Barker Cypress with a Camera

I birded the CyFair campus for an hour again yesterday morning, this time with a camera. Because of the recent rain, I spent much of the hour sloshing around in ankle deep water - and keeping one eye out for Cottonmouths.

There were many of the same birds as on previous days, although this time the only warbler was a solitary Pine. I saw at least three Eastern Phoebes.

Eastern Phoebe

New birds for the week included a Song Sparrow, and a flyover by Rock Doves. Our resident Red-tailed Hawks were back and hunting but they never came close enough to photograph.

Sedge Wrens clicked at me everywhere I went and I finally got a couple of pictures. They're not good photos but they're the first I've ever gotten of this species.

Sedge Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were also much in evidence. No photos, though. They move about too quickly to catch easily with my digital camera, which has a 1+ second delay between pressing the shutter and taking a picture. (So I have lots of pictures of branches where Gnatcatchers had been only a second earlier!)

Flowers abound at present and therefore there are lots of butterflies also, including Monarch, Common Buckeye and Gulf Fritillary. Again, the shutter delay on my camera makes it hard to get good photos: You have to press the shutter before the wings open in order to get a reasonable picture.

Monarch

Monarch

Gulf Fritillary

Let the Good Times Roll

The CyFair college campus on Barker Cypress Road has been quiet for birds for several months but the arrival of fall has certainly changed that. Yesterday morning I spent just over an hour birding the campus and I listed 25 species.

The retention ponds had Great and Snowy Egrets. The parking lots had Common and Great-tailed Grackles. The soccer fields had Killdeer (12 of them), Mourning Doves, Loggerhead Shrike and European Starlings, while the standing water behind them had more Killdeer, a Lesser Yellowlegs, three Least Sandpipers, and a Solitary Sandpiper (my first of 2008). Everywhere had N. Mockingbirds.

The area near the mobile buildings had Sedge and House Wrens, plus a FOS Lincoln's Sparrow.The nature trail had Red-winged Blackbirds, a Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, a Blue Jay, an Eastern Phoebe and two Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. Flyovers included 6 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and 4 White Ibis.

The bird of the day was a Nashville Warbler, my first of 2008, near the nature trail. There were at least two other warblers in the area but I didn't have enough time to wait to ID them. I do hate how work interferes with birding!

P.S.
This morning, I saw a pair of Pine Warblers near the college nature trail.

Spring Cypress Park in Tomball

Yesterday was my birthday, and Dee and I had coffee in Spring Cypress Park to celebrate. Although we didn't arrive there until almost noon and stayed only an hour, the birding didn't disappoint us.

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As we sat at a picnic table, we spotted two Red-bellied Woodpeckers sparring on the ground and then chasing each other through the trees. A minute later, we were treated to a good view of a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers. The same area had several Mourning Doves, Carolina Chickadees, Blue Jays, a Northern Cardinal and a couple of Northern Parula. The latter were particularly welcome sightings because the Parula is a bird I saw for the very first time earlier this year, in this same park.

The distinctive silhouette of a Pileated Woodpecker

The park didn't seem to have suffered too badly from Hurricane Ike, although several trees had fallen or had lost their tops.

As I walked down to the part of the creek near the site of the old Confederate powder mill, ten Black Vultures circled overhead, to be joined by a solitary Turkey Vulture.

The large tree next to the mill monument had been destroyed by Ike and an Eastern Phoebe was flycatching from its shattered trunk.



This area is always good for birds and I soon saw a male Downy Woodpecker, a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Then I was thrilled to see my FOS (First of Season) Ruby-crowned Kinglet. This tiny bird never keeps still and is a real challenge to photograph with a small digital camera. The only photo I managed to get is very poor but at least it shows the bird's trademark eye ring and wing bars.

Little Cypress Creek

Last Sunday morning I spent 90 minutes exploring Little Cypress Creek Preserve. This is a nature preserve at the junction of Telge Road and Spring Cypress Road. Because it has only been open a couple of years, the facilities are primitive - well, there aren't any, except for a couple of trails and the occasional bench. However, it's a pretty area and the bird list already runs to 125 species.

On this visit, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trails were dry and the preserve was largely mosquito-free.

Unfortunately, I had stupidly left my binoculars at home. (Call myself a birder?) So I had to ID birds largely by their behavior and their calls/songs. I did have my camera, though, and this enabled me to check my IDs when I got home. It was heartening to find that I hadn't made any mistakes.

Eastern Phoebe

Judging from the calls, the most common birds were certainly Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Mockingbirds and Blue Jays. (The latter seem to be unusually common this fall.) But there were also lots of wrens: Wherever I walked, I got scolded by wrens; from the calls and the occasional glimpses I got, most of them appeared to be Sedge Wrens. I also got a really severe telling-off from a Belted Kingfisher.

Other birds that I noted were Great Egret, Loggerhead Shrike, Eastern Phoebe, Northern Cardinal, Eastern Bluebirds and Turkey Vultures.

Another Early Bird

Last week Chipping Sparrows returned to our yards, a month weeks earlier than last year. At the same time, Birdwoman reported that her yard in Tomball had its FOS (First of the Season) Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Today we had another FOS arrival: a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Last year, the first Sapsucker didn't turn up until November 1. So it seems like our winter residents are arriving very early this year. I can't wait for our FOS Yellow-rumped Warbler and Pine Warbler!

Bear Creek after Ike

Yesterday morning, I returned to Bear Creek Park for the first time since Hurricane Ike. Signs of the storm's passage were everywhere. There were innumerable fallen branches and scores, perhaps hundreds, of fallen trees. Some roads and trails were still blocked by high water or debris.

Picnic tables were covered with or surrounded by branches and mud. The whole northern section of the park was slick with a layer of mud. It's certainly going to be a while before the park is back to normal.


While I didn't see any unusual species, the birding was good. I knew it was going to be good when my first sighting was that of a Merlin being chased all over the sky by two American crows.

Both sides of the road at Golbow and Dopslauf were busy with numerous American Crows, Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Eastern Bluebirds, plus a few Carolina Chickadees,Blue Jays and Tufted Titmice.

Red-headed Woodpecker

However, the real treat lay further ahead. The area behind Restroom 9 was still largely flooded and was a mass of wading birds. One pool had over 100 White Ibis.

Another had 9 Little Blue Herons, a young Yellow-crowned Night Heron and several Lesser Yellowlegs. In yet another, White Ibis were joined by 20 Great Egrets, a dozen Snowy Egrets and even a couple of Roseate Spoonbills. Meanwhile, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, American Crows and Blue Jays kept up s steady chorus of calls.



At the Equestrian Trail meeting area I was roundly scolded by a Red-shouldered Hawk. The only other birds here were several Northern Mockingbirds and a group of six male Northern Cardinals.

Red-shouldered Hawk

The other entrance to the trail had Killdeer and Eastern Bluebirds. Walking the first section of the trail, I was treated to a chorus of Blue Jays and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, while I saw the only Carolina Wren and Downy Woodpecker of the morning. Unfortunately, a fallen tree and oceans of mud blocked the trail after only 100 yards.

As I drove out of the park via Golbow, I was circled by two Turkey Vultures.

Yard Note:

On Friday we had several Chipping Sparrows in our backyard. This is a full month earlier than last year. On Saturday our front yard had half-a-dozen Common Grackles, birds that usually visit our yards only in late winter or early spring.

New Yard Bird

On Monday, we had a new species show up in our backyard. It was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Unfortunately, it was just passing through and hasn't been seen again.

A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Coincidentally, when we spent two hours at Sheldon Lake Environmental Center last week, six of the eight birds that we saw were Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.

Note:
This takes our yard list to 42. That's bird species seen in our yards since we moved to Cypress in January 2005. Of course, the number would be a lot higher if we counted birds that overfly our property!

Before and After Hurricane Ike

On Wednesday, we had to evacuate Surfside because of Hurricane Ike, and so we drove home via Galveston, with a side trip over to the Audubon beach on Bolivar.

The beach was as full of birds as ever.

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We were hoping to see Magnificent Frigatebirds on the ferry ride but had scores of views of Bottlenose Dolphins instead.

The hurricane came early Saturday morning and it was still strong when it passed over Cypress. However, we were lucky: We lost only some tree limbs and our pwer went out for just one day.

I posted a while back about how woodpeckers ride out storms by clinging to trees. During Ike, I was able to see one of our Red-bellied Woodpeckers doing just that. It hunkered down against the trunk of our elm and kept moving to whichever side was most sheltered.

P.S.

We won't be going to Galveston or Bolivar again any time soon. The island was very badly hit and the peninsula was really devastated. Like us, Surfside got the "clean" side of the storm but even that was enough to cause a huge amount of damage. Ike had one good result, though. The public beach there was rather spoiled by 14 houses built years ago right on the waterline. Apparently, 10 of those houses aren't there any more!

Vacation Interrupted

On Monday we went down to Surfside, where we had rented a beach house for four days. It was perfect weather and the location was great for fishing (for my daughter's partner, Jose-Luis) and birding (for me). The first afternoon, we sat on the deck watching Willets and Laughing Gulls arguing on the beach as a Reddish Egret hunted in the surf. Jose-Luis was thrilled to catch a small Hammerhead Shark.

Jose-Luis enjoying Surfside beach ...

while a Reddish Egret fished a few yards away

The next day, I drove to Brazoria for dawn to do some early-morning birding. Most of the refuge's ponds were dry but there were still enough birds to make the trip worthwhile. Amazingly, there were absolutely no mosquitoes, a first for Brazoria. It was particularly good to see large numbers of adult and juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons, mixed in with Roseate Spoonbills, Black-necked Stilts and various Egrets.

Dawn at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge

Black-crowned Night Heron and Roseate Spoonbill

Killdeer in the early morning light

Later in the morning, I drove along the beach at Surfside and was rewarded with great views of shorebirds, including American Oystercatchers, Willets, Black-bellied Plovers and Ruddy Turnstones. Gulls and terns were plentiful, as were Brown Pelicans (including a couple which were mating).

Black-bellied Plover

American Oystercatcher

Tern

Brown Pelicans

In the afternoon, Jose-Luis continued, encouraged by having caught a second, larger shark. The rest of us went to Brazoria, where my daughter Emma saw her first Roseate Spoonbills.

Great Egret at Brazoria

Roseate Spoonbills (with White Ibis and Snowy Egrets)

Our visit ended well when Emma spotted a young coyote wandering among the flowers by the side of the exit road.

We all woke up on Wednesday looking forward to more beautiful days in Surfside, which Jose-Luis had decided was "paradise." Unfortunately, Hurricane Ike intervened: A mandatory evacuation order was issued and we had to pack up and leave at 10:00 a.m. So much for paradise!

Brazos Bend State Park

Yesterday morning, we took my daughter, her partner and our grandson to Brazos Bend State Park for a picnic.
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The park seemed unusually quiet for birds but was still well worth a visit.
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40-Acre Lake

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40-Acre Lake had scores of Common Moorhens and 7-8 Green Herons, as well as a few Great and Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, Anhingas, Cormorants, Little Blue Herons, Eastern Kingbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds.

Green Heron

Anhinga

Common Moorhen Family

White Ibis
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We also saw 14 alligators, including this one lying on the path.
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At Elm Lake, the birding situation was similarly quiet, except for scores of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.
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The picnic area was busy with noisy American Crows - and swarms of dragonflies.

Busy Backyard

Our backyard is very busy at the moment. Birds and butterflies visit regularly, and squirrels pop in regularly, too. Hornets are building a nest on top of one of our deck beams, and digger bees have taken over a small patch of ground outside our living-room windows.

All this activity is keeping our cats occupied.

Our older cat, Petra, spends hours looking out at the scores of digger bees, which seem to spend all day staging dogfights. Luckily, the bees restrict themselves to "their" patch and don't bother us when we cross it. Petra also likes watching hummingbirds and there currently are enough migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arguing over our feeders to keep her happy.

Our younger cat, Tiger, has taken to sitting near our shed and watching a small hole in the fence that blocks off our brush pile from the rest of the yard. We couldn't work out what she was stalking until two nights ago, when we caught a young possum finishing off some leftover cat food on our deck.

The possum was back last night. It snacked on cat food, washed this down with a drink from our fountain, and then disappeared through the fence hole into the brush pile. So it's now pretty clear what Tiger has been watching for.

Pleasant Morning at Bear Creek Park

Yesterday morning I drove down to Bear Creek Park. After all the rain of the past week, I expected much of the park to be flooded and so was hoping to see herons, egrets and ibis. I was also expecting the mosquitoes to be fierce.

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As it turned out, there were no flooded areas, no wading birds and - most surprising of all - no mosquitoes. Instead, the park was busy with warblers. I saw several Pine Warblers and a Black-and-white. Worm-eating Warblers were reported earlier in the week and I'm 99% sure I spotted one. (This would be a life bird for me.) Unfortunately, it was one of those mornings where my glasses and binoculars steamed up every time that I focused on a bird. Since I can't be 100% sure of what I saw, I can't add the Worm-eating to my list.

The park produced plenty of other birds, including many Eastern Bluebirds and American Crows, plus a Great Crested Flycatcher.

American Crow

However, the highlight wasn't a bird at all. It was a raccoon. I love raccoons and I don't see them very often, even though they are very common here. This one was particularly obliging and allowed me to take several photos from just a few yards away.

Better Late Than Never

I've been thinking about it for a long time but I could never quite bring myself to take the plunge. Going vegetarian, I mean. But now I've decided and I have sworn off meat.

I know that at 62 I've left my decision rather late. But at least from now on I won't need to feel so guilty about:
a. eating animals
b. eating animals that have been reared and slaughtered in the most appalling way
c. contributing to the widespread destruction of habitat that is caused by the production of beef.

I can foresee only one major difficulty with my decision: I don't really like most vegetables and fruits. (Thank goodness chocolate isn't a meat product or I'd be sunk right away!) I suppose I'll manage, though.

What will I miss the most? Bacon and ham. I really love bacon and ham. Cooked breakfasts are never going to be the same again.

Yard Birds

This past week, we've been too busy painting and getting floors tiled to fit in any birding trips. However, I have had time to look out of our windows and also to look around our yards while watering them.

Our backyard hummer feeders and Turk's Cap plants are the scene of constant skirmishes between 3-5 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. It's hard to know how many birds we're seeing, because only one female is tough enough to stay and feed for more than a few seconds. The others fly in and are immediately chased away.

The front yard is busy with a variety of birds. White-winged Doves are frequent visitors to the feeders, a Mourning Dove often browses the lawn, and a pair of Inca Doves turned up the other day to use the bird bath. Whenever I put the sprinkler on, several Blue Jays and some of our 6-7 resident Northern Cardinals sit on branches and preen in the spray.

One female House Finch is a constant visitor, but a family of six others also comes to eat our sunflower seeds. The latter draw a Carolina Wren and Carolina Chickadees, too.

The suet feeder in our elm tree really belongs to our resident Northen Mockingbird. However, when he/she isn't around, it attracts White-winged Doves, Carolina Chickadees, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers and another Mockingbird. The elm is also very popular with our family of three Red-bellied Woodpeckers. On Saturday, the latter were outraged to find another Red-bellied trying to muscle in. They kept chasing him away. Then they'd leave and he would sneak back. They would return and chase him off again. It went on like this for hours.

So although there are no unusual or exotic birds in our yards at present, the antics of our normal residents and visitors are always worth watching.