Western Grebe from the archives of Nate McGowan

The Austin area Rare Bird Alert is a service of the Travis Audubon Society. This update is as of 11/28/2014. Send interesting sightings – complete with species name, LOCATION, and contact information – to Nathan McGowan at natemcgowanbirds@gmail.com.

Exceptional Birds in the Circle

• The DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER at Pedernales Falls State Park, Blanco, was last reported 11/11. More updates, positive or negative, are highly encouraged.
• The BROWN BOOBY continued at Windy Point on Lake Travis, Travis, most recently 11/25.

Rarities Found This Week

• Four WESTERN GREBES were photographed at Meadow Lake in Round Rock, Williamson, most recently 11/23.
• A PURPLE FINCH was photographed at Commons Ford, Travis, 11/26.
• At least one, and possibly three PALM WARBLERS were reported from Commons Ford, Travis, most recently 11/27. One bird was photographed.
• A GREATER SCAUP was seen at Meadow Lake in Round Rock, Williamson, 11/23.
• A LONG-BILLED CURLEW was photographed in Eastern Williamson County, 11/23.
• A YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was seen in Bastrop County, 11/21.

Continuing Birds from Previous Weeks

• The GREAT KISKADEE continued at Berry Springs Park in Georgetown, Williamson, most recently 11/23.

Also, check out the complete list of area Christmas Bird Counts here.

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.