When you grow up with the Navy, you get used to certain things, particularly salty air and the cries of gulls. Things not easily come by during a typical day in central Texas. Thank goodness for the Ring-billed Gulls, then, that come to the lake near our house every winter.
My gull fix is only a short bike ride away, even if I drove the other day.
I ignored the other birds, ignored everything, focused on the mass of white specks floating on the sparkling water.
flash of white
against the blue
plunges into cold
I can watch gulls for hours. I love the way they fly, so graceful. Lazy one minute, and diving for a meal the next.
Watching gulls is watching wind come alive.
wind takes form
substance, shape
a gull streaks across
memory
Cold air riders come to spend another central Texas inland winter, they bob on the surface, cry and take flight.
The wind pushes them around a bit, but it’s all for show.
They are in control.
a cry, a soaring gull
comes up with lunch
i come back for more
I usually go walking around the building at lunch. My classroom has no windows and it’s just good to get out, breathe real air for a few minutes. I try to look for new birds as I go, and I’ll often bring some small binoculars in case something catches my eye. I’ve seen a few life birds this way, but this has been a lucky week.
On Monday, I saw a White-crowned Sparrow. Yesterday, I saw an American Kestrel. Both of those are life birds for me. In addition to those two, I also saw the usual Eastern Meadowlarks, Killdeer, and Mockingbirds.
When I got home, still feeling fortunate, I took a walk down the trail towards the little pond down the street. On the trail, I saw Black-crested Titmice and Carolina Chickadees chirping in the trees. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet darted around in a stand of cedar, and an Orange-crowned Warbler flitted about in an oak. Those last two are relatively new for me so it’s exciting to see them.
I walked to the little footbridge over the creek and watched the birds from there when a flash of something red darted out of a hole in a dead tree towards a stumpy cedar. I waited to see if it would return, but I didn’t see anything. Getting cold in the shade, I decided to get back in the sun and walk down to the pond.
Just before the pond, a pair of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers caught my attention as they drummed some avian beat poetry into a leafless tree. As if only waiting for the woodpeckers’ drumroll, a Great Egret swooped out of the reeds and away up the trail.
Around the pond, I saw a mockingbird, Eastern Phoebe, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler, my third life bird for the week. I had seen the warbler before, but never got a look good enough for an ID until today.
On the pond, Gadwalls, Ring-necked Ducks and a pair of Least Grebes swam patterns into the still water. The number of ducks surprised me. I didn’t count, but I would guess there were between 30-40.
I also saw a mystery sparrow (I think) on top of a tree. The light was as bad as my angle so I quit trying to ID, and with three new birds in two days, I didn’t want to get greedy.
Other than those, the only birds I saw on my walk were vultures, both Turkey and Black, circling endlessly over the pond.
Today, I took my usual lunch walk and saw the kestrel again in the same place at about the same time. Like me, he must a schedule that brings us together around noon. This time I got an even better look, and since I knew what he was, I was able to really watch him without the buzz of “whatbirdisthishwhatbirdisthis?” running through my mind. The knowing enables the seeing.
After work, wondering how well the pond birds keep a schedule and wanting another crack at that mystery sparrow, I went back to the pond. One of the ladder-backs was working the same tree as yesterday, keeping his appointments, obviously. I didn’t see the sparrow, but the rest of the birds from yesterday were there as were a few Northern Shovelers and an American Goldfinch. I got a better look at the Yellow-rumped Warbler, and I saw a fourth new bird, an American Wigeon, preening out on the pond.
This time I took a rough count of the Gadwalls and got 45. Then I just sat down in the cool blue evening and watched while the egret hunted along the far shore, his feathers glowing bright in the fading sun, while ducks swam through the shadows of the trees. Couting and keeping lists of birds in fun and, when entering the data into ebird, scientifically useful, but it’s just the sitting and watching them be birds that’s really magical.
It’s the birdwatching, more than the birding, that makes for the perfect end to a day.
I’ve heard it said that you should write what you know. I think it’s just as useful to write what you want to learn. That’s part of why I enjoy writing about my birding experiences.
The day before Thanksgiving I walked to the pond down the street to see what kinds of ducks were around. Mostly Gadwalls and some Northern Shovelers. I saw a Lesser Scaup too, or so I thought. Had I looked closer I would have seen that it wasn’t a Scaup, but rather something new to me.
I posted some pictures and Ted commented and pointed out the error I had made. I consulted my Sibley guide and found that while Lesser Scaup and Ring-necks are similar, there are differences such as the white ring on the Ring-neck’s bill and the white spur on his side. Also the scaup has a grey back while the Ring-neck’s back is black.
Since I had never seen a Ring-necked Duck before (at least while knowing what it was) I walked back down today to see if there were any still there.
It’s a cold day today, but there were actually more ducks than usual. I didn’t count, but I suspect there were 20 or so Gadwalls and at least 10 Ring-necked Ducks.
Ring-necked Ducks in the pond down the street
I watched for awhile and tried a few pictures, but it was dark and so I had trouble getting a stable shot. Still, this one was passable and now that I know the field marks well enough to distinguish Ring-necks from Scaup, I’m confident in adding this new bird to my life list.
And then there’s the beauty of writing what you want to learn. I think I’ve learned a good bit about birds just from writing about what I’m seeing and experiencing in the field. Or in my backyard as the case may be. But, it’s easy to get overconfident and not notice what should be obvious (ie: that wasn’t a Lesser Scaup) and so the writing and posting what I think I know helps me nail down what I do know and still need to learn. I still have a lot to learn about ducks, for instance, which I’m discovering are kind of tricky.
Soon, the cold started to get to me and it was time to head home and feed the pups, but as I was going I noticed a buck nibbling the grass on the far side of the pond.
A White-tailed Deer checks me out
Amazing what else you can see when going out to look for birds. Of course, seeing deer around here isn’t that amazing. Had I been awake the other night I would have seen the one that came to our front porch to eat our plants.
But, not turkeys for which, I’m certain, these birds at least are thankful.
Great Egret by the pond
Yesterday, I walked down to the little pond at the end of our street to check out the ducks.
A Great Egret was hunting along the far shore and I saw at least 15 Gadwalls. You can see one in the above picture above the word ‘great’ in the caption.
I also saw one Ring-necked Duck. Lesser Scaup. I only ever saw one last winter so I wonder if it’s the same one.
Ring-necked Duck
A Great Blue Heron flew overhead out of the reeds behind me and I saw a few vultures, but that was it.
The Great Egret again
Update: Ted pointed out that the Ring-necked Duck had been mis-ID’d as a Lesser Scaup. I have corrected the post accordingly.
I parked at Auditorium Shores, which is a good place to walk around and look at the ever-changing skyline except for the fact that the whole area smells like dog crap. Why can’t people just pick up after their dogs?
Avoiding the mines, I walked to the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue where I took this obligatory Austin photo.
Hard to believe I’ve been here longer than that statue and I’m only just now doing the Stevie-Ray-and-skyline shot. Maybe there’s something to be said for leaving things for oneself to do.
Red-winged Blackbirds
After the statue, I followed a small flock of Red-winged Blackbirds west for a few yards trying to get a closer shot of one.
I was pleasantly surprised to see them as I had hoped to see more than just the one at Hornsby.
Red-winged Blackbird
Then one came right at me!
Red-winged Blackbird in flight
Aside from the red-wings, I also saw some Gadwalls, American Coots, Great-tailed Grackles, Rock Doves, and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron fishing on the far shore.
High above the night heron, one of the new condos was also visible.
I left early this morning hoping that it wouldn’t be raining at Hornsby Bend, and despite a few quick showers on the toll road, it turned into a nice day with overcast skies and a steady cool breeze.
The egrets, herons and other waders I’d watched over the summer had all moved on, but the ponds were filled with ducks.
A clusterduck, mostly Northern Shovelers
I saw hundreds of Northern Shovelers as well as a few Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, and some Lesser Scaup. Along with the ducks, there were numerous American Coot and even a couple of Least Grebes.
Northern Shovelers
I drove along the ponds, studying the ducks. The male Northern Shovelers are transitioning into their breeding plumage, which they do in November, so some of their breasts were a bit streaky.
American Coots
Other than the ducks, I saw some flocks of some kind of sparrows (I think) that I couldn’t ID and a single Red-winged blackbird, which surprised me after the huge flocks of them I had seen over the summer.
Eventually, I decided to hike down the river trail to the lookout over the Colorado. I could hear Northern Cardinals and Carolina Chickadees, though I didn’t see either.
River Trail
Walking along the trail, I spotted a few Carolina Wrens and a Northern Mockingbird as well as small brown birds that darted about, defying easy identification.
I watched the sky for hawks and eagles, but saw only vultures, both Turkey and Black. When I reached the river, a Double-crested Cormorant noisily flapped off away from the bank.
I didn’t see many more birds, but the trees looked especially good. There are three amazing trees that I always have to stop and look at and today, I had all my gear so I took a few pictures.
These are some of my favorite trees in Austin.
Tree at Hornsby BendAnother tree at Hornsby BendYet another tree at Hornsby BenCloser to the previous tree
After taking this last picture, the wind picked up along with the kawing of a crow. I listened and a few more crows picked up the cry. I watched the sky and saw 3 American Crows hurrying towards a spot behind the tree I had been photographing.
Assuming they were mobbing, I looked around for a hawk and sure enough, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a hawk’s silhouette as he swooped out of the tree and towards the river.
By the time I got back to the car, the wind had picked up and it looked about to rain so I called it a morning and a good one at that.
I saw this bird on my walk the other day. It looked like a flycatcher, and something told me it was an Eastern Phoebe, though I wasn’t certain.
According to my Sibley guide, the Eastern Phoebe is a 7-inch bird. I compare everything to the Northern Mockingbird to judge size since I see them all the time and they’re a handy 10-inches or so, thus half the size of a mockingbird is roughly 5 inches.
As I was watching the suspected phoebe, a mocker conveniently landed a few feet away, and I could clearly see that he was about 2-3 inches longer. After studying the picture I took and comparing it to other pictures online, I’m pretty sure that this is the Eastern Phoebe, which isn’t really all that exciting since they’re pretty common birds, but it’s nice to know what I’m looking at.
While searching around, I stumbled upon these bloggers who also found themselves confronted with the Eastern Phoebe and a bit of uncertainty: Nature Tales and Camera Trails, Birding Girl, and At the Water. Their pictures helped my with my ID, which I hope is right. I also discovered SE Texas Wildlife, which didn’t have a picture of the Eastern Phoebe, but still looks like a cool blog to explore.
Much easier for me to identify is the Western Spotted Couch Phoebe, caught here in her natural habitat:
Several books I’ve read (can’t recall specific titles as I’ve seen it many places) suggest that following agitated Blue Jays and crows can often lead you to an owl or a hawk.
What’s going on in those cases is mobbing behavior, which is when a group of birds harass a predator, usually without directly attacking it, in order to annoy it into leaving.
I had never successfully managed to follow birds to the source of their ire until just a few weeks ago.
On a Saturday morning, I heard Blue Jays screeching in the trees and groups of them flying north along one of the nearby trails. This persisted through most of the morning and, finally, I decided to follow as it was a good morning for walking.
I walked down the trail in the general direction of the jays’ racket until I reached a clearing at the bottom of a hill. I couldn’t see any Blue Jays, but I could hear them in a stand of trees off the trail to the east so I followed their calls into a thick stand of cedar and live oak.
The jays calmed for a few minutes when I entered, but then resumed their cries. I saw flashes of blue in the trees while I tried to locate the object of their insults. Then I sensed movement, large and slow, directly above. I looked up to see a hawk swooping through the trees and angling upward and away, gaining speed with each beat of its wings. The hawk was gone before I got a great look, but by its banded tail, I suspect it was a Red-shouldered Hawk.
So, I thought to myself, I guess there’s something to this mobbing thing after all. It’s always oddly surprising to me when I read something and then later witness the very thing I’ve read about. I’m not sure why that is, except perhaps that there is a part of me that has to see something to really believe it.
Last week, I saw it again from my car. This time it was a small flock of crows chasing something – I couldn’t tell if it was a hawk or an owl – away from a stand of trees along Brushy Creek. I wanted to turn and follow to see what they were chasing, but I decided to head home and let the dogs out instead.
I have seen and believe what can happen if I fail to do that.
