One Day - Two Rare Birds

It was crappy day ... ok, not in the way you are imagining. We started in late morning with a drive down to McKinney Falls State Park to the find the Red-Naped Sapsucker reported there this week. Based on some good descriptions posted on eBird, I had done some virtual scouting of the location on Google Earth. The bird was reported in "the only large Cottonwood tree" ... too bad I was not sure what a Cottonwood tree looks like without leaves! Eventually we figured it out by process of elimination and recorded its coordinates (30.1824526, -97.7254446). Here's a picture of the magical woodpecker tree, to the right of the trail:

We watched the tree for about 30min, finding two Downy Woodpeckers, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a Ladderback Woodpecker, all good omens. The spot we staked out was next to some fenced in equipment of unknown purpose. The longer we stood there the more evident it became that the purpose must be sewage.

Finally, we saw the sapsucker, a rarity in the Austin area and a new bird for us. This species is very similar to the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a more common winter resident here. This one is a female based on the white chin above the red throat, a pattern that does not appear on the yellow-bellied. The second picture shows the pale red patch at the nape that gives the bird its name. Sometimes, this spot is not present on female. The red-naped also does not have a solid black boarder around the chin and throat, another confirming field mark.

Red-Naped Sapsucker

Disappointingly, the sapsucker never came down low in the tree so our photography angles were awkward and interrupted by many unfortunately placed twigs.

On our way home we stopped by Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory. Yes, the waste water reclamation plant again. As Danielle asked, "what is it with birds and sewage." In Pond 2 we saw a large number of Northern Shoveler and Lesser Scaup. Mixed in were a handful of Pintails, Gadwalls, American Coots, and Ruddy Ducks.  Many of the Shovelers were feeding right at the northwest corner of Pond 2 and we got some shots as they flushed.

We then tried our luck at the mud flats at the west end of Pond 1W. We found a large number of Lesser Sandpipers huddled together on small patches of drier ground. There were quite a few Killdeer as well, more than I have seen before. We also saw a half-dozen Wilson's Snipes rapidly probing into the mud. Most were in the tall weeds surrounding the flats, this one was out in the open. Up until now, it had been exciting for us to find a single snipe somewhere!

While watching the mud flat, we encountered the bird shown below. At first we thought it was some sort of sandpiper until we saw how small the bill was. We concluded it was one of the taller-standing plovers of genus Pluvialis. The other plovers, of genus Charadrius, including the Killdeer look more squat and compact.

American Golden-Plover

We debated for some time as to which species it was since, in non-breeding plumage, they look similar. The two species with any likelihood of being found in Texas were the Black-bellied Plover and the American Golden-Plover. Both of these came up in eBird as rarities. We settled on the American Golden-Plover based mostly on the dark ear patch and the strongly contrasting cap. The shorter, thinner bill is also indicative, but I had nothing to compare to. The lack of black armpits would have been diagnostic but we did not catch it when it flew away. Just to be sure, we eliminated the possibility of a very rare Pacific Golden Plover based the shorter tertials and longer primaries relative to the tail. This is a new species for both of us and wrapped up our wonderfully crappy day.

Update Mar 06 - Our identification of the plover was confirmed on eBird and a several other birders have seen it today. Interestingly, none of those people had their sightings marked as rare, puzzling. I tinkered around with eBird and found that a plover seen on Saturday would have been marked as rare but not one on Sunday. The rarity is seasonal and presumably delineated in the database by week. Sunday would have been the start of the first week in March, when plover sightings historically begin. Looks like we scored a rare bird on a mere technicality, awesome.

Chasing an Olive Sparrow

After some pictures were posted on Facebook, we decided to chase an Olive Sparrow that has been frequenting one of the bird blinds at South Llano River State Park. This bird is normally seen in South Texas, especially in the Rio Grande Valley. Here is a map of the sightings recorded on eBird.org - the yellow circle is the state park. This is the furthest north that the species has been recorded and it has been seen there on multiple occasions.

We decided to do this as a day trip, leaving Georgetown a bit after 6AM and arriving just at 9AM. This park has four bird blinds. They all have well designed features for the birds to forage around but are all very frustrating for photography. The viewing huts have windows (which you can't photograph through) and no good places for setting up a camera-tripod. Complaining aside, we headed over to the Agarita Blind and settled in.

We got our first glimpse of the sparrow soon after. This type of sparrow behaves much like a Towhee, foraging on the ground in the undergrowth at the edge of the clearing. During our 6 hour vigil, we saw it a half dozen times but it never came out in the open for more than a few seconds. From the posted pictures, others had had more luck with the bird perching on one of the decorative stumps.

We did manage to get a couple of photos that show the field marks. The Olive Sparrow is a medium sized sparrow with a very low contrast body with no patterning on the back or wings. It has a light gray breast and a pale olive wash on its gray back and wings. This is the only sparrow with this olive coloration so it is a pretty distinctive marking. The head has two narrow rufous crown and eye stripes and a broken white eye ring around a red eye. All in all, it looks more like a miniature, pale Green-Tailed Towhee than it does a sparrow.

Valentines Day Flycatcher

This morning was attempt number two to find the presumptive Hammond's Flycatcher at Dickenson's River Bottom near Lake Granger. This bird is normally restricted to pacific and mountain states with migratory paths crossing into far west Texas. There have only been a few sightings east of Midland. This individual was first recorded on Feb 5 by Colton Robbins. Since then, it has been a draw for local birders.

We first tried yesterday morning, arriving at 8:30 which was apparently not early enough. Not a wasted trip though as we saw several dozen species at what is a new location for us. This morning we got there at 7:15. Danielle had an initial spotting of the flycatcher at 7:30 but not long enough for us to get a positive identification but enough to be fairly certain it was not the Ruby-Crown Kinglet which has a similar face as shown below.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

With the help of Bryce and Rob Hardway we relocated the bird got a more extended view at about 8:00 as it flitted from branch to branch for the next quarter hour. After that, we lost it altogether. This species is a first for us.

This bird is a small member of the Empidonax genus, all of which look very similar. Sibley's lists the primary field marks as short narrow dark bill, distinct olive vest, long primary wing projection, and short narrow notched tail. To be honest, I am taking the word of the more experienced birders as I would not be able to make a definitive call.

Hammond's Flycatcher

The day's birding at the location also netting me a very brief view of a Pileated Woodpecker flying between trees across the river. This is another rarity here.

Zone-tailed Hawk at the House

Wow, this is a gem of a backyard find for us. As we pulled into the driveway this afternoon, a group of turkey vultures were swooping around as they often do prior to the big kettles forming near sunset. One bird flew over the car in front of us that at first blush looked like a smaller, more compact specimen. However, I noticed a strong white bar on its tail and called it out to Danielle saying, "what was that?!" I dashed inside to get a camera and the binoculars. I was lucky to see it again shortly after when it made a few more passes and got a solid identification: A Zone-tailed Hawk. This is a lifer for us and, looking at records on eBird, possibly the first reported around Georgetown. Normally this species is found further south and west during the summer season. The article at Cornell Lab of Ornithology notes that the zone-tailed often flies with turkey vultures and that it may have evolved similar coloration for mimicry, allowing it to sneak up on prey that would mistake it as a non-threatening vulture. Interestingly, twice I saw the hawk having to veer down out the way as a vulture took a quick dive at it. Perhaps it is not a very welcome mimic. After Danielle posted the sighting to the Facebook group TEXBIRDS, the image was archived at TexasBirdImages.com for Williamson Co. Region 6.

Another Brown Booby at Windy Point

Another Brown Booby has made an appearance at Bob Wentz Windy Point Park in Lake Travis. This time a juvenile. This pelagic bird is rarely seen on shore, never mind in central Texas. Again, the bird was far away, this time about 1/2 mile towards Mansfield Dam. It never moved off of the buoy in the 90 minutes we watched it.

Images taken with Canon 7DII and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 II with Extender 1.4x III.  Nominal settings: 560mm, f/10, 1/500s, ISO-800.

Piping Plover at Hornsby Bend

Another excursion in search of a Texas rare bird alert. This time to Hornsby Bend waste water treatment plant looking for a Piping Plover.  There were three rare birds on tap today, the plover, an Egyptian Goose, and a Short-billed Dowitcher. This was also an excuse to try iPhone digiscoping through a spotting scope. I easily spotted the Egyptian Goose on the path between the two northern ponds. It seemed pretty unconcerned by my presence. There is no native population in NA but apparently, there is a healthy feral population in Houston. I don't know where this one came from.

Egyptian Goose - Canon 7Dii, EF 100-400 f/5.6 L

I then went the west side of pond 1W where there was a sizable goup of shorebirds and, eventually, a sizable group of birders. I had come last week and seen mostly Starlings, Killdeer, and swallows. The Killdeer were still present but in much more reasonable numbers.

Though the swallows were mostly gone, there was much more variety in shorebirds. The full list of my identifications is on eBird but several more species were noted by others. I readily picked out a group of Wilson's Phalarope in winter plumage and some scattered Lesser Yellowlegs.

There were also some Black Tern, another new species for me. The rest was a bewildering assortment of sandpipers. My shorebird skills are poor so I had to get pointers from fellow birders. The Piping Plover was foraging in the far distance beyond where I could make out field marks with binoculars. This species is listed as endangered and threatened. The Great Lakes population is endangered and the Northern Great Plains and Atlantic Coast populations are threatened. Both populations winter on the Gulf Coast. There is some question as to whether this individual is injured as it was reported in the same spot over several days and did not flush along with other birds.

Piping Plover - Vortex Viper / iPhone 6+

One of the expert birders who helped me find the plover described it as a "bleached out" Semipalmated Plover. I love that explanation and it seems very apt as shown below is its richly toned cousin:

Semipalmated Plover - Vortex Viper / iPhone 6+

The Pectoral Sandpiper was another new species on the list for me, shown here with a much smaller Least Sandpiper. Note the very sharp transition in patterning on the breast and the yellow green legs.

Pectoral Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

The new Vortex Viper scope, though a lower-end scope, worked well for visual observation. On the other hand, my attempts at digiscoping with an iPhone were challenging. Getting the right separation and alignment between the eyepiece and the phone was tricky, even with the Phone Skope adapter I was using. Seeing the iPhone screen well enough to obtain good focus was hard. Leaving the phone in auto focus mode did not work as it kept hunting for focus. There is no comparison between the optical quality of this spotting scope and the Canon lens. There is very noticeable chromatic aberration in the image, though only really noticeable in zoomed images such as in the neck band of the plover above. Danielle keeps reminding me ... these pictures are for identification, not art.

Slide show from Aug 23

Update - Returned on Aug 29, different mix Phalaropes are mostly gone. Some Black-necked Stilts are passing through

Bronzed Cowbird in Yard

Assuming our identification is correct, this is a rare bird for Williamson County.  The male made a brief appearance, first landing on a feeder but not eating then on the bird bath for a quick drink.

Update - identification confirmed by eBird reviewers.

Yet Another Rusty Day

This morning, I attended a workshop on Bluebirds put on by the Travis Audubon Society. The workshop was very interesting but our attempt to put up a bird house may wait until we reconcile ourselves with what to do with the local house sparrows.

Since the workshop was held at Hornsby Bend, I took the opportunity afterwards to haul the camera equipment down to Pond 3 and sat for three hours looking at the Rusty Blackbirds, hoping for some better shots and observing.

I have learned recently that the Rusty Blackbird has suffer inexplicable and perilous decline in numbers, losing 95% of the population in 50 years.

Below is a slideshow of the some of the shots (sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't) The one image with a very striped bird is a female or juvenile Red-winged Blackbird for comparison.

Rusty Blackbirds at Hornsby Bend

This afternoon, our "urban birding" adventure with Ross continued. After successfully finding Monk Parakeets in the morning, we went to Hornsby Bend to try again for the Rusty Blackbirds ... after all, who wouldn't want to entertain friends and family at the local sewage treatment plant? At least the picnic lunch option was voted down.

We had looked for the RUBL here earlier in January, but had not been able to identify them conclusively. This time, we saw eight birds (two males and six females) in the boggy area just west of the greenhouse and had enough observation time to be sure of our identification.

The first shot shows the boggy area that the birds forage in, with a few birds pecking at the water's surface. I am not sure if they are after insects or vegetation. This boggy, flooded-woods habitat is certainly correct for this species and helps distinguish the birds from the somewhat similar Brewer's Blackbird which would be found in open fields.

The next two shots show detail on the male and female respectively. The rusty-trimmed feathers and mottled chest are characteristic of the male plumage before breeding season when the rusty edges wear off.  The female shows a gray rump, rusty back, pale iris and bright supercilium.

This is another new confirmed bird for our list.

On leaving the park, we saw a half dozen Eastern Bluebirds near the guard station displaying funny antics on the barbed wire fence.

Striped Sparrow Mania

Early this month, on January 11, Rich Kostecke discovered a Striped Sparrow along County Road 428 in eastern Williamson County. This is an incredible find as the species is native to Mexico and lives a sedentary life. There is some question as to how this rarity got to the United States and whether it will be "countable" by American Birding Association rules, but that doesn't matter to us. We just appreciate any excuse to go birding! Apparently we're not the only ones who feel that way, as over 120 birders have driven out to that remote spot in eastern Williamson County to date, even coming from as far away as Colorado just to see it. There is now a eBird "hotspot" dedicated to this single bird.

The sparrow has been spotted every few days this month, foraging at the same location along the road side. Local birders apparently are putting out seed for it. We have been to the site twice and saw it both times. On our first visit on Jan 18, we were in the company of 20 or so other birders. Despite the blind curve on a narrow county road (on which the locals drive pretty fast), many had their tripods set up in the middle of the road. A local we talked to on our second visit, January 24, mentioned seeing lawn chairs stationed across the road. I am sure the local residents are pretty perplexed by the crazy birders who have invaded.

In addition to the Striped Sparrow, we also saw several additional species of sparrow: Harris, White-Crowned, White-Throated, Lincoln, Swamp, Song, and Chipping. A rare Red-Headed Woodpecker has also been spotted repeatedly at the site. We, unfortunately, missed it both times, but we heard the Pileated Woodpecker that has also been seen, and we also saw Red-Bellied, Ladder-backed, and Downy Woodpeckers nearby.

Our pictures are of low resolution due the distance from which they were taken but clearly show the field marks on this small sparrow.

Whooping Crane in Williamson County

On a report of another rare bird in the county, we went in search of a lone Whooping Crane mixed with a flock of Sandhill Cranes. It was reported in north east Williamson County, in the area of County Road 420.  Fortunately, finding a flock of cranes is pretty easy once you get to the right spot. All told, we saw several hundren sandhills and, sure enough, found the lone adult whooper.

Rare Common Galinule

On this cold and misty morning, as Danielle was watching the coots in the San Solomon Cienega at Balmorhea SP, she saw this misfit near the inlet from the springs. It flew off, giving her a chance to observe its legs and feet, which were yellow-green and were not webbed. Late this afternoon, both of us saw it swimming in the marshy area near the inlet, further toward the motel. We got this picture.

The bird was coot-shaped and roughly the same size as a coot, with blue-grey head and underparts. It had a brownish-purple back and wing coverts, with distinct white patches along flank and white under tail. Heavy slightly down-curved bill with forehead shield, dark with yellowish tip. All but head is clearly an adult Common Galinule. The head does not show red bill and shield of breeding adult nor does throat show light patch of non-breeding adult.

Since this bird is rare in this part of Texas, Danielle reported the sighting to the TEXBIRDS Facebook group and was asked to submit the image to TexasBirdImages.com for their records. Here is the link to that record entry.

Great Kiskadee at Berry Springs

Yet another rare bird alert from eBird has sent us to Berry Springs Park three times looking for this Great Kiskadee.  This bird is rare in Williamson County, but not nearly as out of place as the Brown Booby or Dusky-capped Flycather. Its normal range is South Texas and the lower Rio Grande Valley.

Today, we got up at the crack of dawn and got to the park at 7:00 in time to see a very picturesque layer of fog over the ponds. For two hours, we scouted along the boardwalk and around the dam where others had seen the bird. We neither saw nor heard any sign of it.

Finally, at about 9:30, Danielle wandered back to towards the dam and heard the Kiskadee's raucous single-note alert call. She quickly found it in the marshy thicket just to the east of the dam and I joined her a few minutes later. The bird repeated this call several times but we never heard the three-note Kis-ka-dee song which gives the bird its name.

Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-800

Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/8, 1/1250, ISO-800

Though grouped with flycatchers, this bird is larger and more stocky than most flycatchers. It's diet includes insects, berries, lizards, and fish. We saw it fly down into the flooded grass and back up to its perch a half dozen times. In the image below, it has found some sort of caterpillar.

Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/10, 1/500, ISO-400

The coloration of the Kiskadee is very bold, combining russet and lemon colors on the body and a boldly striped black and white head.  There is also a hidden crown of bright yellow feathers which can be seen when flared.

Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/10, 1/500 (f/9, 1/640), ISO-800

Canon 60Da, EF 400mm f/5.6L - 400mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO-125 (Danielle)

We spent the rest of the morning finding other birds in the park

Our final tally included:

• Pied-billed Grebe
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Great Egret
• Turkey Vulture
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• White-winged Dove
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker
• Great Kiskadee
• American Crow
• Carolina Chickadee
• Black-crested Titmouse
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Eastern Bluebird
• Northern Mockingbird
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Northern Cardinal
• Great-tailed Grackle
• House Finch
• House Sparrow

Danielle also posted a gallery on Facebook.

Northern Mockingbird - Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/6.3, 1/6400, ISO-800

Carolina Chickadee - Canon 60Da, EF 400mm f/5.6L - 400mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO-250 (Danielle)

Downy Woodpecker - Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/6.3, 1/800, ISO-800, Flash

Pied-billed Grebe - Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/7.1, 1/800, ISO-800

Orange-crowned Warbler - Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/6.3, 1/1600, ISO-800, Flash

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/6.3, 1/3200, ISO-800, Flash

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 400mm, f/6.3, 1/400, ISO-800