The Austin Area Rare Bird Alert is a service of the Travis Audubon Society. This update is as of 9:15 on November 29, 2012. Send interesting sightings–complete with species name, LOCATION, and contact information–to Kenny Anderson at kennya290@gmail.com.

There are various CBCs in the area–try to get involved. As you can see from below, there are interesting birds to be found.

Rarities Found This Week:

An Allen’s Hummingbird has been studied and photographed at the Leander Public Library in Williamson County. 12/1-12

A “Western Flycatcher” is rather remarkable in the circle, a nice description of one came on 11/30 at Crescent Bend Nature Park in Bexar County.

Whooping Cranes at Granger Lake in Williamson County are an amazing wintering sight. Up to 8 individuals have been reported this reporting weekend. 11/30-12/12

A winter Buff-bellied Hummingbird in the circle is a terrific find. The bird was found 12/1 on the Platt Lane portion of Hornsby Bend in Travis County. The bird has visited hummingbird feeders at the River Trail head. 12/1-13

A White-tailed Hawk found on 12/9 on CR209 in Gonzales County is a nice discovery.

A Black-chinned Hummingbird has also been in the vicinity of Platt Lane’s trail head (Buff-bellied location) 12/8-10.

A Wilson’s Warbler was at Lake Wood in Gonzales County on 12/9

A White Ibis is below the Longhorn Dam in Austin on 12/12.

Continuing From Previous Weeks:

A Calliope Hummingbird remains at a Williamson County residence 12/8.

A Red-headed Woodpecker at Berry Springs Park in Williamson County is interesting.

Rusty Blackbirds at Hornsby Bend continue to be seen with reports of 1 on 12/8 and 4 on 12/9.

Vermilion Flycatchers: 1 juvenile male remains near Slough Pond on Shallow Ford Road in Bell County 11/29-12/10, 1 male at Hornsby Bend since Thanksgiving on the west side of Pond 2, 2 birds are at Berry Springs Park in Williamson County 12/10, and a first year male at Lake Wood on 12/9.

American Woodcock: at least one at Laguna Gloria in Austin 12/3-9, 1 at Tejas Camp (1/4 mileeast from parking) in Williamson County on 12/9, and 1 at a City of Austin Building in South Austin on 12/11.

Reports for the Austin area RBA cover a 60 mile radius, centeredfrom the Capitol in downtown Austin. The circle extends north to Belton (Bell County), south to Leesville (Gonzales County), east to SomervilleWMA (Lee Burleson County), and west to Blumenthal (Gillespie County).Birdsightings 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 kennya290@gmail.com.

-Kenny Anderson, Rare Bird Alert Compiler, Travis Audubon Society

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