Location: 183-Hornsby, Travis County, US-TX
Observation date: 11/3/2012
Number of species: 45 (+ 1 other taxa)
EPISODE 78: Four Boats on the Water
With the changes in the Highland Lakes Management Plan last Spring, everyone has been very curious as the what the river would be like. Today we may have seen some of the results of those changes. The Hydrilla in the river was so thick and completely covering the river we could hardly paddle though or over the thickness. The Hydrilla was covered in Duckweed giving a beautiful green covering.
Our list of bird species was very typical for this time of year. The best of the day were a pair of Ringed Kingfisher and, from the wish list, one Anhinga. At one point we had three Woodpecker species in a single tree. We also saw a Crested Caracara chasing an Osprey trying to steal the Osprey’s lunch. We tallied 46 species.
In the other observations area we found some trees that had been freshly gnawed by beaver and the water was so clear that we could see fish and turtles. There were a few Monarch Butterflies still migrating through.
I want to thank John Barr, Dennis Breining, Bob West, and Ron Armbruster for helping today. It was an enjoyable day.
On a sad note I may have to RIP yet another camera. It got dunked in the river and I am trying to dry it out now.
(Click any image below to view larger. Photos by Claude Morris.)
Number of species: 45 (+ 1 other taxa)
Wood Duck 8
Gadwall 150
American Wigeon 12
Mallard 5
Green-winged Teal 8
Pied-billed Grebe 23
Double-crested Cormorant 65
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 7
Great Egret 4
Snowy Egret 3
Little Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 58
Turkey Vulture 43
Osprey 2
Accipiter sp. 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 12
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Coot 22
Killdeer 17
Spotted Sandpiper 16
Greater Yellowlegs 6
Lesser Yellowlegs 6
Least Sandpiper 24
Rock Pigeon 27
White-winged Dove 62
Mourning Dove 8
Ringed Kingfisher 2
Belted Kingfisher 10
Red-bellied Woodpecker 16
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
Crested Caracara 2
Eastern Phoebe 17
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 5
Carolina Chickadee 8
Carolina Wren 14
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 80
Lincoln’s Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 43
Great-tailed Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 120
House Sparrow 8
