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The other day I spent my lunch hour in Horsepen Creek Park, the newish Precinct 3 park across Barker Cypress Road from LSC-CyFair.
As usual, the most common species was American Coot. There were several hundreds present.
Several of the Coots were preening and one seemed to be finding it difficult to get its tail feathers into exactly the right state.
However, it managed in the end.
The next most numerous species was Ruddy Duck.
Most of the scores present were floating around asleep.
A handful of Pied-billed Grebes were nearby.
There were a couple of Ring-necked Ducks and a handful of Lesser Scaup (below).
Mixed in with the Scaups was a solitary Redhead.
A dozen or so Laughing Gulls were taking it easy, floating on the surface of the pond, while a few Great Egrets were fishing by the edges. Just as I was leaving, I noticed a small group of Least Sandpipers, identifiable by their droopy bills and their greenish-yellow legs.
I'll have to remember keep an eye on the park over the next few months, because it is the type of site that could produce some interesting duck and grebe species. Luckily, it's so close to the college that I can easily pop in for a quick look on my way to or from work.
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On Sunday I attended a field trip sparrow workshop, given by local birder, Stephan Lorenz. It was an all-day trip, on which we visited a site on the coast near Galveston, the San Jacinto Monument park and the Katy Prairie. Apart from learning how to better ID sparrows, I was hoping to see some sparrows that I normally miss out on. Stephan helped me to meet both of these goals.
Our first stops were two by the side of I-45 just before Tiki Village. In both places we walked out a short distance into the wetlands on the edge of Jones Bay. Our primary aim was to find Nelson's Sparrows, a species I had never seen before.
Within a few minutes we had good looks at several Nelson's (below), as well as at a couple of Seaside Sparrows.
Our next stop was the San Jacinto Monument, where Stephan quickly led us to get great looks at several Le Conte's Sparrows.
Of course, there were plenty of other birds at the Monument. I added Greater Scaup and Redhead to my 2014 list, in addition to a very cooperative Sedge Wren.
In the early afternoon we drove up to bird Longenbaugh Road on the Katy prairie. It was beautifully warm and we had good views of several raptor species, including Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Harrier and Red-tailed Hawk (below).
In spite of the warm weather and the time, we located an active group of sparrows working a hedgerow and we followed the group along Longenbaugh for quite a while.
The main members of the group were half-a-dozen or more White-crowned Sparrows but other members included a Song Sparrow, an Eastern Towhee, several Field Sparrows and three Dark-eyed Juncos. Unfortunately, the harsh afternoon lighting was not good for photos and the only recognizable shot I managed was of one of the Juncos.
After this, we spent a little time on Sharp Road, where we added Crested Caracara and White-tailed Hawk (below) to our list.
We finished up the trip with a walk around Paul Rushing Park, where we practiced distinguishing between Savannah Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows by their flight patterns.
All in all, it was a very good day. I learned a lot about sparrows, I added a new lifer (Nelson's Sparrow), and we had great views of many of the other 80+ species we saw. So if you're ever looking for a bird guide in the Houston area, I can certainly recommend Stephan Lorenz. Thanks, Stephan!
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The other morning Dee and I spent a very enjoyable half-hour watching our resident Copper's Hawk hunting a squirrel in the street outside our house.
When we first saw it, the Cooper's was perched on a truck and waiting for the squirrel to emerge from its hiding place under a nearby car. The hawk eventually got the squirrel to move by flying down onto the pavement and peering under the car.
For the next 20 minutes the two animals played hide and seek in a tree. The Cooper's would chase the squirrel up and down and round and round the trunk, and then up into the branches. Every so often it would seem to give up the chase and would sit on a branch and start preening. Then the squirrel would move onto the same branch and the chase would begin again.
Later the Cooper's moved to sit on a nearby roof, only to start the chase again when the squirrel came and sat in the middle of the driveway below.
Eventually, the hawk flew off and hid high up in a tree across the road.
When the squirrel again began wandering about on the driveway and lawn opposite, the Cooper's flew over and gave chase.
In the end, the Cooper's gave up and flew to the trees in back of our house, presumably in search of easier prey, such as a White-winged Dove or a rat.
I'm really not sure why the chase continued for as long as it did. It seemed to me that the squirrel deliberately taunted the Cooper's every time the latter decided to give up the hunt. I have noticed squirrels toying with dogs and cats in this way. However, it could be that the hawk was being devious and was trying to lull the squirrel into a false sense of security by occasionally pretending to abandon the chase and to be more concerned with preening. Whatever the reality, Dee and I were amazed that the Cooper's was willing to spend a full 35 minutes (by my watch) hunting a single squirrel.
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Last weekend I visited a site I'd never birded before: Brunswick Lakes. The site is just north of Beltway 8 a little east of 288. It isn't a very beautiful location but it attracts a good range of birds that like water.
The hundreds of gulls were mainly Laughing Gulls but there were two Franklin's mixed in with them.
I almost overlooked a couple of Caspian Terns also.
Birds on the water included a few Blue-winged Teal, a Gadwall and several American Coots.
A handful of Yellowlegs and other shorebirds were too far away to photograph and difficult to ID without a scope. Larger wading birds were easier to see and they were present in large numbers.
As well as a Great Blue Heron, a Reddish Egret and Little Blue Herons, there was a Tricolored Heron.
Snowy Egrets were present but were outnumbered by dozens of Great Egrets.
About a hundred White Ibis were grazing in the water.
At one point they formed a long line right across a section of the lake.
Mixed in with the White Ibis were three White-faced Ibis.
They were joined by some Roseate Spoonbills, too, while other Spoonbills grazed or preened nearby.
My final sighting was of an Eastern Phoebe, which perched near me for a while before flying off to harass a Northern Mockingbird.
I must remember to check the site out again before too long. It certainly seems to be one of the better inland water sites in Harris County. Also, it's only 45 minutes from our house - and that's just around the corner in Houston terms.
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