Golden Triangle Audubon Bird Alert -- November 14, 2010

Yesterday's bird alert focused on the locations just north of the shoreline in Jefferson County/  Today's deals with west Jefferson County.  We have a field trip to this area next Saturday (Nov. 20), so if you are in this area between now and then, please update us on what you see.

While most parts of the area are still quite dry, the area in the northwest part of the county along the north part of Ebner Road and along Nolte and Blair Roads is wetter than the rest. 

The Sandhill Crane flock was located today (Sunday Nov 14) east-north-east of the north end of Ebner Road (where is turns west).  Most of the 150 or so cranes were in the square field which is located at 29 deg 57.7 min N;  94 deg 26.1 min W and which has to be viewed from Ebner Road at the turn.  (This shows up well on Google Earth). Further south on Ebner Road, an adult White-tailed Hawk was seen circling and made its way west into Liberty County.

There are four flooded fields on the north side of Blair Road between FM365 and the LNVA canal.  The westernmost one (the one at 29 deg 59.7 min N;  94 deg 35.5 min W, furthest from FM365) had a good concentration of ducks on Sunday, and a full adult Bald Eagle perched on several snags in and around this field.  The ducks included perhaps 200 each of Northern Pintail and Gadwall, somewhat fewer Green-winged Teal, about 20 Northern Shovelers, two Mallard pairs, and at least two male American Wigeons, plus a hundred or more dark Ibis (Plegadis species) and American Coots.

The only shorebirds found were a few Long-billed Dowitchers, Dunlins and Least Sandpipers in a field on the east side of Nolte Road.

Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers and American Kestrels are plentiful.  There are good numbers of Loggerhead Shrikes and Eastern Phoebes, and lots of Savannah Sparrows, albeit concentrated in relatively few locations.

A large group of about 2500 Snow Geese (containing at least one Ross's Goose) flew over South China Road more or less southbound in mid morning, and a slightly smaller group of white geese including two Vs (about 70 birds) of Greater White-fronted Geese flew over Blair Road northbound in the early afternoon.

John A. Whittle