the other side of the knoll as I couldn't pick it up visually.  I've had them in spring at night, maybe once or twice in Aug., but no late fall or winter records.  A great late Oct. record. I scanned some fresh-plowed fields today too, and saw dirt, very well, lots of it. At least a dozen Monarchs were seen moving WSW or so. One late Olive-Juniper Hairstreak was in the yard. Couple Red Admiral, some Variegated Fritillary, a Pipevine. The Fri. and Sat. a.m. lows were in high 30's but enough to really put the kabosh on odes.  I did see my FOS Autumn Meadowhawks today, but otherwise it was just Green Darner and Variegated Meadowhawk, plus some bluets that looked like Familiar below the dam at park. Oct. 29 ~ The ad. male Selasphorus with a mostly green back like Allen's, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird still here. Few Queens & Cloudless Sulphurs, 3 Common Checkered-Skipper at butterfly garden, couple Gray Hairstreak, one Snout.  Just seems two Audubon's Orioles here at our feeders now, the pair that summered, as first summer (year-old) birds. Low was probably 38-40 dF or so on SR, a few dF colder on valley floor (in town). Oct. 28 ~ At UP no Catbird or White-throated Sparrow. I ran into Judy Schaeffer whom said she had a White-throat this past week stop in for a day or so, but so an earlier date than my FOS by a few days.  She said she still had a couple imm. Ruby-throated Hummingbird at her feeders as well, but her Rufous were all gone.  There were 30 Eastern Bluebird out front of the park, and one Loggerhead Shrike which is pretty scarce around the park. Nice lows in the a.m. in upper 30's or so, high not 70dF. Chipping Sparrow number at house at least 45, saw one Clay-colored today, probably the last of them up here. Oct. 27 ~ Two hummers continue, what seems an immature Ruby-throated and the adult male Selasphorus that I've been calling an Allen's due to mostly green back. I'd thought it was all green, but now have doubts. A quick check at UP found a royal scrape job below the dam.  Yes the pond needs dredging, but that is above the spillway.  How that translates to burying our best patch of fireweed below the dam seems a not very well considered action.  I realize this is Texas and it's just the environment, not the size of your truck so does not merit consideration.  If the guy's orders were to bury the fireweed patch, he should get a bonus for doing a great job. It is a completely different habitat and landscrape now. That flower patch under the new 8' high pile of rocks was always loaded with birds and butterflies.  At least I won't have to worry about what is there now. It was the only publicly accessible big fireweed patch around.  And there was no where else in the world to put the rocks but on good habitat countless animals use? Three adult and now only 3 young Black-bellied Whistling-Duck continue.  Across the spillway there was a CATBIRD. At the woods there were two FOS White-throated Sparrow, one a nice adult white-striped morph.  My earliest fall date methinks.  A few Myrtle Warbler, the Downy Woodpecker, but not much though was heat of day. Oct. 26 ~ Just when you thought you knew what was going on.... the adult male ALLEN'S Hummingbird shows back up. It is one stealthy bird, I missed it for two days. It's been here now off and on for a few weeks, at least, and is clearly using other feeders elsewhere, we're just on its trapline.  Then after 5 p.m. and until dark, an imm. Ruby-throated showed!  The pair of Spotted Towhee seems to be hanging, probably last winter's pair. Two days with no hummers seen, and today two here. Oct. 25 ~ NO hummers again, that's it, fini, methinks? One immature White-crowned Sparrow - Gambell's still. Hermit Thrush eating seeds, surely because there are so few bugs, normally they don't do this unless sub- freezing for a period later in deep winter. Oct. 24 ~ Didn't see a hummer here at SR today.  Saw only one immature White-crowned Sparrow here today, Gambell's. The hummers may have bugged out.  There was a Junco around the yard but not the FOS one.  Went to park to look for warblers and contents had changed drastically overnight. I did not see an Orange-crowned Warbler or a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, the Downy Woodpecker, or any of the 4 Sapsuckers there yesterday.  Though there were 4-5 Audubon's and 4 Myrtle Warbler and the Black-n-white Warbler.  No trace of Cape May or Black-throated Gray, and the library garden had no Nashville or Black-throated Green either. Monarchs are thinning out, only a dozen or so, but a male Blue-eyed Darner was at UP below the dam, where they are now bulldozing a deeper drainage channel I suppose? Took out a lot of nice habitat that was always full of birds and butterflies.  In town someone told me that someone up in Vanderpool saw a Bald Eagle this past weekend, and it is time for them to pass through so remember to look up once in a while. Oct. 23 ~ One Ruby-throated Hummingbird was still here at our feeders in a.m., but not in p.m..  Had 2 close immature White-crowned Sparrows that continue and they were orange-billed gray-lored Gambell's like the adult two days ago.  Then three adults appeared, one was pink-billed black-lored leucophrys, the normal one, but the other two were Gambell's!  This constitutes a wave of them.  I've never had 4 Gambell's at once here, ever. These are a western type while our normal pink-billed one is the eastern. People are reporting Green-tailed Towhee and Sage Thrashers all over Texas east of us, so there should be some here. A female Spotted Towhee showed up to go with the male continuing in yard.  A tardy Dickcissel called in the morning, and I heard it again near dark. At UP there were two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on the island, in a wild place with some flowers but no feeders. I didn't have a hummingbird at the butterfly garden, though there was a Nashville Warbler, and better, a nice first year male methinks, Black-throated Green Warbler in the pecans. UP had a good flock of birds in the live-oaks but they were moving fast like newly arrived migrants.  When I first went through the park I didn't see any warblers. After doing the north end woods and the island an hour later it had a dozen plus in a group with all the Titmice and Chickadees and Kinglets (Ruby only). I saw one warbler briefly, maybe 15 seconds, at <20' that was clearly a CAPE MAY Warbler but over an hour couldn't relocate it, OR the BLACK-THROATED GRAY Warbler I saw shortly after the Cape May!  I couldn't refind either again! There were a half-dozen plus Myrtle, four Audubon's, some Orange-crowned, and the Black-n-white.  I left the park to check other spots and came back and searched again to no avail. Outstanding is that the adult female Black-and-white Warbler continues, so now I am convinced after over two plus weeks is surely the returning winterer on her fourth winter here! The first overwintering B&W on the Edwards Plateau and it keeps coming back, too cool!  Some warblers have been known to return to a wintering site a dozen years.  Wintering site- fidelity is like breeding site-fidelity.  To the bone. Imagine the bird knowing every branch already, a tremendous advantage for predator evasion and food location. The Cape May was of the dull type, small size and short tail is a real attention getter to my eye.  There is no other warbler that has that type of fine streaking all the way to throat, and as a whisker, and all the way across breast.  Dull greenish yellow rump, wingbars indistinct really, no yellow patches on sides or buff on flanks, but a slight yellowish tinge below on breast, a trace of a yellow ear crescent, a sharply pointed bill with decurve to culmen, ain't nuthin' like 'em.  There is also nothing like the excitement and frustration of getting a quick good look at something and then not being able to refind it.  I hate even reporting what I call "10-second sightings" if they are rare, considered hard to ID, or mis-ID'd often.  Though remember some ID problems (like say Myiarchus flycatchers) are made to be much bigger than they are, perhaps to sell books. Black-throated Gray was on my most wanted list as it was the only warbler species I knew of a record of from the park that I hadn't seen there.  We can't have that can we?  %^ Had one at N. Thunder Creek so have seen it locally, and I found one wintering at Uvalde several years back, so not new in the county either, but even better, new at the park. Was starting to seem a bit overdue frankly.  When I first saw it I only saw a black line across the white breast and throat, and couldn't see rest of the bird, so thought until it jumped into open, you better be a Black throated Gray or else its a Cerulean.  Then it moved into open for a while and was a nice female 'gray' just like the ol' California days foraging in a live-oak, but it disappeared with the Cape May. There were several other warblers they were moving about with them that I didn't get.... because I was distracted focussing on these two odd ones, one was a Nashville. But 7 species of warblers locally on this late date is surprising to me. I saw four FOS Sapsuckers in the park, and another crossed the road just south of town, so five the first day they're back.  One was an immature Red-naped, 3 were muddy brown immature Yellow-bellied, and the flyover was an adult but no ID on it.  Flickers were everywhere and Red-winged outnumbered Yellow-winged which is not the normal case. The female Downy Woodpecker continues at UP so with the Ladder-backed and Golden-fronted it was 6 sps. of woodpecker. Another local FOS at the park was Song Sparrow, and my earliest record in fall here, on the heels of an FOS in Uvalde yesterday. Some species seem on the early side so far, but too early to mean anything, all the species aren't back yet.  A dozen Red-winged Blackbird were at the cattail pond at the golf course. The female Belted Kingfisher is still trying to keep a male from settling in at 'her' pond at the park.  Great Blue Heron and two Great Egret continue as well.  Good since I hadn't seen them in nearly two weeks and was getting worried, was seeing the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks that nested at the park with their young.  The two adults plus the helper adult and four young continue, which have finally made it to flight stage!  I got a pic of them in the air, and I expect they'll be leaving soon now.  So the first local nesting at the park in 8 years got 4 young to fledge. I didn't see the other attendent throughout this breeding event, Orangesauce the roaster.  Once the river dropped too much, since it couldn't fly, it couldn't get away. Folks should consider when they dump ducks they are usually just feeding predators not saving a duck. They thank you. For leps a number of Monarchs still around, couple dozen plus, couple Queens, 2-3 Cloudless Sulphur, a Snout, a Lyside or two, a Gulf Fritillary, couple Variegated Frit, some Sleepy Orange, a Red Admiral, but very low numbers overall. If it doesn't freeze too soon, the butterfly garden will have some white Eupatorium blooming and should be good for attracting strays, if anything is out there. Oct. 22 ~ First thing in the a.m. at least one Ruby- throated Hummer, and the adult male Allen's Hummingbird came in.  Before sunup a FOS Hermit Thrush came to bath as they love to do first and last light. We did a Uvalde run down 187 and via Old Sabinal Rd.. Glad we left the area as it was a big cycling event here. These bicyclists here sure are the rudest anywhere. They insist on blocking your passage and progress, NOT moving right as far as possible, to the white line, when you are behind them, as I was taught courtesy dictated. In California we were taught when impeding traffic to move AS FAR AS POSSIBLE to the right SOLEY to let you by, to be courteous.  Seems these here want to be treated like a motorized vehicle, yet are not, and do not treat motorized vehicles as any driver would if he were impeding traffic.  The farmer with the John Deere is polite and intelligent enough to move over as far as possible when impeding flow, but not these citiots cyclists we get.  If I drove 1/3 of the speed limit and refused to move as far over as possible in front of DPS, remind me what happens? This is why the bumper stickers out here: keep bicycles off rural roads, because the cyclists are inconsiderate and rude.  It can only work if the cyclists are courteous to the motor vehicles (the thingies that go vrooom that the road was built for) using the road.  Us locals lives depend on being able to use them.  We don't have panties with silicone butts, we're trying to live and work and eat. Not moving over ALL THE WAY OVER is not sharing the road. Until the state constructs roads made to handle them, with a bike lane, since that is how they want to use the vehicle lane, they are a traffic hazard as operated and used by these cyclists. These roads were not made for two cars to pass in opposite directions, and bicyclists that won't move over as far as possible to the right.  They are farm to market roads, not bicycle roads.  What if we all brought our tractors into their city and blocked their roads?  They would be the first to call and complain.  There is room for them to move over TWO FEET, and they won't.  BTW Do they pay for the sherrifs directing traffic (at how many intersections?) that aren't normally required, or are my tax dollars paying for that? See why I try hard to not be political and/or opinionated about these sorts of things here?  :)  Don't get me started.  :) The trip to Uvalde was overall uneventful, but always different so interesting.  There were ZERO Scissor- tailed Flycatcher - gone for the year!  Normally now there are still some around, but without the rain=bugs.... Then instead there were Lark Bunting everywhere along the way, probably 250 or so total, biggest single flock was over 100.  It may be a good year for them here. And Western Meadowlarks were in, a few Eastern were seen too. A few eastern Red-tailed Hawks have arrived for the winter, and one dark morph western Red-tail all blackish but for some rufous on breast was seen.  Several Fuertes types, a Merlin, some Caracara, a dozen Kestrel, a Cooper's Hawk with a bird at Ft. Inge.  Didn't see any Mountain Plover yet. A Common Raven was down off the escarpment in the brush country a few miles north of Sabinal, again.  Lots of Shrike and Mockingbird along the roads, and Mourning Dove. Although Ft. Inge is still mostly closed we got in - it pays to volunteer to contribute locally - though the birds were way down due to it being without water for many months now.  It has a few puddles since the rain, but still was almost scary quiet.  Some Green Jay and Great Kiskadee were neat but we barely scraped up two Ruby-crowned Kinglet and as many Orange-crowned Warbler, no Yellow-rumped yet there. Olive Sparrow was heard only, a Rock Wren is back on the historic rock wall near the first parking lot.  The neatest find was a couple fossils of some type of bivalve (an odd mussel methinks, one I've never seen the likes of) which of course I gave to Chief Bill Dillahunty from the Historical Society for their collection.  Very cool, these were marine species from a time when it was a shallow saltwater sea there, methinks roughly late cretaceous, like our Texas Heart (Protocardia) clams here, about 105-107 million years ago or thereabouts. At Cook's Slough there was a FOS Song Sparrow, and two Swamp Sparrow, but it was warmed up and slow by time we got there.  Green Jay was heard, as was Long-billed Thrasher and Kiskadee.  At the hatchery there was a late-ish Indigo Bunting, and better 5 Plegadis Ibis that a couple were sure White-faced, as probably all were, and a late date for them here.  A Common Gallinule was a bit tardy too, haven't had one there in months.  Five American Wigeon was it for ducks, about 20 American Coot, and a half-dozen Pied-billed Grebe, 5 Double-crested Cormorant.  5 Wilson's Snipe were my FOS, one Spotted Sandpiper and heard a Least Sandpiper flying around. The only swallows I saw were 100 Barn scattered about everywhere, and a few Cave at the slough and hatchery. Some others of regulars were seen on the way: lots of Meadowlarks in now (most Western), Vesper and Lark Sparrow all along the roads, 10 FOS Brewer's Blackbirds at Sabinal Feedlot, some Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Pyrrhuloxia, a Red-winged Flicker (not safe to call them 'shafted' in flight views here, too many are impure when studied). Lots of Bronzed Cowbird at supermegamart parking lot. Butterflies and odes were few, lower than normal for this time of year.  For odes there were 2 Blue-eyed Darner at Cook's Slough, 1 Roseate Skimmer, numbers of Green Darner and Variegated Meadowhawk there and at the hatchery.  A few blue Dasher were at the hatchery, Black Saddlebags were scattered about and even along the roads, a couple Wandering Glider were gliding about. One Rambur's Forktail at the slough, and some bluets there and the hatchery I did not work over to ID. Oct. 21 ~ At least one Ruby-throated Hummingbird is still about, as well as the ad. male Allen's.  Only 3 imm. White-crowned Sparrow continued, and one adult was here but it was not yesterday's adult, this one was a GAMBELL's type with a bigger orange bill, not a little pink one! And with gray lores, no black line through the eye. Huttons' Vireo and Audubon's Oriole were about, still a Clay-colored Sparrow or two and the Chipping Sparrow now number at least 30.  Seven Common Raven passed over late in the p.m.. Oct. 20 ~ An amazing FIVE White-crowned Sparrows were in the yard this a.m., perhaps 3 is the highest number here at once in the prior 6+ years here on SR.  It is not the best habitat, a random spot on a juniper ridge; other than onesies at the seed here I generally only get them at the valley floor hedgerows.  One was adult, 4 immatures, and one (presume the ad.? gave me 3+ notes of non-Gambell's song) was pink-billed and black-lored.  This is the nominate eastern leucophrys, which is what most of what we get is and our default White-cronwed.  Attention to detail however will find the occasional Gambell's and I didn't get to work the immatures. Oct. 19 ~ Fitting for the first morning at 40dF in 6 months was the FOS JUNCO, a female Slate-colored, with some brownish on flanks.  Last years FOS was the 18th. I saw Kerrville was down into the upper 30's for a low! An adult White-crowned Sparrow (leucophrys) has joined the immature.  The 4 hummers continue, but I think only two Ruby-throated today, the ad. male Selasphorus continues to play hard to get but again flying away it showed a solid green back, and the imm. male Rufous/Allen's continues too. Late, Kathy got the FOS Sandhill Crane as a southbound flock called in the dark at 8:30 p.m..  The call of the wild. Oct. 18 ~ An Orange-crowned Warbler at the hummer and peanut feeder has to be a returnee wintering bird, the migrants don't do that.  At least two Ruby-throated, the imm. Rufous/Allen's, and the adult male Rufous/Allen's are all still here.  That ad.ma. came up to feeders twice while I was feet away, working with back turned, and slow as I could I turned my head, it flew just about the time I could see it, twice!%^!.  The back looked all green as it flew off though.  The imm. White-crowned Sparrow continues as does the male Spotted Towhee, which so is seeming a returning winterer, nice to get to see friends again. Oct. 17 ~ An adult male Selasphorus with a full gorget was here today, with full wing whistle but refused to let me see its back.  I'm leaning Allen's. The newer imm. male Rufous/Allen's continues, as do three imm. male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  New was an imm. White-crowned Sparrow.  Kathy got the Chipping Sparrow number up to 20.  Still some few Clay-colored, a/the Lincoln's, and the regulars. Well I have too much work to do to get out much now, but the peak of fall is past.  Much of the second half of fall migration is the arrival of wintering species, whereas the first half is the passage of the ones that winter in Mexico, Central America, and South America, the neo-tropical migrants. There will still be good waves, of things like Myrtle (Yellow- rumped) Warbler, Hermit Thrush, and if they show up this year Robin and Cedar Waxwing, Siskin and American Goldfinch, again, wintering type species, but the lion's share of passerine fall migrant diversity is well into Mexico now. We'll be lucky to pick up much more for warblers for instance, save Pine which will soon show up, to winter.  Rhandy Helton up in Junction had a Palm Warbler today I think it was. There can be late season goodies and often that is when some real good stuff can show up, like say western things. Oct. 16 ~ I've heard a few migrants in the night the last few nights, but not much visible on the ground, and since low altitude and early I presume departures. At least 2 probably 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbird continue and one immature Rufous/Allen's on day 2 that is not the imm. male that was the week prior.  I didn't see the Indigo Bunting, but the male Spotted Towhee was still here, maybe a returning winterer.  A Hutton's Vireo was at the bath early. The park had little, a Common Yellowthroat, an Orange- crowned Warbler, but it was dead save Carolina Wrens, Cardinal, Titmouse and Chickadee.  The Great Egret and Great Blue Heron continue, one Blue-winged Teal was there.  One male Blue-eyed Darner (ode) was below the dam again, 3rd Sunday in a row, whilst missing them on trips during the week.  At the park a couple dozen Monarch were on the sunflowers, a dozen or two on Frostweed, and roosting, but virtually none on the Evergreen Sumac on SR that was covered the last two days.  Must be past peak nectar.  No cerambycids on any of it either. At the butterfly garden was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a Common Yellowthroat, and 4 Orange-crowned Warbler, a few Queens and 1 Fatal Metalmark, one probable Orange-barred Sulphur, couple Monarch. Oct. 15 ~ A great day with some obvious movement, but few birds in total.  From the front porch in the a.m. I had my first ever SPRAGUE'S PIPIT in Uvalde Co.. Calling, southbound, and long overdue, I'd had flyover fall migrants at North Thunder Creek in Bandera Co., and so it was on the SRV (Sabinal River Valley) list from fall '03 and/or '04, but it's been a big jinx bird for me in UvCo.  Now if I could just find a Green-tailed Towhee, my other county jinx.... Funny how always there will things like that, without even trying, all of a sudden you realize some not very rare bird is really doing a good job of avoiding you. Just after the Sprague's a FOS American (Water) Pipit flew over calling, which I got a look at before it disappeared westward.  Then a male Spotted Towhee was a FOS in the yard on the seed first thing.  At least 3 imm. male Ruby-throated Hummingbird still here, and a immature male Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus sps.. The imm. female Indigo Bunting continues. Park was slow, 'cept for dead fish below the dam, those numbers were up.  They could have trenched from up river 75 yards and not drained the water through the mud so much (via the methane, hydrogen sulfide, etc.) thereby creating a lethal toxic brew for anything live downstream e.g., below the dam? A couple dozen Monarch were mostly on the Maxmillian Sunflowers at the north end of the island, and a hundred were on the Mealy Sage in front of Audrey's place.  Some birds were one Great Egret, the female Belted Kingfisher, 2 Orange-crowned Warbler, 2 Common Yellowthroat, FOS seen Myrtle Warbler, heard the Black-and-white (been there all week) Warbler, few Lincoln's Sparrow, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The show was a couple flicker trying to sort out whose live-oaks they were to work, one Red-shafted and one Yellow-shafted both with raucous calling and wing-flashing at each other from a foot apart for 10 mintues chasing around the woods, it was amazing. At the golf course there were a couple Vesper Sparrow, and at the cattail pond a FOS locally SWAMP Sparrow, early here, even after the early one Oct. 1 in Uvalde. 6 Red-winged Blackbirds continued, one Yellowthroat. There was one FOS local Eastern Meadowlark about. A Green Darner dragonfly took a Variegated Meadowhawk dragonfly out of the air right in front of me. Went up to W. Sabinal Rd. to check the wet spot where the Hilbigs (and Diane Causey told me she saw it too) had the White-faced Ibis recently but it was gone. It looks like a good wet spot to check after rains, seems like it could get shorebirds earlier in the season, I'm hardly ever up thataway.  One Scissor- tailed Flycatcher was at the junction of W.Sabinal Rd. and Jones Cmty. Rd.. One Wilson's Warbler was at the butterfly garden, and a half dozen Monarch on the Blue Mist Flower Eupatorium.  One imm. male Ruby-throated Hummer continues there as well.  The blooming Evergreen Sumac seems to be the big Monarch magnet now, as on SR there were again dozens on each one, a few Queen, and one Stenaspis cerambycid was seen.  Monarch were also seen on two different Lantana, Kidneywood, a white Eupatorium, and Mealy Sage.  Decent numbers were moving W to WSW through the day. At the park was a weird single hooted owl call I could not find or know.  Like an overgrown Flamm, way to big and loud for that but otherwise similar, a single deep resonant whooo.  Early before sunup about 7 a.m. there was a flock of ducks that flew south over SR that looked like Lesser Scaup or Ring-necked (Athya type) Ducks to me. Three Ruby-throat and a new imm. Selasphorus (Ruf/All) showed up, the imm. male with the big patch of red on it's right throat is gone. A few other butterflies around were Dainty Sulphur, Little Yellow, Cloudless Sulphur, Gulf Fritillary, Giant and Pipevine Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, Checkered-Skipper and Fiery Skipper. Oct. 14 ~ At the park there were 9 Cattle Egret, and 15 Blue-winged Teal, and dead fish below the dam where the pond is being drained to via the mud so becoming anoxic on the way.  There's some big dead fish I sure would have loved to have caught. There has been an influx of migrant Chipping Sparrow arriving from the north, with at least a dozen here today.  A Lincoln's is still out there on the seed, and the regular Lark, Field, and Rufous-crowned, while a couple or few Clay-colored continue, and the highlight an immature White-crowned Sparrow, for another 7 species of sparrow day out the window. Was the biggest Monarch numbers I've seen this year, with 200-300 just on the SR Evergreen Sumac in bloom. It is the biggest draw at the moment but a few dozen were at the park on Sunflower and Frostweed, and 50 plus were in the Mealy Sage in front of Audrey's on the river.  In between some were moving WSW mostly. The immature male Rufous/Allen's that has been here some time now had a big patch of gorget feathers on the back lower right side of throat, over two rows high and maybe 6 rows long, a round-cornered barely rectangular patch.  It seems gone, and a new imm. male has shown up in the p.m. that has a few gorget feathers in center and 1 row along bottom edge all the way around throat. Noting these details one can keep track of turnover and get better (more accurate) numbers.  If I hadn't have noted the earlier birds throat in detail, I would think this is the same one, instead of it being obviously different.  The result is much better data. Oct. 13 ~ WOW, the hole dug to open drain in dam and the draining of the pond at park begun, for dredging the rocks and gravel that filled the pond up from the great flood of 2002 I hear.  Gonna be some major habitat changes down there.  Hope they leave some shallow enough shoreline where the water lillies and other aquatic plants can grow.  Besides being the filter for the water, they are the habitat for the fish, and all they feed on. I realize most here call and consider them water weeds, but they are part of the ecosystem, the web of life, just like trees, shrubs (bushes) and forbs as in wildflowers, and all the parts of the puzzle are important, whether or not we understand how or why matters not. Was it Popular Mechanics magazine that used to have the quote "The most important part of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts".  Unfortunately this message often seems to have been lost when it comes to environmental tinkering. For birds the 3 Ruby and 1 Rufous were still here at SR, but I didn't see the Rufous in the p.m., though a new imm. female Indigo Bunting showed up.  There were a Great Egret and 3 Lincoln's Sparrow at the park, and I heard the Black-and-white Warbler.  Best was hearing an Eastern Screech-Owl call, new for me at the park. I've always figured they should be there, but haven't been able to see one, nor ever heard one the times I was down there in the evening.  There were some bats around in the p.m., at least one maybe two, looked like Red Bat. On SR every blooming Evergreen Sumac is covered in Monarchs. A dozen to two dozen on the 5 big blooming ones along the road. Also a dozen or two on Frostweed at the park, and antoher couple dozen on Maxmilian Sunflower there, besides a dozen in between, moving WSW.  Some were also on Kidneywood which is just about to burn out, and Mealy Sage, besides a Lantana in town. Oct. 12 ~ 3 Ruby-throated and 1 imm. male Rufous in the a.m..  Front approaching and low stratus so I bet there were birds, but I couldn't get out of work as usual. Nashville and Orange-crowned Warbler in yeard early, a Barn Swallow went over, but a Cooper's and a Sharp-shinned Hawk kept stuff away all day.  They could have done me a favor and taken the three House Sparrow that showed up. Might be a couple new migrant Chipping Sparrow in the mix. Oct. 11 ~ No Blue Grosbeak or Dickcissel, they both musta split last night.  Four days of white millet and they were good to go.  Most of the Clay-colored Sparrow departed as well.  An imm. male Rufous Hummer continues, and some unknown age/sex Rufous/Allen's. I did not surely see the ad. ma. Allen's of yesterday. There are about 3 imm. ma. Ruby-throated still here. At UP there were a 5 Nashville, a Wilson's, two Orange- crowned Warbler, a Common Yellowthroat, the Black-and- white Warbler, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 5 Lincoln's Sparrow, but no Coot or Marsh Wren, Catbird or other warblers. When is the next rain? Oct. 10 ~ Well it was dead at the park mid-day, a heard Nashville or two, same for Orange-crowned, 2 Yellowthroat, a Wilson's, but that was about it.  Only one Coot was still present, but I did get to see the FOS Flicker I heard the other day, a good female Yellow-shafted that is probably the one that sleeps in a broken dead Cypress the last 3 winters.  The Black-and-white Warbler continued as well.  In the yard were still the Blue Grosbeak and Dickcissel, but not the Indigo Bunting. The highlight of the day was just after 4 p.m. when an adult male ALLEN'S Hummingbird flew up to the front porch 3' from me, full gorget, full wing whistle, fully green back. One immature male Rufous/Allen's continues, I don't see the imm. female now, and about 3 imm. ma. Ruby-throated still here. Almost forgot, Olive Sparrow across dam at park.  Photo'd an Erynnis duskywing (lep) that was likely a Juvenal's. Time to take down the hummer feeders folks, unless you are sure to be here all winter maintaining it to feed Audubon's Orioles like we do here. You have to make sure to keep it clean, with fluid, and not forget, and let it be frozen out there during a freeze event after you get the birds dependent on it. Oct. 9 ~ The rain hit about 11 p.m. Sat. night and by this a.m. there was 2" in my gauge (a 5 gal. bucket). Amazingly the multi-million dollar doppler radar gizmo showed I should have, um, 2" (in the bucket) as well. It was a good slow soaker for the most part so just what we needed.  Now we just need two more feet. The Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and Dickcissel couldn't go anywhere of course so are still here. New was a near-tardy locally Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at 8 a.m..  Probably a migrant from the furthest north parts of its range. The imm. male Rufous and at dusk four Ruby-throated continue as does the pair of 2nd fall Audubon's Oriole. As advertised the rain brought birds, it was really hoppin' out there around town.  I didn't go out early waiting to make sure it was done, and knowing it would be active later because of the rain. First at UP there was a Coot (!) which is a rare bird here, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m..  I left and checked other spots for two hours and upon my return at 3:30 there were TWO Coots!  How exciting can it get? Sometime in the middle of the day, a 2nd Coot flew in! We had one knocked known in a nocturnal storm into our backyard near San Antonio once, probably in fall. That was a tough to get yard bird. Around the park there were over a dozen Nashville Warbler, a half-dozen Orange-crowned, a couple Wilson's, 4 Common Yellowthroat, a Black-and-white Warbler (which could be returning winterer? - will be 4th year if so), and amazingly when I came back through the woodlot at 3:30-4 p.m. I found an OVENBIRD and a Mourning Warbler that I did not see in an hour, just a couple hours earlier. Seven species of warblers is good here now.  Add a late Yellow at Waresville, and a Tennessee at Utopia on the river, and it was 9 sps. of warblers seen here today, plus a heard Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) for 10 sps. total. That's a big WOW here in the fall. Other things at the park were Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black Phoebe, Blue Jay, continuing Marsh Wren on other side of spillway, a Dickcissel over there too, two Blue-headed Vireo together, one bright, one dull type, both Blue-headed.  Neither flicked it's wings in 5 mintues. Which reminds me, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and in the latter visit a heard FOS Northern Flicker, and the second CATBIRD here of the fall.  Haven't seen or heard the first one for a week now, in several visits, so surely this is another. A couple ea. Scissor-tailed and Vermilion Flycatcher were around town and at golf course, the Say's Phoebe was still at Waresville, where a puddle forms at the jog in the road and birds bathe there.  I stopped and sat in the truck and watched things come in for 10 minutes, a dozen Eastern Bluebird, a Baltimore Oriole, the Yellow Warbler, a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK which is less than annual here in fall, some Lark Sparrow, and then 30 some Red-winged Blackbird from the cattail pond came in and flushed everything off, but it was a great show. A couple more Baltimore Oriole were on the golf course, besides another half dozen Nashville, another Wilson's, an Orange-crowned, a Yellowthroat, and a great fall bird here, maybe my first (?), a Grasshopper Sparrow.  Down at UR it was getting late but there were over a dozen Nashville there too, my only TENNESSEE Warbler this fall (I don't get one every fall), a couple Wilson's, a Yellowthroat, a couple Orange-crowned Warbler, 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and just a couple wet spots in the river bed. Water was running at the 360 crossing, for 50' maybe, but great to see.  Clay-colored and Lincoln's Sparrow were at every stop, as were Monarchs if there was Frostweed. Otherwise butterfly and ode activity reduced due to cool wet conditions, which in fact had me in a pair of long pants perhaps for the first time since April. 25 Collared-Dove at north end of town, a few Barn Swallow about, Mockers everywhere, a Cooper's here, a Sharpy there, couple Kestrel, couple Common Raven, few Blue Jay, Red-shouldered at park, fem. Belted KF still there too.  One pair of the Cerambycids still mating on the same flower as yesterday.  I guess when you do it once a year.... Oct. 8 ~ The Blue Grosbeak (ad.fe.?) and the imm. male Dickcissel continued, and were joined by a first year male Indigo Bunting.  All three of these species will soon be gone until next April.  The imm. ma. Rufous Hummer continues, and maybe 3 Ruby-throated still, imm. males too of course.  Orioles seem all gone for a week now, save the resident Audubon's.  It is possible I'm suffering from empty feeder syndrome. Too windy with 15-20 gusting to 25 but tried finding birds in it anyway around town, tough going in wind, as when all the trees are moving, the bird's movement, one of our key detection strategies, is camoflauged, whereas action normally makes them stand out.  Except things like the huge flock of 35 presumed migrant Starling on the wires outside the park, anyone would notice. Normally we have 10 or so in town, and this seemed overwhelmingly first winter birds.  The next day I went and checked, our normal 10 were all in their places, so I really think this was a transient flock. At UP mustered a half dozen Nashville Warbler, an Orange- crowned, 3 Common Yellowthroat, thought I heard a Myrtle Warbler again, but didn't see it.  House Wren and Lincoln's Sparrow singles, but it seems most has cleared out and not much has flown into the strong southerly headwinds (as required of any new arrivals - they're all grounded north of us).  A few dozen Monarch still nectaring on Frostweed mostly, and roosting mostly on Pecans. BTW in the east (coast - Jersey anyway) the best fall warbler days seemed the day after frontal passage, the first clear night with the northerly winds they can ride.  Oh, the Marsh Wren was still across the dam/spillway, Two Black Phoebe around the waterhole left at the former park pond. A couple Scissor-tailed Flycatcher were about town, and one Audubon's Warbler, my 2 FOS local Vesper Sparrow (my UvCo FOS was last weekend near Knippa down in flatlands brush country). Two pair of mating Stenaspis Cerambycids near Morris's at the east end of SR.  I brake for 'bycids.  The wind was blowing so hard I had to hold the branch to keep it still enough for a pic, which they did not like at all, got very agitated about my presence, they wanted to leave, but didn't want to get unhooked up after waiting all year so put up with my momentary intrusion, I'll get one of the pix up.  Probably my best pic yet, I left quickly. You could see the other pair watching, as if thinking "I hope he doesn't want to that that to us!" Not even safe for a bug to mate around a nature nerd, next thing ya know a flash is goin' off..... We need the rain to hit, and the front to pass. Maybe Sunday and Monday.  Should be a good wave on it considering seasonal timing.  I've done the numbers: bad weather = good birds.  :) Oct. 7 ~ Maybe 3-4 Ruby-throated Hummingbird left, and one imm. male Rufous for sure as I watched it do its dive display complete with tail-waggin' flourish (I can see your green glow) and it started dives from same exact position (relative to a tree) in sky, so it is absolutley not Allen's which I studied for decades in our former yard in L.A.. Besides the Dickcissel continuing, really nearing tardy was a Blue Grosbeak (fe., imm.?) that showed up (ph.) mid-morning and ate like a pig all day.  Clay-colored, Lincoln's, Field, Lark, Chippy, and Rufous-crowned rounded out yard sparrows.  I gotta say, it is so neat to whip the bins up, and out the office window where I spend all my time working, since the Clay-colored got back in early Sept., them, Field, and Chipping, in the same field of view is a great study.  I saw one juvenile (HY - hatch year) Clay-colored that still had a few streaks on the underparts, and not the first time for that. A quick sneak through the park at peak heat of 3 p.m. found little as expected, 3 Nashville, 1 Wilson's, a Common Yellowthroat, a Marsh Wren, and I thought sure I heard a Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warbler, a couple House Wren, a White-eyed Vireo, some Blue Jay, a Black Phoebe, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, heard the Downy WP, and the female Belted Kingfisher caught a 3.5" young Lepomis Sunfish which appeared Longear to me.  They have no problem calling with fish in beak in case you wondered. Were 35-40 Monarch mostly on the Frostweed at the north end of the park in the little woodlot where they also roost.  That little piece of woods is major critical habitat at the park, as it is the only spot around with an understory, instead of the scraped park-grounds look.  There were a Giant and a Pipevine Swallowtail, some Lyside Sulphur, a Queen or two. Around town a Monarch on Lantana, some Fiery Skipper, one Sachem, 3 Lyside, 2 Cloudless, a Dogface, 4+ Painted Lady, a couple Gray Hairstreak at the bombyliad garden. No Blue-eyed Darner at the park, but two Eastern Amberwing, and no Dytiscids, they must have flamed out for the season, I should have vouchered a couple for ID.  The Stenaspis are still on the Sumac flowers, as are lots of bees, and a few Monarchs.  Numbers of bees on the Kidneywood too which has exploded with bloom now.  Stop and smell it, by the dump especially, the legume with white spears of small flowers, with little pea-like leaflets.  Many folks have Cenizo of purple sage fame that is neither purple, nor sage, which is in full purple-pink roar after the rains, beautiful! Should be a good wave tomorrow or next day with the front and weather to knock stuff down.  It's what I call prime-time.  The middle of a couple or few week peak of fall migration activity, when perhaps exists the greatest chance of some things unusual being around. At 11 p.m. I was outside and heard a bird call as it flew over, not very high up, fairly due south, which I am certain was a VIRGINIA RAIL!  They have a reedy strained call they make while migrating at night, this was it. What a way to get a county bird, a Sabinal Valley area bird, and a yard bird!?!  I'll take the data any way I can get it.  There are a few species I've only detected locally as calling nocturnal migrants as they pass over, Marbled Godwit and Am. Golden-Plover come to mind quickly.  It is the easiest way to get a Long-billed Curlew here too. Oct. 6 ~ Still 4-5 Ruby-throats including no-tail, and the imm. male Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus Hummer. Maybe 5 Clay-colored and the Lincoln's Sparrow still on the white millet.  An imm. male Dickcissel showed up mid-day. Oct. 5 ~ 5 Ruby-throat, imm. male Selasphorus Hummer. Time to catch up on some botanical news, so scroll on down past the following oversized paragraph, if you have no interest in what is blooming. There is a nice Yucca in bloom on 357 about half way between the two loops, closer to the back loop.  Lots of little things popping up and open, not big nectar producers often, but flowers and weeds for seeds and bugs.  Sida, Rock Flax, Slender-stem Bitterweed, False Pennyroyal, Yellow Ground-Cherry, Western Horse- Nettle and Buffalo Burr, and the crab grass has gone hog-wild, which is good sparrow forage when left to go to seed.  Across the spillway in front of Audrey's place the field of Mealy Sage blooming is spectacular, the Goldenrod along the river is really going well now, as is the Fireweed (Lobelia).  In the woods mostly, Tropical Sage is showing well, and the rains came just in time to save the stunted Frostweed (which is IMHO one of the most critical fall bloomers here) and it is going strong.  Still Corn-salad and Frogfruit at the south end of former island with bees and Phaon Crescents on it.  The Maxmillian Sunflower is starting to show in a few spots, and a white Eupatorium newly scattered along banks (which I used to only at Lost Maples) is blooming.  The best flower find was two Shrubby Blue Sage, or Mejorana, along the fenceline (why it was wasn't cut or eaten by goats) on 357 just north of the dump after the eastward curve, which now that it's blooming I notice it, oops. Also some Low Wild Petunia and Globe Mallow near the river. A couple Navajo Tea were up, a little Snow-on-the-Mountain still barely going, most done, as is the Poverty Weed (Baccharus) which is fading now too.  The Zexmenia and Parallena are really roaring now and the Evergreen Sumac is peaking, if not just past, while the Kidneywood is just spectacular. Oct. 4 ~ A half-dozen Ruby-throats continue, at best, including no-tail whom continues, now nearing 3 weeks. No adult male, the last one seen yesterday, the 3rd. A different Belted Kingfisher (male) at UP, a few Nashville, a Wilson's, White-eyed Vireo, House Wren. Everything from the last wave/front is 'bout gone. Oct. 3 ~ Amazing is a couple new fresh just fledged down fuzzy juvenile Chipping Sparrow, my that's late, but I think these locals have done this before. The Broad-tailed Hummer is still here, and a new imm. male Rufous/Allen's showed up late p.m., while about 15 Ruby-throated were about in the a.m., it seemed like a half-dozen at best by late p.m..  Audubon's the only oriole species I saw, and at least 10 Clay- colored and the Lincoln's for migrant sparrows in the yard. Oct. 2 ~ A couple hours around town to see what changed. The Catbird was still at UP, day 5, remarkable.  My FOS Say's Phoebe was at Waresville, and the, or another, Sora was at the cattail pond at the golf course.  At UR a MARSH Wren was in exposed cypress roots over a puddle in the riverbed, an Orchard Oriole is nearing tardy. Everywhere has some Nashville and Wilson's, and multiple Common Yellowthroat.  A 4' Indigo Snake at the 360 crossing slowed for pictures.  Two male Blue-eyed Darner were at UP, after not seeing them all week, they were back again this Sunday.  Two Eastern Amberwing were there as well, and still a Twelve-spotted Skimmer or two, but Green Darner and Variegated Meadowhawk are the most common two species now, Black Saddlebags has been numerous the last week. A few Wandering Glider and Checkered Setwing still, and one Swift Setwing.  Several Orange Bluet were flying below the dam.  Stenaspis cerambycid on Evergreen Sumac on SR.  No giant Dytiscids, they are done and gone it seems, didn't see one, was a hundred or two last week. A couple dozen Monarch mostly on Frostweed but some roosting at park in woods.  New was a couple Buckeye, one torn, migrants from elsewhere.  Many Painted Lady and some Orange Sulphur migrants too.  Few Pipevine, one Giant Swallowtail, couple Cloudless and Lyside Sulphur, a Snout or two, 5 Phaon Crescent on the Frogfruit at south end of island at park.  Kidneywood blooming at dump, have to watch that sweet smelling stuff. No Scott's or Hooded Oriole, no Baltimore Oriole, only a couple Audubon's here at the SR yard.  OMG! In the p.m. an imm. or female Broad-tailed Hummingbird showed up, number four for the season methinks. One adult male and perhaps 15-20 imm. male Ruby-throated Hummingbird continue. Steve and Sylvia Hilbig sent a note about a White-faced Ibis on West Sabinal Rd. in Bandera Co. today.  Ibis have been absent several years since about '07 when the drought first started.  In the wet period prior I was getting them almost every year, but none lately. Great bird, and thanks for the news! October 1 ~ Did a Uvalde run so down 187, cut around Sabinal via the feedlots, and then Old Sabinal Road into Uvalde.  Lots of Shrikes, winterers arriving. No Meadowlarks until almost back here in Utopia just south of town 4 miles one single FOS meadowlark sps., I was unable to stop for due to 3 ice chests of stuff needing to get back into refrigeration.  A couple Bobwhite, a Harris's Hawk, a Prairie Merlin at a site SE of Knippa one wintered at last year, and near there FOS Vesper Sparrow and Lark Bunting. Gangsta activity at Cook's Slough 10 a.m. in the morning ran us off to the Uvalde Nat. Fish Hatchery.  There were 6 Nashville, 4 Wilson's and 2 Orange-crowned Warbler, 8 Common Yellowthroat, and other migrants in the best row of mesquite and hackberry there.  Many Lincoln's and my earliest ever FOS fall date in the county for Swamp Sparrow. A couple dozen Shoveler, 2 American Wigeon, 1 American Coot, 40+ Blue-winged and a few Green-winged Teal, and best was a calling AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER flying over the ponds, I think my first fall record in UvCo. Also 6 Wilson's Phalarope were good but otherwise no shorebirds save 3 Killdeer.  Besides 5 Pied-billed Grebe probably young hatched there earlier in summer, the adults had 2-3 more recent young on another pond. So it seems 3 sets were fledged this year there, the first year I have seen them breed there.  Also had a Pin-tailed Pondhawk dragonfly which is good. After noon we went back to the slough for a quick check and it had quieted down alot as it was warming up. I saw a real good bird for a minute, but it's not *only* an Ivory-billed Woodpecker that you probably shouldn't report without documentation.  There are other species that are mis-ID'd so often, are so rarely correctly ID'd, that all reports are under extreme suspicion without irrefutable evidence.  And so it goes sometimes, the bird of the day gets away.  I'll work the area hard next visit. There were small numbers of Nashville, Wilson's, Orange- crowned Warbler, 1 Northern Waterthrush, many Common Yellowthroat (were thick), Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, and surely some other stuff I'm forgetting.  Barn and Cave Swallows, Verdin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Kinglet. While at the truck in the middle of acres of blacktop at the parking lot at supermegamart about 4 p.m. a female Baltimore Oriole and a Nashville Warbler passed through via the puny oaks they planted.  That shows how birds are on the move. October!?!?  I have a month to find me long pants. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ October above, September below September butterflies totalled a woeful 31 species. There is a fall bloom getting underway from the Sept. rains, so maybe October immigrants from southward will show and bring some excitement.  The rain total for the month (last two weeks) was just under 4" here on SR, a couple miles west of town, a welcome and beyond much needed respite from the drought. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Sept. 30 ~ Frontal passage occurred overnight and early this a.m., with northeast winds since midnight. Here at the hovel on SR I had my FOS White-crowned Sparrow this a.m., must have rode the front in. A Lincoln's Sparrow was new here in the yard as well. Toss in Field, Chipping, Clay-colored, Rufous-crowned and Lark, and it was 7 species of sparrows IN the yard! Also at SR a Nashville Warbler (or 2), the male and female Baltimore Oriole still here, 4+ Hooded, 3 each of Scott's and Audubon's.  An immature Dickcissel, 13-14 Clay- colored Sparrow, and the greenie Painted Bunting still here.  One Rufous (imm. ma.) and 25-30 Ruby-throated Hummingbird is it, only a couple adult male Ruby-throats. A quick run through the park to see how things changed with the front.  Best was the CASSIN'S VIREO still being present, seen and studied again, and it is still an obvious Cassin's.  Nuthin' tweener about it. The Catbird and immature Yellow-breasted Chat continued too.  Warblers were 14 Nashville, 2+ Wilson's, 1 Yellow, 1 Audubon's, two Common Yellowthroat, and four Orange-crowned.  Two Indigo Bunting were new as was an Empidonax flycatcher I couldn't ID that had a nearly completely orange mandible, upper (!) and lower, save a small dark tip. And there was also 4 Lincoln's Sparrow and 5 House Wren, a White-eyed Vireo, a female Summer Tanager, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Scissor-tailed Flyc., 41 Blue-winged and one Green-winged Teal, and some warblers that got away. A Green Kingfisher was new; continuing was Black Phoebe, Blue Jay, and Barred Owl, finally I saw the DOWNY Woodpecker. So some stuff left, some holdovers, and some new stuff, typical.  And why you really have to check every day to figure out what is really going on. Seemed a wave of Monarchs, a couple dozen at least were at the park and on the way on SR, some nectaring on the Evergreen Sumac on SR, most on Frostweed at the park. At least 5 Phaon Crescent were on Frogfruit at the park. A couple Twelve-spotted Skimmer were still there at the park, and one cruised the yard a while in the p.m. on SR. Lots of Green Darner and Variegated Meadowhawk, Black Saddlebags in fair numbers too.  I had a brief look at a Darner that looked like Turquoise-tipped but it got away. Sept. 29 ~ Here at SR still 10+ Clay-colored Sparrow, one greenie Painted Bunting, 6+ Field Sparrow, the two with white flight feathers still here, 1 Rufous Hummer, 25 or so Ruby-throated, only a couple adult males, THREE male Scott's Oriole came in as a troop, two ASY and one SY, 4+ Hooded, at least male and female Baltimore, and some pesky Audubon's Oriole.  Hutton's Vireo drank at bath, a Wilson's Warbler drank in the p.m.. UP was chock full o' Nashville Warblers, at least 20, 4 Wilson's, 5 Common Yellowthroat, 2 Orange-crowned (one a holdover), the same imm. Chat still, one Yellow heard, and a number that got away, but good activity. Thought I heard a Black-throated Green again.  The ones that have been there a day are down low working flower areas while the new ones zing around in the crown of the canopy as if unable to stop flapping yet. Seven species of warblers, nearly 40 individuals. The best bird was a CASSIN'S VIREO seen very close and well, only my second ever here in fall (off the top of my head).  Second best was FOS Audubon's (Yellow- rumped) Warbler.  There were likely two or three. I thought I heard one yesterday. Something about Cassin's Vireo I notice is that they flick their wings incessantly like a kinglet, often. Maybe not all the time, but often, it usually stands out when you see them, constant wing-flicking seems normal. Whereas I usually can watch a Blue-headed Vireo 10 minutes and it never flicks it wings, deliberate, sedate, like a Red-eyed, not a wing-flicker.  Cassin's is like a Hutton's Vireo in this regard, a serious wing-flicker. The Catbird continued, a good bird in fall here. Also there were a few White-eyed Vireo, an immature Marsh Wren (rare here), 5-6 Lincoln's Sparrow, a few Ruby-throated Hummingbird, an Orchard and two Baltimore Oriole, a Dickcissel, an Indigo Bunting, continuing female Belted Kingfisher, couple House Wren. No Blue-eyed Darner, boy am I glad I took a grab shot docu photo of one of them on Sunday.  There was however one Orange-striped Threadtail at the north end of the island where they were most regular this year, it's been about a month since I last saw one. Sept. 28 ~ Still at least one ea. adult male and female Baltimore Oriole, ad. male Scott's, several Hooded, a few Audubon's, a Calliope and a Rufous Hummingbird, and 40-50+ Ruby-throated in the a.m.. There was a good bit of bird activity at the park as I luckily had an errand in town, guess which got done first?  Highlights a FOS Blue-headed Vireo, and a rare in fall Catbird.  There were 11+ Nashville Warbler, 4-5 Wilson's, 2 Mourning, and one each Yellow and Orange-crowned warblers, 1+ Common Yellowthroat, a Yellow-breasted Chat, and thought sure I heard Black-throated Green, Yellow-throated, and Yellow- rumped (Audubon's) Warbler.  A number got away, but seven species of warblers were seen (maybe 10 sps. present), at least two dozen individuals.  One Ruby- crowned Kinglet. 3-4 Least Flycatcher, 3 White-eyed Vireo, 2 House Wren, female Belted Kingfisher, and the pair of Whistling- Ducks still with 5 young, one adult hanger-on, and Orangesauce the roaster, one big happy extended family. The Blue-wing Teal were gone.  A begging juvenile Fuertes' Red-tailed Hawk was over the park.  These have a fine light thin crisp distinct belly band, but are otherwise blazing white below for the most part. Did not see a Blue-eyed Darner!?!  There was Dun Skipper, Phaon Crescent, Black Swallowtail, and a dozen Monarch. The town square park had a Gray Hairstreak and a Sachem. Wow four new butterflies for the month on the 28th! Propelling me to a whopping 31 species so far in Sept.. Did not see the Calliope at the butterfly garden in the three minutes I was there.  5 Blue Jay around town. Hummers are blowing out here on SR today, often nothing at the feeders by the late afternoon.  An Orange- crowned Warbler was in the yard in the p.m., which looked celata all the way, as did the one at the park. At 4:20 a male Hooded Oriole was on their favorite feeder, and after a minute it jumped off and a male Baltimore jumped on for a minute, followed immediately by a male Scott's, all the while an Audubon's calling.  A little cooler today, mid-90's dF, so down 10dF from two days ago, might get some precip this p.m., mostly dry front coming on Fri. a.m., should be migrants in front of, on, and right behind it. A whopping third of an inch of rain at and after dark, was at least a little more something.  We must be between 3.75" and 4" for the last 8-9 days, and month.  Wettest week in a year. Sept. 27 ~ Hooded, Scott's, Audubon's, and still 4 Baltimore. A Yellow and 2 Nashville Warbler dropped in before sunup. Calliope and Rufous Hummers (at least 1 ea.), Dickcissel, but didn't see the greenie painted bunny, maybe it left last night.  Another Nashville drank at 6:30 p.m. when it was almost 99dF (!). We were saved by an outlfow boundry just before dusk which dropped us 20 degrees in 20 minutes.  It was mostly Turkey and Black Vultures on it, but one Common Raven, a dark Merlin, and a male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher were all riding it too.  It was sustained at 25-30 MPH for 20-30 mintues, some gusts probably 35+!  We got a whopping near-tenth of an inch of precip out of it here on SR, but some areas around town got more.  Bandera got 3/4", and near Hunt got 3"+! I keep forgetting to mention that since the rains last week the Barking Frogs have been, uh, barking.  The Great Horned Owl was hooting this evening after dark. Sept. 26 ~ An immature Sharp-shinned Hawk was calling and harassing the White-winged Doves this morning, after yesterday's FOS adult at UR.  Still two Calliope here this a.m., at least one Rufous, 50 Ruby-throated, all but one feeder guarded by the jerks amongst them. As they thin out it is hard to keep even one communal. Still ad. male, ad. female, imm. male and female Baltimore Oriole here, and an Orchard was around early, & the regulars. An Orange-crowned Warbler fell out and dropped in early. The imm. male greenie Painted Bunny was still out there. A Nashville hit the bath at 3:30 p.m. in the heat of the day, and I do mean heat, record hot, 104+ in Uvalde, 102+ in HDO and JCT, and the Rogers' station at weather underground (on our front page) was showing 106 or so out here on hotter than everything around it Seco Ridge. Can't we just cool down already?  Wasn't 10dF over normal for 5 months enough?  Supposed to be in the upper 80's, not low 00's. A quick check at the butterfly garden found that imm. ma. Calliope still present, so 3 Calliope here for two days at least, seems amazing to me.  At UP at the north end of the island was an OLIVE SPARROW, my first inside the park, though Kathy and I had one just upriver a bit a few years ago, from the raft, nearly adjacent to park.  It is number 228 on my UP list, no brag just fact: more species than the official Lost Maples SNA park bird list (213?), in only about 5 acres by one goomba in 8 years!  Whereas LM has thousands of birders/hours over 30 years on hundreds of acres. Always neat when FOS, a Lincoln's Sparrow was there with the Olive, and out at the front gate was a Savannah Sparrow. The two Blue-winged Teal were still there. A few Nashville, one Wilson's were it for warblers besides a couple that got away.  One imm. male or ad. female Baltimore Oriole, a White-eyed Vireo, seemed slow, but it was already 11:30 and getting warm by time I ran to town. 2-3 House Wren were about, a Dickcissel was at south end of island in the blooming frogfruit where there are bugs. Even though it was just a surface front, which stalled to our north, I thought there might be more of a wave on it. The pond is higher today than yesterday, and higher Friday than Thursday, as the water from the rain slowly works its way down the water table and fills it in a bit.  Even though the flow above the bridge at the 360 crossing is more than double this week over last week and the several prior, it was still not flowing above ground there below the bridge the 25th. I'm amazed two Plateau Agalinis sprouted and flowered in the last week in the front yard, I only see two, right where water drains.  The other amazing event of the day was seeing the Evergreen Sumac has bloomed and on the way back up SR thinking "time for Stenaspis" as I drove between a couple blooming and what flies right in front of my windshield right then?  Stenaspis verticalis insignis! That stunning metallic green and red with black dots long-horned beetle (Cerambycid)!  Awesome bug! There are pix on the critters-insects photo page You get a couple weeks a year to see them, and don't bother looking until the Evergreen Sumac blooms and don't bother looking anywhere else.  They meet there to mate, last week of Sept to first week of Oct., take or give a little pending bloom. At dusk a couple Spot-winged Glider were hawking the front yard with a Black Saddlebags.  Lots of Variegated Meadowhawk at the park ovipositing now. Sept. 25 ~ First thing before sunup at 7 a.m. there were TWO fighting Calliope at the front porch feeder!  Now there's an unused team name, the fighting Calliopes.  :) Then a FOS Merlin flew over low and close.  There are still a handful of Baltimore Oriole, Scott's still singing, Audubon's and Hooded, two greenie Painted Bunting, a bright first year male and a dull first year female, now 10 Clay- colored Sparrow (Chippy and Field resident), at least one Rufous and 50 Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and had the Broad-tailed early only.  A Great Blue Heron flew over SR northbound calling early as well. I checked a couple spots around town for a couple hours mid-morning.  At UP there were 5 Wilson's, 3 Common Yellowthroat, 2 Mourning, heard 1 Yellow-throated Warbler. One Great Egret, two Blue-winged Teal, Balt. Oriole and a continuing Marsh Wren below dam in Fireweed.  The golf course had a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and at cattail pond by the cemetery Marsh Wren, 2 C. Yellowthroat, 45 Red-winged Blackbird, 2 Brown-headed Cowbird, a still heavilly streaked below (fresh) juvenile Mockingbird.  At the 360 crossing there were a Wilson's, 3 Nashville, a C. Yellowthroat, and at Utopia on the River (UR) there were a few each of Nashville and Wilson's, a Black-and-white Warbler, Least Flycatcher, and two Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  A couple Baltimore Oriole were seen on the way.  The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck pair are still sneaking about the park with 5 young, and Orangesauce. The find of the day was a THIRD (!) CALLIOPE Hummingbird, at the butterfly garden behind the library.  Though there is a feeder hanging there it is long bone dry (many months?) so the first one I've seen away from feeders, even though at a butterfly garden.  It was guarding the Flame Acanthus leaving the Red Turks cap against the building to a Ruby-throat. It even was sitting on the fence very close (got poor photos). So not bad, scraping a bit, surely would have been better if I was out at early thirty but it was still moving. I did not see or positively hear the zeet of a Yellow Warbler, their peak has passed, though a few more will still be seen, the bulk is nearing through, Nashville and Wilson's at peak now. Almost forgot, an adult female Sharp-shinned Hawk at UR was my FOS this fall.  Maybe the rarest bird of the day was a Scrub-Jay at the park, up on the island, it stopped in the top of a cypress to squawk a bit as it passed by. The big find of the day was odes, three male (at least) Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) were my first ever up here in the hills on the plateau, and I got poor photos. They've been on and off, new the last few years only since the drought around Uvalde, but these are the first of them for me up here on the Edwards Plateau, in this biome. Lots of Monarchs on the move, at least a dozen around, and a few Orange Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, one Eufala Skipper was it at the bombyliad garden. Sept. 24 ~ We did a few hour walk at Lost Maples SNA, it was pretty birdy for fall.  The morning was in the 50's (!) and wow was that amazing to feel that! The best action now, is in the main lower canyon, especially at first crossing, the migrants are feasting on a mayfly emergence that was thousands of mayflies, and dozens of birds eating them.  The higher back canyon country does not have a mayfly hatch and many fewer birds, as one typically finds in fall.  So remember a different strategy is called for at different times of the year.  If we hadn't have checked the 1st (& 2nd) crossings well, early, as we did, we'd have missed most passerine migrants. Due to the water there is a good bloom going in places, again, especially below the first crossing, but few butterflies, though lots of flies on the flowers, so birds, in the frostweed especially.  Perhaps the most amazing thing is that some Maples are at peak color. There are orange spots all over the slopes, as in late October!  Some are already browning up, some dropping leaves, and many are turning dull orange, so it is not likely there will be a blazing show there this fall. A spot or two here and there will be it, if lucky. You heard it here first. Best bird was an immature female Magnolia Warbler (my first fall record for the Sabinal Valley drainage) up behind the second pond in blooming frostweed in the creek bottom.  Runner-ups were two adult Eastern Wood-Pewee, which I doubt are migrants, as one Louisiana Waterthrush too, all may well be the last vestiges of breeders still present.  FOS Orange-crowned Warblers (2) looked like orestera. Read the full detailed report on the LM Reports page. Reports from Lost Maples Other highlights were two odes, finally getting pix of a Twelve-spotted Skimmer there (and in Bandera Co.) and seeing Jade-striped Sylph there again.  There is a pic of the Twelve-spot on the LM Reports page. There was a Kestrel on wires in Bandera Co. on the way, a family group of Common Raven near Thompson Rd., and above Vanderpool a pair of Caracara again which seem resident now all the way at the north end of the valley right until it turns to canyon. Here at the park (UP) in 1 p.m. heat on the way home we had one Wilson's and an immature Mourning Warbler, and the first Spotted Sandpiper I've seen here all fall, finally. A couple Blue Jay were scolding a Barred Owl. At the hovel on SR an imm. male Calliope continues, as does the female Broad-tailed, a Rufous, maybe 50 Ruby-throated, and no Black-chinned.  Hummers are blowing out. Also still here are at least 4+ Baltimore, 1 female Bullock's, 3+ Audubon's, 2+ Scott's, and 6+ Hooded Oriole, a greenie Painted Bunting, some Clay-colored Sparrow, Dickcissel, and the regular cast.  About 7 p.m. an Orange-crowned Warbler came to drink at bath, 3rd one of their FOS day. Sept. 23 ~ The actual front the rain of the 22nd was in front of, passed last night, northerly winds hit about dusk or just before.  Since yesterday it was dead at the park I thought today there should be a post-frontal movement.  I can be soooo wrong. Slow again at the park, but definitely more, and some new stuff.  The two Blue-winged Teal were still there, but only a few warblers. Three Nashville, two Common Yellowthroat, 1 Wilson's, and a Chat.  One House Wren, and the best bird was my first fall park record of MARSH WREN, below the dam in the blooming Fireweed (Lobelia cardinalis). Only one prior was a week or so ago at the golf course. The Goldenrod is starting to get going now as well. They are hard to beat together. The real highlight though was for the first time ever for me here, seeing the XL 1"+ Dytiscids (diving beetles) at the park.  Dozens of them!  This is a cool aquatic beetle, which I have not before recorded here.  Also of note there were at least 5 Monarchs, surely early migrants nectaring on Frostweed and a Eupatorium, Thoroughwort methinks. Perhaps 3-4 Twelve-spotted Skimmer at the park and several pairs of ovipositing Variegated Meadowhawk. A Roseate Skimmer was the first of them this year for me at the park.  Perhaps two dozen Green Darner is the high count of the year so far on them, and an Eastern Pondhawk was about as well. Orioles in the SR yard number 6+ Baltimore Orioles, one female Bullock's again, two Orchard, 3 Audubon's, 3+ Scott's, 7 Hooded.  Continuing are the imm. male Painted Bunting, Dickcissel, some Clay-colored Sparrow, the Calliope and Broad-tailed Hummingbird both were about, one Rufous (the imm. male) seen, 75-100 Ruby-throated, and no Black-chinned.  A Mockingbird in the yard was a migrant. Sept. 22 ~ A few warblers fell out at sunup again, and this morning I was rewarded with a new one for the yard, and a tough one to get up here on Seco (dry) Ridge, a Northern Waterthrush!  A great yard bird here. The Great Horned Owl was calling at 6:40 a.m., the Scott's Oriole alpha male sang at 7 a.m..  The Hooded are singing too still, just a bit, mostly when the full adult males see each other at feeders.  The adult male Scott's in fresh basic plumage shows nice olive edges to most of the black head, breast, and mantle feathers. You only get a few weeks a year to see this plumage here. The odd white-rumped Ruby-throat still here, now on day 9, I'll name it coquette if it stays much longer. Nashville and Yellow were the only other warblers ID'd this a.m. in yard.  Kathy saw two greenie Painted Buntings, one very dull, they other clearly imm. male. Dickcissel, 5 Clay-colored, Indigo Bunting (imm. fem.), and the continuing (?) Twelve-spotted Skimmer (ode) here in the yard. While hummers seemed to be blowing out all day, in the p.m. new ones might show up, such as today, when it was quite clear newbies were arrving as another immature male Calliope showed up, as well as a Broad-tailed! Then TWO Rufous were fighting as well! The Ruby-throated numbers are about 75, and I wasn't sure of any Black- chinned today, one probably was the best I could muster. I thought after the rain last night there might be migrants at the park, but as it cleared by midnight it seemed anything there left.  It was slow with single Yellow, Wilson's, and Chat, a couple White-eyed Vireo, so it was dead for migrants.  Two Blue-winged Teal, and at least a couple Twelve-spotted Skimmer present. The pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks with 5 young continues, but the Little Blue Heron has not been seen since the 18th.  Belted Kingfisher still there too. The first SR returning Kestrel on wire on the way home. Sept. 21 ~ The odd hummer with the white rump continues, day 8 for it. Still the 5 regular oriole sps. today, no Bullock's, and continuing greenie Painted Bunny, Dickcissel, Clay-colored Sparrows.  There seemed to be hummingbird departures through the day as we probably went under a hundred birds for the first time in weeks. As often happens right at sunup a few warblers drop out of the sky.  They hit the high points as they are flying at maybe 5000' much of the night, so ridges get them first when it's time to hit the deck.  They quickly melt into the landscape and it is difficult to get ID looks at more than a couple before they're gone, unless the bath attracts their attention.  This a.m. at least 5 fell out into the yard, all I got was Nashville before they were gone.  They cant' stop flapping that fast and zing about restlessly until they calm down. Then a big MCS moved over and in the p.m. right at dusk we were hit with a great rain, at least 1.75" here on SR. Spectacular!  This puts us over 3" for the week! That makes this last week the wettest week in a year, and probably the wettest month of the last year. Should encourage a good Frostweed bloom even though there are only half as many half as tall as usual. Too late for ragweed, it didn't even sprout this year. Sept. 20 ~ The bird of the day was early in the a.m. at the bird bath, a SWAINSON'S THRUSH, which is very scarce here in fall, less than annual then.  That's what a slow slow one drop (to be loud) at a time drip into a bath can get you.  The other highlight was a female Bullock's Oriole, which is also scarce here in fall. The rest of the oriole show was impressive still with lots of Baltimore, a couple Orchard, a few Scott's and Audubon's, and at least 8 Hooded hitting the feeders. So a second six oriole species day here in a week. Other stuff was one+ greenie Painted bunting, a Dickcissel, 2 Clay-colored Sparrow, and the Twelve-spotted Skimmer (ode - dragonfly) continues (or another?) about the yard. At 11 p.m. a Great Horned Owl was calling on the knoll. Sept. 19 ~ A quick run through the park found only 5 warblers of 5 species, no Ovenbirds, and a complete blowout of migrants, no teal or Little Blue Heron but the Belted Kingfisher was about.  Two Clay- colored Sparrow were new there and I heard the Downy Woodpecker again.  I could not relocate the Wilson's Warbler with the orange forehead and lores. Here at SR there were fewer Baltimore Oriole perhaps only 8 (?), but with continuing Scott's, Audubon's, Hooded, and a few Orchard it wasn't bad.  Hummers are one imm. male Rufous, a few imm. male Black-chin, and 150+ Ruby-throat but departures seemed to be ongoing through the day. Late p.m. on the millet was a Dickcissel, a female Indigo bunting, and 3 Clay-colored Sparrow, besides the regular Field (8), Chipping (4, 2 new juveniles) and Rufous-crowned Sparrow, plus the piggy 65 White- winged Dove, perhaps 4 Ground-Dove, and 6 Inca Dove. Sept. 18 ~ Well there was a blowout overnight as most of the migrants that were here were gone.  The orioles are still at the feeders here on SR, but at stops along the river and around town it was much slower by comparison to the day before, very little new, mostly some holdovers. One interesting bit of news was the herp (reptiles) guy Tim and his wife said they had two American Redstarts at their place on North Little Creek last week, which I had not seen this fall, so another warbler species for this passage season.  Puts us at 15 species of warblers for the fall.  Tim also mentioned he had a bird he thought was probably a Prothonotary last week (when the major wave passed) at UP.  Something goes through every day in fall, if we could just have eyes looking. The tailless Ovenbird continued, day 8 (!), and there was a new tailed Ovenbird there too, number FOUR for the fall and week.  Remarkable since I had no prior fall record.  Other things at the park were an ad. fem. Mourning Warbler, Chat, Yellow, Nashville, 4 Wilson's, 2 Common Yellowthroat, 2 Northern Waterthrush, for 8 sps. of warblers there. The Blue-winged Teal flock grew by 10 overnight, and was 17 birds.  Little Blue Heron and Belted Kingfisher continued, some Cave and Barn Swallows still about. A few Baltimore and 2 Orchard Oriole. At the golf course there were still some Baltimore Oriole, and the Marsh Wren in the cattail pond.  UR had one Northern Waterthrush, and the river is dry there now, only a puddle or two left.  The 360 crossing had a group of Wilson's, Yellow, and Nashville Warbler. Every stop had a Least Flycatcher, maybe 3 at the park, one Willow, 4 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher around town. Three Indigo Bunting at SR in the p.m., 2 imm. males, one female. The odd highlight of the day was a Wilson's Warbler with very orange lores and forehead, exactly as in the Pacific coastal subspecies chryseola, which I think remains unknown in Texas.  It did not look like staining or pollen (where ya gonna get there here now?) and was studied from 10' for 5 minutes.  A couple poor digibin images were obtained but auto focus came through again so I doubt we'll get anywhere with it.  If legal, I'd have shot it to prove the subspecies in Texas. I grew up with this type of Wilson's and I wouldn't have given it a second look in California, but have never seen such a thing here, it stood out like a sore thumb. Just at dark a narrow MCS over a hundred miles long moved over marching south, if it had gotten here sooner (when light still) we'd probably had some birds in front of it. They can really scrape the sky clean like nothing else. It was lots of lightening, and we lucked into some rain! I heard 1.3" in town, I think we were 1.4-5" up on SR! So with the tenth on Saturday, and the tenth on Friday, we got about 1 2/3" of rain in the last 3 days!  The Frostweed should bloom well now. An astute observer on Texbirds posted something that rang my bell here, and that was how the birds are so concentrated on the river or at water.  Move a couple hundred feet away and there are no flowers, bugs, or birds.  The only significant blooming I can find is in the immediate river bed or adjacent to it. Sept. 17 ~ Yesterday I had migrants at the house and struck out at the park, today very few migrants besides orioles in the yard, but a fair bit of action around town made up for yesterday.  A MCS (meso-scale convective system) moved from Big Bend yesterday evening to Del Rio by dawn, and the edge of it hit Utopia around 2 p.m. dropping a whopping tenth of an inch of rain maybe, for the second day in a row. It'll help the plants. There were 10 species of warblers at the park, which is great here locally, best bird being my first ever fall migrant Northern Parula here, a first fall (HY) female. At least 2 Northern Waterthrush, the tailless Ovenbird, an adult female Mourning Warbler, a couple Common Yellowthroat, a few Yellow, a Nashville, 2 Yellow- throated Warbler (still?), and at least 6 Wilson's Warblers.  One Bell's Vireo and one White-eyed. There were 7 Blue-winged Teal, the Little Blue Heron immature continues, a couple Black Phoebe, Dickcissel, several Baltimore Oriole, one each Bell's and White-eyed, a FOS Warbling Vireo, a near-tardy Yellow-throated Vireo, several Least Flycatcher, 1 Willow, 3 empi sps. that got away and the bird of the day, a calling DUSKY FLYCATCHER! It is not the first I've had here, I had one at N. Thunder Creek in Bandera Co. about 7 years ago, in September if I recall correctly, and another Sept. I had one at Ft. Inge in Uvalde.  It got away without pix though, and I gave up trying.  A couple Vermilion Flycs were hawking over the flats at the former pond. Just south of town a Blue Grosbeak was on the fenceline. Then at the golf course the highlight was a FOS Sora, my first ever fall migrant record up here in the hills, which I heard last week run off in the cattails, and I couldn't get to it or see it, but this time I surprised it, and got to see it.  I also heard something else in the reeds I couldn't see, possibly a Sora, but some sounds I'd never heard.  It's the mysteries that make it fun.  There was a FOS Marsh Wren in the reeds too. At a puddle on a pathway there was a bathing scene happening that was great with several Eastern Bluebird, several Baltimore Oriole, several Lesser Goldfinch, Yellow Warbler, and a male Summer Tanager all at once! I didn't know which to look at!  What a dilema! More Wilson's Warblers, a few Yellow, a female Kestrel was my FOS locally, lots of Lark Sparrow, 2 Vermilion Flyc., and at the deep hidden pond Clay-colored Sparrow, Indigo and Painted (greenie) Bunting.  At one hole the green was covered with a bunch of E. Bluebirds and Baltimore Orioles hopping around feeding on it. UR was slow as now that section of the river is a couple small puddles and that is it!  The 360 crossing though was good with 5 Wilson's in a single binocular view at once (!), 4 Yellow, 2 Nashville, more Baltimore Oriole, heard another Yellow-throated Warbler there in the Cypress, and at the horse corral in with cowbirds one Yellow-headed Blackbird. All along the roads today there were Baltimore Oriole and Wilson's Warbler, many of each, the numbers must be something if we knew.  Here at the hovel on SR there were 20+ Orioles of 6 species!  At least 8+ Baltimore, and at 5:20 p.m. an adult male Bullock's, which is quite scarce here in fall, about 8 Hooded, a pair of Scott's and one juvenile (HY) came in, for the first time in weeks, plus a few each Audubon's and Orchard. A couple ea. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Yellow Warbler passed through yard and there were two Indigo Bunting on the seed.  Blue-gray Gnatcats were everywhere today too, a couple at each stop, and some more seen moving while driving.  Besides a pile of Ruby-throated (150+) and a few Black-chinned (3-5 at least) the only other hummer I saw at the feeders was an imm. Rufous. The Twelve-spotted Skimmer was in the yard in the p.m., been here over a week now, and there was the first Question Mark (lep) I've seen all month. Sept. 16 ~ At least two or three adult male Baltimore Oriole in the flock now, perhaps at least 8 birds, and nearly as many Hooded, a few Orchard and a couple Audubon's were about, and with the light showers this a.m. they were all over the feeders.  Probably only a tenth of an inch of rain, but will help the plants, especially Frostweed which is trying to bloom. Hummingbirds at dawn were the immature male Rufous, a new imm. or female Broad-tailed (!), and many Ruby-throats, a couple immature Black-chinned still, but no Calliope for sure, but thought I heard it early. Passerine migrant movement was evident with 3 Blue- gray Gnatcatchers lifting off first thing (they are diurnal migrants), and 3 Nashville Warbler at the bird bath.  A greenie Painted Bunting was there too, and another Blue-gray came through noon or so. A couple Dickcissel and the Hutton's Vireo were about. Did a quick look at the park but it was raining at its hardest and all the birds were hiding it seemed. The Ovenbird continued but lost its tail overnight, probably to one of the cats that live in the woods now, from all the young generated at the residence. People I guess don't realize all those cute kittens end up in the woods killing birds.  Can I remind everyone domestic cats (Felis domesticus) are not native, but rather an introduced invasive species like German Cockroach, Norway Rat, Argentine Fire Ant, feral hogs, and West Nile Virus to name a few scourges on our environment and natural ecosystems.  While they live off the native animals that are important parts of the web of life, it is not a good life for the cat, life expectancy a third of one kept indoors and cared for properly. There was one ad. fem. Mourning Warbler, a Least Flycatcher, 5 Blue-winged Teal, the Little Blue Heron, the pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks with five young, one other adult, plus Orangesauce the roaster continue. I missed the action with poor timing during the rain, as either everything was hiding or there was a big clearout of passerines last night.  When there are 10 migrants in the yard at dawn, there are usually many more at the park.  Hopefully tomorrow. Sept. 15 ~ Still the flock of Baltimore Orioles about the yard hummer feeders, but a couple Yellow Warbler, and an immature male Indigo Bunting were new migrants. I thought I had one Black-chinned Hummingbird immature, there was a female Calliope and an immature male Rufous, and lots of Ruby-throats.  I heard an Ash-throated Flycatcher, probably the first in at least 3 weeks or a month, so clearly a migrant.  Hutton's Vireo was about the yard.  One immature male and one ad. female Dickcissel on the seed too. At UP was continuing Little Blue Heron, and the 3 Blue- winged Teal, and numbers of passerine migrants including finally a FOS Olive-sided Flycatcher which was calling, always neat to hear.  That song would make a good license plate: QK3BEER, but I think you'd have to make time to meet local law enforcement folk wherever you went. There were at least 6 Least Flycatcher, a Willow, and a couple Empi sps., one Great Crested Flycatcher.  An Ovenbird which I presume is a continuing bird since Sunday (day 5), 3 Chat, single Wilson's, Nashville, Yellow, Black-thr. Green, and Northern Waterthrush.  At least 6 Summer Tanager shows movement, and I heard the Downy Woodpecker call. Sept. 14 ~ The group of Baltimore Orioles continue, same adult male, bright imm. male, an ad. female and a couple imm. females, now here for about 6 days at least.  Very interesting to see them stick and tank up on sugar fat to burn on their next leg.  Audubon's and Hooded still here too, as is the ad. fem. Dickcissel, and an imm. male showed.  A Nashville Warbler was down the draw early. Immature male and female Rufous, a very few Black-chin immatures, and a hundred plus Ruby-throateds here now. An adult or SY female Blue Grosbeak was about a quick bit. Sept. 13 ~ The Twelve-spotted Skimmer (dragonfly) continues in the yard (since 9th), interesting when we can know because it is a rare bug that it is the same one using the same perches and staying almost a week so far. A couple were at the park, and a bunch were at the fish hatchery in Uvalde the 10th (a dozen).  Good invasion of them this year. Besides Baltimore, Scott's, Audubon's and Hooded Orioles still here, and there was imm. male and female Rufous, but not the adult female.  There have been so many it is hard to keep track!  An adult female Dickcissel was on the seed today, and a greenie Painted Bunting continued as well, while a Wilson's Warbler passed through quickly. A quick run through the park found it still with birds but not like Sunday.  The bird of the day was my first ever FALL season MacGillivray's Warbler here.  And I'd just mentioned (publicly on Texbirds) I'd not seen one in fall here yet.  That will always bring them out. It had a dirty white or ash colored throat, big thick well- broken eye-crescents and was a cut and dry textbook Mac. Also there was my first adult male Mourning Warbler of the fall, Black-and-white, Wilson's, 3 Yellow, Nashville 3 Chat, 2 N. Waterthrush, seemingly some holdovers mostly. Bell's and White-eyed Vireo, House Wren, Little Blue and Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, the 3 Blue-winged but no Green-winged Teal, a few Least Flycatcher.  One Giant Swallowtail, couple Queen and Pipevine Swallowtail. Sept. 12 ~ Here at SR in yard had the contingent of orioles here, a few Audubon's, the same group of Baltimore continue, 4-6 Hooded, the Scott's is singing at dawn again, must be getting ready to go, and some Orchards pass through like Dickcissel early in the a.m.. A Painted Lady was a different butterfly, a migrant from elsewhere, that came in to the wet caliche to imbibe. I keep forgetting to mention what a poor year it was for Zone-tailed Hawk locally, as there was no prey to speak of. They came in, most moved on and went elsewhere.  I haven't had a summer with so few sightings in the last 8. Sept. 11 ~ A great migrant day around Utopia today, probably my best fall day yet here locally, and the first with over 10 species of warblers!  There were 10 just at UP in an hour!  Twelve or more for the 3.5 hrs. I looked until it got too hot (late start). The best bird was a WESTERN FLYCATCHER, the first I've seen in the whole county, though it was on the 2000 Uvalde Co. list (Blankenship, et.al.) it was listed for spring and summer (X) making me wonder if those were Yellow-bellied Flycatchers?  This was at the Library Butterfly Garden in the big live oak by the gate.  I got great close looks of the teardrop shaped eyering, peaked tufted crown, lower mandible orange to tip with NO dark, generally very green above and yellow below, long tail and bill, not black wings, a textbook Western, my default (first originally learned) Empidonax.  I've actually been looking hard for them, and have been between amazed and fascinated by my lack of detection of one the last 8 years. The warblers were great at the park, as were Empis, and it seems the water is really the major attractant, it's probably drawing from a much larger area than normal since most of the river is dry. There was a FOS Nashville, Yellows, Wilson's, Yellow- throated (2 still), 3 Chats, Black-n-white, 6 Mourning, 4 Northern Waterthrush, a two second look at a KENTUCKY, and my first ever FALL season OVENBIRD, a whopping THREE of them!  Two in bins at once!  A female Cardinal attacked one by diving on it giving alarm notes all the way.  The Ovenbird had a moth and the Card was attempting to steal the prey item, but the Ovenbird narrowly escaped!  It is just amazing what you can see darn near in your backyard if you just go watch. There were over a dozen Least Flycatcher, an Alder, a couple Willow, a couple Traill's, Great Crested, and the Eastern Kingbird continues eating dragonflies since Friday.  It was hunting from the ground at the edge of the water zipping out popping them like candy. Also at the park was 3 Blue-winged and one Green-winged Teal, the Little Blue Heron and Great Egret, some Orchard and Baltimore Orioles (few of ea.), which were everywhere along the roads, like Dickcissel. I was sure I heard a Redstart (American) at the park, as well as a Black-throated Green, of which I found one (B-tG) later at the golf course.  Also there at the G.C. was 10 Yellow-headed Blackbird at the cattail pond with 50 Red-wings, a FOS Savannah Sparrow, another Clay-colored, 3 greenie Painted Bunting, a Blue Grosbeak (imm.), a few each Vermilion and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, some Orchard Oriole, White-eyed Vireo, a few Dickcissel and two Killdeer.  Also at the cattail pond I heard the clip clop of a Sora escaping my view in the reeds but couldn't see it. Utopia on the River had Green Kingfisher, some Yellows and Wilson's, a Black-throated Green Warbler, a few Least Flyc., a Willow, and one Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Dickcissel, and the 360 crossing had more Yellow, a Mourning, and Baltimore Oriole. Here at SR I didn't see the Calliopes today, nor the ad.ma. Allen's, but there was imm. and ad. female Rufous. Some imm. Black-chins still (8-10), and surely way over a hundred Ruby-throated. Sept. 10 ~ A solo run to Uvalde for supplies turned out to be a spectacular day for passerine migrants down there at Cook's Slough in particular.  But before I left first thing I was working the hummer feeders when an adult male fully-gorgeted Selasphorus came in with a completely green back!  As it dodged with other hummers it fanned its tail several times giving great views of the outer rectrices which were pin thin and narrow, clearly an Allen's and not a Rufous! At Cook's Slough there were at least 30 Yellow Warbler, 15 Wilson's, Nashville, 6 Mourning, 3+ Northern Waterthrush, several Chat, 2 Common Yellowthroat, 5 Baltimore and a few Bullock's Oriole, some Orchard and Audubon's Oriole as well, Bell's Vireo, White-eyed Vireo and the highlight of the day a female BLACK-CAPPED VIREO! That the first of those I have seen as a migrant off the plateau away from breeding grounds.  Also there were Kiskadee, Olive Sparrow, Groove-billed Ani, best numbers of Couch's Kingbird there all year, two Verdin, one Solitary Sandpiper flew over, and I thought sure I heard a Prairie Warbler but couldn't find it. At least a half-dozen greenie Painted Bunting were there, and as many Dickcissel.  First thing early there were a couple Purple Martin and 60 Cave Swallow on the lines out front, a few Bank and Barn, plus some Chimney Swifts still over the ponds. At the Uvalde National Fish Hatchery it was hot already so slowing down fast, but there were more Yellow and Wilson's Warbler, Chat, Yellowthroat, 2 Mourning Warbler, Dickcissel, greenie Painted Bunting, Clay-colored Sparrow, heard one Least Sandpiper, one male Kestrel, Cactus Wren, Pied-billed Grebe, Whistling-Duck, 20 Blue-winged Teal, some Bank, Barn and Cave Swallow. In the "bird of the day always gets away" department, at the fish hatchery I saw a Purple Gallinule dive into a big Bacharis I couldn't get to or see in to.  They have unmarked snow white undertail coverts, versus the black centerline a Common Gallinule shows, just in case you get that west end view of an eastbound bird. Mockers were thick along the roads, I saw a couple hundred, but only 25 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher tops. Perhaps 5 Shrike, a few Red-tailed (Fuertes') Hawk, a dozen Caracara, Yellow Warbler and a few greenie Painted Buntings along roads too, an adult with a nearby young Harris's Hawk, but no quail, and few doves. Sept. 9 ~ Scott's Oriole was singing at dawn up on the knoll, I haven't heard it in weeks.  Among the Baltimore, besides the ad. male, there is an immature male, an adult female, and a couple immature female types here now, and toss in a few Orchard, 4-6 Hooded, and a few Audubon's, and it was a FIVE species of Oriole day here at Orioletopia. A Mockingbird passed through, which is a migrant.  The greenie Painted Bunting continues, as do 2 Calliope, a Rufous, Black-chinned and Ruby-throated.  I had a nice splay of purple gorget feathers sticking out from behind a feeder that was either Lucifer or Costa's, but it got away. I looked Costa's to me. At UP there were a few migrants, at least 3 Great Crested Flycatcher, two of which popped of dragonflies like candy. As did an Eastern Kingbird at the pond.  There were a couple Least Flycatcher, a couple Yellow-throated Warbler which may be locals, an adult female Mourning Warbler, and what looked like one of the SY/first summer Hooded Oriole males from the house on SR was there, and in flight song! A passage migrant probably wouldn't be in song.  A couple Monarch included one so torn and frayed it had to have been a victim of the big blow early in the week, tears in the wings, rode hard and put up wet.  A male Twelve-spotted Skimmer was good in the yard too (ph.). Sept. 8 ~ Third morning at about 55 deg.F is just amazing! Still 2 Calliope, ad. fem. Rufous, 125+ Rubys, and an adult male Black-chinned showed up in the p.m..  The Clay- colored contnues, and after dark Poorwill called for a bit. Sept. 7 ~ Both Calliope are still present as is the Rufous (ad. fem.) and the Clay-colored Sparrow.  A male Baltimore Oriole spent all day on the feeders, and a surprise was in a juniper out the office window a Great Crested Flycatcher. Monarch, Pipevine Swallowtail and Common Checkered-Skipper. Sept. 6 ~ The coolest low in four or five months at 55dF was outstanding!  From the back porch during a short break the best bird today was a WESTERN TANAGER!  It's a rary here, was an immature or female.  A Clay-colored Sparrow on the millet was my FOS here.  One greenie Painted Bunting continues, a juvenile Audubon's Oriole with no black on it yet stopped by, the year old and change pair of Hooded Oriole was about too. For hummers there are two Calliope (imm. male and female), 1 Rufous, over a dozen immature Black-chinned and 125+ Ruby-throated.  A Dogface (lep) came to wet caliche. Sept. 5 ~ Wind blew all night at 20+MPH, some big fires burning out Austin way are scary.  It darn near made it down to 70 dF here.  Supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow morning!  Been since April at least since we've seen that, and I'll believe it when I feel it.  I'm going to have to find where I put my long pants in another month or two.  At least the heat broke, today a high in the 80's under clear skies hasn't happened since spring. Blew 15-20+ all day, finally layed down at dusk. If only we didn't have to worry about our friends over Austin way.  63 fires started in Texas during the Sunday to Monday period, despite burn bans in all but 3 counties, during a 30-40 MPH Red Flag Warning wind event. Something is horribly wrong with that picture. Early in the yard at SR there was the continuing imm. male Calliope, Orchard Oriole, Dickcissel, and a greenie imm. Painted Bunting, and one Upland Sandpiper called going over southbound before sunup.  Later in p.m. I saw what was an immature female Calliope, maybe the one of a few days ago and I've been missing it. But there were two different Calliope here this p.m.! Had to run to town, wind blowing too hard, but one Great Egret, and the Little Blue Heron were at the park, 2 Yellow Warbler and 2 YELLOW-BELLIED Flycatcher were in the woods, the latter a very good score locally. A nice bright female Baltimore Oriole was on a couple of the hummer feeders all day here at SR, and a Dickcissel was on the millet, a few more Orchard Oriole. I'd swear I had a look at the adult male Black-chinned Hummer out the window this p.m., and yesterday too I thought I saw it.  Several immature Bl-ch, 1 adult female Rufous/Allen's type Selasphorus, maybe an imm. ma. too, and a couple dozen (at least) ad. male Ruby-throated, probably a hundred or more immature and or female Rubies. So four species of hummers here, and I had Calliope, Rufous and Ruby-throat on the feeder 4' from my keyboard all at once. A Monarch blasted by late in p.m. southbound on the northerlies, big worn female, like the one in the park yesterday or so.  With this major front one can't help but wonder if it is a migrant that got blown down early.  Dogface, Snout, Northern Cloudywing and Sleepy Orange all hit the caliche wet spot outside today. Sept. 4 ~ I knew there would be movement last night with the first front of the fall pushing down and scheduled to pass around noon with lots of wind. So I was out early to get a few hours in before it got blown out and hot. Before sunup from the porch I had a half-dozen Upland Sandpiper calling unseen overhead southbound, and a flock of over 20 teal, surely Blue-winged.  Boy if that doesn't make it seem like fall, teal from the porch over SR.  Imm. ma. Calliope is still here. As I drove to the park another flock of Teal (14) passed south over the east end of SR.  When I got to the park a big flock of ducks flushed that was about 40 birds, don't know if it was the same and they'd circled back but I think different ones. They bolted as I rolled in so I didn't get to work them besides mostly being Blue-winged Teal. The woods are slow early (cold) but the pond area had the Great Blue Heron, 2 Great Egret, the immature Little Blue Heron, Orchard Oriole, Summer Tanager, Yellow Warbler, Dickcissel and a bunch of Upland Sandpipers going over calling, more than a dozen. At golf course another dozen Upland Grasspiper passed over calling, major flight last night ahead of the front as these like the ducks likely flew all night. I heard more than two and a half dozen this morning, days after mentioning how I hadn't heard them so far. A couple Scissor-tailed and Vermilion Flycatcher were about, Yellow Warbler, 3 greenie Painted and 1 Indigo Bunting, nothing at the cattail pond, the regular Eastern Bluebird, Lark Sparrow, Black-tailed Jackrabbits, Golden-fronted Woodpecker and a few Brown-headed Cowbirds. Utopia on the River (UR) had Yellow Warbler and Least Flycatcher (1 ea.) and surely new for my grounds list 3 Green-winged Teal (FOS)!  They were at the upper end of the wet area.  An adult male Green Kingfisher relentlessly chased an immature male trying to get it off 'its pond'.  The imm. ma. is just getting a rusty breastband coming in over the green one of juvenile plumage.  There was lots of the sword brandishing or knife sharpening ssshheeek ssshheeek calling, for which I didn't have recorder with me of course. At the 360 crossing more Dickcissel, a Yellow Warbler, and an imm. Mourning Warbler without a tail thereby nullifying relative undertail covert length as a mark. :) Just a trickle of water moving above the bridge, none below at least above ground.  Went back to park as by now woods should be active. As I pulled in I saw the duck flock had returned so stealthily got to check them before they flushed again. There were 35 or so Blue-winged Teal, 2 FOS Shoveler, and a few more Green-winged Teal, plus a Cinnamon Teal! Now that's fall, four species of ducks at once at the puddle in the park!  A very few Barn Swallow were about park and golf course. Up in the woods then there were 5 Mourning Warbler, only one an adult (female), 2 Chat, 1 Black & White, heard Yellow-throated Warbler and Vireo, juv. White- eyed Vireo, 1 Least Flycatcher, a few Summer Tanager, and the regulars. Back at the hovel on SR I was quite surprised to see a CANYON TOWHEE on a sunflower tube feeder!  There has not been one in the yard in a year if not two. This is one of the enigmatic birds here that is real hard often to 'stake out', like Bushtit or Poorwill. By noon it was 20-25 MPH winds, gusting 30+, and 90+ dF. A few Orioles here in the yard were an immature Audubon's (no black on head yet) a female or imm. Scott's, ad. Hooded pair, and a couple Orchard including one ad. male. The last thing of interest was I got a good look at the Field Sparrow that has about 5 white primaries on each wing when it flew to the bird bath and it has a bunch of white in the tail it shouldn't have either.  I couldn't tell if it was whole rectrices or inner webs or what but the tail is about half white, like the primaries, but you can't see it when it is folded (feeding) so is outers mostly I think.  I got a poor shot that will show some of the white primaries in folded wing though. Sept. 3 ~ How nice to be on the subsidence side of that tropical system pouring in Lousiana, keeping it hotter here.  I'm getting kinda tired of seeing people in water seemingly everywhere but here. I got pix of the imm. ma. Calliope, didn't see the ad. ma. Black-chinned, 100 Ruby-throats here at least, a few immature Black-chins still here.  The alpha pair of Hooded Orioles came in the male acquiring fresh basic/winter plumage now with half buffy back with black scallops, olive crown to nape. One of the 8-10 Field Sparrow here has five or so WHITE primaries.  It's the water. The bird of the day was neat because though regular in small numbers in spring, it is actually quite scarce to very rare here in fall (less than annual), a male LAZULI Bunting was eating millet out the window at 9 a.m. giving great views.  Also in the yard early were a couple Blue-gray Gnatcatcher passing through as well as a Baltimore Oriole, some Orchards too, a Yellow Warbler, and Dickcissel. At the park (UP) was the pair of Whistling-Duck with 5 young, one or two Green Heron continue the last couple weeks I keep forgetting to mention.  Probably the two young that were fledged there. Up in the woods there was Chat, an imm. Mourning Warbler, 4 Yellow Warbler, heard a Black & white, Yellow-throated Warbler I think still the breeder, and two Yellow-throated Vireo singing, but wonder if migrants.  Dickcissel, Orchard Oriole, 4 Summer Tanagers, 2 White-eyed Vireos, 3+ Indigo Bunting. One Marl Pennant and two Four-spotted Pennant were the two good odes still present. Sept. 2 ~ Some bird movement at dawn here at the Seco Ridge ornithological observatory.  The sundry central Texas fare of Dickcissels, Orchard Orioles, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and an immature male Calliope with a heavilly dark spotted throat to go with the imm. female here. Ad. ma. Black-chinned still, and a few immatures, bunch of Ruby's, I'm losing track, 6 dozen plus.  Two Audubon's Orioles were around a bit. Luckily I had to do some errands in town, amazing how that works like that, so I checked the park, uh, first.  There was only one Whistling-Duck besides the pair with 5 young, and Orangesauce the roaster.  One Monarch was in the woods. Another Louisiana Waterthrush this fall there was great (methinks no water in most of the river has them showing here), a Black-and-white Warbler, at least 5 Yellow Warbler, finally a Mourning Warbler this fall, and I heard Downy Woodpecker, but didn't see it.  Plus the regular cast. For odes still MARL and Four-spotted Pennant there. September 1 ~ Still an adult male Black-chinned Hummingbird here, and a few immatures, which are expected now, adults usually gone.  The imm. Calliope (fem) was in first thing at least before sunup, heard the Rufous early but didn't see it all day, over a dozen ad. ma. Rubys, and over 50 immature or females. At dawn a group of 3 Orchard Oriole flew down draw, then a group of 2, exactly the opposite at dusk last night, e.g., the same 5 birds.  The butterflies to start the September list with were Sleepy Orange, Juniper Hairstreak, Varigated Fritillary. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ August roundup: per NOAA it was the hottest August ever on record in south-central Texas.  Aren't we lucky to have been here for that?  It was one of two of the hottest climatological summers (June-Aug.) on record here.  I saw only 25 species of butterflies in August locally, surely the worst August in last 8, and many of those were represented by one individual.  Now even though there are some flowers, there is nothing on them.  The pond at the park is more than half dry, they ought to be running a dragline and dredging the flood debris while you can walk out there it is so low. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Sept. above Aug. below ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ August roundup: per NOAA it was the hottest August ever on record in south-central Texas.  Aren't we lucky to have been here for that?  It was one of two of the hottest climatological summers (June-Aug.) on record here.  I saw only 25 species of butterflies in August locally, surely the worst August in last 8, and many of those were represented by one individual.  Now even though there are some flowers, there is nothing on them.  The pond at the park is more than half dry, they ought to be running a dragline and dredging the flood debris while you can walk out there it is so low. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Aug. 31 ~ The imm. female Calliope is still here, as is the Rufous, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher went by, a Hooded Oriole female came in, not sure which one or what age it was, I think first summer, it had no wingbars.  No Scott's or Audubon's. At UP there were 21 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck plus the pair with 5 babies still making it. Five Summer Tanager shows movement of them now. Just before dusk 5 Orchard Oriole in yard. Aug. 30 ~ Down to 101 deg.F. I'll need a sweater soon. An immature female Calliope showed up, as did an imm. male Rufous, so add Ruby-throated and Black-chinned for 4 species of hummers, perhaps 60-75 individuals, maybe a hundred now.  At dawn the standard Orchard Orioles, Dickcissels and a Yellow Warbler went by, but not once yet have I heard the typical Upland Sandpipers going over in the a.m. as past years.  And very few after dark in the p.m. too. They're missing us this year.  A PAIR of Black- tailed Jackrabbit in the yard was neat, probably eating the flowers that popped from the rain. The Narrow-leafed Thyrallis really came out well finally, and the patch of Angel's Trumpet down SR road bloomed well with dozens of flowers, but the heat bent them over every day the two or three they are open.  The Snow-on-the-mountain was quite scarce this August, only a few patches compared to normal, and the ones I checked had about no bugs on them.  The Kidneywood is going by the dump, and a few things are on it, but not much.  Some Rock Flax, a couple Slender- stemmed Bittterweed flowers have popped since the rain too. Aug. 29 ~ Heat backed off a couple degrees, maybe a chilly 103 here today.  An ad. ma. Black-chinned Hummingbird continues, about a half-dozen ad.ma. Ruby- throats, and couple/few dozen immature or females. No orioles at the feeders today.....so weird after the summer season.  But at dusk as the fading sun-line passed a flock of orioles was moving right in front of it, at least one Baltimore and 11 Orchard. Aug. 28 ~ The brutal heat wave continues, yesterday set August records at SAT and AUS, it was 110+ in Hondo, and over 105 here.  And today was a repeat. There were far fewer migrants at UP but finally heard an Alder Flycatcher call, saw a Least and one Empi got away that could well have been a Western (Cordilleran) Flycatcher.  A few Yellow Warbler, 1 Black-n-white, Chat, Yellow-throated Warbler (I think still the breeders), Yellow-throated Vireo still singing, and Wide-eyed Vireo of course.  About 6 Summer Tanager shows movement of them.  Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, and the imm. Little Blue Heron continue, one Eastern Wood-Pewee, and regulars like Green Kingfisher, Blue Jay, Black Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird and Golden-fronted Woodpecker were about. Among odes a Citrine Forktail allowed closeup photos, but better was a PAIR of MARL PENNANT ovipositing in the pond.  First of that I've seen in 8 years here. A few stray males has been it, far less than annual, and there were 1-2 additional males patrolling!  The Wandering Glider were about 200, Spot-winged 100+, Green Darner 6+, 1 ea. of Red-tailed and Four-spotted Pennant continued, as do some Checkered and Swift Setwing, and Eastern Pondhawk.  A few bluets out over the water. At SR at dawn there were a few Orchard Oriole and Dickcissel going by, over, and about.  There was still an adult male Black-chinned, and a few immatures. At least a couple, maybe a few dozen Ruby-throats have taken over now.  We had a few light sprinkles, a trace, of rain at 5:30 and 7 p.m., and yes I went out and stood in it. Just enough to dirty the windsheilds. Aug. 27 ~ some bird movement last night as I had a distinct sprinkling of migrants at the park. Here at SR early there was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but I didn't see Calliope or Rufous by late afternoon.  At park there was some action.  I didn't see any Whistling-Ducks, the Great Egret and Great Blue Heron continue, as does the imm. Little Blue Heron.  An adult male Painted Bunting was clearly a migrant. A couple Ruby-throated Hummingbird were in the woods, a Yellow-throated Vireo sang, Yellow-throated Warbler (2 ad.) I don't know if are migrants or not, one Black-and-white Warbler, one Yellow-breasted Chat, 3 Yellow Warblers (nearly a flock of migrant warblers), one Louisiana Waterthrush, and I heard the 'plink' of either a Black-throated Green or Golden-cheeked Warbler, it sounded more like the former, but I couldn't find it. Five plus a heard species of warbler is movement, in this case fall migration.  The ragweed never even sprouted this year, the frostweed barely, so the ground dwellers like Mourning might be hard to come by this year. One or two Great Crested Flycatcher were there, one with new tertials on right side, old on left, for a great comparison.  While the white edge is crisp inwardly on the new terts, it becomes faded inwardly on the old, losing its crispness with wear.  Better there was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher which lost me quickly, and is rare here in fall, though we are at prime-time for the window to open.  A couple White-eyed Vireo called. One calling Willow Flycatcher was a FOS for me here. I missed a Kingbird at the park, I think was Couch's, and though out of focus I got a pic of a Roadrunner IN the park, my first ever IN park, and # 227 for my UP list. There was a swarm of 200+ Pantala Glider dragonflies, mostly Spot-winged, going ballistic on a winged termite emergence event.  They were coming out of a big dead Cypress stump about 25' up, and it was insanity with a cloud of apparently starving odes just going bonkers picking them off fast as they left the trunk for a half hour.  Also had a few Double-striped Bluet, a nice male Citrine Forktail, a female Desert Firetail, few Green Darner, Blue Dasher, Checkered and Swift Setwing, Red Saddlebags, E. Pondhawk, at least 100 Wandering Glider over pond, no Threadtails. Phaon Crescents on Frogfruit growing where normally would be under water out below former island in former pond.  Some Corn-salad blooming out there too, a bit of Cedar Sage blooming in woods.  Then I did a quick look at UR, Utopia on the River where I have never seen the water so low, took pix.  Did have a male Green Kingfisher, and another Louisiana Waterthrush, probably my first one for the grounds. Dickcissel, flock of Field Sparrow, first year male Vermilion Flycatcher, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, White- eyed, and a Bell's Vireo which was singing, where they didn't breed.  Ground-Dove were right out front. A male Green Kingfisher was nice. Then the 360 crossing has no flow below it, but you can see a little trickle on the upriver side, wow it looks scary bad out there for water.  I hear lots of wells are dry and big water reservoirs are moving like hotcakes; then you call the local (Vol.) Fire Dept. to get them bring a truck out and fill it so you can shower and cook!  Conserve folks!  So when can we talk about population?  Does SAT and AUS just get to breed little towns out on the aquifer out of existence for their often wasteful water usage?  Sorta seems like they drilled holes in the bottom of the reservoir and are draining it?  Man I hope Uvalde votes against giving them water-wasters a direct pipeline!  they'd have us buying it from them!  Sorry, there I go again.... off soapbox... The teeny patch of Angel's Trumpets we have in back have thrown up one bud so far from the rain, a spectacular flower if you ask me, the Narrow-leaved Thyrallis and the Zexmenia have also both opened up some flowers. At dusk a couple Orchard and a Baltimore Oriole moved by. Had Hooded and Audubon's at the SR yard but no Scott's. Only saw Black-chinned (few imm.) and Ruby-throated Hummers today.  Though it was generally scraping for onesies and twosies, a good showing of diversity of fall migrant landbirds was showing well here today considering the near record heat.  I missed the first few cooler hours, but in a couple hours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. plus a few things at the hovel it was 62 species of birds without trying. I uploaded and forgot to put the total above in, which was only 60, but at 10:45 p.m. there was a begging mccallii Screech-Owl yapping and an Upland Sandpiper called as it passed overhead.  So by time I remembered, there were two more additions.  Decent diversity for record breaking hundred and ten degree F. late August and only a couple hours and miles of looking. Aug. 26 ~ Rain cooled air from nearby cells overnight gave Kerrville a low of 68 deg. F (!), and I think were near, maybe 70 here at SR.  Wow that was sure nice! Early in the a.m. at SR pre-sunup there was a period of a minute or two that was solid overhead Dickcissel calls (one Upland Sandpiper).  I couldn't see anything but there must have been a huge flight last night. Then all over town, every weed patch and hedgerow had Dickcissels.  A male Orchard Oriole near the dump almost hit the windsheild. Ad. male Calliope on day four now! In a.m. Rufous/Allen's still here, 1 ad. ma. Black-chinned and a few immatures, a few ad. ma. Ruby-throated, maybe 20 immature/female Rubys, and mid-day an imm. or female Broad-tailed Hummingbird came in! FIVE species of hummers here in the SR yard today! At UP there were my FOS Blue-winged Teal (7), a Solitary Sandpiper (#4 this fall there), only 20 Whistling-Duck, plus the pair, with now 6 ducklings left, 1 Great Egret 1 Great Blue Heron, and a Yellow-throated Vireo still singing, but not sure if locals still here or migrants. Aug. 25 ~ Adult male Calliope still here sluggin' it out with the big boys, he's a tough little sucker. imm. ma. Rufous/Allen's continues, 1 ad. male Black- chin still (late stay) and about 5-6 imm. Blk-chin, a couple+ ad.male and 15+ imm. Ruby-throated, 4 sps.. Some nearby rain brought an cloud bank and outflow that beat the heat in the late afternoon.  There are some flowers popping from the rain a week ago: Paralena, Yellow Ground-Cherry, Sida, False Pennyroyal, and Prairie Fleabane to name a few so far.  Not big patches and lots of flowers, but something at least. Aug. 24 ~ ad. male Calliope continues, and I got a look with great light in full sun of a fully flared gorget as it fought a defending imm. male Ruby-throated off a feeder, and I don't know if I'll be the same. The books just don't begin to do it justice.  It is interesting to recall there was an adult male Calliope here August 20-22 in 2009, this is only my second adult male here.  A Dickcissel was on the seed in the p.m.. Four species of hummers again today. Aug. 23 ~ WEEWOW an adult male Calliope Hummingbird! Then a female Rufous type, and later in p.m. an imm. male Rufous/Allen's!  Black-chin and Ruby-throat made for four species of hummers in the yard today. One male, one female Indigo Bunting still, and one HY juv. Painted continues, but it is thinning fast. No Blue Grosbeak left, a new crop of White-winged Dove young just in time, still 8+ ea. Lark and Field Sparrow. Few Rufous-crowned and Chipping. Aug. 22 ~ Didn't see Calliope, about a dozen each of Black-chin and Ruby-throat immatures, 1 ad.ma. black- chin, a couple plus male Ruby-throat.  No ad. ma. Painted Bunting, methinks it left last night.  The mated SY pair of Hooded Oriole visited, still not much in the way of signs of molt, also a couple adult male Hooded visited, but not seeing Scott's.  The nest must have failed and they are not here now.  Bummer. A male Marl Pennant dragonfly was a good bug in the yard. Aug. 21 ~ The immature Calliope continues, as does the (passage) adult male Painted Bunting.  Other hummers were at least 3 ad. male and 10 or 12 imm./fem. Ruby-throat, 1 ad. ma. and 5-10 imm./fem. Black-chinned.  The problem is the jerks have taken over a feeder each so there are four feeders with one bird each and one that remains communal.  Result of everything being bullied away at most feeders is low numbers. At the park there were 3 Great Egret, a Great Blue Heron, a Little Blue Heron and the number of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck hit 70!  Plus the pair with babies. A dozen Cloudless Sulphur, 6 Large Orange Sulphur, 4 Pipevine Swallowtail, a Queen or two, a Sleepy Orange, few Lyside and Snout were the butterflies.  Lots of Wandering and Spot-winged Glider, a Four-spotted Pennant, few Checkered Setwing, a Green Darner, but weak besides immigrant Pantala. Aug. 20 ~ 7 a.m. the Calliope Hummingbird was at the porch feeder.  Male Painted Bunting still here, day 9, and two juveniles continue, but the Dickcissel is gone.  White- winged Dove flock is ca. 55 birds at least.  Dillo out in yard at 7 a.m..  Did a quick check of the park. There were 65 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, my record local tally.  As I was watching them some tourists rolled by slowly in their oversized SUV.  A young boy looking out the back window behind the driver exclaimed "wow look at all those birds!" at the flock of whistling-ducks. Do you think the brake lights came on?  Your child is excited about something, and heaven forbid you get out of the AC and take a look at the real world, lest you break a sweat and see or smell a rose. There were two Black-and-white Warbler at the park, 2 Summer Tanager, one of which threw a few bars of song out, the immature Little Blue Heron, and regulars like Blue Jay, Black Phoebe, Carolina Chickadee, Black-crested Titmouse, etc., and the bird of the day.... A dead female OX BEETLE (Strategus sps., cf. anataeus).  It's the first one of these I've seen hereabouts, and a beast of a bug at 1.5" long and an inch wide by 3/4" thick.  Males have a horn like a Rhinoceros, females bring the larval grubs food! For dragons at the park there were 150 Wandering and 75 Spot- winged Glider over the pond, a few Red Saddlebags, the Red-tailed and one Four-spotted Pennant, and along shores Eastern Pondhawk and Checkered Setwing.  Some bluets (Enallagma sps.) were out over the water.  A couple Argia dancers got away in the woods. There were a few what I presume were Fall Rain Lily out the last few days from the rain last Friday, and the Illinois Bundleflower has burst forth with a bloom in response too. This a.m. I thought sure I heard a Pyrrhuloxia out back but never saw it.  It gave the accellerating dry metallic bk bk bk series running into nearly a trill, quite distinctive. Aug. 19 ~ Before sunup on the front porch, I had yesterday's late-afternoon 4-second immature Calliope Hummer fly to the feeder and call from 5' away.  Eureka!  Don't you love those moments?  Finding out you weren't wrong, you saw and heard it right, and called it right.  It WAS a Calliope! So yesterday and today four species of hummingbirds in yard. I knew it, but hate calling, claiming, considering as data, quickly seen birds, so tend to be extremely cautious when I don't get an extended enough study, unless a one-of-a-kind ID.  I'd rather let something good go, than push, stretch, or otherwise try to play with or ply the fabric of an ID, which rather should be fixed like concrete. And which is the better way to err in the ID game, as opposed to the loose-cannon approach some use.  My not seeing it the rest of the evening made me question my ID, which was irrelevant, pointless and meaningless, obviously now.  Funny how we do that though. Better to question yourself when correct, than not, when not. Aug. 18 ~ At SR yard still juv. Dickcissel, ad. male Painted Bunting, 3 ad. male Indigo in heavy molt (half brown now), 8 Field, 6 Chipping, 9 Lark, and 3 Rufous-crowned Sparrow. Saw the weirdest looking most advanced first summer (sub.-ad.) male Hooded Oriole I've seen yet, with big adult type orange patches on either side of breast which centrally remains yellow, and some new black median and greater coverts and rectrices. Oh man I want a picture of this one. In the p.m. a female Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus showed up, #3 R/A this season so far.  About 3 each adult male Ruby-throated and Black-chinned, a half-dozen immature Rubys, 35-45 imm/fem. Black-chinned.  Low numbers, good diversity. About 5 p.m. or so on the front porch a hummer flew up I thought sure was a female or immature Calliope.  When it flew off I thought sure I got a good enough bare-eyed look at the tail to confirm, a little rufous in the base, and it called several times, so I was totally convinced.  Then all evening all I could find was the Ruf/All.  Grrrrrr. Yearling dillo tearin' it up out front at 11 p.m.. Aug. 17 ~ 8 Field Sparrow, one adult male Painted bunting continues, and one juv. (HY), 2 first summer male Blue Grosbeak still here, few Indigos, juv. Dickcissel on day 10 here.  NO Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus seen all day, Ruby-throats increasing.  6 Barn Swallow going N. over SR late p.m.. Scott's Orioles are really becoming scarce now, I'm hardly seeing them ,probably done nesting.  They'll wander the area popping in and out irregularly the next month while they molt.  One of the first-summer (SY) pairs of Hooded seem to still be with young, all visits paired (male guarding) and molt essentially not begun yet in either bird. Aug. 16 ~ 2 ad. male ruby-throat, 2 immature Ruby-throat, 2-3 ad. ma. Black-chin, 35 imm/fe.. Black-chin, one Ruf/All in a.m. only, juv. Dickcissel day 9 at seed stand.  Some Barn Swallow still under eaves in town early a.m. so maybe some still with nests. Aug. 15 ~ Went to UP to look for a small gray buteo, but saw nothing in that category.  A friend whom is a very very good birder (excellent) told me over by Evan's Creek (off 337) about 4 years ago, his wife saw an adult Gray Hawk. So I'm not the first one to think they saw one in the area. Did have my local record sized flock of 25 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, plus the ad. pair with 8 chicks, and 'orange sauce'. The imm. Little Blue Heron was out on the flats, no stilts, one-day wonders.  Ad.fem. Black-n-white Warbler in woods. Juvenile Dickcissel on day 8 here at the free millet stand. FOS adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird finally, maybe 2, and maybe an immature or two as well.  One or two Rufous/ Allen's type in the a.m., 4-5 ad. male Black-chinned still, 45 imm./fem. Black-chinned. Aug. 14 ~ UTOPIA PARK BIRD #225 for me this a.m., and why you have to get there before the crowds flush things.  That goes for anywhere.  6 Black-necked Stilt were out on one of the exposed islands (ph.)!  Also new for my Sabinal Valley List!  WEEWOW!!  First ever for me up here in the hills.  Habitat is everything, while stilts may be annual in small numbers at the fish hatchery in Uvalde where there is regular mudflat shore-edge, seeing one 30 air miles away in the hill country is a real feat. Nowhere to stop, they keep going.  Have a little shore edge when they pass over, they'll stop and rest a bit. I could have turned around and went home to the AC and it would have been a great success.  Except Kathy would have wondered why I was back in 15 minutes.  It is not really right to drive to your local patch park, get a new park bird on the way in, turn around and leave without getting out and having a look around.  You'd probably miss a whole bunch of good stuff, besides not knowing what is going on at your local patch. An adult Snowy Egret was there, but I didn't see the Little Blue Heron, or the Whistling-Ducks besides the pair of adults with the 8 babies and the Frankenroaster, Orange Sauce. At the far north end of park and island was a beautiful fresh basic/winter adult Louisiana Waterthrush, which is amazingly hard to find at the park, methinks only my second ever in fall.  Two chat were in the woods, but I didn't hear either Yellow-throated Warbler, or Vireo, which is mighty odd if the breeders are still there. Both were still there Friday the 12th. Then came the bird of the day, over-shadowing hitting 225 at the park with shorebirds.  A small hawk flew out of the cypresses directly across the river/pond, at what that about 125', and crossed flying toward my side, but at a 45 to shore, and roughly perpendicular to me.  My first thought bare-eyed was small buteo, but I did not think 'Red- shouldered' because it looked too small, and I saw no color, nor bold black and white spotting, so then I thought Cooper's? As I raised my bins I saw no long Cooper's tail so was quite perplexed, until I got it in my bins.  It was evenly medium gray above and below.  GRAY HAWK! That explains it!  I could see the underparts were paler appearing than the upperparts, and finely barred with white in detail.  When it got out of view on my side of river but downriver a hundred yards, I moved thataway to bottom of park and never saw it again.  It must have turned and continued downriver, in the gallery forest corridor. I am not aware of a Uvalde Co. record, but there are rare records along the Rio Grande to Eagle Pass and Del Rio. I don't think there is an accepted Edwards Plateau record, unless at Devil's River or some such out west, which is another planet biologically.  It is regular along the lower Rio Grande, and found at Big Bend and SE Arizona. All I can do is write it up and turn it in. Probably 75 Wandering and 50 Spot-winged Glider at the park, one Four-spotted Pennant continues, Checkered Setwings, few Red Saddlebags, Double-striped Bluet, no Threadtails, Eastern Phoebe seemed to be cleaning out that area for a month. The SR yard has two Rufous/Allen's type Selasphorus hummers (one is a Rufous for sure, the other I'm not so sure of), the adult male Painted Bunny, the immature Dickcissel, one each ad. male Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting, two greenie Painted, a half dozen each Scott's and Hooded Oriole, maybe 4 Audubon's Oriole. Aug. 13 ~ At dawn while getting ready for a Uvalde run there was a male Lesser Nighthawk feeding the area for 15 minutes. You know it is fall when the nighthawk outside is Lesser and there are no Common left around.  After we got back from Uvalde in the p.m. there were two Rufous/Allen's Selasphorus hummingbirds here, the Dickcissel and ad. ma. Painted Bunny continue. Got a flat just as we entered outskirts of Uvalde which turned out to be a BONE shard fragment!?!?!?  The roadkill here keeps on killin'.  That might be a first for me.  Always the new tires too, didn't have 1000 miles on it.  Garza Radiator on Hwy. 90, ca. a mile west of downtown fixes flats in case you need to know, even on a Saturday.  As I put the spare on in the city hall parking lot by Memorial Park, a Kiskadee called quite a lot from the creek area. At the fish hatchery was an adult Snowy Egret and Great Egret, a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and most exciting the pair of Pied-billed Grebe were back in their original nest pond with THREE MORE young!  They nested again!  No shorebirds despite some OK looking shore edge makes me think a hawk is hunting it.  This time of year there should be shorebirds.  Still two Coot summering but no nest. Common Gallinule appeared to have departed after having the nests ransacked.  Olive Sparrow and Bell's Vireo both sang still.  The odes are picking up and there was a fair bit of activity, the neat thing being a male Pin-tailed Pondhawk (ph.), which is a scarce bug hereabouts.  Some few ea. Four-spotted, Red-tailed and Halloween Pennant. 6 Green Darner at least, maybe 8, numbers of Blue Dasher, E. Pondhawk, and Enallagma Bluets were out over the water in decent numbers (been nearly absent). A Scout Troop was at the pavillion at the slough and looked to have been roughing the trails up so we skipped it, but did a quick check of the upper ponds for odes.  There was a FOS STRAW-COLORED SYLPH patrolling there, a dependable spot for them in late summer and early fall.  Outstanding was a Western Ribbon Snake, a garter type with a thick red stripe down dorsal keel, black and white stripes on sides, white jaws, a stunningly beautiful animal, and fast.  A large flock of Chimney Swift were leaving the ponds when we first got there, at least 60 at one moment at the tail end of departure. Along the road (Old Sabinal and 187) to and fro were the fewest Scissor-tails ever for the date, only a couple Western Kingbird, maybe a Couch's or two over by Uvalde, onesies of drive-by Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Harris's Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, lots of singing Olive Sparrow, lots of Common Ground-Dove, very few Painted Bunting, Loggerhead Shrike were 1 N. of Sabinal, and 1 near Knippa, 5 Fuertes' Red-tailed Hawk, 12 Caracara (7 at once) lots of Red-winged Blackbird and migrant Dickcissel and Orchard Oriole were seen on the move, and Dickcissel were everywhere you stopped. A few Petro. swallows (Cliff/Cave) were at 7 mile bridge. Aug. 12 ~ I suspect most of town was shook outta bed about 2 a.m. when the big thunder cell got here, fairly well un-predicted as at 11 p.m. they said it was all going North, which meant we weren't getting any, but the big cell over Del Rio seemed to split in two and half took off like a rocket eastward along the escarpment.  Del Rio set their all time 24 hour rain record with about 4.5" of rain, and here on Seco Ridge we got 2.75" of the wet stuff!!! Biggest rain event in a year.  Power went out here from a strike 125' away for 1.5+ hrs..  Too much ran off it was so fast and furious, and at the park you couldn't tell anything from the water levels.  It often takes a day or two to soak and percolate in.  Talking to others around town, in town it was about 1.2", and Ed Straight saw less than an inch over Thunder Creek way NE of town a couple miles. I'd been hearing about others all over the state seemingly getting those harbingers of fall, Least Flycatcher, Upland Sandpiper, and Yellow Warbler for weeks it seems without seeing one locally.  All three species were my FOS at the golf course about 9:30 a.m., thank you rain.  Quite a few Barn Swallows were about (75+), a few seem to still be nesting in town, a group of 6 Cliff Swallows were at the golf course, a couple Chimney Swift still around too. I saw about 8 Vermilion Flycs this a.m., 6 at the golf course, where there were also 25+ Eastern Bluebird.  There were a couple Scissor-tailed Flycs south of town. At UP there were 20 adult Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, two with the 8 babies and attendant 'you can't lose me now' Frankenduck roaster named 'orange sauce' after the blush on its head and neck.  Both the immature Little Blue Heron and imm. Snowy Egret continue there.  One Common Grackle. The immature male Selasphorus hummingbird continues here at SR. I estimate the Black-chinned Hummingbird numbers at our feeders now at about 10 adult males, 50+ immature or females. Very interesting was the first adult male Painted Bunting seen since July 23 or so here, in three weeks, clearly a migrant from elsewhere.  Got some pix of the immature Dickcissel still at our seed pile, day 5 at least.  A few Orchard Oriole were about, two like some that have been here a couple days, but one was a new juv. male with some shadowing of bib coming in. Aug. 11 ~ An ad. male Orchard Oriole was about a bit, and the juv. Dickcissel continues, still 2 juvenile Painted Bunting, one ad.ma. Indigo, White-winged Dove count about 45, many new juvies just recently out of the nest.  Sparrow counts are 6 Field, maybe 4-5 Chipping, 3-4 Rufous-crowned, 12 Lark in the yard. 4 Ground-Dove and 6+ Inca Dove.  The bird of the day was a fresh male MONARCH butterfly going NW, probably a local hatch, not of the migratory population, the first I've seen in months. The big FOS of the day was our first Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird of the fall, finally.  It is an immature male, and geeezz I'd have to say it sounds Allen's to my ear.  Outer tail feather looks pretty darn narrow too.  Just after dark a yearling skunk came up to the front porch while I was on it. Probably the one Kathy saw a week ago or so..... I ran for camera and couldn't find it when I got back out there. Aug. 10 ~ got docu shots of the imm. Dickcissel still here at the seed, and a female Orchard Oriole at one of the feeders. One male Indigo Bunting in heavy molt and one full adult male Blue Grosbeak remain, 2 first summer (SY) Blue Grosbeak, one with still just barely a blue face and now rump coming in. Hutton's Vireo. Down in town I ran into a couple that said they had a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird yesterday the 9th, the FOS I've heard of, and haven't had one yet at our feeders, a bit late. At UP there were two white long-legged waders just like the guy said the other day.  But scrutiny revealed one was the imm. Little Blue Heron, the other an immature Snowy Egret. One Black-n-white Warbler was in the woods.  Double-striped Bluets in tandem out on dam. Aug. 9 ~ Imm. Dickcissel still here in a.m., neat out the window at point blank.  A male Orchard Oriole was singing out front in the a.m. early.  Nothing else is singing any more, takes a transient in the yard now.  One of the first-summer female Hooded Orioles looks so ratty I can't believe it, she has no greater coverts or tertials now, wings so worn and brown I feel sorry for her.  That she dropped all those feathers means new stuff growing in, she'll be good as new soon.  Maybe 5 ad.male Black-chin, 25 immature type left. Still no Rufous or Ruby-throated Hummer yet this fall. Aug. 8 ~ Call it about 6-8 adult male Black-chin left, and ca. 35 female or immature.  An adult Zone-tailed Hawk flew over huntingyard at treetop level that was missing a primary or two on left wing, so perhaps molt has started for them = nesting done if so.  The two greenie buntings continue.  Yapping young mccallii Screech-Owl were out after dark.  One male Indigo continues (at least) and 3 female types, a few Blue Grosbeak, one first summer with just blue on the head still, body still brown. Two migrants were a juvenile or female Orchard Oriole in the a.m., and an immature Dickcissel on the seed in the p.m., first of fall. Aug. 7 ~ I guesstimate 5-10 adult male and 25-50 immature or female Black-chinned Hummer left.  Two greenie Painted Bunting are still here, one is a SY, or first summer bird.  Probably heard an Upland Sandpiper at 10 p.m. but it only called once. The most regular first-summer male Hooded and Scott's Orioles both are getting new greater coverts, tertials, and rectrices (tail feathers) now. Aug. 6 ~ Have I complained about the heat lately?  This is getting old fast.  At least we getting down to 72-74 at dawn and get a few hours of bearable in the early part of the day.  No rain in sight they say.  Great.  Only two greenie Painted Bunting left here at the hovel on SR, a few Indigo still and a few Blue Grosbeak, Hutton's Vireo still about, some of the Hooded, Audubon's and Scott's Orioles still making daily visits, but nothing like a month ago.  Often I scan the feeders and see no orioles or hummers now!?!?!?! No male Painted Buntings, what's a poor boy to do? Checked the golf course for grasspipers, struck out swinging. Some few odes at the pond, and lots of another new batch of just fledged Red-winged Blackbirds from perhaps 6 pairs that nest in the cattails there.  One female Vermilion Flyc. was all I saw of them, and no Scissor-tails or Martins. At UP the juv. Little Blue Heron was still eating Blanchard's Cricket-Frogs, the 8 or so ducklings were with the pair of adult Black-bellied Whistling Duck, and their unwanted guest from hell, Frankenduck.  Obviously all the other Whistling-Ducks don't want to associate with the domestic roaster and move if it comes around.  But the pair with the babies is anchored, and the Frankenduck thinks it found new friends.  Bet the ads. can't wait till those juv's can fly. Also at the park were Green Kingfisher, Blue Jay, Black Phoebe, Yellow-throated Vireo and Warbler, Black-n-white Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Golden-front WP, the new E. Bluebird family by the dam, and the regular Wrens, Chicks, Cards, Tits and Tans. For odes, still two Four-spotted and 1 Red-tailed Pennant over the water above the spillway, both are less than annual here. 100 Wandering and 30 Spot-winged Glider, Red and Black Saddlebags, a Fragile Forktail, a few Checkered Setwing, some misc. Argia dancers, no Threadtails.  At the golf course pond 6 Blue Dasher, a male E. Pondhawk 1 Green Darner, more gliders and saddlebags, and no damsels. At the park for leps there was a fresh Texan Crescent and a mint fresh Systasea, or Powdered-Skipper (Texas - pulver.), which allowed for perhaps my best ever pix.  Somethin' about them is really very cool to me. Aug. 5 ~ I'd estimate 50 max. imm.and/or fem. Black-chinned Hummingbird, maybe 10-12 adult males tops left.  Been a blowout all week, every day less, not filling feeders all the way, and same goes for orioles, many seem to have departed, and way early for them.  Probably know too rough to breed again, so left.  Often they seem to depart a while and return in a week or two after wandering the area to see old friends.  Still no Rufous or other hummers since the Lucifer and the albino, no Upland Sandpiper yet either, should be calling overhead at dusk or dawn now. But there was a good bird that moved through the yard this a.m., a Black-capped Vireo, a male that sang quite a bit, near incessantly for 15 mintues or so as it moved around. Aug. 4 ~ A quick stop at UP found an immature Little Blue Heron, eating Blanchard's Cricket-Frogs like candy.  A local said there were two yesterday.  Saw the first Green Kingfisher I've seen there in a while, juvenile Field Sparrow, a fresh set of new juvenile Eastern Bluebirds.  A just fledged set of 4 Barn Swallow juvies was at the park with parents. For odes there were two Blue-ringed Dancer, Red-tailed and Four-spotted Pennant, lots of gliders, most Wandering, one Five-striped Leaftail, for odes.Here at SR there were maybe 75 imm/fem. Black-chin Hummer and 15-20 ad. males. Aug. 3 ~ No more than 100 imm/fem. Black-chinned Hummers, and no more than 25 adult males left.  Still 3 male Indigo Bunting, and 3 male Blue Grosbeak at once, but only 1-2 greenie Painted left. Aug. 2 ~ Boy it is eerie out there....dead silent with no dawn chorus whatsover, and many birds gone around town like Martins, Scissor-tails, Barn Swallows, Swifts, wow it's quiet. At UP the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck pair still have about 8 young, and there were 14 other adults, so 16 + babies. For passerines there was Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, ad.ma. Black-and-white Warbler, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireo and the juvenile Chat continues.  A 'Wide'-eyed Vireo at the park was doing it's three part song, but the last part was perfect 'jiddlebit' of Black-capped Vireo. No Common Nighthawks at dusk now either. Today's big interesting observation event was the cat and the (scrub-) jay.  You're going to love this.  You know I am not cat people.  This cat we came by, on our doorstep, was at death's doorstep, Kathy saved it, it's very very old, had been mauled, anyway so there's another princess around now. I'll probably be killed when the one that reads sees that.  Now the scrub-jays quite like the cat, as it means there is often catfood of several types to choose from on the back porch. Sometimes the cat sleeps on the back porch and the jays come within 2' of sleeping princess feline to take cat food.  The cat is very old, but can still get a hispid cotton rat, which apparently is catnip to it, but not so good with birds, and it gets rocks tossed nearby if it stalks birds..... so knows that doesn't fly here. So today the cat is out front about 10' from the bird bath sitting in the shade in 100 deg. heat.  The jay wants to come down to drink or bathe but doesn't like the proximity of the cat, which in this heat was no threat.  Now this cat is silent, unless it wants out or in when it meows quietly once, otherwise it is a mute cat.  Anyway, the jay loudly scolds, harshly, and I guess with what one could call a somewhat mewing quality to it.  I hear a cat meow back to the jay.  This kitten-like meek timid meow. I look around wondering where it's coming from, ignoring our new princess, the mute one, and can't locate the meowing cat. The jay scolds again zzsshhhaaaa, the cat meows back. After like four of them I couldn't believe it when I saw our cat's mouth open when the meow from cat happened. It was the mute princess!  She can talk!  But only to birds apparently.  The jay gave this one long scold note over and over, and each time Tissy would meow back.  It happened ten times consecutively.  Each time the scrub-jay was more vehement in imploring kitty go. Each time the same immediate I'm not moving till I want 'meow'. I almost fell off the porch.  Oh for video with sound of that!  So there you have my big highlight today. Finally I called princess so the jay could get some water. August 1 ~ AUGUST !?!?!? I'm soooo far behind!  This extraordinary heat is not making anything easier.  So far we've run about 10 deg.F OVER normal SINCE MARCH, for 5 months!!! Gosh, it couldn't be climate change could it? I'd have guessed 150 or so immature and female Black-chinned Hummingbird and 50 adult males maybe on July 31.  Today I'd say 125 imm.& fem./25 ad.ma..  They're blowin' out. The year old Audubon's Orioles are growing new rectrices (tail feathers). ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ July odds and ends wrapup... Fantastic was ANOTHER report of a LUCIFER hummingbird in Uvalde Co. this summer, from Rose Cooper with a fantastic photograph.  It was there early July to the 12th. So, one was in Junction, one at Lost Maples, one at Utopia, and Rose's at Uvalde, so far for area reports. And UvCo got two records out of it so far.  Wonder if females will show up?  Lucifer are said to be common now (still) at the Davis Mountains in west Texas so keep an eye on the feeders as we enter hummer prime-time. Thank you for the great rare bird news Rose! I keep forgetting to mention the juvenile Turkey Vultures are out of the nest, since mid-July, a few in early July. The adult males are done molting, the juveniles aren't in molt, so now it's only the females finishing up.  Pretty soon they'll too be done and all the TV's will have nice full sets of flight feathers to leave on.  Then Zone-tails will finish nesting, and begin molt.  So by about late August all TV's are done, and Zone-tails begin, (pending finishing final nesting) so in September or October if its in flight feather molt, I'd take a good look. It looks like about 25+ species of butterfly locally for July. June was 24 sps..  Not even good day totals a few years ago. Tom Collins over in Centerpoint works with one of the annual Kerrville butterfly counts sent a note about it this year. Much of one count is at Love Creek Preserve just up the road a piece west of Vanderpool, and their other hot spot is the native plant nursery in Medina, again not too far from us. Their couple groups out over a good half day got 24 species. That's covering lots of ground with lots of eyes, and with a butterfly magnet (the nursery) at work.  I think many were just one individual too....things are rough out there for leps. July 31 ~ bdbdbdbdat's all folks! July is over, we're in the final stretch of summer.  Did a quick park check noonish.  One Solitary Sandpiper was there, the third this month.  Interesting and a neat plumage was a very young fresh juvenile Yellow-breasted Chat that was yet to acquire yellow throat, dark lores, and white line to bill from eye.  Size, shape, structure, dark legs, bill shape and call made for an ID despite lacking many characters considered requisite for a Chat.  Another Great Crested Flycatcher was there (2 in 3 days), the rest was regulars. Kathy had an adult male Orchard Oriole here at the SR hovel, which is clearly a migrant, hasn't been one in the yard in 2 months.  A couple Caracara were on SR. A few odes were out in the warmth, best was a Great Pondhawk, of which I saw one there a month ago, surely this is a 2nd, and I got a distant ID shot.  A couple Orange-striped Threadtail were out, one low over the water patrolling, and another 12' AGL up in the cypress tips.  There were two Eastern Amberwing below the dam/spillway, the first of them I've seen here this year.  One each Four- and Five- striped Leaftail, a few Common/Eastern Pondhawk, Checkered and Swift Setwing, one Red Saddlebags, and numbers of Pantala gliders, mostly Wandering (100+) and some Spot-winged (50+). For damselflies, a couple Familiar Bluet, 2 tandem pairs of Double-striped Bluet, 1 Kiowa Dancer, 1 Blue-ringed Dancer, and a few that got away. In butterflies there are only a few flowers at the library garden, it seems no watering is being done again this year and the stuff is in bad shape overall.  Three Queen were there but that was it!  The Med.Ctr. lantana had Gulf Fritillary and a couple Lyside Sulphur, the Sr. Center lantana had 2 Variegated Fritillary, and at the park a Phaon Crescent was below the dam, a Cloudless and a few Large Orange Sulphurs blew past, a few Snout about. July 30 ~ Tropical Storm Don came ashore yesterday down in south Texas and we got easterly winds, a little mist, and a leaf washing sprinkle or two from it, maybe a tenth of an inch (.10) of rain.  Before noon I went to the park just in case of the off chance something got knocked down by the weather.  Hard to proceed through water when you fly.  Nothing in the woods but breeders: some Summer Tanager, Yellow-throated Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Carolina Wrens, Cards, Chicks and Tits.  There were a dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks out on the islands in the former pond and river.  There was a Clouded Skipper in the woods, the first of the year for me here so far. I decided to go out on the spillway and take a pic to show the pond about 50% gone again as at peak of last drought. Going out I spotted two more of the Black-bellied Whistling- Ducks in the drying water lillies on the other side of dam, WITH YOUNG!  EIGHT little baby Whistling-DUCKLINGS! In 8 years here this is the first successful Whistling-Duck nesting I've seen locally.  OUTSTANDING!  AWESOME!! It's nuthin' down in the brushlands, but something at the park! So I am standing out on the spillway looking up river at what now is more river bed than river, the water is 4' or more below going over the spillway, just kind of spacing out on it all when I hear the long drawn-out ascending rolling trill krre-e-e-e-e-p of a LEAST SANDPIPER! I pick it up in flight and it flew right over the spillway right by me calling several times.  It circled around making a couple low passes over the various exposed shore- edges, calling off and on, head away, come back seeming to check it out, call, and that was it.  You had to be there or you missed it, as can so often be the case with birds, and a part of what makes it so exciting. I am now on cloud nine this is one of my most wanted birds at the park, 8 years and a bunch of pretty darn good rare things, 220+ species worth, and this is my first LEAST Sandpiper. It was the best Least Sandpiper I ever saw. A fine specimen it was, I could see that brown hood extending to breast, the grating trill sounded sweeter than ever to my ears. Hundreds of visits, I wished I'd hear that sound, of that most common dumpy and dull of peeps.  I've wanted one so badly I re-read all the books about their occurrence in migration, they say could occur anywhere.  Yeah except the park, until now!.  Took a band of moisture from a tropical storm making landfall to the south to knock one down enough to swing by and take a look, turns out it didn't even stop. Now I think that is about as exciting as it gets when all of sudden I hear WESTERN Sandpipers!  Tk-zzeet, tik-zzeet and the laughing whinny trill as they glide on set wings discussing whether or not to put down, scanning around I quickly spot 8-10 peeps in the air over the former pond/now half islets just above the dam.  They fly right by me on the spillway calling all the way, and proceed to circle about, when a SEMIPALMATED Sandpiper calls from the group!!!  OMG steady now, stay on the dam, careful, think balance..... normally you'd fall into water, but now you'd hit rocks 10' below if you went off to the low side. I lower binocs to bare eye the flock in the air and quickly spot the shorter chunkier bird and get it in bins seeing the short thick blunt tubular bill as it flies right by me, and hearing it call 'jurk' or 'churk' a half dozen times among the tk-zeeets of the Westerns!  It was like shorebirding! Thought I was going to fall off the dam in excitement.  Then I thought about explaining that to people, over common peeps, and they wouldn't get it would they.... so I kept my balance. The group seemed to make a few low fast passes, as if smelling the site (for food) and after doing so, continued on southward.  Two Westerns came back and made two more passes, and then left. Most were still in decent alternate plumage with heavy streaking on breast and black chevrons down sides.  I waited 10 minutes, no more peeps showed up, my hopes of them circling back and landing were dashed. While I wonder if I flushed them without seeing them first, it didn't seem like that, and was more as though they dropped in checked it out circling several times, were interested enough to make additional ground level passes, but then headed on their way because they didn't detect the right smells. THREE species of peeps at once at the park, the first peeps I've ever seen there, three new birds for the park list at once!?!  That will never happen again.  Amazing! There was about two minutes to be there for the whole thing. The Least and Semipalmated I saw *7 springs* ago or so over at the Little Creek buffalo wallows, knocked down by rain. So those two were not new for my Sabinal Valley list, but the first of either I have ever seen in the fall here. The Western Sandpipers were the first of those I've seen in the whole valley ever.  I'm besides myself if you can't tell.  I checked and the 3 make 224 for my UP list, in about what, 3-4 acres?  Compare to say the 2002 official Lost Maples list which covers hundreds of acres, is 30 years and hundreds of reporters is 212.  So 224 in a few acres at Utopia Park ain't too bad.  For the whole Sabinal Valley the Western Sandpiper was #317 for me, and I think about #337 for all records I know of locally. The other thing of note today was good Pantala movement, that is gliders, Wandering (200) and Spot-winged (100) in the biggest numbers of the year so far going south over SR. July 29 ~ Only saw 8 BB Whistling-Duck at the park today, they must be moving around a bit.  One Frankenduck domestic mutant is now hanging with them.  Talk about an ugly relative ruining the picture.  Of interest were in the woods a couple new passage landbird migrants.  Single Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee are both migrants at the site and are probably finished and done hill country breeders draining off the plateau.  Both called.  At the town square park flowers I saw single male Fiery and female Whirlabout skippers, and one Checkered- Skipper species was un-ID'd. July 28 ~ At UP the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks continue, though I only saw 10.  A Solitary Sandpiper is always nice there.  After dark I heard the little dog yapping begging notes of juvenile mccallii Eastern Screech-Owl out front and down the draw close.  Butterflies today were Large Orange Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Lyside Sulphur and Snout. July 27 ~ A few greenie Painted Buntings about, very few, and now Indigo (3 ad. ma., 3 fem., 3 jv.) and Blue Grosbeak (4 ad. ma. (at once), 3 fem., 2 1st yr. ma., 3 jv.) outnumber them.  Some Wandering Glider and Spot-winged Glider dragonfly action picking up, a dozen or two of each southbound over SR over the day. July 26 ~ Adult male Painted Bunting still here and took a couple nice long very satisfying looks.  Almost wanted a cigarette afterwards, but I quit years ago. Good thing too, was the last day for the last adult male in the yard.  None the next four days.  So I may get a migrant, but the local breeder ad. males that are in yard daily from April 17 or 19 or so, are gone. Always sad to see them go, and usually get to Aug. 5, 6, 9, or so.  Hope they found some bugs!  At least the Common Nighthawk is still booming. July 25 ~ Boy the back on the adult male Painted really seems to get yellower, less green, this time of year. July 24 ~ A new just fledged Indigo Bunting is about, and a second new Painted is with the first, so surely why that one ad. male remains. July 23 ~ Took my kidney stones for a ride to Uvalde so didn't walk around much, just looked quickly at the slough and the hatchery.  At the pavillion at Cook's Slough we had a MOTTLED DUCK fly right by us, barely over eye-level and only 30' away!  I am fairly sure there is no Uvalde Co. record. An absolute beauty it was, though we got no photo docs. The only shorebird we saw at the hatchery was one Spotted Sandpiper!?!  A couple Gallinule and 5 Coots though no young of either, the Gallinule nests were ransacked.  The Pied- billed Grebes that nested are gone.  There were lots of Bank Swallows including begging young being fed. Along the roads via Sabinal there were 2 Loggerhead Shrike where the pair was last year (still) so surely nested again this year, 8 Fuertes' Red-tailed Hawk, Curve-billed Thrashers still on nest at bassethound farm (probably living on dog food, and good luck getting out of the car to tape them), singing Olive Sparrows all along Old Sabinal Rd., lots of Caracara, just a few Painted Buntings though some adult males that are probably still tied to feeding young not yet out from late nestings.  A couple dozen Purple Martin were at the houses near 4M Ranch SE of Knippa, but most of the others are gone, must've had some late nesting.  A female Kestrel was SW of Knippa, and we did not see the one that was at the hatchery in June to early July. Overall the desert brush country looked greener than it has in months from the last couple little rains.  The weird Cliff/Cave swallows were fledged and gone from supermegamart, as were the other Cave nests - fledged and empty, though one set of Barns had a new set of young babies in a nest. For butterflies there was a bit of Snout and Lyside Sulphur movement, over a hundred of each at least, and Mockingbird were feeding on the hit ones on Old Sab. Rd..  A few Large Orange Sulphur were seen.  At the hatchery there was a Thornbush Dasher and Halloween Pennant for odes. A male Vermilion Flycatcher passed over the SR yard near dusk, stopped on the powerline briefly and continued north. Common Nighthawk still booming. July 22 ~ Seems only 1 ad. male Painted Bunting left, but a new just fledged juvenile is probably why.  Maybe 5-6 other greenies still here, they are fading fast and early. Some of the Indigo have departed as well.  Hutton's Vireo stil about.  A Large Orange Sulphur briefly lighted on a hummer feeder.  There was fog/mist/drizzle early in the a.m., and then late at 10:45 p.m. or so a real cell moved over dumping almost an inch or rather poorly predicted but much needed rain on Utopia.  Kathy found the first Eufala Skipper of the year here on her Calendula. July 21 ~ Still only 1 male Painted Bunting left already. At UP there were 15 Black-bellied Whistling Duck, all adults, and a high count for locally the last few years.  There was also one adult male Black-and-whtie Warbler, the first adult male I've seen this 'fall', already in basic plumage. Basic = 'winter' and why season related names for plumage can be a bit off and hard to use.  It is not in summer plumage any more, its throat is completely white, so it is in 'winter' plumage, though it is July.  From that angle, I like not calling things winter or summer plumage but at other times it allows us better definition, such as with orioles or gulls first spring or summer narrows it to a finer definition. There were a couple Caracara in the early a.m., and another in the late p.m. which diverted course to attack a Turkey Vulture in mid-air, which it gave hell to for the better part of a minute and finally gave up.  Land Skua. I think they are trying to get them to regurgitate food as they seem to hunt full crops. July 20 ~ Only 1-2 adult male Painted Bunting remain in yard, a few greenies.  Never saw this big, this early, this thorough, of a bunting blowout.  Chasing monsoons and insects.  They need rain and bugs and we have neither. July 19 ~ Had a little disturbance moving over that caused an incredible .10" of rain here on SR, a veritible leaf-washer.  The plants and trees liked it, and it smelled great.  It also caused a spontaneous outburst of several male Indigo Bunting to go into full song. Of which I have 5 males at once still here.  The Blue Grosbeaks have a couple new fledges just out. July 18 ~ Hummingbirds and Orioles are really blowing out as well.  There are far fewer of both, and its not just the killer Roadrunners.  The albino white hummer is still here late this evening, but was the last date for it. Four days total.  What a vision it is, I can't get over it.  I'll get pix up but things slow due to the computer problem.  Orioles have gone from 30 to 15. Hummers from 500 to 250.  Painted Buntings from 30 to <10. July 17 ~ There are A LOT fewer Painted Buntings around, clearly they are departing, and this is way early, especially for the greenies.  Adults usually stay the first week of August, greenies longer and most of both here have left already, and many did so a week ago.  They need some bugs, subsisted the summer on white millet here.  It is sooooo bad out there that it seemed they called a truce and did not go into rage mode at the very sight of another adult male in the yard at the seed this year as in all prior years. The same can be said for Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting, which also have adult males feeding just a couple feet apart all summer, unheard of, but the food shortage has caused a truce. Seemingly some winter type flocking behavior while foraging became acceptable this season, instead of the knockdown- dragout brawls typical when any two males see each other during breeding season. The catastrophic climatalogical conditions caused the birds to alter their behavior this year during breeding season.  Remarkable. We have two Roadrunners eating hummingbirds like candy. Kathy suggests I get a coyote to get rid of them, from Acme. Take the feathers off a Roadrunner, add teeth, and you have velociraptor.  They surely have taken some of the young Chipping, Rufuous-crowned, Lark, and Field Sparrows, as well as Painted Bunting. Last year I saw one take a juvenile Painted Bunting, and though I'm just seeing stalking now, let's not kid ourselves here. They live on Chipping Sparrows all winter. July 16 ~ Couldn't get out so between things kept an eye on the feeders for the snow white hummer.  Got a few glimpses in the morning, and finally in the afternoon it sat in a tree for a few digiscopes, and I got a couple shots of it on the feeder.  There is a little gray on the crown and face, and the primaries (the big long main wing feathers) are pigmented dark, but otherwise it is nearly pure white.  Not a pure albino, and though I like the term partial albino or partially albinistic, I'm told leucistic is the proper term for anything not a pure albino (red eyes, no pigment whatsoever).  The curved wingtips appear typical of Black-chinned to me. Probably 400-500 Black-chins here now and nothing else. Rufous could show any day now so keep your eyes peeled. July 15 ~ This morning early I saw a hummingbird fly away that I thought sure was white, snow white.  I figured it was a trick of the light, and I just didn't get a good look. Then late in the evening I saw it again, a WHITE Hummingbird! Almost all but not totally, pure snow white hummer!  OMG! I've dreamt about seeing one of these, drooled over the pictures I've seen of them, and here it is, right in front of me!  Talk about stunning!  It looks like a Black-chinned, though I've only seen it bare-eyed so far. There are two newly fledged Bewick's Wren, as well as a couple newish Carolina Wren hanging about the yard. July 14 ~ A juvenile Black-and-white Warbler was at UP in the p.m. when I took a quick peek.  Interesting was a first- summer Hooded Oriole that had acquired its first all black adult type tail feathers, none in our yard have yet.  Two Common Nighthhawk, the Chuck silence continues, they are done singing, at least our close one is.  A Poorwill called which as the full moon rose, it seemed like a good description of the call: "full moon" it whistles mournfully. July 13 ~ Odd was at least 4 male Red-winged Blackbird on the ground below the back yard junipers eating seed.  No bugs out there.  While I was on the front porch lamenting the arrival of the silence of the 'Chucks' at dusk, probably THE male floated slowly across the yard at eye level, in silence. July 12 ~ Four Audubon's Oriole for sure in the yard today. A distant 'Chuck' called but not our draw bird right out front. Painted Buntings getting thinner, some adult males have left, and all the first summer (SY) birds are gone, far ahead of normal deparature dates.  There's no bugs to eat here. July 11 ~ in yard Hutton's Vireo, Golden-cheeked Warbler, and at dusk Chuck-wills-widow and Common Nighthawk called. July 10 ~ See Lost Maples Reports page for a full report from a walk I took there.  Saw 5 Golden-cheeked Warbler very well, and heard more.  Heard a few Black-capped Vireo and a HOODED Warbler, which was only because I was given a lead or I'd have missed it.  It only sang twice and was I not in that spot for that reason, I'd never have caught it.  Did have a Zone-tailed Hawk, no Green King. The best thing though I didn't see, but a tour group was at HQ in the morning and photo'd a male LUCIFER Hummingbird and a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird.  The same two rarities that were just here in our yard a week and two+ weeks ago. July 9 ~ At UP another Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and there were begging young Yellow-throated Warbler being fed. July 8 ~ Blue-gray Gnatcat passed through yard, and one was at the park as well, they are on the move already. Yellow-throated Vireo are still singing like they are still nesting, so perhaps they'll pull another set off before they split.  A juvenile White-eyed Vireo was at UP too.  Chuck still calling but barely. Most interesting are the Orange-striped Threadtail (odes) gathering at 10-20 AGL, I finally got a pic of one from below with blue sky and cypress in the background. July 7 ~ Seemingly fewer hummingbirds and orioles. Chuck-wills-widow still calling at dusk and a couple Common Nighthawk continue as well, but both of them are winding down fast.  Hutton's Vireo in yard. July 6 ~ Check out the hummingbird photo page, it has a lot of new stuff on it, especially text about them, and some new pix too.  Hutton's Vireo in yard. July 5 ~ At the yard on SR a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher moved through, heading south, another finished breeder on the way out.  Had to run to town so a quick look at the park produced a fall migrant shorebird, one Solitary Sandpiper, and a nice early date.  That mud edge from the falling water is good for something.  The Pied-billed Grebe remains.  A Brown-headed Cowbird juvenile was fed by a Red-winged Blackbird, though they have many of their own young out as well.  Another set of baby Yellow-throated Warblers just fledged, this from a pair at the south end of the park. I saw my first male Widow Skimmer (ode) of the year, finally, but weird was watching Orange-striped Threadtails forage 10' off the ground in the tips of the cypress branches.  Some came low enough for me to confirm they were not Orange Bluet, and there were 5-6 above my head height doing this.  I wondered where they were when I didn't see them at 'their spot', but didn't think to look overhead! July 4 ~ 'nother Golden-cheeked passed through the yard. The Audubon's Orioles are only coming in the morning now it seems, probably just one pair, but maybe two.  The Scott's and Hooded #'s remain off the charts, and now a pair of Ladder-backed Woodpecker have taken to the sugar water after watching the orioles I guess, and they now seem addicted as well.  Great job Mitch.  And I thought the orioles were messy?  They better not try to drill the feeders!  But you ought to see them stab back and forth in a sword fight beak-to-beak with an oriole trying to use the same feeder at the same time.  I could see the Ladder-back's tail shaking as it rattled a call directly at an oriole from about 2", scaring the oriole away, probably when it saw what it would consider a crazed look in the woodpeckers eyes. July 3 ~ I didn't see the Lucifer Hummingbird today, though he was here so late last evening, surely it was in during the morning to tank up before it departed, I just wasn't guarding the feeders to get the extra date on the span. June 28 to July 2 then is the known span for the record. Another male Lucifer had been in Junction since about June 25 or so, and it was last seen this a.m. July 3 as well. Did have a Golden-cheeked Warbler pass through the yard while waiting and hoping for the hummer. July 2 ~ I went to Uvalde to look for something I'd seen earlier, but couldn't refind it, dangit.  At the fish hatchery Eric Carpenter and I found a White Ibis, which is only about the second county record.  We also saw 5 Western Sandpipers, fall migrant shorebirds from Canada! A Yellowlegs flew off that I'm sure was a Lesser, and the Black-necked Stilt continued. Most of the regulars otherwise, along the road just north of Sabinal I had a Loggerhead Shrike, right where the pair nested last year, hopefully they're at it again.  Three Harris's Hawk (family group) were along Old Sabinal Rd..  I found a Curve-billed Thrasher sitting on a nest near Sabinal. Overall the brush country flatlands looked greener than they have in months from the last couple little bits of rain. Some Cenizo (purple sage, which is neither a sage nor purple, but in the figwort family, a beautiful pink blooming shortly after rains) was in bloom. The Lucifer Hummingbird came in late in the evening a few times but it turned out to be the last time I saw it, fortunately I got some last few more parting shots, probably my best gorget. July 1 ~ JULY !?!?!?  Got some better pictures of the LUCIFER Hummingbird today, check out the Hummingbird photos page, all the way at the bottom. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bird News Archive XVII January 1 2012 - June 30, 2012

Bird News Archive XIV July 1 - December 31, 2011 (this page)

Bird News Archive XV January 1 2011 - June 30, 2011

Bird News Archive XIV July 1 - December 31, 2010

Bird News Archive XIII January 1 - June 30, 2010

Bird News Archive XII June 1 - Dec. 31, 2009

Bird News Archive XI January 1 - May 31, 2009

Bird News Archive X July 1 - Dec. 31, 2008

Bird News Archive IX Jan. 1- June 30, '08

Bird News Archive VIII July - Dec. 31, '07

Bird News Archive VII Jan. 1 - June 30, '07

Bird News Archive VI July - Dec. 31, '06

Bird News Archive V Jan. - June 30, '06

Bird News Archive IV July - Dec. 31, '05

Bird News Archive III Jan. - June 30, '05

Bird News Archive II June - Dec. 31, '04

Bird News Archive I Winter '03-'04 Summary Notes and Mar. 31-May 30,'04

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