Saturday, May 9th – Field Trip to Abilene State Park.  We’ll leave from the Burger King on Antilley Road at 7:30AM.  Come earlier for breakfast. We’ll look for warblers, tanagers, vireos and other migrant songbirds.  We’ll also so some work around the bird blind to get it spruced up for the Park’s Anniversary Celebration the next weekend.

Tuesday, May 12th – Board Meeting at 7:00PM at Mez Amiz Coffee Shop on South 7th.  Come earlier if you plan to order dinner.  All interested members are invited.

Saturday, May 16th – 75th Anniversary Celebration at Abilene State Park.  It will be a day of fun for the whole family.  Big Country Audubon will be present at the bird blind to share information about our group and, of course, the birds.

Saturday, May 23rd – Butterfly Hunt at Oakwood Trails.  Meet at the entrance to the trails at 7:30AM.  We might even see some birds and wildflowers!

• Tri-Colored Heron
• Peregrine Falcon
• Snowy Plover
• Tri-colored Heron
• Yellow-throated Vireo
• Eastern Kingbird
• Nashville Warbler
• Yellow Warbler

Lake Fort Phantom Hill / SeaBee Park

• Cinnamon Teal – 2
• Great Blue Heron – 3
• Great Egret – 8
• Snowy Egret -  12
• Tri-colored Heron – 1
• Cattle Egret: 14
• Green Heron – 5
• White-faced Ibis – 1
• Swainson’s  Hawk – 3
• Red-tailed Hawk – 1
• Peregrine Falcon – 1 (chasing shorebird)
• American Coot – 32
• Killdeer – 4
• Black-necked Stilt – 4
• American Avocet – 2
• Greater Yellowlegs – 1
• Spotted Sandpiper – 1
• Long-billed Curlew – 1
• Long-billed Dowitcher – 16
• Franklin’s Gull – 11
• Ring-billed Gull – 1
• Golden-fronted Woodpecker – 1
• Western Kingbird – 8
• Eastern Kingbird – 1
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – 6
• N Mockingbird – 12
• Curve-billed Thrasher – 4
• Yellow Warbler – 1
• Chipping Sparrow – 30
• Clay-colored Sparrow – 30
• Lark Sparrow – 7
• Northern Cardinal – 12
• Blue Grosbeak – 1
• Painted Bunting – 6
• Red-winged Blackbird – 15
• Bullock’s Oriole – 4

Kirby Lake

• Ruddy Duck – 12
• Pied-billed Grebe – 1
• Eared Grebe – 1
• Great Blue Heon – 5
• Great Egret – 3
• Snowy Egret – 4
• Green Heron – 6
• White-faced Ibis – 6
• Sora – 1
• Common Moorhen – 5
• American Coot – 40
• Snowy Plover – 1
• Killdeer – 4
• Black-necked Stilt – 8
• American Avocet – 3
• Spotted Sandpiper – 3
• Western Sandpiper – 2
• Least Sandpiper – 8
• Long-billed Dowitcher – 2
• Franklin’s Gull – 6
• Ring-billed Gull – 2
• Forster’s Tern – 3
• Western Kingbird – 3
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – 5
• Cliff Swallow – 75
• Barn Swallow – 25
• Red-winged Blackbird – 8
• Yellow-headed Blackbird – 1
• Brewer’s Blackbird – 1

Cedar Gap Farm

• Wild Turkey – 6
• Black-chinned Hummingbird – 5
• Eastern Phoebe – 1
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – 2
• Purple Martin – 1
• Carolina Chickadee – 3
• Black-crested Titmouse – 1
• Bewick’s Wren – 1
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 1
• American Robin – 3
• N Mockingbird – 2
• Lincoln’s Sparrow – 2
• Indigo Bunting – 2
• Painted Bunting – 8
• Pine Siskin – 12

Abilene State Park

• Black Vulture – 2
• Turkey Vulture – 4
• Mississippi Kite – 1
• Western Kingbird – 4
• White-eyed Vireo – 1
• Yellow-throated Vireo – 1
• Blue Jay – 2
• Carolina Chickadee – 4
• Black-crested Titmouse – 2
• Carolina Wren – 1
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 1
• Eastern Bluebird – 2
• American Robin – 4
• Nashville Warbler – 1
• Yellow Warbler – 3
• Summer Tanager – 2
• Chipping Sparrow – 12
• Bullock’s Oriole – 1
• Pine Siskin – 8

Will Hair Park

• Rock Pigeon – 1
• Eurasian Collared-Dove – 3
• White-winged Dove – 6
• Mourning Dove – 4
• Inca Dove – 2
• Great Crested Flycatcher – 2
• Western Kingbird – 2
• White-throated Sparrow – 1
• White-crowned Sparrow – 6
• N Cardinal – 4
• Indigo Bunting – 1

Sightings by Kathy Hampton and Lorie Black

North Abilene

• Barn Swallow – 1
• Lesser Goldfinch – 12

Also, Say’s Phoebe (1) at Will Hair Park in Abilene

Sightings by L. Black

Eleanor (Ellie) Hamby will speak at our April meeting at 7:00 PM at the Rose Park Senior Activity Center.

Ellie Hamby will present Journey to Galapogos. Ellie has been photographing people and wildlife all over the world for many years. Her specialty is capturing the faces of people and particularly the Tonga’s of Southern Zambia. She has had solo exhibitions of her photography in the United States and Africa and does numerous speaking engagements concerning her photography. Her photos have been on the cover of magazines and she has had extensive newspaper coverage in Zambia and the USA of her photography.

A Marine Iguana suns himself on the beach. Photo by Ellie Hamby

Her late husband, Kelly, and she traveled to over 70 countries and lived in Zambia, Africa for six years. She always travels with her camera at her side, relying on her camera and her sense of capturing, through the lens.  For more information and to see her photos of people, go to: http://www.photosbyellie.org/

Blue-footed Booby, by Ellie Hamby

The Galapagos Islands are beautiful islands and they are famed for their  biodiversity and for their vast number of endemic species. You will enjoy Ellie’s pictures and stories, so please come and bring a friend!

Saturday, April 4, 2009:  Star Party at the Abilene State Park

On Saturday, April 4th, there will be a Star Party at the Abilene State Park sponsored by Big Country Astronomy and the Friends of Abilene State Park. The event will run from sunset to midnight: Come and go or come and stay! There will be several telescopes, plus monitors, to explore the skies. This will be part of the local celebration of the International Year of Astronomy.