Bird Alert - November 5, 2007

In a strong contrast with last weekend, migrant bird activity was minimal along the coast.  On Saturday November 3 Pilot Station Road had good number of (winter resident) Nelson's Sharp-tailed and (year round resident) Seaside Sparrows.  There was only one White-crowned Sparrow.  Also seen were a Swamp Sparrow and one Lincoln's Sparrow.  Migrants were represented by a very late Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Sabine Woods, and a Magnolia Warbler and an American Redstart at the Willows at Sea Rim plus numerous Gray Catbirds both places.  There was also a Winter Wren at the Willows.  Two Eared Grebes were in the south impoundment of Pleasure Island, but there was very little else there, possibly because it has been used for deposit of dredge material recently.  Most of the sparrows seen last week have seemingly moved further along their preferred migration path.

In west Jefferson County on Sunday November 5, the dry conditions were beginning to show, with essentially no waterbirds or waterfowl to be found.  One dark ibis found on Ebner Road was a Glossy Ibis.  Raptors were well represented, however.  Red-tailed Hawks, which normally are not present in full strength until sometime in December, were plentiful, including one adult dark morph Red-tailed Hawk on Burrell-Wingate Road about a mile west of LaBelle Road, and another Red-tailed Hawk that was probably a young dark-morph "Harlan's Hawk" at the intersection of League Road and Johnson Road.  If anyone sees it again, please check it out, especially the wing and tail pattern!  Three Crested Caracaras soaring high over the area of the FM1406/FM365 junction are scarcely worthy of note these days.  American Kestrels are in west Jefferson County in good numbers, as are Eastern Phoebes.  Savannah sparrow numbers are still relatively modest, but there are a few White-crowned and a surprising number of Song Sparrows about.

The water levels in Cattail Marsh in Tyrrell Park were high for several weeks, but now are somewhat lower, even if there is still not much shorebird habitat, and the northernmost cell (cell 1) has only a small amount of open water in the water hyacinth (which seems to have been treated).  Cell 2 (the one inside the gate) and Cell 3 (the one behind it) were most popular with good numbers of ducks.  The opening of duck season on November 3 is sure to increase the duck population in Cattail Marsh.  In Cell 2 - both the main section and the section to the left (north) of the first levee - had a good variety of species.  Twelve species of duck were seen, and some of each were in Cell 2.  Most numerous were Northern Shovelers and Green-winged Teal.  Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks and Gadwall were well represented.  There were a few Ring-necked Ducks, and some Lesser Scaup, with one obvious male Greater Scaup and two virtually certain female Greaters.  There were about 10 Mottled Ducks, five male Mallards, a few Northern Pintail and one male and two female American Wigeon.

John A. Whittle