Getting Ready

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As you may have seen in last Saturday's Houston Chronicle, we're having a bird-count on the campus on Friday morning. With this in mind, I spent 30 minutes yesterday checking out the area where my group will be counting. 

When I got to the Nature Trail boardwalk, I was surprised by how many Northern Mockingbirds were there - and by how much noise they were making.

It didn't take me long to see what was upsetting the Mockingbirds. A group of twenty or so American Robins had settled in the trees over the boardwalk.

The Robins' presence didn't seem to be bothering our White-winged Doves. As usual, small groups of these were sitting quietly in the trees.

There were lots of small birds flitting around in the branches. As I expected, they all turned out to be Yellow-rumped Warblers.

A different-looking small bird was fidgeting around close to the ground. It took a while but I eventually got a clear photo: Song Sparrow.

At one side of the Nature Trail a Red-shouldered Hawk was lurking deep in the trees. At the other side, I disturbed one of our resident Red-tailed Hawks.

While I was going around the boardwalk, there were flyovers by a range of birds: European Starlings, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Cormorants, Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron (below).

As I walked over to the ditch that marks the northern edge of the campus, I passed a score or more Savannah Sparrows and a couple of Mourning Doves (below).

As I approached the ditch, I frightened away a group of Mallards and a White Ibis (below).

I was surprised to see a pair of Roseate Spoonbills exploring the edges of the ditch. We see Spoonbills flying over fairly often but we very rarely see them land on the campus.

I headed back to my office along the road that passes the burn tower. The trees were packed with Cedar Waxwings. 

I took several photos so that I could count the number of birds in the flock. I came up with a rough total of 500-600. That's almost twice as many Waxwings as I had counted a couple of days earlier - but it's only half as many as the flock we had last winter.

As usual, the parking lots had plenty of Great-tailed Grackles.

My final birds were two Black Vultures perched on the corner of the Library, which is where I have my office. These two birds seem to have decided that this is a prime roosting location, because I see them there more or less every day.  

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Wordless Wednesday: Savannah Sparrow

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Winter Bird Quiz

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Although I managed to do a couple of hours' birding at Sheldon Lake yesterday, I wasn't able to get any photos. So I've decided it's time for me to post another Bird ID quiz. 

All of the twelve birds shown below are permanent residents or winter visitors in our area. In almost all cases they are common, easily-seen birds. So let's see how you do with IDing the twelve species.

The answers are below the quiz.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

The quiz answers are below.

Answers

1. American Goldfinch

2. American Pipit

3. Eurasian Wigeon

4. Pine Warbler

5. White-winged Dove

6. Yellow-rumped Warbler

7. Ruddy Duck 

8. Savannah Sparrow

9. Ruddy Turnstone

10. House Wren

11. Vermilion Flycatcher

12. Orange-crowned Warbler

So how did you do?
10-12 Excellent
7-9 Very Good
5-6 Fair
0-4 Oh, dear!
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Pity the Poor Immigrant

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I read the other day that New York State is going to join the list of US states trying to wipe out their populations of Mute Swans. 

Animal rights activists and many members of the public are understandably up in arms about the decision to kill off these beautiful birds. However, birding and conservation organizations are generally in favor of the decision. This is because Mute Swans, originally imported from Europe in the 1800s, are an invasive species and their spread is threatening the future of some native bird species.

Mute Swans are not an issue here in southeast Texas but three other invasive bird species are causing problems here, as they are all over the USA.

Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon)

We tend to associate Rock Doves with urban areas but they are also common in many suburban and rural areas. Originally imported from Europe, they are now a significant agricultural pest and they also carry a range of diseases that can be passed to humans.

European Starling

Introduced into New York in 1890, European Starlings have now spread across the country and they probably total somewhere around 200 million birds. Like Rock Doves, Starlings are an agricultural pest and carry a range of diseases. 

House Sparrow

The third common invasive species is the House Sparrow, sometimes referred to as the English Sparrow. This species was brought to New York from England in the late 1800s and has thrived in its new homeland. 

Male House Sparrow

Female House Sparrow

While many Americans find House Sparrows attractive and welcome them to their yards, birders generally detest them because they are displacing some native species. Some birders even trap and kill them.

Personally, I am torn when it comes to House Sparrows. Although I curse at them when dozens descend on our feeders, I don't think I could ever bring myself to kill them. Like me, they are immigrants from England; and unlike me, they didn't choose to come here. 


Another Non-native Bird

Of course, not all non-native birds in the USA are considered to be invasive. A good example of a non-native species that is not generally regarded as being invasive is the Cattle Egret. Unlike Rock Doves and European Starlings, these birds do not eat farmers' crops and do not pose a health risk to humans.

Probably another reason why Cattle Egrets are not usually regarded as invasive is that they were not deliberately introduced into the USA. Instead they made their own way here from Africa by way of Latin America. Now a common sight all over the USA, they often hang out with cows, feeding on the bugs and small animals which the cows disturb as they graze.
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1,000 Posts

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I was hoping that for this, my 1000th post, I would be able to share photos of some of the hummingbirds and other birds that I saw over the weekend. Unfortunately, the weather and lighting were too bad for me to get any usable pictures.

So I'll have to make do with a few photos from a brief visit I paid last week to Paul Rushing Chain-of-Lakes Park. 

The park was busy with a range of ducks, including Northern Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks and Gadwalls. There were also many American Wigeons, easily recognized by the white stripe down the front of their face.

I was pleased to notice that the lakes also had several groups of Northern Pintail, which I personally feel is the most beautiful of all ducks. 

I was hoping for shorebirds but the only ones I spotted were a couple of Wilson's Snipes and a Greater Yellowlegs. Or is it a Lesser Yellowlegs? I find it hard to distinguish between the two species.

Larger wading birds were also scarce. Apart from a Great Blue Heron, I saw only a few Great Egrets. 

This one seemed to like hanging out with the group of domestic and exotic ducks that are permanent residents of the park.

On my way out I stopped to admire male Great-tailed Grackles as they practiced their mating calls and displays.

My final sighting was of a Crested Caracara perched on a utility pole. I am still amazed at how common these birds are on the Katy Prairie, and at how much they have expanded there range in the eleven years that I've been in Texas.

I hope they continue to thrive and to expand north and east, so that more people can get to see these wonderful birds. 
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