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.