(The Austin area Rare Bird Alert is a service of the Travis Audubon Society. This update is as of 6:15 on April 26, 2012. Send interesting sightings–complete with species name, location, and contact information–to Kenny Anderson.)
Hot days and winds out of the south remind me that the best thing about birding in the Austin area is its proximity to birding opportunities elsewhere. Local birders live for some of the finds mentioned below, and days of turbulent weather, when we get our moment.
Rarities Found This Week
An exceptional find of a Common Tern at Decker Lake in Austin on 4/22 was a real highlight. The bird was cooperative in staying near the buoy east of the boat launch. Photos were obtained and several observers were able to share and appreciate an area rarity.
A Brown-crested Flycatcher seen and heard at Richard Moya Park in Travis County on 4/21 was very nice, probably a returning bird from last year. The bird was between the two beach volleyball courts.
A Worm-eating Warbler was photographed nicely at Warbler Woods in Guadalupe County 4/25.
A Hutton’s Vireo was seen and heard at a publicly accessible portion of St. Edwards Park in western Travis County on 4/24
Continuing Birds From Previous Week
A Hutton’s Vireo continued at Warbler Woods with reports 4/22, 23, and 25.
Reports for the Austin area RBA cover a 60 mile radius, centered from the Capitol in downtown Austin. The circle extends north to Belton (Bell County), south to Leesville (Gonzales County), east to Somerville WMA (Lee Burleson County), and west to Blumenthal (Gillespie County). Bird sightings mentioned here have been filtered and scrutinized by the compiler and are believed to be genuine. When documentation or photographs were provide, that is mentioned along with the other information about the bird(s) being seen.
For questions or updates about birds mentioned here or to report rare or unusual bird sightings in the Austin area, please send an e-mail to nollanderson@sbcglobal.net.
-Kenny Anderson, Rare Bird Alert Compiler, Travis Audubon Society
To view our archive of previous RBA reports, click here.
