MATAGORDA COUNTY – MAD ISLAND MARSH

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
14 December 2009

Great Blue Heron View at 50 yards

The 17^thrunning of the Mad Island CBC started foggy; REALLY FOGGY. The kind of fog that seeps through all of your clothes and makes everything damp. Sadly this thick fog lasted all night and day as warm air temperatures mixed with cool bay waters. Visibility was less than 100 yards on the Coast most of the day. Fog was a little lighter further inland with occasional views of the sun during mid day. Adding to our frustration were tides running about 1 foot above normal and covering many of the mudflats we access to survey shorebirds. Further complicating the analysis of the data was this area just came out of a major drought lasting 18 months.

A record number of birders (121) reported 231 species which should make us Number One in the Nation again for species. Guadalupe River Delta – McFaddin Family Ranches reported 216 species and Freeport 203. Mad Island also typically leads the nation for the most species with the highest tallies. This probably will not happen this year because reduced visibility in the fog really hampered seeing, identifying and counting birds.

Teams on the Mad Island Wildlife Management Area and TNC Preserve started the count at midnight and likely the first bird observed was a Burrowing Owl. This bird was very cooperative by standing in the road for several minutes in the beam of the head lights. We ended up recording 4 of this very secretive species for the day. We also ended up recording a very high tally of Barn Owls at 64. When the fog is heavy, Barn Owls typically do not hunt for long on the wing and spend most of the time perched on fence posts or trees waiting for rodents to move nearby. Being on fence posts, it was very easy to count them while driving the roads. Interestingly we also recorded our highest total of Barred Owls at 64. I guess the Barred like to call in the fog. We were very successful at deploying numerous birders before daybreak and recorded a record tally of 39 Am. Woodcock as they flew to their daytime haunts before sunrise. All in all our night teams tallied about 40 species before daybreak. I like getting as many nocturnal species as possible before daybreak because it provides more time to search for challenging species during daylight.

Photo by David Shackelford

The teams did pretty good at locating species in the fog. The Wildlife Management Area led all sections with 150 species reported, followed by The Nature Conservancy with 147, STP with 133, Matagorda – East with 117 and the River with 112. However, the best sections for finding unique species was TNC and Selkirk with 5 each, Matagorda – East and the Peninsula with 4 each, and Lyondell & the River with 3 each.

BEST BIRD

It is pretty special to be able to get the Best Bird on this CBC. There were 121 birders participating in 35 different teams on 14 sections competing for the honor. There were 10 species found that were rare enough to require documentation, and 3 species were new to the CBC. Section Leaders voted on the Best Bird and results were as tight as it has ever been. They voted for the Chuck-will’s-widowthat was found by Rich Kostecke on The Nature Conservancy Preserve as the BEST BIRD with Lark Bunting found by Tad Finnell at Selkirk Island being a very near 2nd. The 3 new species brings the total species for this CBC as 335.

We had a nice collection of rare bird sightings as well as species missed and they will be discussed below:

SCOTERS are typically found in deeper waters of the Gulf and in small numbers in the bays feeding on various mollusks. James Arnold’s bay boat managed to sneak within 50 yards of a White-winged Scoter in the fog. It was one of the few species of ducks that were actually seen during the day.

GLOSSY IBIS occurs during the winter in small numbers and is extremely difficult to distinguish from White-faced Ibis. We were not successful at identifying one this year.

APLOMADO FALCON occurs with enough regularity that it no longer requires documentation. However, it is still one of the more sought after birds in the area.

WHOOPING CRANES were observed for a few days before the CBC, but weather conditions eliminated any opportunity of seeing this species.

WILSON’S PLOVER is a regular summer breeder in the area, but seldom winters. Jim & Linda Hargrove made special efforts to locate this species after we found one wintering last January in their section. They were rewarded with a view of one bird. This was a new species for the CBC.

RED KNOT was another casualty of the fog. It typically winters in small numbers while foraging on the area beaches and oyster reefs.

Photo by Petra Hockey

FRANKLIN’S GULL has become so regular that details are no longer required.

CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW migrates through the area but very few are known to winter along the Coastal Bend. Once they get around the curve of the Gulf, they usually continue south to a more tropical wintering area. Rich Kostecke almost stepped on one along the thornscrub ridge on TNC and had excellent views of the bird. Lynn Barber also flushed a Caprimulgid while birding in the Matagorda-East section, but was not able to ID it to species. This was a new species for the CBC as well as being the BEST BIRD.

WESTERN KINGBIRD migrates through our area in very small numbers. They are more a vagrant than they are a regular species. However, one of the most consistent locations to find wintering individuals of this species is in Florida. Apparently, birds get lost in migration and get “trapped” in coastal settings. Catherine Engelman and John Herron located one on the TNC preserve. This was the 3^rdrecord for the CBC.

SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER migrates through the area in sizeable numbers and is known to be a late migrant. It is a beautiful bird that occupies open country settings, but it is difficult to predict when you will locate one. This year Jean Martin’s River Ranches Team identified one for our 7^threcord.

The RED-EYED VIREO is another eastern forest birds that very rarely winters in the Untied States. Jamie Ritter managed to locate one for our 4^th CBC record on the Lyondell section.

WOOD THRUSH breed throughout forested uplands in the eastern United States, but is a very rare winterer in the country. Mad island has become the CBC with the greatest frequency of reporting this species. Michael Kennedy found one on the Lyondell property for our 10^thCBC record.

Photo by Brad Lirette

I like photos of rarities. I was able to locate 2 YELLOW WARBLERS while scouting on STP road and Brad Lirette managed to photograph one again on count day. The Yellow Warbler breeds in the United States and winters with regularity in very small numbers in shrubby areas along the Coast. We have become very good at finding this species as this makes our 7^threcord.

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER AND N. WATERTHRUSH are two species that have started to consistently give us the slip during count days. They are found regularly nearby in similar habitats, but for whatever reason we are starting to miss them far too regularly.

OVENBIRD is a regular wintering warbler that spends time in very dense thickets. The reporting of it is much less than its occurrence because it is a very talented skulker in the shadows. Selkirk, Lyondell and W. Roads managed to find one each for our 5^thCBC record.

SWAINSON’S WARBLER is a denizen of historic cane brakes of the South. It breeds in small numbers in Texas and is not expected to winter. Bob and Dale Friedrichs had good observations of one on the Lyondell property making it our 2^ndCBC record.

CLAY-COLORED & LARK SPARROWS both occupies more xeric savannah settings and have been very consistently reported on this CBC for at least 10 CBC seasons each. We missed this year.

Photo by David Shackelford

HENSLOW’S SPARROW is normally viewed as a species of the “tall grass prairie” and most searches for the species occur in large prairie tracts. However, we tend to locate them in this count area in smaller grasslands. Our 4^threcord was photographed by David Shackelford on the River Ranches Section.

LARK BUNTING ended up being the Number Two bird for this CBC in a very close vote. Tad Finnell observed one in a shrubby area at Selkirk Island. This appears to be a year of great numbers of Lark Buntings roaming more easterly and southerly than normal.

RESULTS

We reported 231 species which is about average for this CBC. We added 3 new species bring our total to 335 species. Observers reported 37 species in above average numbers and 54 species in below average while missing 9 species in the area.

Mad Island has let the Nation for the most highest counts of individual species for 11 years. The 425 Roseate Spoonbill, 35 White-tailed Hawk, 222 Greater Yellowlegs, 39 Am. Woodcock, 14 Franklin’s Gull, 35 Gull-billed Tern, 64 Barn Owl, 64 Barred Owl, 1040 E. Phoebe, 7 Ash-throated Flycatcher, 182 Loggerhead Shrike, 1 Red-eyed Vireo, 233 House Wren, 329 Marsh Wren, 1 Wood Thrush, 68 Sprague’s Pipit, 1 Swainson’s Warbler, 482 Com. Yellowthroat, 7 Yellow-breasted Chat, 3995 Savannah Sparrow, 1219 E. Meadowlark, and 11,328 Boat-tailed Grackle reported this year will be competitive for national honors.

TRENDS

This is the 2^nd year in a row we have had weather which has really reduced the success of our counting. The norm for species being above and below average is 65 being high and 25 being low as was reported 2 years ago. During the major cold front last year, we reported 55 species below average and 45 above. This year we have 54 species below average and only 34 above average. Even in bad weather, we still can locate species in above average numbers.

HIGH COUNTS: Ruddy Duck, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, Wilson’s Plover, Am. Woodcock, Franklin’s Gull, Com. Tern, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, E. Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Burrowing Owl, Barred Owl, Chuck-will’s-widow, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, N. Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher, W. Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo, Am. Crow, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Palm Warbler, Swainson’s Warbler, Com. Yellowthroat, Wilson’s Warbler, Lark Bunting, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, W. Meadowlark and Am. Goldfinch.

LOW COUNTS: Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Mottled Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Com. Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Com. Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Brown Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, Reddish Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, N. Harrier, Clapper Rail, King Rail, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Willet, Sanderling, W. Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster’s Tern, Com. Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Couch’s Kingbird, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Bewick’s Wren, Brown Thrasher, Long-billed Thrasher, Eur. Starling, Vesper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Com. Grackle, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and House Sparrow.

Waterfowl = 11 species low and 1 high out of 28 species. Visibility definitely affected our ability to see waterfowl. Disappointing because there were huge numbers of ducks, geese and cranes in the area.

Divers = 4 out of 5 species low.

Pelicans thru Ibises = 7 lows and no highs out of 19 species. Major flight lines were not visible during CBC.

Raptors = 1 low and 1 high out of 18 species. We were still able to observed reasonable numbers of raptors.

Rails = 4 lows and 1 high out of 8 species. The drought had a major negative impact on these species.

Shorebirds = 7 lows and 4 highs out of 27 species. Large numbers of shorebirds were using inland waterfowl impoundments because of high tides in the bays. Most birds were either not visible or just blurred silhouettes.

Gulls & Terns = 6 lows and 2 highs from 12 species.

Doves thru Woodpeckers = 10 highs and 2 lows out of 23 species. As a general rule, the drought was good for wintering doves. It suppressed grasses and allowed for weeds to flourish and produce abundant seed. All owls except Barn were counted in above average numbers.

Flycatchers thru waxwing = 6 highs and 6 lows out of 41 species. In general, detecting passerines were not as greatly effected in the fog as large open country birds.

Warblers = 4 highs and no lows out of 12 species

Towhees thru buntings = 5 highs and 2 lows out of 23 species.

The rest = 6 lows and 2 highs out of 12 species. As expected, large flocks of blackbirds and grackles were not detectable in the fog.

TEAM WORK

Much of the results from this CBC are the direct results of the planning, leadership, coordination, and skills of our Section Leaders: Jim Hargrove, Sumita Prasad, Charlie Brower, Ron Weeks, Michael Kennedy, Bill Baker, Brad Lirette, Jared Judy, Jim Renfro, Marc Ealy, James Arnold, and Ural Donohoe.

This Christmas Bird Count is The Number One in the Nation from our Team’s perspective. It has shown national leadership in cooperative efforts between the birders, the landowners, the boat operators and the people of Matagorda County. It takes every bodies efforts focused on the end result to achieve our goals. Yes, we have a very diverse avifauna that is the product of a narrow forested corridor extending all of the way down the Colorado River to the Gulf that is bordered by an abundance of native prairies, brushlands and wetlands. An added factor is geography creates diverse ecosystems being in close proximity. This diversity would not be possible unless the landowners managed their land to maintain the productivity of the habitats, and it would not be possible to survey them unless they liked our project and permitted us access. All the birds in the world would not mean anything unless the interest, skills and cooperation of the Texas birders would not show up to conduct the count. We would count very few water birds unless our boat operators would not donate a day from their busy schedule as well as the use of their boats. We get great support from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, The Nature Conservancy, the South Texas Nuclear Project and Lyondell-Basel for use of equipment, land and staff. Lastly, we could not afford to pay for the Great Supper at the Wadsworth Community Center, provide counters with t-shirts and pay their CBC activity fees without the generosity of the sponsors. We also thank Greg Lavatyfor the great photo for our T-shirt.

LEADERS: David and Marilyn Sitz. David has developed a great relationship with the landowners of Matagorda County and he is the person who obtains permission for the birders to access the private property. Marilyn does the fund raising, arranges for the production of T-shirts and the catering at the banquet. She recruits volunteers to work at the banquet. This count would not be near as special without the leadership of Marilyn and her volunteers.

SPONSORS: Betty Clark, Bay City Convention Bureau, Matagorda County Birding & Nature Center, Bay City Nature Club, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept., Lower Colorado River Authority, The Nature Conservancy, South Texas Nuclear Project Operating Co., Lyondell-Basel, Celanese, Wells Fargo Bank, All Star Realty, City of Bay City, Bay City Abstract & Title.

LANDOWNERS: Lower Colorado River Authority, George Harrison, PCS Phosphate, Inc., Jack Miller, Carl Anderson family, Charlie Brower’s family, Roy Poinsett, Eugene Welfel, Baer Ranch, Lyondell-Basel, South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company, Julius Ledwig, Linda Joy Stovall, Bill Von Gonten, Smith Marsh, The Nature Conservancy of Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Grover Ryman, Bill Doss, Ray Culver, Becca Sitz, Al Denham, and Old Gulf.

BOAT OPERATORS: We appreciate the services and the boats provided by James Arnold, and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

NEXT YEAR

This was another amazing CBC at Mad Island. We thank all of you who helped. Next year will likely be better. Come join us to check it out and bring a friend on Tuesday, 14 December 2010.

NOTE: THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME WE CONDUCT THE COUNT ON A TUESDAY.

Photo by Jimmy Jackson

Brent Ortego

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

2805 N. Navarro, Suite 600B

Victoria, TX 77901

brent.ortego@tpwd.state.tx.us

Excel spreadsheet of data available upon request.