183-Hornsby, Travis, US-TX (8 miles)
Observation date: March 1, 2014 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Number of species: 59 (+2 other taxa)
EPISODE 94: Spring Forward
Today the was lots of evidence we are heading forward into Spring. Two frog species, turtles everywhere, flowers blooming, several species of butterflies, leaves budding, and of course Purple Martins are here.
Our best bird of the day was a Peregrine Falcon. Found right at the end of the day. In the better birds department we found Pileated Woodpeckers, Barred Owls, American White Pelicans and Ringed Kingfisher. We finally got a lot of ducks. In past months, for ducks, we only saw black spots against a grey background. Today they were more docile and we logged 12 species.
Our total species count for the day was 61.
Several observations I want to mention today. We saw a Red-shouldered Hawk carrying nest material and found the nest. We found a Beaver slide and lots of gnawings. There are photos on the Facebook page. We also heard lots of cricket frogs. Yes, we are springing forward.
Sharon Richardson, Jeff richardson, Bobby Hughes Bill Kunz,Neal Hagood, Brian Maddix, Denis Brenning, and Bob West were along to help today. Thanks people. You made the day enjoyable.
(Click any image below to view larger. Photo of the Raccoon and misty spider web belong to Bob West. Photo of beaver chewing by Brian Maddix)
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. I also post more photos than I send with the email.
Also, these surveys are posted on the Travis Audubon web site.
59 species (+2 other taxa)
Wood Duck 11
Gadwall 100
American Wigeon 40
Mallard 8
Blue-winged Teal 14
Northern Shoveler 8
Northern Pintail 3
Green-winged Teal 24
Canvasback 2
Redhead 2
Lesser Scaup 6
Bufflehead 7
Pied-billed Grebe 8
Double-crested Cormorant 36
American White Pelican 15
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 6
Snowy Egret 2
Black Vulture 68
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 7
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Coot 53
Killdeer 11
Spotted Sandpiper 18
Greater Yellowlegs 12
Least Sandpiper 1
Wilson’s Snipe 6
White-winged Dove 2
Mourning Dove 7
Barred Owl 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Belted Kingfisher 14
Red-bellied Woodpecker 8
Downy Woodpecker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Crested Caracara 3
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Phoebe 9
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 15
Purple Martin 7
swallow sp. 16
Carolina Chickadee 45
Tufted/Black-crested Titmouse 15
Carolina Wren 22
Eastern Bluebird 8
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Pipit 4
Cedar Waxwing 21
Yellow-rumped Warbler 44
Lincoln’s Sparrow 22
Northern Cardinal 75
Red-winged Blackbird 200
Common Grackle 30
Great-tailed Grackle 12
Brown-headed Cowbird 20
House Finch 2
House Sparrow 32
