Month: April 2008

  • April 26, 2008-Lakes Fort Phantom, Kirby, and Other Sites

    These are the highlights of birding around Lake Fort Phantom, Lake Kirby, Oakwood Trails (State School), and Wildlife Trails (east of ACU). If anyone would like a complete list, we will happily e-mail one upon request. Key: LFP: Lake Fort Phantom, LK: Lake Kirby, OT: Oakwood Trails, WT: Wildlife Trails Eared Grebe: 6, LK American […]

  • April 26, 2008-Dyess AFB

    Highlights: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Mississippi Kite Chihuahuan Ravens on nest Ruby-crowned Kinglet Orange-crowned Warbler Painted Bunting, FOS for Dyess Complete List: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 2 Wild Turkey 1 Northern Bobwhite 4 Turkey Vulture 2 Mississippi Kite 1 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Rock Pigeon 10 Mourning Dove 22 Greater Roadrunner 2 Black-chinned Hummingbird 2 Golden-fronted Woodpecker […]

  • April 22, 2008-Waste Water

    Highlights: Green-winged Teal, 2 Blue-winged Teal, 50 Cinnamon Teal, 3 Northern Shoveler, 150 Lesser Scaup, 1 Ruddy Duck, 2 Eared Grebe in breeding plumage, 8 Snowy Egret, 8 White-faced Ibis, 10 Semipalmated Plover, 3 FOS Black-necked Stilt, 26 American Avocet, 101 Wilson’s Snipe, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 12 Pectoral Sandpiper, 1, FOS Stilt Sandpiper, 3, FOS […]

  • April 20, 2008-SeaBee Park

    Dan Symonds had a very productive morning at Seebee Park, adding 5 to his life list (marked with an L). Black-necked Stilts and Wilson’s Phalarope are beautifully colored birds this time of year. Those birds marked with an X means they were present but uncounted. Complete List: Gadwall – 15 Blue-winged Teal – 18 Northern […]

  • April 19, 2008-Lake Kirby

    Highlights: Semipalmated Sandpiper – 8 Western Sandpiper – 1 Nashville Warbler – 1 (FOS) Yellow-headed Blackbird – 1 Complete List: Mallard – 2 Pied-billed Grebe – 1 American White Pelican – 1 Double-crested Cormorant – 4 Great Blue Heron – 2 Snowy Egret – 2 Green Heron – 2 Turkey Vulture – 4 American Coot […]

  • April 18, 2008-Dyess AFB

    Highlights of today’s birds: Solitary Sandpiper: 1 Eastern Kingbird: 1, first of the season Chihuahuan Ravens: 1 adult on nest, 5 nestlings Bullock’s Orioles: 3, first of the season Complete List: Wild Turkey: 7 Northern Bobwhite: 3 Great Blue Heron: 1 Green Heron: 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1 Swainson’s Hawk: 2, mom building another nest and […]

  • Upland Sandpipers and Great Kiskadee in April

    During the first half of April, Upland Sandpipers fly into the Big Country, like this one seen off S. 27th at Oakwood Trails (Centennial Park). They are a difficult bird to photograph, because they seem to know just how far to land away from the camera. But I caught a couple of them taking a […]

  • Eagles, Bluebirds, and Bobcat

    John English sent me this majestic pose of a young Bald Eagle trying out its wings above its nest while holding onto a half eaten fish March 27, 2008. Young eagles do not become breeding adults until five years of age. This is also when they acquire the white feathers on their head and tail. […]

  • April 12, 2008-Abilene State Park and Dyess AFB

    Saturday, April 12, found several of us out birding in various places. A group met at the Abilene State Park to work on the privacy fence for the blind and their highlights at the blind were: Abilene State Park, Bird Blind: Black-chinned Hummingbird – 2 males, 2 females Common Raven – 3 in a kettle […]

  • Crested Caracara in Callahan County

    And yet another rare bird (for this area) has shown up in the Big Country: the Crested Caracara. On February 2, 2008, a friend reported seeing a caracara flying overhead on CR 283 on the county line of Callahan and Coleman. These types of sightings are hard to confirm; how does one chase a bird […]