Zone-tailed Hawk by Nathan McGowan

The Austin area Rare Bird Alert is a service of the Travis Audubon Society. This update is as of 08/14/2014. Send interesting sightings – complete with species name, LOCATION, and contact information – to Nathan McGowan at natemcgowanbirds@gmail.com.

Rarities Found This Week

• An early HOUSE WREN was described at Doeskin Ranch on Balcones Canyonlands NWR in Burnet, 8/9.
• A ZONE-TAILED HAWK was seen at Balcones Canyonlands NWR on 8/12.
• A ROSEATE SPOONBILL was seen at the Cedar Valley Lake, Bastrop on 8/13.

Continuing birds from previous weeks

• A stunning summer record of a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW reappeared at a private residence in southwest Austin, Travis county, 8/10.
• A SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was relocated in the Tahitian Village area of Bastrop county, 8/8. These individuals seem to have been present for awhile now, but are notoriously difficult to see. Updates are greatly appreciated on this exciting occurrence.
• A ROSEATE SPOONBILL continued at McKinney Falls State Park, Travis, last seen 8/10.

Reports for the Austin area RBA cover a 60 mile radius, centered on the Capitol in downtown Austin. Bird sightings mentioned here have been filtered and scrutinized by the compiler and are believed to be genuine. When documentation or photographs were provided, 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 email to natemcgowanbirds@gmail.com

Nate McGowan
Rare Bird Alert Compiler
Travis Audubon Society

To view our archive of previous RBA reports, click here.