Slow Day at Lick Creek Park

Car trouble and a nasty cold kept me out of commission for 2 weeks. School starting back up didn't help. Being cooped up in class and work had me itching to get out. I decided to go to my favorite place in College Station, Lick Creek Park.

Lick Creek is a surprising, but amazing place. It feels wild. It will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the only place I would go when I was getting into birding. There is no bad time of year to go. It's best to go on weekdays because it turns into a dog park on weekend mornings.

Iron Bridge Trail at Lick Creek Park

I normally start out on the Iron Bridge Trail and do Deer Run and Raccoon Run. In migration and breeding season Painted Bunting is common and Northern Parula's at minimum will be heard. A Pileated Woodpecker also hangs around the creek that runs through, and Wood Ducks normally flush before you can see them.

Today was a cloudy day, though. Not much was singing. I decided to change it up and do Iron Bridge and Deer run, looping around the north side of the park instead of the usual south side. One thing about Lick Creek Park is that it can absolutely dead sometimes. Most of the time the usual suspects are jumping around, but often in high numbers. Robins and Cardinals are abundant in winter, and that was pretty much all I was seeing on Sunday.

My luck turned all of a sudden about 15 minutes into my walk, with a Chipping Sparrow making an appearance. It is only the second time I have ever seen one, and it was my 68th year bird! I got great looks but bad pictures given the lighting.

Chipping Sparrow

Carolina Chickadees were hopping around and Turkey Vultures were flying overhead as I started down Deer Run. I was scanning the ground for sparrows and the woods were silent, which was very confusing. Then I saw a red blob in the tree and I understood why. A Red-shouldered Hawk was perched in the tree, waiting for a meal. I could see the red on male cardinals hopping around, well covered from the hawk. The lighting prohibited any good pictures, but all of a sudden the sun came, and the patient bird allowed me to get some solid pictures.

Red-shouldered Hawk

While these birds are really common for me, I had never been this close, so I stood there and soaked it in. Sometimes the slowest days give the best encounters. I came so close to missing this bird, but just sitting there and enjoying the sighting gave the me relaxed feeling that makes me love birding. Eventually I moved on, but I really enjoyed my 20 minute hangout with the hawk. 

The sun came out for the rest of the walk back to the car, offering great weather that makes even the slow days worth it. A flock of Cedar Waxwings flew overhead, and as I approached the car I got a pleasant surprise. A wren was hopping around in the undergrowth, and it paused just long enough for me to get the binoculars on it. I thought Carolina Wren, but it was actually a House Wren, another year bird! House Wrens are hard to see because they are very secretive, although hearing them is common.

Overall it was a great day with 14 species total, and 3 year birds pushing me up to 70! I'll be returning to Lick Creek Park on Saturday morning for Birding 101 with the Audubon Society, and maybe I'll take a gander at Carter Lake.

Worth It

Thursday started out well. It was 60 degrees and sunny. My car was in the shop from another problem but I was supposed to have it later that day. I was planning a trip to Hagerman NWR on Lake Texoma followed by a stop at Lake Lewisville. Things were looking good. Then a Facebook post on North Central Texas Bird Alert reported that the Tundra Swans had returned to the Fort Worth Nature Center! The chase was on. I could pick up most of the other birds at Hagerman throughout the year at other places. My goal is 300 birds on the year, so I needed to pick up some birds I didn't get last year. The Tundra Swan was my chance to nab one.

Getting the bird has been a challenge. The Fort Worth Nature Center is on the south shore of Lake Worth on the West Fork of the Trinity River. It's an hour drive from my house. It was present all throughout December but I was down in College Station. It became really unreliable when I got back, and I didn't want to give up a day when I could do other birding close to home.

But now it was here and I had as close to an exact location as I could get. Then the weather turned bad. Heavy winds brought in a cold front. Temps plummeted into the 20s. My car was still not ready, so I had to use my dad's car after I took him to work. Hagerman wasn't in the cards because it was a longer drive later in the day. Not worth it. Plus I was dying to get the Tundra Swan. Knowing how fickle the birding gods can be there was a significant chance that the birds would be long gone. The winds were blowing south, which was encouraging. Tundra Swans are irregular visitors to the far northern reaches of the Panhandle and are extremely rare anywhere else in Texas. You won't a more accessible Tundra Swan in the state.

I made the trip out there and made good time, getting in before 11. The temps were just under freezing, and the wind was blowing just enough to make this even colder. Luckily, looking for waterfowl does not require getting up at sunrise. No one had seen it before I got there because I was one of the only people to venture out there in the weather.

The FWNC is a beautiful area. It's a huge preserve with fantastic trails. They have a pure bison heard and a prairie dog town, and I had good birding when I last went a few summers ago. The birding is solid, and every DFW birder should make a visit. 

I started out with a good omen. I saw a bird that looked like a Redhead, but the bill was black. That could mean one thing: Canvasback! While pretty common in the state in winter, Canvasback was a lifer for me. This trip was already paying off.

Canvasback (R) with a Ring-necked Duck later at LLELA. The FWNC Canvasbacks were not cooperative for pictures!

The Riverbottom Trail meanders downstream along the Trinity River, and the river was full of coots, Mallards, and Canvasbacks. The 3 Tundra Swans are unmistakably larger than any ducks and their large white bodies are a can't miss sight. As I followed the trail my spirits dampened. The weather was miserable and a swan could not be seen. I came across long, thin island is in the middle of the river. On the other side I saw a large white blob. Then 2 more appeared. TUNDRA SWAN! I sprinted towards a break in the grasss and saw them at distance, but it was still close enough to be awestruck by them.

Tundra Swan with Canvasbacks in the foreground. Picture quality is low due to distance and wind. You can see a second one off to the right as well.

There has been some debate about the swans. While 2 are definitely immature Tundra Swans, the third present is potentially a Trumpeter Swan, a super rare bird for Texas. After talking with another person with a much better camera than me it really looks like it is 3 Tundras. I continued my walk and walked through mixed flock of usual suspects, but had great looks of a striking Carolina Wren. A White-faced Ibis made an appearance, which added another tick to the year list.

White-faced Ibis

I headed to a boardwalk in the park for one last look around. The craziest thing was all of the ice. I have never seen water frozen like that in Texas. You could've ice skated on it. Swamp Sparrows were hopping around on the ice and a flock of Greater Yellowlegs flew up as I strolled along the boardwalk. I startled a Wilson's Snipe and got fantastic views of that. After that I packed up and headed to the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area to look for Common Goldeneyes.

Ice on the Trinity River

Swamp Sparrow on the ice

Wilson's Snipe

I got to LLELA around 2:15. This is one of the best places to visit in DFW. The vast trail network takes you through a variety of habitats. Birding is good, especially in the winter and wildlife outside of birds is abundant. Otters, bobcats, armadillos, deer, alligators, and snakes are all common. My personal favorite trail is Bittern Marsh, a 2.1 mile trail that goes along the Elm Fork of the Trinity, just below the dam on Lake Lewisville. Bittern Marsh is home to the otters and usually a gator, but in winter there are fantastic ducks, which is where I got my lifer Common Goldeneye. Cottonwood Trail also has good winter birding, but I haven't scratched the surface of this park. Floods decimated the preserve, closing down Redbud and Bittern Marsh.

I only had time for Bittern Marsh, and only the short part that leads to the observation blinds, which is where Common Goldeneye was a gimme last winter. Birds were fluttering in the thick brush and I was moving too fast to care. Ospreys were flying overhead along the river, absolutely stunning. As I approached the entrance to the marsh a bird fluttered in the leaves close to me. I stopped, thinking it was just a Brown Thrasher. It was towhee, although I wasn't sure which it was. Spotted and Eastern Towhee are common in the park. It ended up being Spotted. I needed that lifer Eastern Towhee and Spotteds are common in Big Bend, where I got them last July and where I plan to see them again when I go back (shooting for Easter if all goes well). Still a good bird. Savannah Sparrows and what looked like a Yellow Warbler were moving around in the tall grass, but it was for sure not a Yellow Warbler. Maybe Orange-crowned. 

I entered the Marsh and scared off a flock of ducks. A male Wood Duck stayed around long enough to ID, I never get sick of seeing those. An Osprey was also perched and calling. I love Ospreys. They're great looking birds and fun to watch fly around. I don't see them often, so I soaked it in for a little bit. Back to business. Low on time I ran to each blind. No Common Goldeneyes. I guess I was low on luck, too. I did get some up close views of Ring-necked Ducks and Canvasbacks which was a good consolation. On the way out I caught a glimpse of a Northern Flicker, Least Sandpipers, and a Belted Kingfisher. Another bird was moving around in the bushes. Looks like I wasn't out of luck! Eastern Towhee! I ran back to my car and hustled home for dinner, really upset that I missed Common Goldeneye. They are also present on the Redbud Trail, but I was simply out of time. LLELA is about as far south as you can find them, so looks like I'll have to get lucky sometime next winter to get them.

Osprey

Ring-necked Ducks at LLELA with a Canvasback in the background

All 3 swans. Just in case they decide one is a Trumpeter and I need proof

All in all a successful day. I'll sleep well tonight. I'm up to 63 birds on the year, a good start. I guess you could say my trip to Lake Worth was worth it. Before going to bed I checked the bird alerts and a huge rarity is at White Rock Lake. Townsend Solitaire has been heard singing but has not been seen yet. I know what I'm doing tomorrow afternoon.

A Success and a Failure

Yesterday was the first day that I had the opportunity to go bird to start my new year list. The weather in Dallas has been well below freezing, which would mean trying to bird a lake would be miserable. My car has also been getting fixed, so that took some of the motivation away, too. Yesterday marked the first day of birdable weather. The only problem was that there was now a decision to make.

Tundra and Trumpeter Swans were reported at the Fort Worth Nature Center before Christmas, with the Tundras being the most reliable. In addition, a Red-throated Loon had been spotted easily at White Rock Lake in a very accessible area. I already had a trip booked to the Rio Grande after finals, so I hoped they would stick around, and the day before I came to Dallas they were both spotted. The chase was on, until a massive storm blew through. I searched once for the loon with no luck, and the Tundra Swans were not being reliably seen.

I wasn't planning on birding on January 4, but the nice weather and reappearance of both birds caught my eye. The loon was spotted on 1/3 and posted on bird alerts, but I didn't see it until yesterday. I had to make a choice at 2:30, do I go for the loon and make the 10 minute drive or do I look for the swan and make an hour drive, likely longer in heavy rush hour traffic? I went for the loon, with hopes that the American Black Duck that had been reported would also make an appearance.

My car being in the shop meant I had to wait until around 3:30 to head out to the lake, far from the ideal birding time. But any birding at White Rock is usually a great time. The lake is a magnet for waterfowl and gulls, and pretty much every time I have been in Dallas something rare is showing up. On my way to the spillway I saw monk parakeets hanging out at their power station nesting area. The first sightings of the day were cormorants, a Great Blue Heron, and interestingly a few Black-crowned Night Herons were sitting around, which is something I never saw last winter. The light was fading and I rushed up the spillway to try and get a glimpse of the loon/

American Coots on the spillway, clouds were out and the the sun was starting to set

Ring-billed Gulls on the spillway

The gulls typically congregate on the spillway, but there were not that many out there today. I had my fingers crossed for the Glaucous Gull reported on 1/2, but all I could find were Ring-billeds. Typically you can also find Bonaparte's Gulls reliably here, and one or two Franklin's gulls are present if you look hard enough with a Herring Gull sprinkled in.

American White Pelican

The loon did not show up, and with the light fading fast I wanted to rush to Sunset Bay to look for the duck. Someone was walking up to look for the loon, and they had confirmed that the American Black Duck was present 15 minutes prior, so I promptly sprinted to my car and make the 10 minute drive to Sunset Bay.

The American Black Duck is a common bird on the East Coast, but it's far southern range is northeast Arkansas and northern Mississippi, and it is listed as uncommon in the rest of Arkansas. Finding one is Texas is RARE, and the Texas Bird Records Committee has only accepted 9 previous records of the bird in the state. I got this in March at White Rock, but this would be a great bird to begin the year with.

I wish I had a cooler story about me finding it, but it was pretty easy to find, as it was hanging out just to the right of the dock. Seeing it next to female Mallards made it clear that it was in fact an American Black Duck, the 10th record in Texas.

American Black Duck with coots and a Mallard, notice how much darker it is

  

Black Duck with Mallard 

 Lesser Scaup and Northern Pintail were also present, as were 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls that I did not see, but overall this was a great first day of birding, logging 30 species to start the year. Once my car is ready I'll head down to Austin to visit my girlfriend. Conveniently a Townsend's Warbler has been reported close to where she lives, and we'll hopefully make a trip to either get that or head to Commons Ford one morning. I'll make one trip to White Rock in the meantime to see if that pesky loon shows up. Pray to the birding gods that the Tundra Swan sticks around until 1/8 or 1/9.

2017 Year In Review

Starting on January 1, 2017 my goal was to spend the year getting better at birding. I wanted to dive in and learn as much as possible. Only problem was that I knew just enough to identify the most basic, common birds. Here's an idea of how little I knew: I had just learned that you could only see Painted Buntings in the spring and summer. I had spent tons of time in the winter searching for them. My year list for 2016 was roughly 120, and a lot of those were found by other people who helped me look at them.

Overall, the year was a raging success. I went from an enthusiastic new birder to falling in love with birding, and I am stunned at how much I learned. I learned bird calls, how to look in habitats for different birds, and many other valuable things that I can't list for fear of rambling. The most important thing I learned was how easy it was to travel. I visited many places that I never thought possible, and I even redefined what I thought a long trip was. My goal was also to travel overnight to once place. After trips to Aransas, Big Bend, and two trips to the RGV I think I reached my goal! I'll give a run down of the year and maybe preview 2018 if I can keep this short enough!

Goal: 200 birds
Number of species seen: 272!
States/Countries: Texas (268), California (2), New York (1), Mexico (1)
Chases: American Black Duck (White Rock Lake, Success), Black Phoebe (Brazos Center, Success), Golden-crowned Sparrow (Warbler Woods, Success), Red-throated Loon (White Rock Lake, no luck), Tamaulipas Crow (Brownsville Landfill, no luck), Painted Redstart (Goliad State Park, Success)

Yellow-crowned Night Heron at Estero Llano Grande State Park

Rarest Bird: American Black Duck was the rarest in Texas, but the White-collared Seedeater and Clay-colored Thrush were the rarest ABA birds and both were code 3s.
Favorite sightings: Painted Redstart, White-collared Seedeater, Lucifer Hummingbird
Favorite trip: Big Bend National Park
Biggest missed bird: Colima Warbler, Red-throated Loon, Tundra and Trumpeter Swan
Nemesis Birds: American Oystercatcher, Barred Owl, American Goldfinch

Golden-crowned Sparrow at Warbler Woods

Sharp-shinned Hawk in Dallas

A terrible picture given the rainy weather at sundown, but the last year bird was a Painted Redstart at Goliad State Park

A few notes on the year: 200th bird was a Canyon Wren on the Lost Mine Trail at Big Bend on 7/2/17, so it took me only 6 months to hit the initial goal. Hit 250 in August with Clay-colored Thrush at Estero Llano Grande State Park. The job hunt and Aggie football slowed me down a ton in the fall and I only got 22 more before December 31.  Bad weather in November and December killed birding at Anahuac and the Valley. Birds out of state were picked up on a road trip to A&M-UCLA without binoculars, which were California Towhee and Nuttall's Woodpecker, on a job interview in New York got me a Great Black-backed Gull in Central Park, and a Peregrine Falcon just across the Rio Grande in Mexico in Big Bend. While I hit 272 I missed out on many, many birds. Not being able to tell the difference between Common and Chihuahuan Raven is an example of a species I probably saw but was just not experienced enough to ID.





Locations birded: White Rock Lake (Dallas), Trinity River Audubon Center (Dallas), Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (Lewisville), Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (Grayson), Mackenzie Park (Lubbock), Lubbock Lake (Lubbock), Big Bend National Park  (Brewster County, Texas), Commons Ford Park (Austin), Emma Long Park (Austin), Warbler Woods (Cibolo, Texas), Falcon State Park (Roma, Texas), Salineno (Salineno, Texas), Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park (Misson, TX), Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge (Alamo, TX), Estero Llano Grande State Park (Weslaco, TX), Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (Los Fresnos, TX), South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center (South Padre Island, TX), Packery Channel Park (Mustang Island, TX), Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary (Quintana, TX), Lafitte's Cove (Galveston, TX), Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (Chambers County, TX), Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge (Eagle Lake, TX), Brison Park (College Station), Lick Creek Park (College Station), Horizon Turf Farms (Burleson County, TX), Brazos Center (Bryan), WG Jones State Forest (The Woodlands, TX), Aransas NWR (Austwell, TX), Onassis Reservoir at Central Park (New York City), Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles)

Introduction

Howdy! My name is Christian Roberts and I am a currently a senior Economics major at Texas A&M. Originally from Dallas, Texas, I got into nature my senior year of high school when I went with my grandmother to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska for a week of fishing, hiking, and exploring. Among the many incredible sights that hooked me, I saw moose, sea otters, Steller Sea Lions, Orcas, Humpback Whales, and many other sightings that you just don't get in Texas. I was not a birder back then, but do remember seeing thousands of Common Murres, Tufted and Horned Puffins, and Bald Eagles. Now that I am a birder I looked at eBird and my heart sank as I saw all of the incredible things I missed, like Common Loons, Harlequin Ducks, etc. Oh well, guess I'll have to go back!

Coming back to Dallas the summer after my freshman year of college I started to realize how amazing the Texas outdoors were, primarily right in the middle of the city. After doing my exploring I began to look for the abundant nature, but large mammals like deer or coyotes, or reptiles like gators and snakes were hard to come by. The birds were everywhere. So many different species were present, even though I did not know them. In addition, I worked at White Rock Lake, and before of after my shift I would kayak up White Rock Creek and listen to the symphony of bird sounds. I was hooked.

I started this blog because I want to spread the joys of birding. Discovering this passion has changed my life. I spend way too much time checking eBird, I dream at night of chasing rarities, and I constantly bother my friends about getting up at the crack of dawn to go bird with me. Being a novice birder (I got my first pair of binoculars Christmas of 2015) I don't know the ins and outs of birding, the good spots, and I have had to learn many things on my own, or other people have taught me invaluable nuggets of wisdom that I could have never learned by myself. Birding with Christian is an attempt to pay that forward. Ideally this blog will have trip reviews, book reviews, tips, and everything in between.

Thanks, and happy birding!

Christian Roberts