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Bewick’s Wren Outsmarts Cowbird
One day last week I documented these Bewick’s Wren eggs in a nestbox at Dyess. I noticed one egg appeared slightly bigger. Was this an illusion or was it actually bigger? After perusing the internet for pictures of cowbird eggs, I came to the conclusion that this egg was a Brown-headed Cowbird’s egg. As everyone […]
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Congratulations, You Have Babies!
Ever seen just hatched baby birds? When I was out at Dyess monitoring on Thursday, I photographed these baby birds in one of the nestboxes. I find it easier to check on the contents of the nests by using a small digital camera, switching to “macro,” positioning it above the nest, and then taking the […]
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Juvenile Bluebirds at Dyess
Today when checking on nestboxes at Dyess I spotted this juvenile Eastern Bluebird hanging around the nestbox where it had hatched about four weeks ago. Because this birder was out enjoying migration the bluebird photos hadn’t been updated. So here’s the update: Five eggs were laid; four chicks hatched. Three chicks either fledged early or […]
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Swainson’s Hawks at Dyess, Continued
As promised, here’s the latest update on the Swainson’s Hawks at Dyess AFB. After watching the hawks build onto the previous year’s nest site in March, they apparently abandoned that site and chose another in April. The new site is far from remote; it’s right on the golf course where all golfers walk right underneath […]
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Rare Shorebirds in the Area
Lake Kirby and Abilene’s waste water ponds attracted rare shorebirds this past week. To read about these sightings and to see a few blurry but diagnostic pictures, read on.
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Field Trip to Lake Sweetwater
On Saturday morning, May 20, at 7 a.m. we will leave the parking lot at the What-a-Burger on South 1st and Pioneer to bird Lake Sweetwater and surrounding areas in Nolan County. Those wishing to eat breakfast should come earlier. We will carpool from the What-a-Burger. We will be looking for the summer breeders such […]
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Mason County Field Trip
Six of us went to Mason County and birded private property April 29. We were thoroughly impressed and all had a good time. The weather was nice and mild after a rainy stormy Friday, and birds were everywhere. We saw colorful birds: the Summer Tanagers, Vermilion Flycatchers, and Painted Buntings. We saw both males and […]
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Three Buntings at Cedar Gap Farm
Big Country Audubon met Thursday night for our May social meeting. If you were not there, you missed a great meal, good company, and excellent birds! The Painted Buntings were at every feeder (and that’s a lot of Painted Buntings). But what was extremely exciting were the two Indigo Buntings that showed up AND a […]
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Birds Like Weeds
The past several days (OK, past several weeks) I’ve been noticing my garden is full of weeds, you know the kind of weeds that grow really tall and have these little yellow flowers on top. When they go to seed they produce these white feathery tuffs that blow in the wind. I really should get […]