Austin Colony – Webberville, Travis, Texas, US
Oct 1, 2016 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling 8.0 mile(s)
Comments: EPISODE 125: KING OF THE KINGFISHER

Fall migrations have brought many of our winter birds back to central Texas. Newly arriving Belted Kingfisher are still competing for local territories. This was evidenced by a huge number of Kingfisher chasing each other up and down the river as we chased them from one area to another. Hopefully they will get everything sorted out soon.

Another returning migrant was Osprey. We found these in good numbers. Kestrels are back. We had a Northern Flicker. A summer birds that has not left yet include Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Our better birds were Bald Eagle and Turkey.

The absolute best was a Parrot or Macaw. The discussion continues as to which kind it is. Most believe Military Macaw. We believed this bird to be a domestic escapee and was hanging around Austin Colony. We have photos. check the Facebook page.

Butterflies are everywhere and numerous. Question Mark, Fritillary, Queen, Sulphur, Monarchs just to start the list.

Also returning from a summer absence was Wilda Campbell. Good to have you back Wilda. More river surveyers on the trip were Sharon Richardson, Linda Williams, Bobby Hughes, CR Smith,and John Barr. Thanks everyone for a fun day.

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.

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44 species (+2 other taxa)

Wood Duck 1
Wild Turkey 1
Double-crested Cormorant 8
Great Blue Heron 8
Great Egret 7
Snowy Egret 9
Little Blue Heron 1
Cattle Egret 5
Green Heron 1
Black Vulture 12
Turkey Vulture 9
Osprey 9
Mississippi Kite 2
Bald Eagle 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 11
Least Sandpiper 14
Spotted Sandpiper 19
White-winged Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 5
Belted Kingfisher 12 9 miles of river
Green Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 11
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Crested Caracara 7
American Kestrel 2
Eastern Phoebe 15
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 11
White-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 14
Barn Swallow 5
Cliff/Cave Swallow 12
Carolina Chickadee 18
Tufted/Black-crested Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
Eastern Bluebird 8
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 38
Northern Cardinal 21
Red-winged Blackbird 55
Common Grackle 21