The Austin Area Rare Bird Alert is a service of the Travis Audubon Society. This update is as of 4:30 on November 23, 2012. Send interesting sightings–complete with species name, LOCATION, and contact information–to Kenny Anderson at kennya290@gmail.com.
I have gotten a bit behind in updating the rarities for the area and am including everything I have received since the last publication. I’ll try to stay on top of it, hopefully have some nice finds to further prompt me. Please excuse any omissions I may have made–it has been a busy week.
Rarities Found This Week:
An Anna’s Hummingbird at Texas State University’s Supple Science Building marks the third year in a row this species has been on the Hays County campus. 11/16.
2 Surf Scoters and a Red-breasted Merganser were highlights at Devine Lake in Williamson County on 11/13.
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak on the Hornsby Bend survey was a nice find on 11/10 in Travis County.
American Bittern, which has been at the Lake Creek Trail in Williamson County, was last reported on 11/12. Last year a wintering American Bittern moved around from small ponds in an area in Travis County just 7 miles away. Further updates on the Lake Creek Trail bird are encouraged.
A male Red-naped Sapsucker continues on Carlson Lane in northeast Travis County. (11/23)
A Red-breasted Merganser (female) was reported on the San Marcos River in Gonzales County on 11/13.
A Red-headed Woodpecker in Williamson County’s Berry Springs Park is a nice find 11/17-21.
Rusty Blackbirds are tricky in the area, but Hornsby Bend again has some with 1-4 birds being reported from Pond 1 West on 11/17-21.
A young Vermilion Flycatcher was photographed on Shallow Ford Road in Bell County on 11/18. A young Vermilion Flycatcher is reliably reported at Berry Springs Park in Georgetown on 11/17 in Wilco.
A Black-throated Green Warbler at Warbler Woods in Guadalupe County is a nice find.
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.
