(The Austin area Rare Bird Alert is a service of the Travis Audubon Society. This update is as of 9:15 on October 20, 2011. Send interesting sightings–complete with species name, location, and contact information–to Kenny Anderson.)
Rarities Found This Week
Brewer’s Sparrow was confirmed behind Lowe’s in Bastrop on 10/20. The bird was originally seen 10/15, but wasn’t positively identified until the 20th.
Hutton’s Vireo was reported from Warbler Woods 10/15.
Green-tailed Towhees were in Travis and Hays Counties on 10/18. The Travis bird was at West Bouldin Greenbelt in South Austin, and the Hays County bird was on the Craddock Lane Greenspace in San Marcos.
Say’s Phoebes were on a Bastrop County property 10/15, and in Travis County at Sunset Valley’s Town Hall (near the garden) 10/29.
A trip to Temple Lake Park on Lake Belton was productive with a Sanderling, a Black-bellied Plover and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on 10/14.
An American Bittern was photographed at Aquarena Springs in San Marcos on 10/15.
A Blackburnian Warbler was seen on a Bastrop property 10/15.
Pyrrhuloxia was on Craddock Avenue in Hays County 10/15.
4 Bald Eagles were viewed at Decker Lake (Walter Long Lake) in Austin 10/19, 1 was seen 10/20.
An American Golden Plover was studied at Cedar Point Recreation Area along the western shore of Lake Buchanan 10/16.
A late Yellow-breasted Chat was on the Lake Creek Trail in Williamson County 10/16.
Cedar Waxwings were present at West Bouldin Creek Greenbelt in South Austin on 10/18,19.
Continuing Birds for Previous Weeks
No continuing birds from the previous week.
NOTE: A new Austin area CBC will fill an area between the original and the Bastrop CBCs. The date is December 17, which–unfortunately–does conflict with the Austin date. Greater coverage of the area is always welcomed!
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.