Utley Bridge (Hwy 969) to Tarcoola, Bastrop, Texas, US
August 6, 2016 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling 9.0 mile(s)
Comments: EPISODE 123: Lots and Lots of Woodpeckers

Nature watching has its fascinations. You can go out one day and see a lot of one thing then
the next day is something totally different. Today was a woodpecker day. We were seeing and
hearing woodpeckers all day and around every bend. Tallying three species and a handsome
number of Pileated Woodpeckers made this day interesting.

An interest of another kind were a few of the other species we found.
very unusual but there it was – American Bittern. We have seen three American bitterns
since the start of this survey, two on this section of river. We also got a fleeting glimpse
of a Bald Eagle. A Mississippi Kite was perched in the top of a bare tree. Everyone got a
good look at that bird. In total, 41 species on a hot summer day.

So hot even the turtles and snakes were in hiding. We saw a few turtles but even they were
staying out of the heat.

Braving that heat today was Lydia Deats, Karen Pernel, Stacey Bucklin, Wendy Harte,Peg
Gavin,Ron Armbruster, Bobby Hughes, John Muller, John Barr, Kim Parades, CR Smith, Bob West
and Denis Brening. Thanks for being out with us today.

Don’t forget to like the Austin Bastrop River Corridor Partnership Facebook page. Here you will find more information about the river and water issues in central Texas. Learn more about the Austin-Bastrop River Corridor Partnership at the CER website.

****************

40 species (+1 other taxa)

American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 4
Snowy Egret 10
Little Blue Heron 1
Cattle Egret 12
Green Heron 5
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 2
White Ibis 2
Black Vulture 28
Turkey Vulture 15
Mississippi Kite 1
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Killdeer 7
Spotted Sandpiper 12
Least Sandpiper 12
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 5
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 15
Downy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 5
Crested Caracara 3
Eastern Phoebe 3
Eastern Kingbird 4
White-eyed Vireo 7
American Crow 21
Cliff Swallow 100
Carolina Chickadee 17
Tufted x Black-crested Titmouse (hybrid) 5
Carolina Wren 7
Eastern Bluebird 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Summer Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 32
Painted Bunting 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 8
Orchard Oriole 4
House Sparrow 7