Each month, Claude Morris leads an ecological survey on the Colorado River. Participants bring their own canoes and kayaks. On July 1st, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, they surveyed 6 miles of the river (Howard Lane to Utley (969) Bridge, Bastrop). Claude sent us the following report:
Whenever the Cicadas are noisy to the point it is difficult to hear other things, you know it is summer in Central Texas. From the time we left Austin Colony all the way to Webberville we had the constant sound of the Cicada. If fact, as I write this, I still think I hear the pulsing rhythmic call. When I was a kid we used to go to the beach and for hours after we left you could feel the rhythmic push of the waves. Yep, same thing.
Two Kingfisher species today, Belted and Green. We found another Osprey. Here is one we do not get to list very often, Anhinga. Best bird of the day, even though it was not in the survey area we are still giving it the most honorable mention, a Roseatte Spoonbill.Turtles and Snakes are escaping the summer noon day heat. We saw very few. Butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies and getting very numerous. Sulfurs, Swallowtails, Hackberry Emperors. Queens, Question Marks were all listed It’s hard to get a good photo of a damselfly. Just saying.
We had a great crew today. Big thanks to Wendy Harte, Katherine Daniel, Leslie Morris, Sharon Richardson, Karen Parnell, Jenna Foster, Chris Enders, John Barr, Dan Galewsky. Bobby Hughes, CR Smith, Kevin Anderson, John Cooper, and Dan Pacatte. 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.
42 species (+1 other taxa)
Double-crested Cormorant 150
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 7
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 3
Little Blue Heron 2
Cattle Egret 7
Green Heron 9
Roseate Spoonbill 1
Black Vulture 18
Turkey Vulture 33
Osprey 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 4
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 9
White-winged Dove 200
Mourning Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 11
Belted Kingfisher 4
Green Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 15
Crested Caracara 7
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 4
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
White-eyed Vireo 21
American Crow 5
Purple Martin 4
Barn Swallow 8
Cliff/Cave Swallow 28
Carolina Chickadee 10
Black-crested Titmouse 4
Carolina Wren 7
Eastern Bluebird 4
Northern Mockingbird 3
Summer Tanager 5
Northern Cardinal 74
Indigo Bunting 1
Painted Bunting 12
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Great-tailed Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
