Attwater Refuge

We spent yesterday morning at Attwater Prairie Chicken Refuge with Carlos and Macarena Aguilar. It was generally quiet for birds but certainly still worth visiting.

The whole site was busy with butterflies, particularly Black Swallowtails.

The entrance road and the Sycamore Trail were lined with many different kinds of wildflowers.

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Although the Sycamore Trail produced my first Northern Bobwhite of the year, we saw very few birds until we reached the waterlogged fields near the end of the auto loop. This area had scores of Great Egrets, White Ibis and Cattle Egrets, plus several Tricolored Herons, Snowy Egrets and immature Little Blue Herons.

Cow with Cattle Egrets

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At the lake, we were rewarded by the sight of a group of Roseate Spoonbills feeding against a backdrop of water lilies.

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The lake also had good numbers of Great and Snowy Egrets, immature Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Black-necked Stilts and American Coots.

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We enjoyed watching a Tricolored Heron fishing like an Umbrella Bird, holding its wings out in front of its head to shade the water and allow it to see its prey.

While having lunch near the visitor center, we met two young wildlife interns, who were on their way to feed Prairie Chicken chicks. In an attempt to boost the declining number of Prairie Chickens at the refuge, 40 chicks raised in captivity have been imported to the site and will be released when they are old enough to survive unaided.

The total count of birds we saw in 90 minutes of walking and driving around the refuge was 27 species.