2013 Yearlists

Elphaba, If you move two hours south of Houston, it will be very wet since you'll be in the Gulf of Mexico... ^_^ Yes, just me being a smart a$$. But, seriously, sounds like you will be moving closer to the coast and the migrating birds - way cool!

The Purple Martins are camping out in our backyard again. I love their sweet little chirping sounds. I also got a couple of new birds yesterday, the hawk a lifer.

134 2/25/2013 Purple Martin Backyard
135 3/1/2013 Black-and-white Warbler Galveston - Lafitte's Cove
136 3/1/2013 Rough-legged Hawk Galveston - Just East of San Luis Pass

Hmmm. That pasted fairly well out of my Excel spreadsheet. And all this time I've been typing it all over. Geeeez.

Patti

136 Glaucous Gull

Resin

137 Great Crested Grebe

Resin

My wife and I had fun this morning watching our many birds. The pileated woodpecker was in this morning early. We have four that we know of but there could be more. People tell me they don't like backyard feeders but the one this morning watched me from about ten feet away. He saw the apple suet, his favorite.

Some of you get lucky with Pileateds at your feeders. Never had such luck myself but enjoy hearing your tales.

LOL Patti, you're right about being in the Gulf of Mexico. Actually, I bet as soon as I buy a place on the coast, a hurricane will sweep it all out into the gulf! Nice catch on the B&W.

Nice ones Resin.

Was able to join a friend who was heading south to see the Flammulated Owl and the Crimson-collared Grosbeak. Got those and some other new birds.

190 -- Lesser Yellowlegs
191 -- Harris' Hawk
192 -- Green Jay
193 -- Reddish Egret (pic 1)
194 -- Green Heron
195 -- Sora (pictured -- It shared one soft note just as I clicked)
196 -- American Golden Plover
197 -- Tropical Kingbird
198 -- Flammulated Owl
199 -- Golden-fronted Woodpecker
200 -- Plain Chachalaca
201 -- Least Grebe
202 -- White-tipped Dove
203 -- Green Kingfisher
204 -- Great Kiskadee
205 -- White-eyed Vireo
206 -- Black-crested Titmouse
207 -- Clay-colored Thrush
208 -- Long-billed Thrasher
209 -- Yellow-throated Warbler
210 -- Olive Sparrow
211 -- Crimson-collared Grosbeak (pictured)
212 -- Fulvous Whistling Duck
213 -- Cinnamon Teal
214 -- Hook-billed Kite
215 -- Gray Hawk
216 -- Black-necked Stilt
217 -- Solitary Sandpiper
218 -- Couch's Kingbird
219 -- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
220 -- Green Parakeet
221 -- Red-crowned Parrots (pictured)
222 -- Common Ground Dove
223 -- Common Pauraque (pic 5 -- its preening, so head is turned looking backward)

Also saw some really cool but not countable parrots with the huge flock of Red-crowned Parrots that included Red-lored Parrots, White-fronted Parrots and one Yellow-headed Parrot.

Just clicked preview and shows my pics in a different order than I attached them. It looks like Reddish Egret, Red-crowned Parrots, Sora, Grosbeak and then Pauraque.

This message was edited Mar 5, 2013 2:36 PM

Oops! Have to nix one -- the Hook-billed Kite wasn't accepted. I didn't get any pics of it, but I thought my friend's pics were pretty convincing. I'll be interested to hear why the ID was rejected. Anyway, apparently just a Coopers. Wasn't acting like the Coops I know, but urban Coops may behave differenlty than wild south Texas Coops -- I don't know!

BTW Patti, those Rough-legged pics are stunning!

Elphaba,

Wow! What a great trip. Glad you got to see the flammulated owl! Thanks for the kind words on the hawk pics. It flew right over my head and did a couple of circles.

138 Snow Bunting

Resin

Adding a few from a trip to Hawaii (41-72) FYI, I'm counting the Hawaiian sub-species of birds like the Moorhen, etc.

Zebra dove
Spotted dove
Common myna
Red vented bulbul
Red crested cardinal
Black-crowned night heron
Cattle egret
Pacific golden plover
Hawaiian Black necked stilt
Hawaiian x mallard duck
Hawaiian coot
Japanese white eye
Red jungle fowl (feral)
Hawaiian moorhen
White rumped shama thrush
Nutmeg mannekin
Red-whiskered bulbul
Common waxbill
Lavender waxbill
Saffron finch
Yellow fronted canary
Yellow billed cardinal
Java sparrow
White tailed Tropicbird
Wild turkey
Gray Francolin
Erckels francolin
Apapane
Hawaiian hawk
Hawaiian owl
Brown booby
Great frigatebird

Back home:
73- Common Grackle

Wow, wow and wow! Green with envy here. LOL

Sounds like you had an awesome trip! Congrats on all your bird finds.

Well there were many birds I could not see well enough to ID, and many more that I could not find. I was more than a bit distressed that I could not find the NeNe Goose, even after searching the Volcanoes National Park in a number of locations, as well as at a golf course alongside. RATS.

139 [Eurasian] Kingfisher

Resin

Wow Mrs. Ed! Great list. If you can't get the bird, get the sign.

Last weekend I joined some friends who were going to Balcones Canyonlands to see the Golden-cheeked Warbler. I added some birds.

224 - Western Scrub Jay
225 - Golden-cheeked Warbler
226 - Spotted Towhee
227 - Common Raven
228 - Bewick's Wren
229 - Rufous-crowned Sparrow
230 - Lesser Goldfinch
231 - Black and White Warbler
232 - Upland Sandpiper
233 - Western Meadowlark

I didn't get any good pictures. Here's a blurry one of the Golden-cheeked which is an endangered species -- I almost took pics of the signs too!

Oh and may have had a female Ruby-throated Hummer land above me today in the yard. Had a good look but female hummers are so hard to discern. Hopefully, I'll see it again tomorrow.

Oh that is a cutie Elphalba! I can't believe you are up to 233!

I actually DID get the Hawaiian moorhen in the sign. I also joked about the Nene bird crossing signs. I have come to the conclusion that bird is fictional and is just a gimmick for tourists.

Ha ha ha.

Elphaba, Wheee. You saw the Golden-cheeked! I hope to see one and the endangered Black-capped Vireo when I go to the Balcones Canyonlands birding festival in April.

Patti

74 - Brown-headed Cowbird
75 - Red-winged Blackbird

This message was edited Mar 18, 2013 3:42 PM

233 - Ruby-throated Hummingbird (I'm renumbering b/c my #s are off. Maybe I forgot to delete from this count the Hook-billed Kite that was nixed.)
234 - Pectoral Sandpiper
235 - Curve-billed Thrasher
236 - Cattle Egret
237 - Yellow-crowned Night Heron
238 - Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
239 - Fish Crow
240 - Swallow-tailed Kites

Might be a 241 but waiting to hear challenges. Entered as Chimney Swift because couldn't find any other swift or swallow with cigar-shaped body and with smoky gray wings and belly and a white throat and upper breast.

241 - Chimney Swifts

I thought it was too early for them and ebird flagged it as rare, but people are reporting them all over the area, so I wasn't crazy -- well, not about seeing the Chimney Swifts anyway.

We had some fallout from this front. I didn't have time to bird like I wanted, but I got some birding done.

242 -- Northern Parula
243 -- Nashville Warbler
244 -- Tennessee Warbler
245 -- Louisiana Waterthrush
246 -- Brown Thrasher
247 -- Great Crested Flycatcher
248 -- Franklin's Gull
249 -- Sandwich Tern
250 -- Swainson's Hawk
251 -- Wilson's Plover
252 -- Least Tern

No pictures. The back of my camera popped off. I took some with my really old camera but they're awful. The only good ones were of a Yellow-rumped! It was an Audubon's though, so very pretty.

Yay, here come the migrants!!!!! Can't wait to see the warblers.

Yep, and hummingbirds too! One hummer that was chasing another bumped into my window yesterday when I was sitting on the patio. She barely bumped it. Stopped chasing the other hummer though and decided to check me out instead.

Also, there were warblers that I didn't list because I already had them. For example, the trees were dripping with Black and Whites. I've never seen so many at once. They weren't shy either. They were landing right next to people. Killed me that I couldn't photograph them!

omg. DRIPPING!

The radar was showing migratory activity last night, but I didn't see anything new in the yard today. I'm expecting thrashers and towhees any day.

Year list 2013

1. Australian Magpie
2. Australian Raven
3. Black Swan
4. Brown Honeyeater
5. Crested Tern
6. Eastern Osprey
7. Grey Butcherbird
8. Grey Fantail
9. Laughing Kookaburra
10. Laughing Turtledove
11. Little Corella
12. Magpie Lark
13. New Holland Honeyeater
14. Pacific Black Duck
15. Pied Cormorant
16. Pink and Grey Galah
17. Pink-eared Duck
18. Rainbow Bee-eater
19. Rainbow Lorikeet
20. Red Wattlebird
21. Sacred Ibis
22. Silver Gull
23. Singing Honeyeater
24. Spotted Dove
25. Twenty-eight Parrot
26. Welcome Swallow
27. Willie Wagtail

Hawai'i:
28. Black-crowned Night Heron
29. Black-necked Stilt
30. Brazilian Cardinal
31. Brown Booby
32. Cattle Egret
33. Common Moorhen
34. Common Myna
35. Common Waxbill
36. Erckel’s Francolin
37. Great Frigatebird
38. Hawai'ian Coot
39. House Finch
40. House Sparrow
41. Japanese White-eye
42. Northern Cardinal
43. Nutmeg Mannikin
44. Pacific Golden Plover
45. Red-footed Booby
46. Red Junglefowl
47. Red-vented Bulbul
48. Red-whiskered Bulbul
49. Saffron Finch
50. White-rumped Shama
51. White-tailed Tropicbird
52. Wild Turkey
53. Yellow-billed Cardinal
54. Yellow-fronted Canary
55. Zebra Dove

Heard:
Southern Boobook Owl

I had to go to Hawai'i for half my birds and am still nowhere near your numbers, Elphaba.

56. Sacred Kingfisher
57. Barking Owl (heard)

This message was edited Apr 10, 2013 7:12 AM

This message was edited May 1, 2013 4:56 AM

Seeing fewer birds now that most of the snow is gone, but hearing more of them.

I've been doing pretty well this year, but I just bought a house in Rockport and have to move out of mine in and into it in the next 3 weeks. I'm sure I'll miss most of migration.

Y'all are welcomed to come down (or up) to Texas to pump-up your numbers! It's not Hawaii, but it's often as humid as Hawaii.

Went with a friend a few days ago to stake out spots for a bird count that he does, and I added a few.

253 - Hooded Warbler
254 - White-breasted Nuthatch
255 - Lark Sparrow
256 - Yellow-throated Vireo (saw and heard one in the backyard today too)

Went to Rockport yesterday for the house inspection and went down to the pier afterward and added:

257 - Gull-billed Tern

Elphaba, I hope you get settled in soon and don't miss too much of migration. Rockport - What a great place for birding!

I went with a group to Brazos Bend State Park today and got a few to add to my list ...

137 3/30/2013 Common Yellowthroat
138 3/30/2013 Eastern Kingbird
139 3/30/2013 Green Heron
140 3/30/2013 Northern Parula
141 3/30/2013 Prothonotary Warbler
142 3/30/2013 Rough-winged Swallow
143 3/30/2013 Swamp Sparrow
144 3/30/2013 Tree Swallow
145 3/30/2013 White-eyed Vireo

76 - Purple Finch

I've been hearing the kildeer, but i'm not marking it until I see one. But Yay! spring birds.

sound should be verification of sighting?

it is for things like christmas bird counts, etc. But for my personal year sightings, I really like to have visual.

I count "heard only" if I'm confident of the ID and if its not a life bird or if it's the best way to ID the bird. For example, I've had a screech owl calling in the tree over my house for four days now. Haven't seen him, but really his call is the best way to ID him. I think he's made a nest hole and I'm upset about it because this house is going to be demolished and most of the trees cut down. I've lived here 10 years and I've just been dying for a Screech Owl to nest in my yard and he waited until now!

For me, if it's a life bird, I want to see it. Otherwise, heard only is OK especially since I usually end up seeing it later. Like last week there were lots of Hooded Warblers in the woods. I heard them but did not see a one. I entered them into ebird anyway. Then one showed up in the backyard and I've had great views of him. I also knew that I would be seeing more, so wasn't that worried about it.

Same for me, I prefer to see lifers. At one time I did have Spotted Crake (a very skulking wetland bird) on my life list as 'heard only' but have seen some since. The only problem with 'heard only' is that sometimes one species will imitate another, and often seeing is the only way to be certain it isn't a Starling or whatever playing tricks.

And some places, you have to check that what you're hearing is a bird, and not another birder playing a tape!

Resin

Ha! That's true!!! On the Christmas Bird Count, from the back seat, I started playing a sound of a snipe and got the birders in the front seat all excited that they had heard a bird.

Oh darn. That would have been a great April Fool's joke - play a recording of a very rare bird in a room full of birders and watch everyone run for the door. Hmmmm. Next year.

Added a few. Migration is on!

146 Cliff Swallow
147 Cave Swallow
148 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
149 Pectoral Sandpiper
150 Swainson's Hawk
151 Hooded Warbler
152 Summer Tanager
153 Orchard Oriole
154 Baltimore Oriole
155 Blackburnian Warbler
156 Brown Thrasher
157 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
158 Indigo Bunting
159 Yellow-throated Warbler
160 Blue-winged Warbler

Patti

ooo, patti, i like your mischievous way of thinking.

If I'm ever riding around with you gals, I'll know to watch out for car birds! -- or room-clearing birds!

As soon as I could get away last Wednesday, I headed for the coast to take advantage of a bit of fallout. Didn't get there until late afternoon but stayed until dark! Talked to a gentleman who is a birder and meteorologist who said Thursday would be good and Friday not so much. Changed all my plans and headed out to High Island Thursday! Here's what I got:

258 - Eastern Kingbird
259 - Red-eyed Vireo
260 - Worm-eating Warbler
261 - Northern Waterthrush
262 - Prothonotary Warbler
263 - Kentucky Warbler
264 - Cerulean Warbler
265 - Summer Tanager
266 - Indigo Bunting
267 - Orchard Oriole
268 - Mississippi Kite
269 - Swainson's Warbler
270 - Ovenbird
271 - Warbling Vireo
272 - Blue-winged Warbler
273 - Yellow-breasted Chat
274 - Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Looks like the end of this week might be good too. I'll have to work it in around my garage sale!

Look at you go!!!! Love love love seeing those spring birds.


Meanwhile up north…

First Chipping Sparrow of the season is # 77

A brief lull in the winter weather yesterday allowed a few migrants to arrive at last, about 2-3 weeks late . . .

140 Chiffchaff
141 Northern Wheatear
142 Black-necked Grebe

Resin