MATAGORDA COUNTY – MAD ISLAND MARSH

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

19 December 2011

The 19^th running of the Matagorda County – Mad Island Marsh CBC occurred with strong warm winds all day and occasional light showers.  Tides were high and there were few shallow mud flats.  We were able to put a record 138 people in the field along with 4 boats to produce 244 species which was our 3^rd highest tally.  Even though this count has been able to record 334 species over its history, we still managed to add 5 new species, but we also missed 5 species which occur regularly on the CBC.  The MANX SHEARWATER reported by Petra Hockey flying over the Gulf was voted by an overwhelming number of section leaders as the BEST BIRD of the Count.

[This photo is from the British Trust for Ornithology] 

The Nature Conservancy led all sections with people (50) and species (158).  The Wildlife Management Area reported 152 species and STP had 147.  The Peninsula Section led the CBC with 7 exclusive species, Matagorda-West and TNC had 5 each and Matagorda-East 4.

The theme of this count was determining the effect of The Drought.  We expected lower than normal resident populations, marsh dependent species and insectivores.  We did not expect that other areas were worst than us and there would be a major eastward and southward movement by many species that did not normally winter on the Coast.  See what we found below.

RARITIES

The MANX  SHEARWATER is mostly a pelagic seabird of the Atlantic Ocean.  It is not expected at all in our area.  Petra Hockey loves doing Sea Watches and she is one of the better birders in Texas at identifying pelagic species.  We were fortunate when the shearwater being pushed by strong onshore winds flew along the beach in sight. 

 The ZONE-TAILED HAWK is a vulture mimic and typically breeds in the Hill Country and the Trans Pecos with most birds wintering in the Tropics.  A few are found each winter in the Hill Country and South Texas.  Mark Elwonger & Dale Friedrichs were able to obtain our 2^nd record for this species at Lyondell.

The ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK is a bird of the Great Plains which typically does not winter south of the Pan Handle in Texas.  This winter an unprecedented number of sightings have occurred along the Coast.  Dennis Haessly was able to obtain a lengthy view of one on the Von Gonten Ranch.

The PRAIRIE FALCON is more of a northern Great Plains species.  This season with extensive droughts in the state, a few have been reported along the Coast.   Steve & Laura Gast, and Jim Stewart spotted one flying over the reservoir at STP.

[Photo by Charlie Brower elsewhere]

YELLOW and BLACK RAILS occur in small numbers each winter along the Coast.  They are difficult to survey because of their secretive habits in densely vegetated wetlands and propensity to not call.  Several teams attempted to locate them during the day with no luck until Julie Sullivan and Adam Hickl started dragging a chain between two vehicles in a field of flooded unharvested rice on TNC.  They were able to flush 2 Yellow and 1 Black.

WILSON’S PLOVER occur in very small numbers along the Coast during winter.  We started  noticing them roosting at the mouth of the Colorado River 3 years and we have been able to consistently find them on the CBC since then.  Our Peninsula team was able to find a record # of 8 this season.

[Photo taken during an earlier time.]

We first discovered MOUNTAIN PLOVER in the count circle last winter.  I was able to locate it again during scouting, and Clay Taylor & Dane Ferrell were able to locate 24 during count day. 

[Photo by Clay Taylor]

PARASITIC JAEGERs occur in small numbers in the Gulf each winter.  It is not common for one to be near land in order for it to be observed.

 Young LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL’s are challenging to identify.  They can easily be confused with young Herring Gulls.  Petra is an expert on gull identification and she was able to photograph the one below.

[Photo by Petra Hockey]

The GREEN KINGFISHER is a tropical kingfisher of small streams.  They winter regularly in small numbers from San Antonio to the south.  There appears to be a small movement of them up the Coast this season.   Michael Kennedy & John Tharp were able to locate one for our 2^nd record on Lyondell property.

 The HAIRY WOODPECKER is an uncommon species of East Texas forests that challenges many birders to identify it since it appears very similar to the smaller Downy Woodpecker.  All Coastal reports are typically challenged by editors.  Michael Kennedy was able to get our 6^th report by seeing the bird side by side with a Downy.

The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER is another South Texas species that typically winters in the tropics, but a few birds occasionally get lost and end up going the wrong way.  We have managed to find this species 5 times and this season Bill Baker with the STP group in their quest for 150 species managed to locate one.

The W. KINGBIRD is a strange bird.  Although it is a common breeder in Texas, more of them over winter in Florida than they do in Texas.  We have been able to find this species in coastal scrub 4 times.  This year Bea Ann Kelly photographed one in the Peninsula Section.

 The NORTHERN PARULA is a regular lingering neotropical warbler along the lower Coast, but we have always had difficulty in locating them.  The STP team of Steve & Laura Gast and Jim Stewart obtained our 4^th record of the species.

The YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER is one of those canopy foraging small warblers that lingers in small numbers along the river.  It can be challenging to find in the tree tops.  While we think it winters every year, we have only reported it 6 out of 19 years.  This year it was found in the Selkirk area by John Faragher and Ron Weeks.

[Photo taken during an earlier time]

We have had only 2 GREEN-TAILED TOWHEEs in previous years.  This season we had 16 during an unprecedented invasion by this species on the Coast.  This species can typically be found in scrub enivornments of South Texas and further west.

Photographed by Sumita Prasad.

The BREWER’S SPARROW is a bird of desert scrub that does not winter near the Coast.  Chet Burrier again came through with a spectacular find by picking this bird out of a group of Clay-colored and Field Sparrows near Matagorda.

The HENSLOW’S SPARROW probably occurs in the CBC area every year in small numbers, but it is one of those mouse birds that are very difficult to locate.  We have reported it 5 previous times.  The species is known to have strong winter site fidelity and David Shackelford was able to locate one at the exact site where he had photographed one previously on the private ranches along the river.

We found our 1^st LARK BUNTING last season with 1 bird at Selkirk.  This year we had 26 with most being at Old Gulf.  This is a bird that periodically occurs in large numbers in the brush country.  This year they appear to be invading the Coast.

[Photographed by Sumita Prasad]

                TRENDS

Marsh birds and insectivores occurred in much lower numbers than normal.  Countering this raptors and sparrows occurred in above average numbers.  Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Red-tailed Hawk, Wilson’s Plover, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eur. Collared-Dove, N. Flicker, Spotted Towhee, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow occurred in Record Numbers.  In contrast, we missed Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Ferruginous Hawk, Barn Swallow and Nelson’s Sparrow.  The drought had both negative and positive impacts on the avian community using the area.  It did add to diversity for species which we seldom see, but personally I could do without those western and northern birds if we had healthy and moist natural habitats in our area which would support some of the highest waterbird concentrations in Texas.  I love the sounds of thousands of cranes and geese coming to roost in the evening.

HIGHS ( 43  species) Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Brown Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, White-tailed Kite, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, Peregrine Falcon, Semipalmated Plover, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eur. Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Say’s Phoebe, Great Kiskadee, Brown Creeper, Brown Thrasher, Long-billed Thrasher, N. Waterthrush, Spotted Towhee, E. Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, W. Meadowlark, Brewer’s Blackbird.

LOWS (32   species) G. White-fronted Goose, Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Greater Scaup, Am. Bittern, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, White-faced Ibis, Clapper Rail, King Rail, Sora, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Long-billed Curlew, W. Sandpiper, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Mourning Dove, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo, Sedge Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-and-White Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Le Conte’s Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Com. Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle.

TEAM WORK

Much of the results from this CBC are the direct results of the planning, leadership, coordination, and skills of our Section Leaders:  Tom Morris, Sumita Prasad, Charlie Brower, Ron Weeks, Michael Kennedy, Bill Baker, Breck Sacra, Clay Taylor, Rich Kosteche, Julie Sullivan, Jim Renfro, Marc Ealy, Bron Rorex, James Arnold and Karen McBride.

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 body’s 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, Lower Colorado River Authority and Lyondell-Basell 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 Jim Harrison  for the great art work 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, and the catering at the banquet.  She also 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, 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-Basell, Oxea Chemicals, A & A Bar-B-Que, All Star Real Estate, Bay City Abstract & Title, Conoco Phillips Sweeney Refinery, County Judge Nate McDonald, First State Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank.

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

BOAT OPERATORS:  We appreciate the services and the boats provided by James Arnold, Bill Issacson, Jerry West 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 Monday, 17 December 2012.  

Photo by Jimmy Jackson

Brent Ortego

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

2805 N. Navarro, Suite 600B

Victoria, TX 77901

brent.ortego@tpwd.state.tx.us

361/827-4691

                                                      Excel spreadsheet of data available upon request.

14 December 2010

The 18th running of the Mad Island CBC started with cool, clear skies and made for special viewing of meteor showers of that night. There were rumors of Whooping Cranes and other interesting species in the area and our teams of birders were raring to go. The CBC started at mid-night on the TNC preserve with me searching for rails/owls and an ATV team driving through impoundments for Yellow Rails. The Yellow Rails were one of the first birds of the day. All expected owls (- screech) and rails were found by sunrise. (more…)

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.

MATAGORDA COUNTY – MAD ISLAND MARSH

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

15 December 2008

The 16^th running of the Matagorda County – Mad Island Marsh Christmas Bird Count felt more like a survival adventure than a bird survey.  Most of our Team had no idea of the timing and strength of the “Blue Norther” that was going to hit us during the morning of the CBC.  Weather forecast the night before indicated heavy fog in the morning and a cold front arriving in the afternoon, but the front that arrived was much stronger and faster than predicted.

Our team of 97 dedicated birders reported 233 species of birds which will make us Number One in the Nation again for species.  Guadalupe River Delta – McFaddin Family Ranches placed 2^nd with 217 species.

The scene above greeted many of our teams at first light.  A heavy fog had settled along the Coast and some birders had a hard time seeing the roads on which they were driving.  Gradually the fog lifted and birds became active.  It was actually pretty nice for about an hour with relatively light winds and low clouds.  Then about 9 a.m. we observed a very dark frontal line to the north and we knew we were going to experience some pretty serious weather.  Birders scurried for their vehicles, birds headed for cover, and the two boats with birders in the bay had to deal with it.  Our East Bay boat (James Arnold’s) decided to head for the harbor.  We drove about 7 miles through 30 mph north winds, light rain and a drop of 30 degrees in temperature as we got out of the bay.  The airboat in West Bay just decided to work through it.

This was one of the few CBCs I have attended that I felt the need to call birders to see if anybody was still out there.  After taking a break at the harbor, finding some warmer gear and determining that the Count was still active, we continued our journey.  It actually was not uncomfortable on the water once the rain stopped and we wore better gear.  The wind made all birding challenging and the 97 birders did what we could on land and water.

BEST BIRD

Our section leaders voted the E. Wood-Pewee as the Best Bird which barely beat out the Black-headed Grosbeak.

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

The FULVOUS WHISTLING-DUCK has been reported 5 times during the CBC and is expected, but can be very difficult to find as they tend to hide in densely vegetated freshwater marshes.  The Serrill family managed to locate one at Mad Island as it was flying with Black-bellieds.

WOOD STORKS are common during sumer/fall in the area and occasionally one will linger.  Jan Huebner found one on the Baer Ranch.  This marked the 3^rd time we have had one on the CBC.

The APLOMADO FALCON is probably this CBC’s Best Bird year-in and year-out.  Two were reported by Jared Laing and Heather Serrill.  Heather is always looking for a photo opportunity and managed to get this nice shot of one on TNC.

PURPLE GALLINULE is another resident of the deep marsh that typically migrates south for the winter.  Our team can occasionally find one lurking if they work the tall marsh vegetation.  This year Jared Laing managed to sling a rock near one making it flush in the Mad Island area, and it became our 4^th CBC record.

We posted our highest tally of FRANKLIN’S GULLS with 8 this year.  They seemed to be everywhere with 5 of the 15 sections reporting them.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was the only new species for the count this year.  A number of this species were reported along the Coast this season and it’s presence was expected, but it required a very knowledgeable birder to identify it.  Thus, I was excited when Petra Hockey said she was going to do a “Sea Watch” during the count and she came through with this species and a couple more exclusives.

Mad Island is known for its high diversity of flycatchers.  The E. WOOD-PEWEE reported this year is the CBCs 4^th record.  All EAWP have been identified by vocalization.  This individual discovered by “Mr. Radar” Mark Scheuerman was also seen and described well, and eventually photographed.  That is not its photo above, but one I caught during an earlier trip.

Martine Got well described an E. KINGBIRD on TNC for our 4^th record, and Jean Martin’s River Section reported 2 GREAT KISKADEES which was also our 4^th record. 

The WOOD THRUSH used to be a species I doubted occurred with any regularity.  Our Team has been successful at locating and occasionally photographing Wood Thrushes 9 times.  This year one was well described by Michael Kennedy at the Lyondell-Basell property.

The TENNESSEE WARBLER is still one of those lingering warblers that I am yet to identify in winter.  This year makes the 7^th time our Team has adequately described one.  Sandy Dillard and 4 other observers reported one in the Peninsula Section.

YELLOW WARBLER is an expected lingering neotrop that can be difficult to find.  Two were located prior to the CBC and it took Brad Lirette lots of work to photograph the one below during the heavy winds of the day in the W. Roads Section.

This seems to be the year for BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS.  I have had one at my Victoria County home this fall and I have heard of several reports on the Coast.  Dale Friedrichs described one well during this CBC on the Lyondell-Basell property for our 3^rd record.

RESULTS

Excel spreadsheet with data by section available upon request.

233 species is an amazing total for the Weather in which we had to conduct the bird count.  We missed a number of regular species like Ferruginous Hawk, Solitary Sandpiper, E. Screech-Owl, Rufous Hummingbird, Say’s Phoebe, Black-and-White Warbler, Ovenbird, N. Waterthrush, Clay-colored Sparrow, Painted Bunting and House Finch.  We also missed Groove-billed Anis which were spotted the day before and observed still there in mid January. 

The Wildlife Management Area section had the most species with 157.  Matagorda-East, Lyondell, W. Roads, TNC and the Rovers had 4 or more exclusives.

We have led the Nation for 10 years with the most highest counts of individual species.  We normally get at least 20 high tallies.  We might not be able to do it this year.  Candidates for highest counts are the 3002 Am. White Pelican, 1201 Great Egret, 984 Roseate Spoonbill, 41 White-tailed Hawk, 216 Crested Caracara, 20 Yellow Rail, 112 Piping Plover, 289 Greater Yellowlegs, 116 Spotted Sandpiper, 1 E. Wood-Pewee, 477 Sedge Wren, 1 Wood Thrush, 44 Sprague’s Pipit, 1 Black-headed Grosbeak, 23,459 Boat-tailed Grackle, 1226 E. Meadowlark.

TRENDS

Weather is the Great Equalizer in CBC competition and it almost got us on our species tally.  It did greatly reduce tallies of birds and it will be difficult to determine if changes in numbers were more “weather of the day” affected or impacted by the extreme drought which is occurring in many parts of Texas.  Aside from the 12 species missed, 55 species had low counts and 45 had high counts.  Last year we had 65 species with high counts and 25 species with lows:  A Big Difference.

HIGH COUNTS:  Am. Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, N. Pintail, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Green Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Crested Caracara, Aplomado Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, Yellow Rail, Purple Gallinule, Sandhill Crane, Snowy Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Franklin’s Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Royal Tern, Eur. Collared-Dove, Burrowing Owl, Great Kiskadee, E. Kingbird, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Winter Wren, Sedge Wren, Am. Pipit, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Lark Sparrow, Am. Goldfinch, House Sparrow.

LOW COUNTS:  Ross’s Goose, Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mottled Duck, Canvasback, Surf Scoter, N. Bobwhite, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Osprey, Am. Kestrel, Merlin, Clapper Rail, Am. Oystercatcher, Long-billed Curlew, Red Knot, Bonaparte’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Common Tern, Forster’s Tern, Inca Dove, Short-eared Owl, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, E. Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Couch’s Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Horned Lark, Tufted Titmouse, Brown Creeper, E. Bluebird, N. Mockingbird, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Le Conte’s Sparrow, Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, N. Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird.

Waterfowl = 7 species high and 8 low out of 28 species.  The Mad Island Area was fortunate to receive an 8 inch rain in November which filled most impoundments and natural wetlands.  Otherwise it would have been very dry and with much fewer water birds.

Divers = 2 low out of 5 species.  Wave action made it difficult to get good counts.

Pelicans through Ibises = 2 high, and 3 low out of 23 species.  We were able to make decent counts on most large waterbirds despite the weather because birds were concentrated in areas accessible to our Team.

Raptors = 7 high and 3 low out of 18 species.  Very good numbers.  Increasing catfish ponds in the W. Roads Section are attracting large numbers of vultures and Caracaras.  Major emphasis of ag landholders to manage for waterfowl also build up a major food source for large raptors and the numerous blackbirds continue to feed many hawks and owls.

Shorebirds = 8 highs and 3 low out of 26 species.  One of the most exciting parts of the CBC for me is to visit the Colorado River Delta during a falling tide.  Extreme low tides exposes hundreds of acres of mudflats and shorebirds from throughout the County flock to the Delta during these situations.  This year the timing of the front was a little late to have maximum exposure, but we were able to observe some very good numbers of birds on the mudflats.

Gull & Terns = 4 highs and 5 lows.  Strong winds definitely made Gulf observations challenging and tended to force most birds to roosts.

Doves thru Woodpeckers = 2 high and 12 low.  Canopy birds were difficult to locate in the wind and many low numbers reflected this.  Despite the weather this was our best year for locating Burrowing Owls with 5 being reported.

Flycatchers thru Pipits = 7 highs and 10 lows.  The few highs reported were associated with wetlands and lingering neotrops.

Warblers.  We only had 11 species of warblers.  This was the lowest tally of warbler species for the CBC during the decade.

Sparrows thru Blackbirds = 3 highs and 10 lows.  Too much wind to determine what we had.

TEAM WORK

Special thanks to: Marc Ealy, David Sarkozi, James Arnold, Melissa Gaskill for working the bays in boats all day in the weather;  Jim Hargrove, Charlie Brower, Sumita Prasad, Karen McBride, Ural and Terry Donohoe, Jerry McIntyre, Michael Kennedy, Bill Baker, Cathy Porter, Brad Lirette, Jean Martin, Bron Rorex, Jim Renfro and Marc Ealy for being Section Leaders; Peregrine Fund for providing us the falcon photo for the T-shirt; Shawn Ashbaugh for developing the design of the T-shirt.

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 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.

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: Bay City Convention Bureau, Matagorda County Birding & Nature Center, 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 Real Estate, City of Bay City.

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 and John Jureczki.

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 be better.  We promise it!  Come join us to check it out and bring a friend on Monday, 14 December 2009.