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Wednesday at noon I decided to use my lunch hour to make a quick birding trip to Longenbaugh Road on the Katy prairie. As it takes almost 20 minutes to get there from the college, it left me only about 20 minutes for birding.
I started by spending ten minutes where Longenbaugh crosses Bear Creek. Although there were none of the Harris's Sparrows I was hoping to see, several Savannah Sparrows were present.
So, too, was a pair of White-crowned Sparrows.
An Eastern Phoebe and an Eastern Bluebird were perched nearby.
As is usual on Longenbaugh, I didn't have to look far to spot a Loggerhead Shrike.
While I photographing the Shrike, a flock of 200 Cedar Waxwings flew in. Most had the normal yellow-tipped tail.
However, at least one had the much lesson common orange-tipped tail.
After Longenbaugh, I had only a few minutes left for a drive over to Paul Rushing Park, where I was hoping to add Brown-headed Cowbird to my 2016 Harris County list.
As soon as I parked, I saw several Brown-headed Cowbirds mixed in with a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. They were too far off for photos, so I had to make do with a shot of a closer American Crow instead.
With two minutes left, I got lucky! A Long-billed Curlew appeared and landed only a short distance from where I was standing.
So, overall, not a bad little birding trip, considering that it lasted just 20 minutes.
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I'm afraid I'm still finding it difficult to make time for birding, which is why I haven't been posting as often as usual. However, Dee and I did make it to Paul Rushing Park for an hour on Suday morning.
I had promised Dee that she would see Common Nighthawks in the park and, sure enough, a couple were sitting on fences when we arrived.
As usual, Eurasian Collared-Doves were perched on the higher fences.
The ponds were quiet for birds except for a pair of Pied-billed Grebes on the water and a few large waders (Great and Snowy Egrets and a Great Blue Heron). The observation deck railings were attracting lots of birds, though, including Cave Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, a Green Heron (below) and a Little Blue Heron (below).
I didn't bother taking photos of the Killdeer that were everywhere but a Loggerhead Shrike caught my eye because it looked like a juvenile. (If so, it's the first juvenile Shrike that I've seen in years.)
On our way home, we did a quick drive along Longenbaugh and Porter Road End, in hopes of getting good looks at some Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. As always in summer, there were plenty! Most were on utility wires.
However, a few were handing out (with Eastern Kingbirds) in the hedges.
Longenbaugh had more Northern Mockingbirds than you could shake a stick at, and it also had numerous Loggerhead Shrikes. As at Paul Rushing Paul, one of the Shrikes appeared to be a juvenile.
The utility wires over the Bear Creek bridge on Longenbaugh were crowded with dozens of swallows. These looked to me to be Cliff Swallows and mainly juveniles but don't hesitate to correct me if I'm wrong!
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Once again last week, work and other things continued to keep me from doing any serious birding. The best I could manage was an hour at Paul Rushing Chain of Lakes Park on Sunday morning.
I was hoping to see a Horned Lark, plus the Least Bittern that Sarah and Mike Kuzio spotted there a couple of weeks back but I didn't see either. When I arrived, three Common Nighthawks were circling well beyond camera range while a Turkey Vulture (below) was flying much lower.
There were the usual large wading birds, including a couple of Great Egrets.
I quietly approached a Snowy Egret that was standing on the handrail of a boardwalk. When I got nearer, its greenish legs revealed it to be an immature Little Blue Heron.
Adult Black-necked Stilts were kicking up a ruckus in the weeds and reeds.
When I looked more carefully, I realized that they were accompanied by several juveniles.
The water was empty of birds except for a solitary American Coot and one Pied-billed Grebe.
Back in the parking lot, I stopped to grab photos of a few Killdeer that were hanging out there.
My impression of the visit was that I had seen hardly any birds. However, when I drew up my visit list, I realized that I had actually seen quite a few:
Black-bellied Whistling Duck 2
American Coot 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Little Blue Heron 1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 2
White Ibis 1
Killdeer 30
Black-necked Stilt 10
Forster's Tern 1
Common Nighthawk 3
Turkey Vulture 1
Black Vulture 1
Rock Pigeon 10
Eurasian Collared Dove 1
Barn Swallow 3
Cave Swallow 6
Purple Martin 25
Mourning Dove 20
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 20
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Great-tailed Grackle 20
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Paul Rushing Chain of Lakes Park on the Katy Prairie is at its best during the winter, when the lakes are crowded with ducks and geese. While the site is much quieter in summer, there are still always some birds to look at.
On a recent visit there were several large wading birds - Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron - but they refused to let me get within photo range. A solitary Black-bellied Whistling Duck was more obliging.
As usual, the many Killdeer were skittish, although I managed a quick shot of one as it flew by me, complaining loudly.
There were only a couple of Black-necked Stilts.
However, when disturbed their scolding calls were loud enough to drown out the complaints of the many Killdeer.
I was hoping to add Cliff Swallows to my Harris County year list. Most of the dozens of swallows I saw were Cave Swallows, distinguished by their dark throats. There were dozens of them but, boy, are they difficult to photograph!
I eventually managed a picture of one that had a lighter colored throat and so was probably a Cliff Swallow.
Male Red-winged Blackbirds were everywhere. Some were resting or displaying on park fences.
Others were perched on vegetation.
One kept circling over my head again and again, calling loudly as he did so.
From the fuss he was making, I realized that he and his partner probably had a nest nearby. So I left, no doubt leaving him feeling proud that he had driven away a potential predator.
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Sunday morning Dee and I went over to Paul Rushing Park to see which ducks had moved in.
On the way we stopped to watch a flyover of 17 Sandhill Cranes, a species I'd somehow managed never to see before in Harris County.
We also had to stop to move a turtle off the roadway.
The weather was glorious.
No sooner had we reached the park than a flock of 8 Long-billed Curlews flew in.
What beautiful birds they are!
The grassy areas had the usual Red-winged Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackles, Killdeer and Eastern Meadowlarks (below), as well as a flock of American Pipits.
The ponds were very busy with scores of American Coots and half-a-dozen duck species, including some Northern Pintails (below).
Several Wilson's Snipes flew off before I could get a photo but an American Pipit was too absorbed in checking out the handrail of one of the boardwalks to notice us.
There were surprisingly few large wading birds: We saw only a couple of Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron(below).
Ending the Year
My final birding outing of 2013 was a half-mile drive over to the Fairwood Retention Pond on Huffmeister to see if the pair of Bald Eagles that nested there in the Spring had returned.
I was thrilled to see that both adult birds were hanging out around their huge nest, so presumably they'll be re-using the nest again in 2014.
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