Recent Bird Sightings
Birds of Hornsby Bend
Seasonal guide
Bird location guide
Checklist
Recent sightings!
Monitoring Results
Monthly bird surveys
Hawkwatch data
Shorebird data
Christmas bird counts
Owl monitoring
HBBO Happenings
Calendar
Projects
Online presentations
Archives: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2009 Sightings:
Name: Tim Fennell
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Feb 7 21:17:37 2010
While doing a bird workshop with my high school students this morning, 18 Bonaparte's Gulls visited Pond 2 for about 20 minutes before they moved on. A Least Grebe and 10+ Eared Grebes were also present on Pond 2. The Decker Lake Long-tailed Duck was also cooperative when I stopped by after I left Hornsby.
Name: Roger Shaw
Date of sighting: Sun Jan 31 07:05:00 2010
Date posted: Tue Feb 2 11:23:57 2010
Had amazing looks at a Short-eared Owl at dawn, between Pond 1 West and Pond 2. First observed sitting on the road, then flushed and landed in the brush on the side of the road, about 50 ft further. Flushed upon approach, and again landed 50 ft further. Upon further approach, finally flew up, circled me several times, then flew off to the north, disappearing behind the dirt piles. Great bird!
Also had at least two, possibly three Sedge Wrens around Pond 1 West. Had one bird on the north side of the pond, and later saw two at the southwest corner, unknown if the first individual was among them.
Name: Gary Newgord
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Jan 23 17:15:54 2010
Located a Virginia rail at about 8:30 am at the hawkwatch location in Pond 1 East. Probably one of the two being see this winter. It was about ten feet out from the gray metal float which is on the edge of the grass. Went back at 10:15 am and a sora came out of the same hole in the reeds that the Virginia rail was in before.
Name: Jeff Patterson
Date of sighting: 1/16/10
Date posted: Mon Jan 18 11:30:05 2010
George Kerr and I led a crowd of 2 birders on the monthly walk yesterday. Highlight was a Couch's Kingbird in the treetops north of the greenhouse.
Couch’s Kingbird
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher (HO)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (HO)
Eastern Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
HYBRID Titmouse
Carolina Wren
House Wren (HO)
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat (HO)
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
LeConte's Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
meadowlark sp.
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
House Sparrow
Jeff Patterson
Name: James Giroux
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Jan 17 23:37:31 2010
My stepfather and I were out at Platt pond around 5:30 this evening and saw a Bald Eagle fly over. A few minutes later we heard a Barred Owl.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 9 Jan 2010
Date posted: Sat Jan 9 22:12:47 2010
Ten very hardy birders showed up for this morning's (9 Jan) monthly survey. I suspect the official temperature may have been lower, but my car showed it to be 17 degrees when we started and it stayed that cold for much of the morning. A layer of ice completely covered Pond 1West as well as pockets of 1East and Pond 3. Still, it was nice and sunny with no wind at all so it didn't feel quite as chilling as it might have. By the afternoon, it had warmed up to the low 40s/high 30s for the 4 afternoon participants, but temperatures again descended as dusk approached.
It was fairly birdy with 95 species found during the day. Most of the usuals were tracked down as well as some interesting finds including 2 Neotropic Cormorants, 2 Virginia Rail (1 each in NE and SW corners of Pond 1West), a horde of Ring-billed Gulls, a Sedge Wren on 1West and 3 or more LeConte's Sparrows in the area behind the houses on Platt.
The full list for the day follows.
-- Eric
Wood Duck 7
Gadwall 80
American Wigeon 46
Blue-winged Teal 17
Cinnamon Teal 4
Northern Shoveler 830
Northern Pintail 32
Green-winged Teal 220
Ring-necked Duck 29
Bufflehead 14
Hooded Merganser 3
Ruddy Duck 399
Least Grebe 2
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Eared Grebe 10
Neotropic Cormorant 2
Double-crested Cormorant 23
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 3
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 6
Crested Caracara 3
American Kestrel 2
Virginia Rail 2
Sora 2
American Coot 445
Killdeer 21
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Least Sandpiper 14
Wilson's Snipe 1
Bonaparte's Gull 5
Ring-billed Gull 94
Forster's Tern 3
Rock Pigeon 255
White-winged Dove 16
Mourning Dove 13
Inca Dove 10
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 8
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 26
Loggerhead Shrike 4
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 10
Cave Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 15
HYBRID Titmouse 9
Carolina Wren 50
House Wren 15
Winter Wren 1
Sedge Wren 1
Marsh Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 34
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6
Eastern Bluebird 15
Hermit Thrush 9
American Robin 21
Northern Mockingbird 18
European Starling 18
American Pipit 12
Cedar Waxwing 57
Orange-crowned Warbler 12
Yellow-rumped Warbler 49
Pine Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 4
Chipping Sparrow 26
Field Sparrow 32
Vesper Sparrow 11
Savannah Sparrow 125
LeConte's Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 24
Lincoln's Sparrow 37
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 6
Harris's Sparrow 7
White-crowned Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal 86
Red-winged Blackbird 116
meadowlark sp. 94
Common Grackle 1
Great-tailed Grackle 48
House Finch 7
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 5
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Wed Jan 6 16:55:30 2010
Platt Pond had a lot of nice birds on it, including: 4 American White Pelicans, 3 Snowy Egrets, 1 Cattle Egret, 2 Mallards, 7 Hooded Mergansers, and ~7 Greater Yellowlegs.
I didn't spend as long as I would have liked looking for sparrows, but I was struck by multiple Harris's Sparrows at several locations.
Name: Priscilla Murr
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri Dec 25 22:16:42 2009
We I saw six Wilson's snipes. But more interestingly, we saw a Virginia rail. We are hesitant to claim that sighting because it is so rare, but the field markings coincide with the book, and the bird called when we played a tape of Virginia rail. I heard the call at least four times and it was identical to the tape. Merry Christmas!!
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 19 Dec 2009
Date posted: Sun Dec 20 18:59:21 2009
There were around 30 participants for the Hornsby section of the Austin Christmas Bird Count yesterday (19 Dec 2009). We divided up into 6 groups and covered most areas of the property for the morning portion. After a lunch break, the folks that remained until the afternoon split into a couple groups to try to find some of the species missed during the morning. Overall, 105 species were tallied by our Hornsby participants and included several highlights: 2 (continuing) Common Goldeneyes on the ponds, 7 Neotropic Cormorants, 1 first-year Tricolored Heron seen over the ponds near dusk (very unusual winter/Austin CBC record), 1 Harlan's Hawk (an unexpected photographed treat on Platt Lane in the afternoon), 1 Barn Owl, 1 Sedge Wren, 1 Eastern Towhee, 1 Cassin's Sparrow (very unusual winter record at Hornsby and for the Austin CBC) 1 Grasshopper Sparrow, 4 LeConte's Sparrows (including some incredible photos/views of one bird).
Thanks to everyone for coming out to help out and make this a success. The list for the day follows:
Gadwall 89
American Wigeon 23
Mallard 3
Blue-winged Teal 23
Cinnamon Teal 5
Northern Shoveler 1189
Northern Pintail 49
Green-winged Teal 850
Redhead 2
Bufflehead 40
Common Goldeneye 2
Ruddy Duck 388
Least Grebe 2
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Eared Grebe 20
Neotropic Cormorant 7
Double-crested Cormorant 78
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 6
Snowy Egret 2
Little Blue Heron 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Black Vulture 81
Turkey Vulture 37
Osprey 6
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 10
Red-tailed Hawk 6
Crested Caracara 10
American Kestrel 7
Sora 4
American Coot 345
Killdeer 86
Spotted Sandpiper 7
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Least Sandpiper 171
Wilson's Snipe 11
Ring-billed Gull 2
Forster's Tern 2
Rock Pigeon 565
White-winged Dove 25
Mourning Dove 216
Inca Dove 5
Barn Owl 1
Great Horned Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 27
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 6
Downy Woodpecker 7
Northern Flicker 14
Eastern Phoebe 129
Loggerhead Shrike 4
Blue-headed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 32
Cave Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 81
Tufted/Bl. Crested Titmouse 20
Carolina Wren 92
Bewick's Wren 3
House Wren 43
Winter Wren 3
Sedge Wren 1
Marsh Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 145
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 41
Eastern Bluebird 42
Hermit Thrush 6
American Robin 707
Northern Mockingbird 44
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 41
American Pipit 50
Cedar Waxwing 588
Orange-crowned Warbler 46
Yellow-rumped Warbler 341
Pine Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 5
Spotted Towhee 4
Eastern Towhee 1
Cassin's Sparrow 1
Chipping Sparrow 36
Field Sparrow 60
Vesper Sparrow 104
Savannah Sparrow 153
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
LeConte's Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 35
Lincoln's Sparrow 100
Swamp Sparrow 18
White-throated Sparrow 13
Harris's Sparrow 59
White-crowned Sparrow 29
Northern Cardinal 276
Red-winged Blackbird 147
Eastern Meadowlark 33
meadowlark sp. 152
Common Grackle 35
Great-tailed Grackle 77
Brown-headed Cowbird 20
House Finch 20
American Goldfinch 76
House Sparrow 12
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 16 Dec 2009
Date posted: Wed Dec 16 21:42:35 2009
I did a couple hours of CBC scouting this morning (16 Dec) to see what was still around and what else I might hope for during Saturday's count. I was pleased to see that the Surf Scoter is still around (though it seemed to be sleeping all morning) as are at least 2 Common Goldeneyes. Shorebird-wise, there is at least 1 Western Sandpiper still present on 1West amongst the Leasts. Platt Lane was quite birdy as I had 1 LeConte's Sparrow and 2 other where-did-they-disappear-to Ammodramus (which I assumed to also be LeConte's) between the houses and the fenceline, and then there were numerous Harris's and other sparrows along the river trail. The river was quiet though there was a Neotropic Cormorant downstream from the end of the Platt Pond trail. The most exciting bird of the morning was a Couch's Kingbird in the northwest fields, probably the same bird that Chris Layton had on 8 Dec. I was able to play a little bit of tape and was able to hear it vocalize just to make sure it was a Couch's and not a Tropical.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 12 December 2009
Date posted: Mon Dec 14 23:01:38 2009
The December monthly survey on Saturday (12 December) was rather birdy. The overcast skies with low cloud cover, misting rain and chilly, wet temperatures helped the 9 hearty morning participants round up 93 species. A few of the participants remained after the morning session ended to add a few species. Three birders added a couple more species during the afternoon session to reach an overall total for the day of 101 species.
Several interesting birds were found. Twelve Snow Geese were lounging in the Platt fields all day, while the Surf Scoter (present for over a week) continued on Pond 2 and 1East. Along the river, a Black-crowned Night-Heron was a good find near the old river crossing, and a Green Heron near the Lower Island View trail was tardy. A Western Sandpiper and 5 Long-billed Dowitchers on Pond 1West were unusual for December, and a Sedge Wren may be wintered along the north edge of that pond. Five Bonaparte's Gulls were present much of the day on Pond 1East while a Greater Roadrunner and a LeConte's Sparrow on/near Platt Lane were also exciting finds.
The full results follow.
-- Eric
Snow Goose 12
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 97
American Wigeon 36
Blue-winged Teal 2
Cinnamon Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 360
Northern Pintail 11
Green-winged Teal 477
Redhead 2
Ring-necked Duck 1
Lesser Scaup 8
Surf Scoter 1
Bufflehead 65
Common Goldeneye 2
Ruddy Duck 370
Least Grebe 2
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Eared Grebe 16
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Snowy Egret 13
Little Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Crested Caracara 3
American Kestrel 5
Merlin 1
Sora 4
American Coot 255
Killdeer 16
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Western Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 45
Long-billed Dowitcher 5
Wilson's Snipe 8
Bonaparte's Gull 6
Ring-billed Gull 5
Rock Pigeon 624
White-winged Dove 14
Mourning Dove 98
Inca Dove 2
Greater Roadrunner 1
Barn Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 9
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker 6
Eastern Phoebe 33
Loggerhead Shrike 6
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 8
Cave Swallow 35
Carolina Chickadee 25
HYBRID Titmouse 6
Carolina Wren 36
House Wren 21
Winter Wren 1
Sedge Wren 1
Marsh Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 34
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 13
Eastern Bluebird 13
Hermit Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 10
European Starling 17
American Pipit 10
Cedar Waxwing 50
Orange-crowned Warbler 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 29
Pine Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Spotted Towhee 1
Field Sparrow 19
Vesper Sparrow 9
Savannah Sparrow 26
LeConte's Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 21
Lincoln's Sparrow 37
Swamp Sparrow 10
White-throated Sparrow 8
Harris's Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 14
Northern Cardinal 70
Red-winged Blackbird 85
meadowlark sp. 62
Great-tailed Grackle 67
House Finch 7
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 4
Name: Ian Layton
Date of sighting: 12-12-2009
Date posted: Sun Dec 13 23:40:32 2009
Foggy, wet weather with a cold wind. However, saw the pair of Common Golden Eyes mentioned below, as well as a good number of Bufflehead, and also Eared Grebe. A group of 5 gulls appeared to be Bonaparte's - pink legs, black "ear" patch, dark beak, smallish gull. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks
Name: tom toporowski
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Thu Dec 10 17:25:05 2009
saw a very pretty pair(male and female) of common golden eyes this morning about 10:00. also several pairs of buffleheads.
there must be something going on with couch's kingbirds this winter in central texas. yesterday, late afternoon, i birded aqurena springs and saw 6 couch's kingbirds. also, justin(?-a grad student-biology) and i birded the same place on friday dec. 4 and counted 8 couch's kingbirds at dusk. we also saw a common nighthawk skimming the water.
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Dec 8 15:30:16 2009
Went out late this morning to see the Ross's Goose and look for the Scoter. The goose was snoozing on the pontoon but no luck with the Scoter. I was surprised to see a Couch's Kingbird flycatching from the dead trees along the western edge of pond 2 between the road and the greenhouse.
Name: Eric Stager
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Mon Dec 7 17:51:04 2009
The Surf Scoter was present on Pond 1E today at noon. There was also a Bonaparte's Gull on 1E. The Ross' Goose was on Pond 1W.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Dec 5 22:12:50 2009
I refound the female'ish Surf Scoter mid-afternoon today (5 Dec), still on 1East. Ross's Goose appears healthy as I had it flying around (went over the Platt fields and back) and it also hung out on 1East as well as on 1West.
Name: Robin Doughty, Trent Miller
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Dec 5 15:59:54 2009
Ross's Goose-possibly sick/ injured (One West): of interest: 4 common goldeneye (1 male, 3 females, three birds on Pond One east). 1 western sandpiper among 100+ leasts, 1 merlin, 2 least grebes (One East, and second on west end Pond Two), 4 Cinnamon Teal (3 males, 1 female, on One East ), 30+ cave swallows,1 Crested caracara. No scoter.
Name: James Giroux
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Dec 5 13:03:59 2009
My wife and I observed an adult Ross's Goose in Pond 1 west this morning around 9:30AM. We were unable to find the previously reported Surf Scoter, but saw the Common Goldeneye in Pond 1 east.
Name: robin doughty
Date of sighting: 27 November
Date posted: Fri Dec 4 17:45:26 2009
Whooping Crane
from 1107-1112 am on Friday 27 November 2009, an adult plumage whooping crane was present in flight over Hornsby Bend. The bird was see at approximately 200 feet above the ground gaining height as is moved east from the area of the Colorado River over Ponds One W and E, then it circled over the CER (headquarters) to several hundred feet high, joining high flying swallows that were hawking under the moderate overcast. After four of five clockwise circles of flapping flight, the bird turned southeast and flew beyond the the eastern perimeter of the facility and disappeared. Initial attention was drawn to the flying crane due to its bugling call. It flew with its neck extended with the telltale black wings and white underwings and body with a red crown patch. Both legs trailed slightly below the level of its body (I looked for leg bands or telemetry markers but did not detect any). It called repeatedly as it circled. First seen at about 300 yards with 10X 50 binoculars as it gained height, I tracked it with X60 power spotting scope as it climbed higher and then left the area. Others sighting this bird were Nicholas Doughty, Judy Bohm and Arnold Pfrommer,
Name: Robin Doughty
Date of sighting: 28 November 2009
Date posted: Fri Dec 4 17:27:49 2009
a single little blue heron flew west over Barton Springs Pool at 8.30 am
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Thu Dec 3 18:14:51 2009
A Surf Scoter (female) was in Pond 1 East along the western shore. 2 Greater Scaup, 1 Common Goldeneye, and a Canvasback made for a great outing.
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Dec 1 15:26:01 2009
A male Common Goldeneye was in Pond 1 east.
Name: Doug Booher
Date of sighting: 27 November 2009
Date posted: Sat Nov 28 15:29:26 2009
Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Name: Eric Stager
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Nov 21 14:11:21 2009
Eight birders joined Stu Wilson and me on this cold and wet morning for the monthly bird walk. We were treated to great looks at a real Hornsby rarity: three Western Grebes on Pond 2. One of the grebes was first found near the middle of the pond, and later we saw three in the northeast corner of Pond 2. Kevin Anderson said there is one previous record from Hornsby from 1974.
We had a total of 57 species. Other highlights included great looks at a Swamp Sparrow below the birding shelter, four woodpecker species, a flock of Cedar Waxwings, and a gull over Pond 1E that was likely a Franklin's.
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dowitcher sp.
Franklin's Gull
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
Carolina Chickadee
Hybrid Titmouse
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hermit Thrush
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Meadowlark sp.
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
House Sparrow
Name: James Giroux
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Nov 21 12:20:23 2009
Saw two Western Grebes on the east end of pond 2 at 10AM.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 14 Nov 2009
Date posted: Thu Nov 19 21:25:25 2009
Continuing the momentum from the October 50th anniversary/super survey, the November edition (14 November) of the monthly survey attracted 27 enthusiastic birders who searched high and low for birds. Twenty-four participants located 93 species during the morning session, while 5 hardy birders during the afternoon session where able to add 1 additional bird (American Avocet) for a day total of 94 species.
Winter time birding is definitely here with a large number and assortment of waterfowl plus numerous winter residents in the woods, including several species of sparrows. Three Greater Scaup continue on Pond 1East, and several folks were able to see these guys amongst their "lesser" cousins. Highlights in the woods would have to be a lingering Nashville Warbler and 2 Spotted Towhees.
The full list for the day is below.
-- Eric
--
Gadwall 316
American Wigeon 225
Blue-winged Teal 20
Cinnamon Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 810
Green-winged Teal 310
Redhead 4
Ring-necked Duck 15
Greater Scaup 3
Lesser Scaup 36
Bufflehead 3
Ruddy Duck 290
Least Grebe 1
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Eared Grebe 20
Neotropic Cormorant 1
Double-crested Cormorant 133
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 10
Snowy Egret 1
Cattle Egret 1
White-faced Ibis 5
Black Vulture 26
Turkey Vulture 24
Osprey 4
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 7
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Crested Caracara 2
American Kestrel 1
Sora 1
American Coot 472
Killdeer 34
American Avocet 1
Spotted Sandpiper 5
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Least Sandpiper 120
Long-billed Dowitcher 15
Wilson's Snipe 8
Rock Pigeon 146
White-winged Dove 8
Mourning Dove 66
Barn Owl 1
Great Horned Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 10
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7
Downy Woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker 7
Eastern Phoebe 67
Loggerhead Shrike 2
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 11
Cave Swallow 150
Carolina Chickadee 40
HYBRID Titmouse 14
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 29
Bewick's Wren 3
House Wren 43
Marsh Wren 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 55
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 11
Eastern Bluebird 24
Hermit Thrush 5
American Robin 6
Northern Mockingbird 11
European Starling 106
American Pipit 15
Orange-crowned Warbler 29
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 57
Common Yellowthroat 5
Spotted Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 12
Field Sparrow 14
Vesper Sparrow 12
Savannah Sparrow 14
Song Sparrow 25
Lincoln's Sparrow 55
Swamp Sparrow 15
White-throated Sparrow 10
White-crowned Sparrow 17
Northern Cardinal 127
Red-winged Blackbird 121
meadowlark sp. 19
Great-tailed Grackle 65
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
House Finch 15
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 23
Name: France Davis
Date of sighting: November 15, 2009
Date posted: Tue Nov 17 21:06:14 2009
Found a single Sprague's Pipit in the grass on the southern end of the berm between ponds 1E and 1W. Initially thought it was a sparrow before I got my glasses up, but quickly saw it was a pipit. Dark eye in relatively light face, dark streaking on breast, very obvious white on outer tail feathers, the fact that it was a solitary bird, and lack of tail-pumping convinced me it was a Sprague's. Observed for 5-7 minutes.
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Nov 17 17:35:54 2009
I spent a few hours,with my son Dean, enjoying Hornsby and spotting a few birds. I got a new Hornsby bird- Greater Roadrunner on the n/s portion of Platt Lane. Cedar Waxwings and Golden-crowned Kinglet at the Upper Island View trail were nice too.
Name: Jean Martin
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Nov 7 17:41:44 2009
I birded the ponds and a short portion of the trails near the ponds with my beginning birding classes this morning and Wednesday morning. After this morning's class concluded I returned to pond 1E to try to re-find an elusive merganser. It was a female Hooded Merganser; I also had a fairly late Barn Swallow. I (or we) had 49 species today and 39 on Wednesday. Below is the combined list; those marked with a * represent birds found Wed., but not today.
Pied-bill Grebe
Eared Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Gadwall
American Wigeon *
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Redhead *
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk (h)
American Kestrel *
American Coot
Killdeer
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
White-winged Dove *
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker *
Eastern Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Titmouse hybrid
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren *
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler *
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle *
Great-tailed Grackle
House Sparrow
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Nov 7 13:28:00 2009
I made a quick 10.30-11.30am visit to the ponds this morning (7 Nov) and was pleased to see the number and variety of waterfowl, the most interest of which was 3 female Greater Scaup on the eastern portion of Pond 1East. An Am. White Pelican dropped in ever so briefly as I was watching them but didn't linger long. Lots of shorebirds still hidden amongst the teal & shoveler on 1West, include 2 lingering Stilt Sandpipers, plus 2 Am. Avocets that also spent some time in the drying basins.
Name: Barry Lyon
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Oct 25 16:15:26 2009
A full morning at the ponds and Platt Lane today confirmed, again, how great a place Hornsby Bend is to visit in October. With fall migration still in full swing, combined with the effects of recent rains, the place seemed alive with activity. Aside from enjoying some excellent birding, the substantial mositure we've received has produced impressive crops of butterflies and dragonflies as well. Waterfowl were abundant on the ponds while the woods held passage migrants as well as some of our first winter birds. The profusion of insects and autumn wildflowers made for an all-around natural history experiece.
Avian highlights from the ponds (1E & 1W)included 10 species of waterfowl including the season's first Canvasback and Cinnamon Teal; a group of 8 American white Pelicans that first appeared from the north settling on Pond 1E for over an hour; a female Brewer's Blackbird in the grass just below the north levee of Pond 1W; multiple lingering Scissor-tailed Flycatchers throughout the general area; a single Clay-colored Sparrow near the observation blind on the south side of Pond 2; 2 Western Sandpipers in the Drying Basins north of Pond 1E; and several Long-billed Dowitchers on 1W.
In the Platt Lane area, a flock of meadowlarks numbering over 100 individuals in the two fields south of the Lofton Loam Pit contained numbers of Western Meadowlarks. The group of birds was flighty and surprisingly vocal.
On the River Trail beyond the gate I noticed numbers of Orange-crowned Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Raptors included Osprey, Kestrel, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Harrier, and Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks.
Regardless of whether you can identify the butterflies and dragonflfies or not, I recommend anybody who has time to take a walk down the River Trail and simply enjoy the wildlife spectacle. Nearly every butterfly I saw appeared recently hatched, displaying vivid colors and intact wings. Among the highlits from this arena were stunning Red Admiral, Giant Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, Viceroy, Monarch, Cloudless Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur, Goatweed Leafwing, Hackberry Emperor, and Tawny Emperor. For the more serious buttfliers, highlights included a nice array of skippers, blues, hairstreaks, and metalmarks. Ocola Skipper, Sachem, Western Pygmy-Blue, and Ceraunus Blue were among my personal favorites.
Though dragonfly numbers have clearly declined from their summertime abundance, I did note some sharp-looking Black Setwings, Eastern Ringtails, Roseate Skimmers, and others.
Hornsby is great right now; get out while you can!
Good Birding,
Barry Lyon
Name: Cullen Hanks
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Wed Oct 21 15:18:04 2009
Checked for the Red Phalarope today during lunch, but it wasn't around.
Name: Eric Stager
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Mon Oct 19 15:17:57 2009
The Red Phalarope was present at 1:00 today near the shore in the NW corner of Pond 2.
Name: seth robineau-prestridge
Date of sighting: 10-18-2009
Date posted: Mon Oct 19 14:07:21 2009
red pharalope
Name: Mikael Behrens
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Oct 17 14:29:35 2009
Jeffery Patterson and I co-led the monthly bird walk this morning and had about 30 people turn out! Highlights included a Peregrine Falcon flying low over Pond 1 West, Long-billed Dowitchers I tried to make into godwits, Wood Ducks on the river, a Redhead on Pond 2, and beautiful sunny and cool weather.
After the walk I learned that a Red Phalarope was being seen on Pond 2. I went back and saw it, but did not include it on the bird walk list.
Here's our species list:
Wood Duck
Mallard (Domestic type)
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter sp.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Crested Caracara
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Killdeer
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Monk Parakeet
Eastern Phoebe
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
meadowlark sp.
Great-tailed Grackle
House Sparrow
Name: kevin anderson
Date of sighting: Oct 16 2009
Date posted: Sat Oct 17 09:41:24 2009
As I drove across the freshly cut hay field north of the CER at 6pm, I found 7 snow geese had landed on the field to spend the night. Then 80 white pelicans circled the ponds at sunset.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 11 October 2009
Date posted: Wed Oct 14 08:31:49 2009
The 2009 HornsbySquatters' Hornsby Big Sit (11 October) was good while it lasted. Rains entered the picture around 9.40am and lasted much the rest of the day, though, even with the hawkwatch tent, I packed it in somewhere around 12.30pm.
We had a total of 57 species for the morning. The first bird was a calling Great Horned Owl sometime prior to 6.20am and the last birds were at 10.30am as we scoped out the distant Black & Turkey Vultures as they roosted on the radio towers. In between, we had most of the expected pond birds but were hampered by the extensive cloud cover & rain (no flyovers) and north winds (hard to hear calling birds in the woods). Still, a great time was had by all. Thanks to Paul Sunby for being out there with me well before dawn and we were joined not too much later by Matt Colbert & Jeff Patterson. Mid-morning help came from George Kerr, Andrea Weissenbuehler and Julia Heskett.
The final list for the Big Sit follows.
-- Eric
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
White-faced Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Green-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
American Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Blue-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Franklin's Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Monk Parakeet
Great Horned Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 10 October 2009
Date posted: Mon Oct 12 21:20:49 2009
Forgot to add to my last post a big thanks to Claude Morris et all for kayaking all the Hornsby portion of the Colorado River in both the morning and afternoon sessions to give us complete coverage of the property.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 10 October 2009
Date posted: Mon Oct 12 21:18:46 2009
Saturday's (10 Oct) monthly survey was the best-attended of any survey and yielded the most surprising number of birds. As part of the weekend-long celebration of 50 years of birding on the property, there were at least 50 people for the morning survey and we were able to split into 6 groups to cover virtually the entire property. Peg Wallace also manned the hawkwatch all day and was able to enjoy the large groups of Swainson's Hawks that had over-nighted just northwest of the property. In addition, several folks stuck around most of the day and picked up several species missed during the morning. The afternoon survey at 4pm was also well-attended with over 25 folks present. Conditions were quite ideal for this time of year. A cool front had passed thru Friday morning with rains much of Friday. Saturday was quite cool and cloudy all day and there were likely a number of birds on the property that had come down with the front.
There were many highlights lead by a heard-only Lesser Goldfinch in the northwest fields area, one of very few reports for the property. The second highlight had to be the 4000+ Swainson's Hawks that were enjoyed by virtually everyone during the morning. The overall total number of species was a hard-to-believe 124, though it was pretty evenly spread amongst the different groups of birders, as the morning group that did the ponds had the highest group species count with only 61.
Hats off to everyone that participated. The full day list follows:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 17
Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Wood Duck 30
Gadwall 3
American Wigeon 13
Mallard 3
Blue-winged Teal 69
Northern Shoveler 460
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 114
Redhead 4
Ring-necked Duck 6
Lesser Scaup 1
Ruddy Duck 9
Least Grebe 1
Pied-billed Grebe 14
Eared Grebe 5
American White Pelican 42
Double-crested Cormorant 6
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 4
Snowy Egret 15
Little Blue Heron 1
Cattle Egret 102
Green Heron 1
White-faced Ibis 10
Black Vulture 65
Turkey Vulture 1310
Osprey 6
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 6
Cooper's Hawk 13
Red-shouldered Hawk 8
Broad-winged Hawk 4
Swainson's Hawk 4000
Red-tailed Hawk 6
Crested Caracara 13
American Kestrel 14
Merlin 2
Peregrine Falcon 4
Virginia Rail 2
Sora 1
American Coot 700
Killdeer 23
Black-necked Stilt 1
American Avocet 11
Spotted Sandpiper 8
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Western Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 124
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Stilt Sandpiper 1
Long-billed Dowitcher 18
Wilson's Snipe 1
Franklin's Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 320
White-winged Dove 65
Mourning Dove 40
Inca Dove 1
Common Ground-Dove 2
Greater Roadrunner 1
Great Horned Owl 2
Barred Owl 2
Chimney Swift 19
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 21
Downy Woodpecker 7
Northern Flicker 2
Least Flycatcher 5
Eastern Phoebe 24
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 163
Loggerhead Shrike 3
White-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 20
Tree Swallow 6
N. Rough-winged Swallow 9
Bank Swallow 7
Cliff Swallow 8
Cave Swallow 335
Barn Swallow 275
Carolina Chickadee 45
Tufted/Bl. Crested Titmouse 7
Carolina Wren 35
House Wren 44
Marsh Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 49
Eastern Bluebird 8
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 1500
American Pipit 6
Orange-crowned Warbler 15
Nashville Warbler 66
Yellow Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Kentucky Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 41
Wilson's Warbler 3
Clay-colored Sparrow 3
Vesper Sparrow 2
Lark Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 5
Grasshopper Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 19
Northern Cardinal 131
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 15
Dickcissel 12
Red-winged Blackbird 1700
meadowlark sp. 7
Yellow-headed Blackbird 3
Common Grackle 73
Great-tailed Grackle 450
Brown-headed Cowbird 1200
House Finch 2
Lesser Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 15
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Oct 3 19:34:55 2009
A surprisingly good morning of birding today (3 Oct). I was out on the property for just less than 4 hours and ended up with 80 species. Several first-of-season bird, plus a couple birds that don't usually linger much into October at Hornsby including Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Black-and-white Warble, Summer Tanager and Orchard Oriole. I also had a female Ringed Kingfisher near Platt Pond and a surprising Greater Roadrunner on Platt Lane in the section with loam pits on either side. The recently cut field between the main property and Platt Lane was quite full of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, blackbirds and at least 7 Crested Caracara. The drying basins are still harboring several hundred Least Sandpipers while there is a small group of other shorebirds on Pond 1West including 1 Am. Avocet, 1 Wilson's Phalarope, 7 or so L. Yellowlegs, 2 Pectorals and a Stilt Sandpiper. The White-faced Ibis flock that has been around for awhile was ~30 birds today. Ducks and coots have also returned in good numbers and there is a small number of American Wigeon, Gadwall and N. Pintails in with the teal and shovelers. I had a Cinnamon Teal and a Yellow-headed Blackbird yesterday but did not find either this morning. The young Peregrine that I've seen a couple times lately was scaring some blackbirds & grackles as I left.
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Sep 29 17:19:43 2009
A Peregrine Falcon stooped and harassed birds at the drying basins and Pond 1 West for an hour before I left it. It was an awesome display; it had every bird on the property on high alert.
The Cooper's Hawk I saw was more lucky, hauling and then mauling a Great-tailed Grackle near the old hawk watch corner.
Other highlights included 4+ American Kestrels, 1 Osprey, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 3 additional migrant Cooper's Hawks, 35 dark Ibis, and ~125 American White Pelicans.
The woods were slow, but I did find a few Mourning Warblers.
I went home with a record number of flies in the van- no hiding where I went today.
Name: Eric Stager
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Sep 19 16:09:55 2009
At the monthly bird walk today, 17 birders were joined for part of the morning by 15 Habitat Steward trainees. Thanks to Shirley LaVergne, George Kerr and Stan VanSandt for helping with the crowd.
Hornsby was pretty quiet, but we managed to find some good birds and a total of 57 species. Highlights included a glimpse of a Ringed Kingfisher about 100 yards upstream of the Upper Island; Olive-sided Flycatcher; nice looks at a Mississippi Kite; and a flock along the river trail that held several Yellow Warblers along with a Wilson's and Nashville, and Baltimore and Orchard Orioles.
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 1
Mallard 2
Blue-winged Teal 40
Northern Shoveler 6
Least Grebe 2
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Eared Grebe 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 4
Dark Ibis sp. 5
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Mississippi Kite 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 12
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 3
Least Sandpiper 50
White-winged Dove 40
Mourning Dove 4
Monk Parakeet 1
Chimney Swift 1
Hummingbird sp. 2
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 5
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 6
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 1
Bank Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 30
Cliff Swallow 1
Cave Swallow 60
Carolina Chickadee 5
Carolina Wren 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 25
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 4
Wilson's Warbler 1
Summer Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 20
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Great-tailed Grackle 25
Orchard Oriole 3
Baltimore Oriole 2
House Finch 5
House Sparrow 1
Name: Jeff Patterson
Date of sighting: 9/16/09
Date posted: Thu Sep 17 07:37:35 2009
Red-necked Phalarope still present on Pond 1E at 6:30 pm.
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: 09/15/2009
Date posted: Wed Sep 16 11:21:00 2009
The Red-necked Phalarope was still present on pond 1 east. A nice group of perhaps 20 White-faced Ibis were on pond 1 west as well. A brief visit to Platt produced a sunning Crested Caracara on the spoils mound and a few Am Goldfinches were in a mixed flock by the old house.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Sep 12 23:55:29 2009
The September monthly survey held today (12 September) started out quite rainy for the 7 hardy souls who braved the conditions. Once the majority of rain passed, the birds came out and a good number of migrants were noted (including armies of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers). The highlight of the morning were 2 juvenile Red-necked Phalaropes that were found mid-morning on Pond 2 and were still present at the end of the day (and seen by many). Red-necked Phalaropes occur at Hornsby only to the tune of once every 4 or 5 years and this may have been the first time they were discovered on a survey. Two participants in the afternoon were able to add 3 species (Barred Owl, Eastern Bluebird, Painted Bunting), rounding out the day's effort at a more than respectable 88 species. Besides the phalaropes, other highlights included the continuing Mottled Ducks, 16 (record high?) Inca Doves and 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers.
The full results follow.
-- Eric
--
Wood Duck 4
Gadwall 1
Mottled Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 75
Northern Shoveler 14
Northern Pintail 1
Redhead 1
Least Grebe 4
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Eared Grebe 3
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 14
Little Blue Heron 4
Cattle Egret 6
Green Heron 8
White-faced Ibis 14
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 7
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Crested Caracara 2
American Coot 1
Killdeer 4
Black-necked Stilt 1
Spotted Sandpiper 5
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Western Sandpiper 6
Least Sandpiper 8
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
Stilt Sandpiper 1
Wilson's Phalarope 1
Red-necked Phalarope 2
Black Tern 20
Rock Pigeon 55
White-winged Dove 56
Mourning Dove 18
Inca Dove 16
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Barred Owl 2
Chimney Swift 68
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4
Archilochus sp. 3
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 11
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 9
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
Eastern Kingbird 2
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 29
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 35
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 6
Purple Martin 1
Bank Swallow 4
Cliff Swallow 12
Cave Swallow 60
Barn Swallow 49
Carolina Chickadee 20
HYBRID Titmouse 6
Carolina Wren 26
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 106
Eastern Bluebird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 48
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 2
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 19
Wilson's Warbler 7
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Northern Cardinal 97
Painted Bunting 1
Dickcissel 3
Red-winged Blackbird 36
Common Grackle 7
Great-tailed Grackle 75
Orchard Oriole 4
Baltimore Oriole 40
House Finch 3
House Sparrow 3
Name: Andrew Balinsky
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Sep 12 15:47:58 2009
2 Immature Red-necked Phalaropes in the west part of Pond 2. They shared the pond with about 25 Black Terns.
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Sep 1 17:48:34 2009
Good numbers of shorebirds on the ponds. Highlights for the morning included a single Snowy Plover, Juv Black Tern, and White Ibis. Also Eared, Pie Billed, and Least Greabes. LOTS of Yellow Warblers and Blue Gray GC in the woods with a few Empids and Orchard Orioles mixed in.
Name: Lisa Miller
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Aug 30 23:23:35 2009
American Avocet
Red Winged Blackbird
Yellow Warbler
American Crow
Black Necked Stilt
Chimney Swift
Purple Martin
European Starling
Great Tailed Grackle
Name: Jeff Patterson
Date of sighting: August 23, 2009
Date posted: Mon Aug 24 12:47:44 2009
Visited the ponds Sunday evening. A good rain on August 12 means THE MOSQUITOS ARE BACK!!! Mostly at Pond 3. Other sightings included:
Orchard Oriole (10 females and young males)
Least Sandpiper (~50)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (~5)
Western Sandpiper (~5)
Solitary Sandpiper (3)
Stilt Sandpiper (1)
Spotted Sandpiper (5)
Pectoral Sandpiper (8)
Semipalmated Plover (1)
Eared Grebe (1)
Snowy Egret (10)
Little Blue Heron (3)
Green Heron (5)
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Barn and Cliff Swallows (numbers seem to be diminishing)
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet (1)
Wilson's Phalarope (4)
Blue-winged Teal (over 200 mostly female)
Northern Shoveler (~10)
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Aug 18 15:07:55 2009
An hour or so on the ponds yielded a nice mix of birds including a couple of Wilson's Phalaropes and a single White Ibis. The edge of the woods held a male Yellow Warbler and a cooperative YB Cuckoo.
Name: kirsti Harms
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Aug 15 18:04:56 2009
Eight hardy participants joined Eric Stager, Shirley Laverne and me for the monthly bird walk. It was one of our usual warmish August mornings. I'm not complaining, but the recent rain (yay!) raised the water level in pond 1W so there were few mud flats. Shorebirds were more scarce than in recent weeks. Barn swallows were the bird of the day. Black-necked Stilts were in second place. Listed below are (approximate) numbers of what we saw around the ponds (including 3):
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 10
Mottled Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 2
Least Grebe 5
Eared Grebe 1
Snowy Egret 4
Little Blue Heron 10
Green Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 15
Black-necked Stilt 50
Spotted Sandpiper 10
Solitary Sandpiper 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Western Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 50
Pectoral Sandpiper 2
Rock Pigeon 10
White-winged Dove 20
Mourning Dove 6
Monk Parakeet 1
Chimney Swift 5
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
White-eyed Vireo 6
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 2
Purple Martin 10
N. Rough-winged Swallow 1
Cave Swallow 15
Barn Swallow 200
Carolina Chickadee 5
HYBRID Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 50
Summer Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 75
Red-winged Blackbird 75
Common Grackle 20
Great-tailed Grackle 25
Orchard Oriole 4
House Sparrow 2
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Aug 11 22:17:23 2009
I stopped by the ponds early this evening (11 August) after work where it was still a balmy 102 degrees (with no breeze) at 7pm. The sludgeflats on Pond 1W are still looking quite nice for shorebirds and there were good numbers present. There are also a surprising number continuing on Pond 3 as there is a lot of exposed shoreline there as well. My tallies for 1 hr 45 minutes of stint searching were:
Snowy Plover 1 (juvenile; pond 1W)
Killdeer 35
Black-necked Stilt 102 (96 on one pass of Pond 3; all likely
adults & juveniles that summered/hatched at/near the ponds)
American Avocet 11
Spotted Sandpiper 28
Solitary Sandpiper 30
Lesser Yellowlegs 13 (just don't get many Greater Yellowlegs in
early fall here)
Upland Sandpiper 1 (heard-only flyover)
Semipalmated Sandpiper 13
Western Sandpiper 16
Least Sandpiper 625 (made some effort to get an accurate count on these)
Baird's Sandpiper 28
Pectoral Sandpiper 9
Stilt Sandpiper 4
Wilson's Phalarope 25
A few other birds of local interest included the still-present Mottled Duck (Pond 1E), a juv. Tricolored Heron (edge of Pond 2) and a Lark Sparrow (only ever a migrant/visitor on the property).
Name: Eric Isley
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Aug 11 13:30:23 2009
Had one male Yellow headed blackbird on the northwest corner of pond one east hanging out with some grackles
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 8 August 2009
Date posted: Sun Aug 9 15:33:21 2009
The August monthly survey held yesterday (8 August) continued the recent trends: scorching temperatures, no rainfall (okay, the afternoon group did have a few seconds of trace amounts), and a decent variety of birds. We had 11 of our regular participants in the morning with an assist from Tim Fennell and his shorebird class (who found our only Eastern Kingbird and our only morning American Crow!) track down 87 species. Claude Morris and Matt Colbert braved the afternoon heat with me for 3 hours to add 2 additional birds (Wood Duck, Louisiana Waterthrush) and Kevin Anderson did some early evening birding to add 4 more (all 3 expected owls plus Dickcissel) giving us a very nice total of 93 species for the day.
It is obvious from the counts that both Black-necked Stilts and Barn Swallows had very good breeding success this summer while a few of our other summer residents are becoming elusive (no Indigo Buntings) as they have gone quiet. Fall migration and post-breeding dispersal was much in evidence with several migrating shorebirds (including a surprising amount on Pond 3), flycatchers, and a few warblers that were tallied. The continued presences of a male Yellow-headed Blackbird (near the ne. corner of Pond 1West) and a Mottled Duck (present on-and-off since spring on Pond 1East) were birds that are not typically expected during early August.
The full results follow.
-- Eric
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 60
Wood Duck 1
Gadwall 1
Mottled Duck 1
Blue-winged Teal 7
Northern Shoveler 2
Green-winged Teal 1
Redhead 1
Ruddy Duck 2
Least Grebe 4
Eared Grebe 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 10
Little Blue Heron 7
Tricolored Heron 1
Cattle Egret 1
Green Heron 13
White Ibis 1
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 8
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 1
American Coot 1
Semipalmated Plover 1
Killdeer 25
Black-necked Stilt 75
American Avocet 2
Spotted Sandpiper 12
Solitary Sandpiper 19
Lesser Yellowlegs 30
Upland Sandpiper 6
Semipalmated Sandpiper 10
Western Sandpiper 9
Least Sandpiper 450
Baird's Sandpiper 8
Pectoral Sandpiper 12
Stilt Sandpiper 16
Rock Pigeon 71
White-winged Dove 131
Mourning Dove 35
Monk Parakeet 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 13
Barn Owl 2
Great Horned Owl 1
Barred Owl 1
Common Nighthawk 2
Chimney Swift 53
Archilochus sp. 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 12
Downy Woodpecker 5
Willow Flycatcher 1
Least Flycatcher 5
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
Western Kingbird 9
Eastern Kingbird 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 21
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 33
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 3
Purple Martin 57
N. Rough-winged Swallow 5
Bank Swallow 5
Cave Swallow 15
Barn Swallow 500
Carolina Chickadee 27
HYBRID Titmouse 11
Carolina Wren 34
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9
Eastern Bluebird 3
Northern Mockingbird 10
European Starling 38
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Summer Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 75
Painted Bunting 12
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird 76
Yellow-headed Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 65
Great-tailed Grackle 25
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Orchard Oriole 36
House Sparrow 4
Name: Andrew Brock
Date of sighting: listed below
Date posted: Fri Aug 7 20:29:49 2009
Lesser Goldfinch (black backed)on 8/6/09, Golden-fronted woodpecker on 7/15/09
Name: Stu Wilson
Date of sighting: 2Aug2009
Date posted: Fri Aug 7 13:25:03 2009
Ed Fair and I had quite a good morning of birding. We spend most of our time at the "hawkwatch" location between the #1 ponds, and in the wooded area below the Pond #2 shelter.
Highlights from the ponds:
Violet-green Swallow 1 (probable, posted to Texbirds)
Bank Swallow 3-4
Shorebirds 12 spp (incl 12 American Avocet)
Black Tern 7
Yellow-headed Blackbird 3-4
And from the woods:
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 2
Least Flycatcher 3
Warbling Vireo 1
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
The probable VGSW was on the utility wire that runs along the north side of Pond #1W, ~100 yards from the pond's NE corner, amongst two dozen Barn Swallows. It was a female/juvenile-type bird showing a bit more of a white cheek than Sibley 2000 would suggest, and had a distinctive broken eyering (i.e. eye arcs). We unfortunately were not able to get a photograph.
Name: Dan Belcher
Date of sighting: Tues Aug 4 3p.m.
Date posted: Thu Aug 6 20:33:42 2009
A quick 20 min loop. Amongst the other recent sitings,
1 stilt s.p.
2 pectoral s.p.
1 early yellow warbler by observation blind
No black terns
3 least grebes
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Aug 2 21:01:59 2009
I just visited the ponds and there were about 10 Avocet and at least 6 Black Tern.
Name: Jeff Patterson
Date of sighting: 7/31/09
Date posted: Sat Aug 1 08:17:11 2009
Stopped by the ponds yesterday afternoon. Had 2 birds I’ve not seen posted recently:
American Avocet 1
Black Tern 2
and the following regulars:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Gadwall
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated or Western Sandpiper (I’m still working on these)
Least Sandpiper
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
Red-winged Blackbirds (100s of males, a few females)
Barn Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Name: Scott Johnson
Date of sighting: 7/19/09
Date posted: Mon Jul 20 10:56:13 2009
My wife and I saw 3 Monk Parakeets across from NE corner of pond 1E.
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Jul 19 21:32:32 2009
This evening I got a Yellow-headed Blackbird and an Upland Sandpiper.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Jul 18 14:44:39 2009
Kirsti Harms and I co-lead the monthly walk this morning (18 July). We had a dozen or so participants and were able to get scope views of many of the summer residents like Indigo & Painted Bunting, Great Crested Flycatcher and Summer Tanager. We also were able to get a nice dose of shorebirds with many southbound birds on the move, including a single Snowy Plover that Kirsti & I ran into while scouting out the property beforehand. Below is my totals below for the morning, roughly 73 species that we saw and/or heard this morning. A couple of them were seen either before and/or after the walk and I've marked those with an (*) asterisk.
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 21
Gadwall 1
Mottled Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 4
Northern Shoveler 2
Green-winged Teal 1 (* seen before walk)
Redhead 1 (* seen before walk)
Least Grebe 2
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Eared Grebe 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 20
Little Blue Heron 14
Tricolored Heron 1
Cattle Egret 6
Green Heron 4
White Ibis 16
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Common Moorhen 1 (pond 1W, been present since late Spring)
American Coot 4
Snowy Plover 1 (adult)
Killdeer 14
Black-necked Stilt 20
Spotted Sandpiper 5
Solitary Sandpiper 2
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Western Sandpiper 15
Least Sandpiper 115
Stilt Sandpiper 1
Wilson's Phalarope 1 (* - seen after walk; fresh juvenile, most other shorebird migrants were adults)
Rock Pigeon 40
White-winged Dove 25
Mourning Dove 8
Inca Dove 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 3
Common Nighthawk 5
Chimney Swift 10
Ruby-throated/Black-chinned Hummingbird 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Western Kingbird 5
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 3
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 8
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 1
Purple Martin 125
Bank Swallow 8
Cliff Swallow 40
Barn Swallow 20
Carolina Chickadee 3
Carolina Wren 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
European Starling 45
Summer Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 6
Indigo Bunting 3
Painted Bunting 5
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Yellow-headed Blackbird 2 (* - 1 male before walk; 2 males seen after walk)
Common Grackle 2
Great-tailed Grackle 30
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
Orchard Oriole 4
House Sparrow 4
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Jul 11 22:39:35 2009
The July monthly survey held today (11 July) was a HOT one. Ten participants in the morning session had a productive couple hours before it got too hot and were able to locate 73 species. One other hardy soul (Claude Morris) joined me in the afternoon to brave temperature bordering the century mark and we were able to add 8 (!) additional species to the list, given us an overall count total of 81. July is a time to see young birds that have recently fledged and are moving about on their own and we were able to see this much in evidence with large number of swallows, Purple Martins as well as the ever-present Hornsby cardinal population. July is also the time to see the start of southbound migrants as well as wandering wading birds and we also had a good sampling of this with Orchard Orioles, White Ibis and a slew of shorebirds (found in a big flock in the afternoon on Pond 1W). Other highlights include the re-appearance of the 2 Mottled Ducks on Pond 1E.
Full list follows....
-- Eric
--
--
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 18
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 2
Mottled Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 5
Northern Shoveler 2
Green-winged Teal 1
Least Grebe 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Eared Grebe 1
Neotropic Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 30
Little Blue Heron 20
Cattle Egret 12
Green Heron 11
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
White Ibis 3
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 8
Red-shouldered Hawk 9
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 1
Common Moorhen 1
American Coot 5
Killdeer 50
Black-necked Stilt 48
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Long-billed Curlew 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 13
Western Sandpiper 25
Least Sandpiper 9
Stilt Sandpiper 2
Long-billed Dowitcher 2
Rock Pigeon 250
White-winged Dove 300
Mourning Dove 19
Inca Dove 1
Monk Parakeet 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 6
Barn Owl 1
Barred Owl 1
Chimney Swift 2
Archilochus sp. 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 9
Downy Woodpecker 5
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 4
Western Kingbird 10
Eastern Kingbird 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 13
White-eyed Vireo 30
Red-eyed Vireo 6
American Crow 4
Purple Martin 312
Bank Swallow 1
Cliff Swallow 60
Cave Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 80
Carolina Chickadee 14
HYBRID Titmouse 9
Carolina Wren 25
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9
Eastern Bluebird 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 98
Summer Tanager 5
Northern Cardinal 160
Indigo Bunting 7
Painted Bunting 30
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird 13
Common Grackle 50
Great-tailed Grackle 99
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
Orchard Oriole 7
House Finch 4
House Sparrow 5
Name: kevin anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Mon Jun 22 15:57:11 2009
walked the Platt "pond" and river wetlands this morning - flushed an anhinga from the pond [along with two green herons and three great blue herons]
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Jun 20 21:46:56 2009
Jeff Patterson and I co-lead one portion of the Monthly bird walk this morning (20 June). I think we had ~15 enthusiastic participants and we managed to cover a portion of the river trail to the Xeric/Mesquite'y area including Platt Pond, we visited the Upper Island View Trail and also checked out the birds on each of the main ponds. Stan Van Sandt lead another group of folks, mostly young Cub Scouts, to the ponds and also in the woods near the ponds. I don't have Stan's totals so what is below represents the total from my group plus anything I had before we started (most notably, a rather vocal heard-only Common Moorhen on 1West). The highlight of the walk for us was an adult male Anhinga that flushed up from Platt Pond and circled around a couple different times, affording most everyone in the group excellent views.
The complete list follows:
Wood Duck 4
Gadwall 1
Blue-winged Teal 5
Northern Shoveler 3
Green-winged Teal 1
Redhead 1
Ruddy Duck 1
Least Grebe 2
Eared Grebe 1
Anhinga 1
Snowy Egret 18
Little Blue Heron 11
Green Heron 3
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 1
Common Moorhen 1
American Coot 5
Killdeer 7
Black-necked Stilt 30
Rock Pigeon 25
White-winged Dove 15
Mourning Dove 5
Monk Parakeet 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 3
Chimney Swift 6
Ruby-throated/Black-chinned Hummingbird 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Western Kingbird 3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 7
Loggerhead Shrike 2
White-eyed Vireo 8
Red-eyed Vireo 2
American Crow 5
Purple Martin 50
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6
Cliff Swallow 75
Barn Swallow 30
Carolina Chickadee 8
Cactus Wren 5
Eastern Bluebird 4
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 250
Summer Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 25
Indigo Bunting 8
Painted Bunting 14
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 10
Great-tailed Grackle 45
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
House Finch 2
House Sparrow 6
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 13 June 2009
Date posted: Sun Jun 14 20:36:47 2009
Saturday's (June 13, 2009) monthly bird survey at Hornsby Bend confirmed that migration is over (except for lingering White-rumped and Pectoral Sandpipers) and summer is here (hot temperatures and may signs of breeding/nesting). Eighteen totals participants (16 in themorning, 3 in the afternoon) were able to find 71 species on the property during the day, which is a impressive total for mid-June. The majority of species were located by the folks during the morning session though the brave souls that endure temps hovering around 100 in the afternoon were able to add a few species (N. Shovelers, Cattle Egrets and a cormorant not ID'ed to species). Highlights would have to be 2 Green Kingfishers (one from the upper Island View Trail, the other at the old river crossing) and a Prothonotary Warbler along the river at the end of the Black Willow Trail.
The complete list for the day follows:
-- Eric
--
--
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 25
Wood Duck 18
Gadwall 1
Blue-winged Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 2
Green-winged Teal 1
Redhead 1
Lesser Scaup 1
Ruddy Duck 1
Least Grebe 1 (Pond 2)
Eared Grebe 1
cormorant sp. 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Snowy Egret 33
Little Blue Heron 25
Cattle Egret 7
Green Heron 15
White Ibis 1 (immature, has been hanging out at the ponds the last few weeks)
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 6
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 1
American Coot 7
Killdeer 9
Black-necked Stilt 30
White-rumped Sandpiper 5 (elusive looks in the morning at birds on
the ponds, 2 cooperative scopable birds in the drying basins in the
afternoon)
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Rock Pigeon 79
White-winged Dove 147
Mourning Dove 21
Inca Dove 4
Monk Parakeet 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 11
Barn Owl 1
Chimney Swift 2
Archilochus sp. 2
Green Kingfisher 2 (1 from the upper island view trial; one from the
old river crossing)
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 7
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Western Kingbird 5
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 16
White-eyed Vireo 30
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 9
Purple Martin 50
N. Rough-winged Swallow 8
Cliff Swallow 154
Cave Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 50
Carolina Chickadee 35
HYBRID Titmouse 6
Carolina Wren 35
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Eastern Bluebird 3
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 415
Prothonotary Warbler 1 (along the river from the end of the Black Willow Trail)
Summer Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 121
Indigo Bunting 14
Painted Bunting 30
Red-winged Blackbird 11
Common Grackle 10
Great-tailed Grackle 101
Brown-headed Cowbird 16
House Finch 1
House Sparrow 8
Name: Peter Enlish
Date of sighting: June 9
Date posted: Wed Jun 10 11:58:18 2009
The UT Biology of Birds group saw a male Anhinga taking off from the ponds around 10a and soaring off to the north.
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Jun 6 19:24:18 2009
Location: Utley Bridge (Hwy 969) to Tarcoola
Observation date: 6/6/09
Summer is here and the heat is on. On a day that proved itself to be a difficult birding day we managed to find two Prothonotary Warblers, our target bird.
Some of our better sightings for the day include Prothonotary Warbler, Bald Eagle, Northern Parula, Green Kingfisher, and Swainson's Hawk.
The rest of our list of 45 species was rather common.
What was not common was our group of birders. I have to thank Julie Bollman, Pam Hohman, Sam Byars, Chris Masey, Jason Stuck, Kevin Anderson, and Eric Carpenter for their help today.
Number of species: 45
Wood Duck 8
Great Blue Heron 3
Snowy Egret 5
Little Blue Heron 1
Cattle Egret 45
Green Heron 9
Black Vulture 23
Turkey Vulture 25
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 4
Swainson's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 3
Killdeer 1
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 2
Inca Dove 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 5
Belted Kingfisher 2
Green Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
Eastern Kingbird 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 3
White-eyed Vireo 31
Red-eyed Vireo 5
American Crow 8
Purple Martin 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6
Cliff Swallow 100
Barn Swallow 4
Carolina Chickadee 42
Tufted x Black-crested Titmouse (hybrid) 17
Carolina Wren 14
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Eastern Bluebird 6
Northern Parula 1
Prothonotary Warbler 2
Summer Tanager 5
Northern Cardinal 52
Painted Bunting 21
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
House Finch 2
House Sparrow 15
Name: Dave Dplan
Date of sighting: 06-05-2009
Date posted: Sat Jun 6 15:17:27 2009
Saw a Blue Grosbeak on River Trail off of Platt. The first 500 yards was full of Painted and Indigo Buntings, White Eyed Vireos, and Yellow Billed Cuckoos. Saw 3 Wood Ducks and 4 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on pond 3? off of the River Trail.
Name: Michael Pfeil
Date of sighting: 5/30/09
Date posted: Sat May 30 14:21:49 2009
Saw a male singing Prothonotary Warbler with two other people this morning, near the upper island river view
Name: Eric Stager
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun May 17 23:56:11 2009
Spent a couple of hours this afternoon, with not much new to report but a very vocal Prothonotary at the Upper Island View. There's quite an Empid clinic going on below the birding shelter, with calling Least, Willow, and Alder.
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun May 17 18:53:18 2009
Birded with Tom Spencer for a few hours this morning with the following highlights:
-White-Faced Ibis-a single bird that landed about mid-morning.
-large group of Black Terns
-Buff-breasted SP
-Cinammon Teal (boy and girl)
-Marsh Wren (1)
-Olive-sided Flycatcher (dead pecan branches at intersection of River Trail)
-Orchard Orioles
-E Wood Pewee
-Black Throated Green Warbler
-Chestnut-sided Warbler
-Wilson's Warbler
-Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
-Lots of Empids (Least and Alder)
Didn't see Eric and Maggie's Balckburnian but a nice mix for the morning.
Name: Kirsti Harms
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun May 17 13:36:54 2009
I came by for a few hours Sunday morning to see what the rains had brought in. Mostly birded the area just below the birding shelter and around pond 3. The blooming retamas were pretty busy. Yellow warblers were plentiful, plus a few American redstarts and Magnolia Warblers. One Canada warbler and a common yellowthroat. There were also quite a few Empids--I saw and heard Willow (3-4), Alder (2) and Least (3-4) flycatchers. An Eastern woodpewee was calling from the river trail area.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 16 May 2009
Date posted: Sun May 17 07:11:56 2009
Maggie Burnett and I spent several hours yesterday (16 May) at Hornsby with a couple visits elsewhere and also a break in the early afternoon to wait out the rains. Still a fair numbers of migrants about and a few new ones showed up after the rains. We were able to coax both an Alder and a Willow Flycatcher into singing during the afternoon and also had 3 singing Leasts. A handful of warbler species including 2 Mournings and 1 female Blackburnian. Shorebird wise, 3 Buff-breasteds continued and a new addition of 2 Black-bellied Plovers found by Paul Sunby in the hour or so before dusk on Pond 1W. After the storms, we ran across a few groups of Franklin's Gulls (125+) as well as 15+ Black Terns that were hanging out on the sludgeflats. A bit surprising was a Common Moorhen that was hanging out on the 1West sludgeflats with some of the coots.
The 2 Mottled Ducks continue on both 1East and 1West.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri May 15 22:33:02 2009
The make-up of the shorebirds this evening was pretty close to last night, though numbers may have been down a little bit across the board. Buff-breasteds did increase though and I found at least 3.
Right before dark I ran across a small flock of warblers (2 Yellows, 2 Am. Redstarts, and 1 Wilson's) near the birding shelter.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 14 May 2009
Date posted: Fri May 15 01:03:34 2009
My first Hornsby Buff-breasted Sandpiper of the spring on 1West this evening (14 May). Thirteen species of shorebirds in all - pretty much the usual fare with White-rumped Sandpipers now being the most abundant at 275+ birds. Other interesting shorebirds include 2 American Golden-Plovers (both mostly in basic but one starting to transition) and 1 Semipal. Plover.
A brief walk in the woods on the Platt side of the property yielded an Olive-sided Flycatcher and 3 Alder/Willow-types that never would vocalize.
Also had 1 juv. White Ibis over the ponds and a female Yellow-headed Blackbird along the north edge of 1East.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: May 9th, 2009
Date posted: Sun May 10 07:12:18 2009
Yesterday's (May 9th) monthly survey at Hornsby Bend cracked the century mark for species with 103 and felt like it almost cracked that barrier in temperature, though I think the high was likely only in the low 90s. The morning crew of 11+ eager participants scoured the property and came up with 99 species. The birding slowed down considerably after that though I lingered around all day, adding Anhinga, N. Rough-winged Swallow and Canada Warbler on my own before one other birder joined my for the afternoon session where we able to find a Common Nighthawk to add to the list.
Slow but steady south winds have been present much of the week and explain why migrants were so hard to come by. Still, there were a few around and they complemented our summer residents, all of which seem to be around in good supply. Highlights of the day would have to be 2 Mottled Ducks on the ponds (present for the last week), 1 Anhinga, 1 White Ibis, a Eurasian Collared-Dove (rarely encountered on the property), a Green Kingfisher, a heard-only Pileated Woodpecker, and a Prothonotary Warbler.
The full results follow.
-- Eric
--
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 11
Wood Duck 6
Gadwall 2
Mottled Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 51
Cinnamon Teal 1
Northern Shoveler 7
Green-winged Teal 1
Redhead 2
Ruddy Duck 5
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Eared Grebe 5
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 12
Little Blue Heron 4
Cattle Egret 33
Green Heron 4
White Ibis 1
Black Vulture 12
Turkey Vulture 20
Red-shouldered Hawk 7
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Swainson's Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Crested Caracara 2
American Coot 33
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 9
Black-necked Stilt 13
Spotted Sandpiper 6
Lesser Yellowlegs 9
Semipalmated Sandpiper 8
Least Sandpiper 90
White-rumped Sandpiper 29
Baird's Sandpiper 14
Pectoral Sandpiper 13
Stilt Sandpiper 2
Wilson's Phalarope 75
Rock Pigeon 111
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1
White-winged Dove 72
Mourning Dove 22
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 20
Barn Owl 1
Common Nighthawk 1
Chimney Swift 10
Black-chinned Hummingbird 4
Archilochus sp. 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 10
Downy Woodpecker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Alder Flycatcher 2
Least Flycatcher 4
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 6
Western Kingbird 20
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 13
White-eyed Vireo 58
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 4
Purple Martin 45
N. Rough-winged Swallow 1
Bank Swallow 3
Cliff Swallow 72
Barn Swallow 26
Carolina Chickadee 43
HYBRID Titmouse 10
Carolina Wren 30
Marsh Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Eastern Bluebird 8
Swainson's Thrush 3
Northern Mockingbird 10
European Starling 15
Cedar Waxwing 55
Nashville Warbler 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Prothonotary Warbler 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Wilson's Warbler 2
Canada Warbler 1
Summer Tanager 9
Clay-colored Sparrow 3
Lark Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 111
Indigo Bunting 21
Painted Bunting 25
Dickcissel 3
Red-winged Blackbird 14
Common Grackle 1
Great-tailed Grackle 20
Brown-headed Cowbird 18
Orchard Oriole 3
House Finch 7
House Sparrow 8
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 7 May 2009
Date posted: Fri May 8 01:53:33 2009
The 2 Mottled Ducks were still present this evening (7 May) on 1East when I got there but had disappeared by time I left around 8pm. A noticeable shorebird difference from my last visit a week ago as there was 70 Stilt Sandpipers, 2 Am. Golden-Plovers (hadn't seen any in awhile) and 7 Semipalmated Plovers amongst the other sandpipers on 1West. I also had a flyover adult White Ibis.
Most interesting sighting was a baby pig/boar which I photographed around 8pm near the northeast corner of Pond 1East.
Name: Charles Smith
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue May 5 19:21:24 2009
Pair of Mottled Duck remain. Perched on the "line" across Pond 1E about 3:30 pm this afternon (Thanks, Eric). Also a drake Cinnamon Teal Pond 1W.
Name: Kenneth Gregory
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Mon May 4 17:12:21 2009
Orchard Orioles at Platt - not far from the gate, just past the big Pecan trees. Yellow-headed Blackbirds on the road between ponds 1W and 2.
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat May 2 21:14:33 2009
Location: Big Webberville Park - Hwy 969
Observation date: 5/2/09
Sometime there are days in the field that defy what has come to be expected as normal. How can I explain five Green Kingfishers yet no Belted Kingfishers? How can I explain five Anhinga yet no Osprey? Such was our day today.
In spite of missing those two usual species we did manage to list 68. Some of the highlights include the Anhinga, Green Kingfisher, Baltimore Oriole, Tri-colored Heron, Bald Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker, and our target bird of the day Prothonotary Warbler.
In our list is an interesting mix of our winter species, summer species and migrants.
We also had an impressive list of birders that braved the 15 windy miles. Our birders today include Sally Breed, Joan Bishop, Julia Balinsky, Andy Balinsky, Chris Masey, Nevin Durish, Jason Stuck and John Barr. Thanks for the help collecting all these birds.
Number of species: 68
Wood Duck 8
Blue-winged Teal 17
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Anhinga 5
Great Blue Heron 7
Great Egret 1
Little Blue Heron 5
Tricolored Heron 1
Cattle Egret 75
Green Heron 3
Black Vulture 45
Turkey Vulture 33
Bald Eagle 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 12
Swainson's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 9
Killdeer 1
Spotted Sandpiper 26
White-winged Dove 17
Mourning Dove 7
Common Ground-Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 4
Chimney Swift 5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Black-chinned Hummingbird 2
Ruby-throated/Black-chinned Hummingbird 7
Green Kingfisher 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 17
Downy Woodpecker 4
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Empidonax sp. 5
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 9
Western Kingbird 3
Eastern Kingbird 12
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 7
White-eyed Vireo 33
Red-eyed Vireo 5
American Crow 12
Purple Martin 7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4
Cliff Swallow 100
Barn Swallow 25
Carolina Chickadee 55
Tufted/Black-crested Titmouse 42
Carolina Wren 22
Eastern Bluebird 5
Northern Mockingbird 3
Cedar Waxwing 65
Nashville Warbler 10
Northern Parula 16
Yellow Warbler 1
Prothonotary Warbler 8
Summer Tanager 6
Northern Cardinal 75
Indigo Bunting 12
Painted Bunting 26
Dickcissel 3
Red-winged Blackbird 32
Common Grackle 12
Great-tailed Grackle 20
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Orchard Oriole 5
Baltimore Oriole 1
Lesser Goldfinch 8
House Sparrow 15
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Thu Apr 30 22:34:29 2009
'Twas surprised to run into two pure-looking (no sign of other parentage) Mottled Ducks on 1West this evening. I took a few photos but lost track of them while I sorted thru shorebirds. I couldn't find them when I left but perhaps they went back to Pond 3. I know they've shown up here in the past but these are the first for me since I started canvasing the ponds in 2005.
Name: Barry Lyon
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Apr 26 22:01:19 2009
A late afternoon trip to the ponds and Platt Lane proved very worthwhile despite a gray sky and persistent wind from the east. Shorebirds and waterfowl were present in good numbers on Pond 1 West while a noticeable movement of landbirds made things interesting at the start of the River Trail off Platt Lane.
The unquestionable highlight of the outing was a group of 3 female Red-breasted Mergansers on Pond 2, northwest of the observation blind, around 5:30 p.m.
Other highlights included lots of Wilsoon's Phalaropes spread over 1 West and 2; a Yellow-headed Blackbird along the levee at the t-intersection between 1 West and 1 East; and on Platt Lane, 4 Eastern Kingbirds, 2 Yellow-breasted Chats, 5 Baltimore Orioles, 1 Red-eyed Vireo, and 1 Eastern Wood-Pewee.
Good birding,
Barry Lyon
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Apr 26 06:36:45 2009
I led 2 other birders out on the property today (25 April) for a 2nd TOS field trip. We covered a bit more ground on the Platt side of the property but had slightly less variety in the woods and were perhaps hampered by the stronger southeasterly winds. The ibis flock from last night was not present and shorebirds were in smaller numbers.
The highlight for me on this day was my first Blue-winged Warbler at Hornsby ever, which we found almost all the way down to the old river crossing. We also had a single Swainson's Thrush, 2 Eastern Kingbirds and 2 Mississippi Kites, all which were the first I'd seen this year on the property. Kevin Anderson had mentioned that he had 18 Mississippi Kites fly-over at some point.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri Apr 24 23:22:52 2009
I spent much of the day today (24 April) on the property. The morning was spent with 4 other birders as I was leading them on a TOS field trip - we ended up with 95 species. In the afternoon, I was out there by myself and picked up a few more to end up at 104. Some highlights:
- 10 species of warblers - Nashville (many), followed by very small numbers (or singles) of Yellow-breasted Chat, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-rumped, Tennessee, Am. Redstart, Wilson's, Yellow, Black-throated Green, and Common Yellowthroat.
- all 5 expected peeps (Least, Baird's, Semipalmated, Western, and White-rumpeds) on Pond 1W.
- very solid numbers of both Indigo and Painted Buntings.
- 1 Warbling Vireo
- 5 Least Grebes and 4 Pied-billeds (which are harder to come by on the property than Least now)
The best find was a single Glossy Ibis in with 21 White-faced that I ran across at 7.15pm (their numbers had been growing all day). I digiscoped it and left the group still there when I left the property around 7.50pm.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Apr 21 22:46:38 2009
Another check of the ponds late this afternoon (6.35 - 7.50pm) revealed that the water level on Pond 1W has gone down a bit from Saturday's storm and is still quite prime for shorebirds. Lots of shorebirds present but nothing out of the ordinary.
The real treat tonight was a male Greater Scaup on the big pond (Pond 2), a bird that I rarely run across at Hornsby. I spent quite a bit of time scoping and digiscoping it as it was swimming with a male Lesser Scaup and the two were side-by-side and in profile several times, allowing great comparative looks that anyone who's ever struggled with this species pair would certainly find instructive.
Name: Jeff Patterson
Date of sighting: 4/18/09
Date posted: Sun Apr 19 08:32:17 2009
George Kerr and I led 5 intrepid birders out into the rain yesterday morning at about 8:00 on the monthly birdwalk. It turned into a great day to bird and by 1:00 pm we ended up with 66 species, the most notable of which were a single Forster's Tern sitting on the mudflates of Pond 1W and 40 Wilson's Phalaropes. Day list follows:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Least Grebe
Eared Grebe
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Franklin's Gull
Forster’s Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Monk Parakeet
Barred Owl
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Purple Martin
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
House Sparrow
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 16 April 2009
Date posted: Fri Apr 17 06:45:58 2009
A quick stop by the ponds this evening (16 April) and again I had an odd spring sighting of White Ibis. This time it was 2 juveniles (2 weeks ago it was 2 adults) and they never landed as they were headed east-north-east.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Apr 12 14:58:19 2009
Following up on yesterday's survey, I made a quick mid-morning (10:40am'ish) stop by the ponds to see what the early morning storms might have thrown our way. Picking thru the shorebirds on 1W, an obvious change from yesterday was a rather large group of Western Sandpipers. After working all day yesterday to find just 3, today I easily counted 45+ Westerns with almost all of them in bright breeding/alternate plumage. Of the 5 expected peeps, Westerns typical come thru in the smallest numbers and today's number may have been close to a high for me. Other birds that were obvious additions since yesterday were 11 Yellow-headed Blackbirds hiding along the north edge of 1W, 2 Semipalmated Plovers on the flats in the middle of the 1W, and then at least 3 American Wigeons on Pond 2.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 11 April 2009
Date posted: Sun Apr 12 14:50:20 2009
The April monthly survey on April 11th featured an energetic crew of birders who were rewarded with a nice variety of birds (115 species) throughout the day. Fourteen participants in the morning covered all areas and found 111 species while working thru overcast skies and cooler than expected temperatures. I remained on the property all day and then was joined in the afternoon session by one other birder and we were able to add a few additions (Swainson's Hawk, Western Sandpiper, 2 Barred Owls, Summer Tanager) to the morning list before getting interrupted by a brief downpour that cut our Platt Lane/River Trail walk a bit short.
The change of seasons was noted with a few of our winter residents missing or notably lower in numbers, contrasting with the rise in numbers/variety of migrating shorebirds and several newly-arrived summer residents. There were no super rare finds but highlights wold have to include: 14 Neotropic Cormorants, 1 Barn Owl, plus a lingering Winter Wren and Spotted Towhee.
The complete list follows.
-- Eric
--
--
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 8
Wood Duck 10
Gadwall 3
Blue-winged Teal 195
Cinnamon Teal 8
Northern Shoveler 1135
Green-winged Teal 17
Redhead 11
Ring-necked Duck 2
Lesser Scaup 22
Bufflehead 2
Ruddy Duck 113
Least Grebe 3
Eared Grebe 11
Neotropic Cormorant 14
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 11
Snowy Egret 120
Little Blue Heron 120
Cattle Egret 81
Green Heron 3
Black Vulture 14
Turkey Vulture 7
Osprey 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 8
Swainson's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 1
Sora 5
American Coot 363
American Golden-Plover 7
Killdeer 13
Black-necked Stilt 2
Spotted Sandpiper 6
Solitary Sandpiper 3
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 35
Upland Sandpiper 9
Semipalmated Sandpiper 3
Western Sandpiper 3
Least Sandpiper 350
Baird's Sandpiper 17
Pectoral Sandpiper 80
Long-billed Dowitcher 15
Wilson's Snipe 4
Wilson's Phalarope 9
Franklin's Gull 73
Rock Pigeon 89
White-winged Dove 44
Mourning Dove 14
Inca Dove 2
Monk Parakeet 1
Barn Owl 1
Barred Owl 2
Chimney Swift 41
Archilochus sp. 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 12
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Western Kingbird 7
Eastern Kingbird 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 18
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 48
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 14
American Crow 6
Purple Martin 50
N. Rough-winged Swallow 75
Cliff Swallow 240
Barn Swallow 60
Carolina Chickadee 18
HYBRID Titmouse 14
Carolina Wren 27
House Wren 4
Winter Wren 1
Marsh Wren 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 15
Eastern Bluebird 4
Hermit Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 8
European Starling 21
American Pipit 4
Cedar Waxwing 52
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 12
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Common Yellowthroat 3
Summer Tanager 1
Spotted Towhee 1
Clay-colored Sparrow 2
Field Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 1
Lark Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 38
Grasshopper Sparrow 4
Lincoln's Sparrow 64
Swamp Sparrow 7
White-throated Sparrow 5
White-crowned Sparrow 14
Northern Cardinal 105
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 83
meadowlark sp. 3
Common Grackle 19
Great-tailed Grackle 57
Brown-headed Cowbird 40
House Finch 7
House Sparrow 5
Name: Al smith
Date of sighting: April 11th
Date posted: Sun Apr 12 14:48:41 2009
Bobcat behind the sheds heading down towards river.
Name: Stephanie Barko
Date of sighting: 4/3/09
Date posted: Sun Apr 5 16:39:34 2009
2 Least Grebe
1 Eared Grebe
10 Double-crested Cormorant
15 Ruddy Duck
2 Wood Duck
2 Green-winged Teal
6 Blue-winged Teal
2 Cinnamon Teal
~ 1K Northern Shoveler
5 Lesser Scaup
4 Bufflehead
1 Great Blue Heron
3 Turkey Vulture
3 Osprey
1 Red-shouldered Hawk
1 American Kestrel
80 American Coot
5 Solitary Sandpiper
6 Least Sandpiper
2 Killdeer
2 Rock Pigeon
2 Mourning Dove
12 White-winged Dove
2 Chimney Swift
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
4 Eastern Phoebe
3 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
1 Blue Jay
2 American Crow
12 White-eyed Vireo
2 Eastern Bluebird
1 Northern Mockingbird
6 European Starling
12 Purple Martin
13 Barn Swallow
7 Cliff Swallow
1 Carolina Chickadee
2 Black-crested Titmouse
6 House Finch
12 Lincoln's Sparrow
12 Savannah Sparrow
12 Northern Cardinal
12 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Eastern Meadowlark
6 Great-tailed Grackle
Name: Jeff Patterson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Apr 4 21:36:28 2009
This evening had LB Dowitchers, 20 Am. Golden Plovers, Least, Pectoral, and a Semipalmated Sandpiper, Black-necked Stilt, 3 teal species (4 Cinn), 4 Wilson's Phalaropes, Marsh Wren, 20 Snowy Egrets, 1 Lesser Scaup, Clay-colored, Lincoln's, Field and Savanna Sparrows, and a Great-horn Owl hooting. Also at Walnut Creek WW Pond had FOS Green-backed Heron and 10 Cattle Egrets, 1 female Bufflehead and an oddly colored Redhead (red eye, dark back and orangish tip of the bill, along with other "Redhead" colorations). Perhaps a hybrid?
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Apr 4 17:50:01 2009
Location: Webberville - Big Webberville Park
Observation date: 4/4/09
Two species stand out as being good finds today. A Pileated Woodpecker, just because it is not an everyday bird, and two Great Crested Flycatchers, because they represent a return of our summer birds, were probably our two best species of the day. We also got an unusually high count of Crested Caracara at 10. I also think we got three Nashville Warblers singing. It was an incomplete song but I listed them as Nashville.
I also need to mention that we saw no Osprey, White-eyed Vireos are plentiful and we got several Little Blue Herons.
Our species total was a bit low at 42. Again I think the blustery wind early in the morning kept some of the smaller birds hidden in the woods.
This month I want to again thank Ananda Debnath for being my co-pilot. Once the clouds and chill burned off it turned into a beautiful day. Thanks Ananda.
Number of species: 42
Wood Duck 6
Gadwall 20
American Wigeon 12
Blue-winged Teal 4
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 3
Little Blue Heron 4
Black Vulture 22
Turkey Vulture 18
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 8
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 10
Spotted Sandpiper 11
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 12
Ruby-throated/Black-chinned Hummingbird 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 9
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
White-eyed Vireo 12
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 8
Cliff Swallow 25
Cave Swallow 10
Barn Swallow 18
Carolina Chickadee 22
Black-crested Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 18
Northern Mockingbird 1
Cedar Waxwing 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 10
White-crowned Sparrow 14
Northern Cardinal 32
Red-winged Blackbird 60
Great-tailed Grackle 80
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Thu Apr 2 23:37:21 2009
It was one of those late afternoon visits to Hornsby that reminds just how many different birds fly in and out of Hornsby, quite a few probably never seen/noticed by birders. While I was driving west along the north edge of 1East, I had a duck fly up that I could tell was different. It turned out to be a female Hooded Merganser (my first April record on the property) which flew rapidly to the west and then banked along the river and looked to put down somewhere around Platt Pond. Later on, I was sorting thru shorebirds (including my FOS Semipalmated Sandpiper) and just happened to pull my head/eyes away from the scope to have an adult White Ibis (also my first April record) fly generally west over Pond 1W, never landing and heading up river and out of sight. About 45 minutes later, I was near the greenhouse and looking out over Pond 2 at a flock of Snowy Egrets when I had another adult White Ibis fly just about over my head, also heading west. I then tried to pish up a Winter Wren down along the upper island view trail but was unsuccessful - Maggie Burnett and I had one there on March 31st and was hoping to add it as another first April record.
I ended the day at around 8pm as it was getting dark on the road between 1E and Pond 2 and had a couple clear looks at a Bobcat there.
Name: Eric Stager
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Mar 29 15:49:54 2009
I birded Hornsby from 7:30 to 1:30 today. Lots of warbler activity in the hackberries along Pond 3; mostly Yellow-rumped, but also a few Nashvilles, Orange-crowneds, a Black-and-White, and a Black-throated Green. I flushed an owl along the trail a bit north of Pond 3. Only got a glimpse but it looked very pale, maybe a Barn. Also a Sharpie flying around this area.
The ponds held nice breeding Eared Grebes, 4 Least Grebes, at least 8 Cinnamon Teal, and a Bufflehead. Lots of Least and Pectoral sandpipers, both Yellowlegs, Am. Golden-Plover, not much else for shorebirds.
Name: Jeff Patterson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri Mar 27 21:21:22 2009
Least, Pectoral Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalaropes, Am. Golden Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs amongst many hundreds of Shovelers and Teal this evening.
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri Mar 27 16:26:23 2009
My son and I waited out the rain and were rewarded with a low fly-over of a single Swainson's Hawk being dwarfed by a second year Bald Eagle.
Later a breeding plumaged Franklin's Gull and 3 Wilson's Phalaropes dropped into Pond 2.
A Great-crested Flycatcher and a Northern Parula were by the red gate leading towards the Willow trail.
I relocated the hybrid duck. It is in Pond 2 along the southern bank. It stays roughly midway between the birding shelter and the southeast corner of Pond 2. It associates with Cinnamon Teal and Northern Shovelers. I would like to hear some opinions on parental identities. This is almost surely the same duck I saw in February 2008.
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri Mar 27 14:38:57 2009
NEVER check the Statesman for the weather forecast! No rain gear kept me in the birding shelter for much of the morning. I eventually made a short walk through the woods which were "infested" with BG Gnatcatchers. Mixed in were a few Black and White Warblers, RC Kinglets, and Yellow-Rumped. While waiting out the rain I had a long look at a Northern Flicker in the big Pecan off Pond 2. Also had a Coopers Hawk FO.
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Thu Mar 26 14:54:13 2009
Lincoln's Sparrows were the story of today's mostly driving visit. They were present in incredible numbers.
Two Dark Ibises were on pond 1 west.
A hybrid Shoveler was on pond 2. It had a chestnut breast and lacked the white back stripes at the base of the wing.
A Grasshopper Sparrow was perched on the Platt Lane fence.
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Mar 24 15:05:53 2009
My son and I made a short visit which yielded some nice birds. Highlights included a Hooded Warbler and a Northern Parula in the Hackberries at the Upper Island, 2 Black-necked Stilts in 1 west, 4 Swainson's Hawks flew over the birding shelter, and a Sora caught out in the open posed until we left it. There would have been enough Blue-gray Gnatcatchers to make a meal out of. I suspect a more dedicated search could be productive today- there were a lot of birds around.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri Mar 20 22:00:45 2009
Close to 1000 shorebirds present on Pond 1W this evening (20 March):
- 225 Pectoral Sandpipers (tried to get an accurate count for this one)
- 600+ Least Sandpipers (no other peeps)
- 40 Lesser Yellowlegs
- 30 Greater Yellowlegs
- 8 Am. Golden Plovers
- 1 Wilson's Phalarope
- 12 LB Dowitchers
- 15+ Wilson's Snipe
The sludge-flats on 1W are shaping up to be quite ideal for this spring's passing shorebirds.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 14 March 2009
Date posted: Mon Mar 16 21:53:22 2009
The March edition of the Hornsby Monthly Survey (14 March) was another good one. Cool temperatures prevailed but there was little wind. The change in daylight savings time may have kept a few people away as we had 7 participants in the morning session, only to be outnumbered by 8 participants that showed up at 4pm. I was on the property all day and was able to hunt down a few species missed otherwise. In addition, Jean Martin's class was out there during the day and added 2 additional species (Sora, N. Harrier). All in all, we ended up with 108 species for the day, a very nice total. Some highlights: 1 female Common Goldeneye (on the river by Pond 3), 1 Neotropic Cormorant, 1 N. Harrier, 1 Baird's Sandpiper on 1W, a Merlin, a Barn Owl, a Ringed Kingfisher, a Sedge Wren (continuing on Pond 1W), a Brown Thrasher, and an early Clay-colored Sparrows.
The full results are below.
-- Eric
Wood Duck 12
Gadwall 87
American Wigeon 19
Blue-winged Teal 112
Cinnamon Teal 9
Northern Shoveler 1061
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 124
Redhead 18
Ring-necked Duck 75
Lesser Scaup 135
Bufflehead 7
Common Goldeneye 1
Ruddy Duck 185
Least Grebe 3
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Eared Grebe 14
Neotropic Cormorant 1
Double-crested Cormorant 25
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 1
Little Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 8
Osprey 2
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Crested Caracara 3
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Sora 1
American Coot 75
Killdeer 8
Spotted Sandpiper 4
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 15
Least Sandpiper 85
Baird's Sandpiper 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
Wilson's Snipe 9
Ring-billed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 145
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 3
Inca Dove 8
Monk Parakeet 2
Barn Owl 1
Barred Owl 2
Archilochus sp. 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 10
Downy Woodpecker 5
Eastern Phoebe 12
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
Loggerhead Shrike 2
White-eyed Vireo 17
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 18
American Crow 4
Purple Martin 30
Tree Swallow 1
N. Rough-winged Swallow 4
Cliff Swallow 4
Cave Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 127
Carolina Chickadee 29
HYBRID Titmouse 9
Carolina Wren 22
Bewick's Wren 1
House Wren 2
Winter Wren 2
Sedge Wren 1
Marsh Wren 14
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 23
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 44
Eastern Bluebird 5
Hermit Thrush 3
American Robin 4
Northern Mockingbird 7
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 33
American Pipit 5
Cedar Waxwing 36
Orange-crowned Warbler 14
Yellow-rumped Warbler 89
Common Yellowthroat 3
Spotted Towhee 2
Clay-colored Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 59
Song Sparrow 7
Lincoln's Sparrow 29
Swamp Sparrow 11
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal 163
Red-winged Blackbird 42
Eastern Meadowlark 5
meadowlark sp. 3
Common Grackle 3
Great-tailed Grackle 58
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
House Finch 5
House Sparrow 4
Name: kevin anderson
Date of sighting: Wednesday March 11 2009
Date posted: Sat Mar 14 10:19:29 2009
Long-billed curlew flying over Platt Lane and calling loudly at sunset Wednesday evening
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Fri Mar 13 22:59:25 2009
Another quick stop (6.40 - 7.20pm) the ponds this evening didn't find as many shorebirds as the rain has raised the level of 1W just a bit. I did have 2 Tree Swallows (never found in big numbers at Hornsby) amongst the Barn & Cliffs and also a very leucistic (almost all white) Northern Shoveler.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Wed Mar 11 23:56:00 2009
Made a brief stop (6.30-7.30pm) by the ponds to see what the north winds had put down. Light, wind and cold temps were not the greatest conditions but there were a fair number of shorebirds around for this early in the season. Some of the same stuff as a couple days ago with the added bonus of an early Wilson's Phalarope. Lesser Yellowlegs numbers increased from Sunday and I did also have a few Greater.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sun Mar 8 18:27:35 2009
Pond 1W is looking pretty good for shorebird migration this spring, and we are starting to get a trickle of birds coming thru already. Following up on Ed & Stu's single American Golden-Plover from yesterday, Maggie Burnett and I tallied 4 there today (8 March), along with 5 Pectorals, 4-5 Lesser Yellowlegs and 12+ Long-billed Dowitchers.
Name: Eric Stager
Date of sighting: Sat., March 7, 2009
Date posted: Sun Mar 8 12:07:20 2009
The Capitol Area Master Naturalist class descended on Hornsby for their bird class. We split into four groups, and tallied a total of 66 species, including 14 species of ducks still on the ponds.
My group saw four Least Grebes along the eastern edge of Pond 2. Stu Wilson and Ed Fair had an Am. Golden-Plover on Pond 1W.
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Mar 7 17:56:26 2009
Location: Austin Colony - Webberville
Observation date: 3/7/09
Alright, what happened to all the ducks? Last months survey we listed 14 species of ducks and this month only 2 species. We couldn't even find an old Coot. Could it be that all this warm weather has them thinking about leaving? All this warm weather has the Carolina Chickadees singing. Those guys were chattering and singing all day and all down the river.
Perhaps our best birds of the day were three Bald Eagles (2 Adults and one juvenile) and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Always making a highlight list is Barred Owl and Inca Doves.
On a side note we found a water snake warming itself, the nicotine plants are blooming and we had about 12 feral pigs swim across the river ahead of us.
The very windy conditions make paddling a bit difficult today. I want to thank Ananda Debnath for joining me in today's exercise. Thanks Ananda.
We listed 44 species while trying to keep out kayaks upright and grab some photos of the emerging spring.
Number of species: 44
Gadwall 86
Lesser Scaup 20
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 6
Great Egret 5
Black Vulture 32
Turkey Vulture 26
Osprey 7
Bald Eagle 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Accipiter sp. 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 10
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Crested Caracara 3
Spotted Sandpiper 24
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Mourning Dove 9
Inca Dove 4
Barred Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 7
Red-bellied Woodpecker 12
Downy Woodpecker 3
Eastern Phoebe 6
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 45
Tufted/Black-crested Titmouse 4
Carolina Wren 15
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
American Pipit 2
Cedar Waxwing 48
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Song Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 26
White-crowned Sparrow 32
Northern Cardinal 56
Red-winged Blackbird 700
Common Grackle 22
Great-tailed Grackle 15
American Goldfinch 22
Name: Stu Wilson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Mar 7 15:14:22 2009
Basic-plumaged American Golden-Plover in Pond #1W. Tricky bird... I thought the bill looked awfully beefy for AMGP, but in flight clearly no white nor black "armpit" on the underwing, eliminating BBPL.
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: March 6, 2009
Date posted: Sat Mar 7 14:29:41 2009
Spent three hours on a windy morning around the ponds with "peeks" at the river overlooks mixed in. Good mix of ducks included all 3 teal species, bufflehead, redhead, lesser scaup, ring necked, and widgeons, wood, and pintail along the river. Also had Least and Pied-billed Grebes. There were 30+ Black Vultures picking over fish carcasses at the now dried up Platt Pond. 65 or so species total.
Name: Al Smith
Date of sighting: Sun 1st March
Date posted: Tue Mar 3 15:07:51 2009
Quick visit to ponds...birds of note
Purple Martins and barn swallows.
Cinnamon teal x 8
Least Grebe x 5
plenty redheads , lesser scaup , ring necked duck , 2x widgeon
2x ospreys.
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Mon Feb 23 14:47:55 2009
2 Ross's Geese were in Pond East at 12:30. A Female Cinnamon Teal was in Pond 2. 3 Dowitchers were distant in Pond 1 West. Several White-eyed Vireos were singing and 3 Purple Martins were setting up homesteads.
Name: Myron Jackson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Feb 21 20:06:06 2009
Scissor-tailed flycatcher located at the corner of Pond 1, Pond 2 & Pond3. The bird was sitting on the car blocking wire facing the green house. I have a photo if you would like it.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 14 Feb 2009
Date posted: Wed Feb 18 20:38:12 2009
A record and energetic crowd of 24+ folks turned up on Saturday morning (14 Feb) to participate in the Hornsby monthly survey. Even better was the total number of species for the day - 102! Many of our winter residents are still present though there were some signs of spring with our first Cattle Egrets, Purple Martins, and Barn Swallows. February is usually a "slow" month in my book but the morning crew was able to find a surprising 100 species. Nobody joined me for the afternoon session but I managed to flush up some Long-billed Dowitchers (#101) prior to deciding to help out the Balinskys dig a hole for additional Purple Martin housing. Thus, it was a fitting end as we were winding up our efforts that 3 Purple Martin (#102) scouts showed up, circled around a bit and even landed next to some of the gourds.
Results for the day follow:
-- Eric
Wood Duck 3
Gadwall 95
American Wigeon 28
Blue-winged Teal 6
Cinnamon Teal 1
Northern Shoveler 192
Northern Pintail 6
Green-winged Teal 147
Redhead 114
Ring-necked Duck 5
Lesser Scaup 97
Bufflehead 3
Common Goldeneye 1
Ruddy Duck 189
Least Grebe 8
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Eared Grebe 6
American White Pelican 3
Neotropic Cormorant 1
Double-crested Cormorant 45
Great Blue Heron 9
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 14
Little Blue Heron 1
Cattle Egret 13
Black Vulture 33
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 4
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 7
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Crested Caracara 2
American Kestrel 3
Sora 2
American Coot 96
Killdeer 8
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 22
Least Sandpiper 32
Long-billed Dowitcher 6
Wilson's Snipe 7
Ring-billed Gull 5
Rock Pigeon 230
White-winged Dove 26
Mourning Dove 12
Inca Dove 2
Belted Kingfisher 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 16
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 7
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 28
Loggerhead Shrike 2
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 18
American Crow 6
Purple Martin 3
Cave Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 40
HYBRID Titmouse 4
Carolina Wren 34
Bewick's Wren 1
House Wren 2
Winter Wren 2
Marsh Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 42
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Eastern Bluebird 2
Hermit Thrush 7
American Robin 54
Northern Mockingbird 8
European Starling 30
American Pipit 40
Orange-crowned Warbler 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 57
Pine Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Spotted Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 2
Field Sparrow 2
Vesper Sparrow 6
Savannah Sparrow 17
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Fox Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 4
Lincoln's Sparrow 23
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 7
Harris's Sparrow 7
White-crowned Sparrow 19
Northern Cardinal 112
Red-winged Blackbird 130
meadowlark sp. 1
Common Grackle 16
Great-tailed Grackle 41
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 2
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Mon Feb 9 16:21:49 2009
Sounds like I missed a great river survey.
A single Purple Martin was over pond 2.
Name: Dan Belcher
Date of sighting: 2/8/09 11:30 a.m.
Date posted: Mon Feb 9 11:00:18 2009
1 common goldeneye in pond 2.I am visiting here from El Paso and am with the Trans Pecos Audubon
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Feb 7 19:21:01 2009
Location: 183-Hornsby
Observation date: 2/7/09
Today I would like to give mention to six species we have never had on a survey before. Those six species are Rusty Blackbird, Cinnamon Teal, Hooded Merganser, Herring Gull, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and Harris Sparrow. All of these species are good finds for our area.
Always deserving of a highlight list includes Anhinga, Green Kingfisher and Neotropic Cormorant. These three species and the previous six rounds out our total of 81 species tallied today.
This section of river lived up to its billing as being very ducky. We counted over 400 individuals divided among 14 species.
An impressive list of birds compiled by an impressive list of birders which included Julia Balinsky, Andy Balinsky, Sam Byars, and Eric Carpenter. Thanks for your help today.
If anyone has anything resembling a rain dance now would be a good time to get it out.
Number of species: 81
Wood Duck 5
Gadwall 100
American Wigeon 2
Mallard 8
Blue-winged Teal 8
Cinnamon Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 23
Northern Pintail 6
Green-winged Teal 23
Ring-necked Duck 2
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 300
Bufflehead 5
Hooded Merganser 4
Pied-billed Grebe 28
Neotropic Cormorant 3
Double-crested Cormorant 12
Anhinga 2
Great Blue Heron 8
Great Egret 6
Snowy Egret 9
Little Blue Heron 3
Black Vulture 200
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Crested Caracara 4
American Coot 22
Killdeer 8
Spotted Sandpiper 23
Greater Yellowlegs 6
Least Sandpiper 3
Wilson's Snipe 1
Ring-billed Gull 120
Herring Gull (American) 1
Rock Pigeon 25
White-winged Dove 10
Mourning Dove 4
Belted Kingfisher 8
Green Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 8
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 8
Ash-throated Flycatcher 1
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Cave Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 15
Tufted x Black-crested Titmouse (hybrid) 2
Carolina Wren 8
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
American Robin 4
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 7
American Pipit 12
Cedar Waxwing 12
Yellow-rumped Warbler 32
Common Yellowthroat 1
Savannah Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 7
Lincoln's Sparrow 12
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 1
Harris's Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal 47
Red-winged Blackbird 26
Rusty Blackbird 1
Brewer's Blackbird 5
Common Grackle 8
Great-tailed Grackle 32
American Goldfinch 12
House Sparrow 8
Name: Kenny Anderson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Tue Feb 3 16:56:03 2009
Highlights from a quick drive around the ponds included: a good-looking Mallard, 75 + Redheads, 1 Common Goldeneye, and male and female Cinnamon Teal.
I also heard Sora and Virginia Rail.
Name: Stu Wilson
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Jan 17 16:17:41 2009
55 species detected on monthly bird walk (Stu Wilson, George Kerr, and 11 participants visited ponds and river trail 8:00am-noon):
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
LEAST GREBE
Eared Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper (what we thought might be Westerns were most likely muddy-legged Leasts)
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Pigeon
MONK PARAKEET
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
SWALLOW SP (15-20 over the ponds, probably Cave or Northern Rough-winged, or both)
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted/Black-crested Titmouse
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
Note: CAPS indicates rare or scarcer for January per current Hornsby checklist.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 10 January 2009
Date posted: Wed Jan 14 20:05:50 2009
Despite the wind, the January monthly survey (10 January) team was still able to manage 89 species on the property. Between the morning and afternoon sessions, a total of 14 participants helped out. No extraordinary finds this time as it was a bit of a struggle just to get the resident birds. A species list for the survey follows.
-- Eric
Wood Duck 5
Gadwall 84
Mallard 1
Blue-winged Teal 21
Cinnamon Teal 4
Northern Shoveler 100
Northern Pintail 79
Green-winged Teal 340
Redhead 6
Ring-necked Duck 21
Lesser Scaup 12
Bufflehead 2
Hooded Merganser 4
Ruddy Duck 140
Least Grebe 8
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Eared Grebe 6
Double-crested Cormorant 119
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 1
Black Vulture 30
Turkey Vulture 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Crested Caracara 5
American Kestrel 3
Sora 3
American Coot 63
Killdeer 4
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Least Sandpiper 8
Wilson's Snipe 2
Ring-billed Gull 6
Rock Dove 147
White-winged Dove 25
Mourning Dove 13
Barred Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 10
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
Eastern Phoebe 22
Loggerhead Shrike 2
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 17
Carolina Chickadee 22
HYBRID Titmouse 8
Carolina Wren 37
Bewick's Wren 1
House Wren 5
Winter Wren 1
Marsh Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 38
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Eastern Bluebird 3
Hermit Thrush 9
American Robin 3
Northern Mockingbird 9
European Starling 10
American Pipit 6
Cedar Waxwing 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 22
Yellow-rumped Warbler 60
Pine Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Spotted Towhee 1
Field Sparrow 11
Vesper Sparrow 6
Savannah Sparrow 21
Fox Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 6
Lincoln's Sparrow 17
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 10
Harris's Sparrow 6
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 123
Red-winged Blackbird 134
meadowlark sp. 5
Common Grackle 75
Great-tailed Grackle 38
American Goldfinch 9
Name: Sally Breed
Date of sighting: 1-12-2009
Date posted: Wed Jan 14 15:56:11 2009
Walnut Creek Treatment Plant:
33 Black Belly Whistling Ducks
3 Least Grebes still in Pond 2 at Hornsby Bend
The Red Shoulder Hawks were fun to watch over Pond 2
Name: Chris Layden
Date of sighting: January 4, 2009
Date posted: Thu Jan 8 14:42:52 2009
Myself and a couple of friends braved the blustery conditions on Sunday morning but came up with some nice birds. Including the Brown Creeper (Thanks Eric and Maggy) we also counted a Northern Harrier, four Loggerhead Shrikes (perched on the Hornsby gate and 3 on Platt Ln phonelines), two Common Yellowthroats, and a Solitary Sandpiper on Platt Pond.
Name: Alasdair Smith
Date of sighting: Sun Jan 4th
Date posted: Wed Jan 7 22:47:03 2009
Usual suspects +
Ring billed gullx1
Loggerhead shrikex1
Caracarax4
Woodcockx6
Greater yellowlegsx6
Name: Sally Breed
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Wed Jan 7 14:14:06 2009
Saturday 1-03-2009 4:30 PM
2 Least Grebe Pond 2 East end
(the Eared Grebes were on the west end of Pond 2)
Also 4-6 Northern Pintails Pond 2 East End
And 3 male Redhead Ducks Pond 2 East End
Also all the other ducks that others have been seeing, but I couldn't remember if the above were listed.
The Common Goldeneye was still there in Pond 2
2 Pied-billed Grebes were at the pond in front of the Walnut Treatment Plant.
Name: Eric Carpenter
Date of sighting: 4 Jan 2009
Date posted: Wed Jan 7 07:23:34 2009
It was a rather cold & windy morning on Sunday (4 Jan) though it was quite birdy. I birded until around noon and had ~80'ish species, with almost all of them birds that have been around since the CBC or before. The one nice addition was a Brown Creeper heard and seen in the hackberries near the end (close to the river) of the Black Willow Trail.
Name: Ananda
Date of sighting: Jan 3 2009
Date posted: Tue Jan 6 15:38:00 2009
Minor addition to the river survey below:
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Name: Claude Morris
Date of sighting: Same as date posted
Date posted: Sat Jan 3 18:18:16 2009
Location: Fuller Ranch to Fisherman Park
Observation date: 1/3/09
Warm sunny day, lots of birds, and some great people are a nice way to start a new year.
Our species list of 41 birds was highlighted by Bald Eagles, Great Egret, Hooded Mergansers, and lots of Gadwall. I am listing only two Bald Eagles. We saw one adult and one juvenile early on the trip. We saw one adult and one juvenile later. Were they the same or different we could not determine?
Today seemed to be very birdy with large numbers of American Goldfinch, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Gadwall, and Carolina Chickadees which were in constant chatter all the way down the river.
Joining me on a warm sunny float were Ananda Debnath, Steve Box, Sam Byars and Sam's two teenagers Paul and Mary. Thanks for the help with today's survey.
Thanks also to Robert Fuller for allowing us access to his property the past several months. Robert, get that kayak and join us on some surveys.
Number of species: 41
Gadwall 120
Mallard 12
Northern Shoveler 6
Hooded Merganser 2
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Double-crested Cormorant 24
Great Blue Heron 12
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 26
Turkey Vulture 17
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 7
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Crested Caracara 4
American Coot 25
Killdeer 26
Spotted Sandpiper 8
Greater Yellowlegs 5
White-winged Dove 20
Mourning Dove 12
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 16
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 7
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 8
Carolina Chickadee 30
Carolina Wren 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
American Pipit 9
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 75
Savannah Sparrow 6
Lincoln's Sparrow 24
Swamp Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 25
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Great-tailed Grackle 6
American Goldfinch 52
Archives: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Recent Sightings is powered by The Free Perl Guestbook
© Copyright 2001-09 Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory All rights reserved.
Email: coordinator@hornsbybend.org
hornsbybend.org/sightings/index.html (Last modified Jan-05-09)