Just back from Texas, so lots of photos to go through. This one’s a Clay-colored Thrush (formerly Robin) at Santa Ana NWR and might be the dullest-looking bird possible.
More bird photos:
Category: nature
Texas Day 0
Saturday, January 10
Day 0 was a travel day, flying from Boston to San Antonio with a stop in Atlanta and then driving south to Zapata.
Up at 6, off to the airport by 6:30. A crow, some gulls, and a red-tail along the way. Got dropped off, walked in, checked my bag and cleared security in about 10 minutes. I found the gate, which was being used for an earlier flight and settled in nearby. An amusing moment came when a TSA agent walked over and shouts to someone sitting a row over that he left his keys at the counter. He went running back and after returning kept cracking up every few minutes.
The flight took off right on time and was pleasant, even though I was stuck in a middle seat (maybe I should have paid the $6 to pick the seat out ahead of time). Halfway through there was a page for any medically trained person. Nothing appeared to be happening until just before we began the descent when the two people in the first row moved and an older man and woman took those seats. The man was given an oxygen tank and they announced that there would be an ambulance at the gate.
Once we landed in Atlanta, two EMTs came aboard. I was sitting close enough to hear the general story. Apparently the guy had a pacemaker put in about a year ago and it was malfunctioning a bit and he blacked out. Once he got the oxygen, he appeared to be doing much better and was probably ok by the time we landed. And even with waiting for the EMTs to take him off, we still were out early (presumably we had cut all the lines to get to the ground).
The gate for the next flight was only a few down, so I walked around a bit checking out all the food. I eventually settled on Popeye’s, which was quite good (and my 3 chicken strip meal came with 4 pieces of chicken for some reason). After that, it was a fairly long wait for the next flight.
We eventually boarded. This time, I had an aisle seat (on the 2 seat side). Again, the flight was very pleasant. The landing in San Antonio was a bit rough for no apparent reason but an extra bounce is still not much. My bag came off the carousel quickly and a Hertz shuttle was pulling up as I got outside.
After a quick trip to the Hertz location, I got the standard “oh, we don’t have the car you rented available” but they did have a Mazda 6 (instead of a Ford Focus) for a couple dollars more and then started applying various discounts so who knows how much different it actually was. Soon enough, I was handed a set of keys and out at the car. I grabbed the lever to open the trunk and instead popped the hood. Apparently the trunk was the thing that didn’t really look like a button next to the lever.
Once settled into the car, I entered Zapata into the GPS and started out. Inside the packet of information Hertz gave me was a note that the airport expansion has made a mess of the roads right there and old directions don’t work. I didn’t see that until much later and ended up driving in circles and entering areas that didn’t look like the public was overly welcome for a few minutes before I decided to just start for a highway and assume things will figure themselves out.
Sure enough that worked. The GPS recalculated and had me going in the right direction almost immediately. Other than a fast merge across 3 lanes, it was quite easy to get onto I35 and start south. Even though it was about 6PM, it was still light enough to see the flocks of grackles, a cormorant, some pigeons and starlings, and a few vultures and Buteos as I headed south.
The road emptied out pretty quickly. The GPS had issues with the business road (it told me I was off the route every time I passed an exit for a good 100 miles) but otherwise there were no problems. It worked well as the highway ended in Laredo (which was good, as it didn’t look nice) and got me to the next part with ease. I stopped at a Subway in the middle of nowhere. It was at a truck stop and was rather interesting to hear broadcasts that shower 1402 was now ready over a loudspeaker as I was eating.
I reached Zapata by 9:30 or so and found my hotel (the Holiday Inn Express) easily.
Heading home
Quick post from the airport in San Antonio. Trip was a great success. Fell a little short on the bird goal, but decided that I was too tired to get all the way to Laguna Atascosa and South Padre on Tuesday, so I probably would have made it if I got there. Also didn’t have a lot of luck with the harder birds (no Hook-billed, Red-billed Pigeon, Muscovy, etc) except for this guy:
And I didn’t even have to pay for it.
Full report in the coming weeks.
Texas preview
Some quick highlights from the trip so far. Complete report will be sometime after I get home, until then enjoy:
Common (although not quite the kestrel/mile) roadside bird:
Most of the day was spent at Falcon State Park:
And Salineno, where I could have used another week just sitting.
off to Texas
With perfect timing, ahead of the next storm and during a week that will have high temperatures reaching 30 at most (and probably not even 20 one day).
Goals:
- Birds: reach 500 (30 away, should be possible)
- Texas list: multiply by 125x (I saw a Great-tailed Grackle and nothing else while being diverted through the Dallas/Fort Worth airport while heading to Arizona 10 years ago)
- Butterflies: reach 100 (14 away, should be easy, maybe even 125-150)
- Dragonflies: reach 100 (1 away, can’t fail but 125 may be out of reach)
I have a netbook and should have internet (which is good since I’m doing the Eastern Mass RBA for BirdEast this week), so I may sneak a picture or two up while I’m there, but don’t expect much.
BPW19
One from the archives: a vagrant Sage Thrasher in York, Maine, November 2001.
Might be enjoying these by this time next week.
And for the people, note that the goldeneye from last week has a follow up and appears to actually be a Barrow’s!
Goldeneye Again
I stopped by the Charles today and spent some time watching the odd goldeneye again. Fortunately, today there were a total of 5 goldeneye along the river, including another female that would occasionally be close enough to get a photo of both in the same frame.
Here’s three more photos of the bird, twice with the male and once with the female for comparison:
Note on the last one that I cut most of the water between them out and then made a bit of a mess with the clone stamp fixing my quick cutting and pasting, but that’s one photo.
Also remember that these are all hosted on Flickr and clicking on any of them and then All Sizes will blow them up to the original size.
I’m not seeing much of a difference in bill structure, so I’m leaning towards Common. And since every shot shows a slightly different head shape, I’m not sure that the one with the strong peak is actually the normal shape.
Then again, I just took a look at Ted Floyd’s new field guide and the Barrow’s there looks pretty close. Via Amazon, search for goldeneye and then go to page 53.
Update: I heard from Jim McCoy who was quite sure it’s a Barrow’s. And just now I came across Sean McMahon’s series, which seem to show the bill and head shape quite definitively.
Last update: Simon Perkins agrees on Barrow’s, so I’m done questioning.
2008
Everyone else is doing a year in review, so I will too.
Winter highlights included my first Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwing in Middlesex County (winter birds at least, the waxwing was in April).
Spring included a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, a Prothonotary Warbler, and finding my own Cerulean.
Summer began with Mississippi Kites and a pelagic. There were also lots of cool bugs. Summer continued with a hard-to-find Moorhen.
Fall had lots of nice things including a Connecticut Warbler, several Fiery Skippers, and scoters inland (both White-winged and Black).
Winter’s been slow so far, but the roost was cool and the goldeneye may still prove to be.
It was a slow year for life birds (only Thayer’s Gull, Mississippi Kite, and Leach’s Storm-Petrel), but I did have 5 county birds (Pine Grosbeak, Bohemian Waxwing, Prothonotary and Cerulean Warblers, and White-winged Scoter). I also added quite a few birds in Waltham (Cerulean, Prairie, and Connecticut Warblers, and a two week stretch where I had American Pipit, Black Scoter, Dickcissel, and Blue-winged Teal).
I only added two new butterflies (Hessel’s Hairstreak and Frosted Elfin and 4 new ones in Waltham (Henry’s Elfin, Pepper-and-salt Skipper, Appalachian Brown, and Common Buckeye). New dragonflies included Arrowhead Spiketail and Illinois River Cruiser (also new for Waltham).
Year totals were on the low side, only 231 (229 in MA, about 15 below my average). Middlesex county was 181. I did raise my Waltham record again, reaching 131 (after 129 and 130 the last couple years, so 132 next year). I had 63 butterflies, which was a record but right about my average for the last couple years (43 in Waltham, also 1 or 2 above the last couple years). Dragonflies numbered 58 (34 Waltham), which was down from the last two years, probably because I didn’t go on any group trips for them.
I can say with certainty that 2009 will be a better year. Texas in under 2 weeks alone guarantees that (I should be hitting 500 birds, 100 butterflies, and 100 dragonflies while there) but with any luck we won’t get the ridiculous rains again this summer and I can get shorebirds in the county.
One last statistic: 12722 records added to AviSys (I try to track everything, every day at least to city).
Yellow-billed Goldeneyes
Today, after doing some scouting for the Concord CBC (which is now on hold after finding my territory all ice and deep water), I headed over to the Charles for a few minutes. It was on the quiet side (no mergansers, only 1 ring-neck) but the first goldeneye of the winter had arrived. Interestingly, the female had an entirely pale bill. With a bunch of Barrow’s reported lately (including one at Fresh Pond), I got excited for a couple seconds, but it was shaped more like a Common.
Note that the head is slicked down a bit in the first photo.
Update: John Crookes found this bird independently and has a much better photo of it (with the male). Anyone want to go over the ID again?
Another update: I’ve posted 3 more photos, with a second bird for comparison.
Interestingly, I had a very similar bird here a couple years ago (January 2005). Two photos of that one are below.
The previous one seems a bit more intermediate in shape, although I’m not sure whether that means anything. If you have any feedback on these birds, I’d like to hear it.
More photos:
Place 12 – Gore Estate
The Gore Estate is another place in Waltham that’s worth a stop for the birds and history. The majority of the estate is open fields, but there’s a wooded section with a small stream that attracts a good number of birds.
As the home of an early 19th century governor, the estate is kept very nicely. That makes it a nice spot for special events, so beware in the warmer months, there may be a wedding or high school graduation going on. Most of the time, however, you’ll have the grounds to yourself. I’ve yet to make it into the house, but they offer tours, so make the time to check it out.
My typical walk is to follow the road up to the house and then towards the farm.There’s often something of interest in the trees along the edge, but things pick up as you pass the farm. Continue straight out to the small wooded section. The first of many bluebird houses are here (although I’ve yet to see a bluebird). Check among the sheep, goats, and llama in the fenced area of the farm for birds and then work around the trees. In spring, there can be lots of migrants, and winter brings good numbers of juncos and sparrows.
Circle to the other side of the trees and check the field. I’ve had Bobolink in the past and there’s often sparrows working along the edge. Finches really like to hang out in the bushes towards the middle and there’s often a large flock of geese to check through. It does get muddy here (and occasionally icy), so have good footwear. Walk down to the end and then head back. About halfway is a path that runs along the stream through the trees. Carolina Wrens and woodpeckers really like it in there and there’s often something else different.
At times, you can hop across the stream and come out right near the farm fence, but that can be a bit tough, so continue to the end of the trees. There are two choices here: go to the back of the estate behind the house or work along the edge and back to the car. If you go along the edge, there’s some fruit trees along the way that occasionally have interesting things The tall trees along the wall seem to attract raptors (that goes for the ones all the way in the back as well). If you instead want to go to the back of the house, retrace your steps along the farm and then go left and behind. There’s more trees and bluebird boxes to check and the geese often congregate here as well.
Depending on the activity, it can take half an hour to an hour or more to cover the estate. Although there’s often not much, there’s almost always something of interest and it’s right near the Charles, which is an ideal combination.
I haven’t spent much time investigating the insect life, but I expect that there’s a few good things in the field.