GUADALUPE RIVER DELTA – MCFADDIN FAMILY RANCHES

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

14 December 2011

Impact of the worst drought in Texas history was the major theme of this years’ count.  The day was warm with numerous mosquitoes and very windy.  All natural shallow freshwater sites were dry, the tidal marshes were very salty, and Green Lake was extremely shallow.  Fifty four birders worked in 22 teams to survey private and public properties and reported 225 species which ties our All-Time High Species Count.  Wilson’s Plover, Piping Plover, Sandwich Tern and Wood Thrush were new species for the count and we missed Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, N. Bobwhite, Burrowing Owl, Least Flycatcher, Horned Lark, and Clay-colored Sparrow.  Wood Thrush was voted as Best Bird of the Count by section leaders, and was photographed along River Road by Petra Hockey, Brush Freeman and Dennis Shepler.

RESULTS

The major local story was the nearly dry Green Lake.  Back during the droughts of the 50’s Green Lake was reported to have completed dried, and was used to grow cotton.  This is the driest it has been since.  There were very few waterbirds in the count area outside of managed freshwater impoundments on the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area and tidal marshes.  Green Lake is normally deep and muddy and holds only small numbers of birds.  However, with the prolonged dry conditions associated with the drought, Green Lake dried out to only a few inches deep over thousands of acres.  The result was site was inundated by over 100,000 shorebirds and ducks taking advantage of the food exposed within the very shallow water.

            In association with the drought, most insectivorous birds were in below average numbers, but there were above average number of raptors and sparrows.  There was a major invasion of coastal areas by Green-tailed Towhees who typically occupy semi-arid scrub and Harris’s Sparrows which normally winter further to the north in the Blackland Prairie. 

RARE BIRDS

Charlie Brower found Black Rail and Nelson’s Sparrow wintering in brackish habitat in an atypical setting bordering the barge canal.  When his Black Rail tape did not work, a passing barge made enough noise to excite the local Black’s into calling.  This photo was taken by Diane Nunley in 2007 at a different site.

            Whooping Crane populations are increasing and with high salinities in the bays cranes are moving away from tidal waters more than normal.  A total of 14 Whooper’s were reported by 4 teams.  A pair was observed flying NE of Green Lake, 4 were observed flying over Hog Bayou on the wildlife management area, 4 were also observed flying near the salt water barrier on the river and 4 were observed briefly landing near river road.  All sightings were at least 2 miles apart.

Wilson’s Plover, Piping Plovers and Snowy Plovers were found foraging with 80,000 shorebirds on Green Lake.  Most of the plovers occurred on an exposed road bed in the lake.

Another new species for the count was a Sandwich Tern.  It was found by Jamie Ferguson and Bob Creglow along the shores of Hynes Bay. 

Yellow-throated Vireo was totally unexpected when found along Hog Bayou by Dennis Haessley.  Another unexpected find was a Tropical Parula located by David True and Bron Rorex in the same area.  [The photo below was taken elsewhere.]

Another good find was an Am. Redstart photographed by Petra Hockey and Brush Freeman at the boat ramp on Hwy. 35.  A few winter each year in riparian areas, but they are not easy to locate.  It was found the day before during scouting and they returned during the count to tally the bird.

Western Tanagers are regular, but very rare during winters along the Coast.  Most of their population winters in the tropics. The bird below is typical of most winter birds.  Two young males were found on the count by Scott Holt and Beau Hardegree at the Hynes Bay Unit.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak are rare anywhere in the United States because this species mostly winters in the tropics.  On a typical year, only 3 are found nationally.  Dale Friedrichs found an adult male as the 3^rd record for the CBC.

Rusty Blackbird photographed by Chet Burrier on the Womack Ranch.

We are at the edge of the range of the Rusty Blackbird and their occurrence is fairly rare.  This species’ population is declining nationally.  The birds found by Chet was the 2^nd record for the CBC.

TRENDS

            HIGHS (68 species): Cinnamon Teal, N. Shoveler, Am. Green-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Least Grebe, Eared Grebe, Am. White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, White-tailed Kite, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Harris’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, Black Rail, Whooping Crane, Snowy Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Am. Avocet, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, W. Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Herrin Gull, Royal Tern, Inca Dove, Com. Ground-Dove, Short-eared Owl, Com. Pauraque, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Great Kiskadee, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Green Jay, Brown Creeper, N. Mockingbird, Long-billed Thrasher, W. Tanager, Green-tailed Tohee, Spotted Towhee, Field Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow,  Harris’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, N. Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, E. Meadowlark, W. Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Bronzed Cowbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Lesser Goldfinch and House Sparrow.

            LOWS (56 species):  Wood Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Red-breasted Merganser, Anhinga, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Am. Kestrel, Clapper Rail, King Rail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Com. Gallinule, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Wison’s Snipe, Rock Pigeon, Eur. Collared-Dove, Barrd Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, E. Phoebe, Vermillion Flycather, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Am. Crow, Tree Swallow, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Cave Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Bewick’s Wren, House Wren, Sedge Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Sprague’s Pipit, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, N. Waterthrush, Olive Sparrow, Le Conte’s Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, and Com Grackle.

Waterfowl numbers were about normal with most marsh birds like herons, egrets, ibises and rails being much below average with much of the marsh either dry or salty.  Hawks occurred in above average densities

Shorebird numbers were extremely low everywhere because of high tides, except for the birds on Green Lake which were spectacular.  Densities like in the photo below were spread over thousands of acres.

Woodpeckers occurred at normal levels, but insect eaters like the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher photographed by Petra Hockey were in below average densities.  Swallows, wrens, and warblers were in below average numbers.

However, sparrows occurred in much higher numbers than normal.  This was a major invasion year for Green-tailed Towhees.  This species was found only once before on the count and we had 17 this year.  Spotted Towhees typically average about 3 on this survey and we had 61!  Field, Vesper, Lark and White-crowned occurred at twice their average.  The Harris’s Sparrow below photographed by Diane Nunley normally only average 1 per year, and we had 69!

All participants enjoyed the count this year.  Windy and warm conditions made it challenging finding birds amongst all of the mosquitoes.  Even though resident bird numbers were generally low, there was anticipation all day of finding some western birds displaced by the drought.  Just about every birding team found something unusual.

THANKS

This is a very special count because of the habitats it covers where 3 ecoregions merge.  It is successful because of the large amount of cooperation we get from the landowners who generally provide us access and as in the case with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Dow, Jess and Walter Womack, and Beverly Fletcher.  They also provide staff and equipment to help us with the count.  We would also like to thank John Hubbard, Larry Seydler, Frank Pagel, Gene Colville, Don Walden, Dan Kaspar, the Negley Ranch, and the Landgraf, Spandau and Joe Hawes families for providing us access to their lands.  Lastly, we thank the 54 birders who spent their day and huge amount of energy in searching the landscape for every species which we could locate. 

At the end of the day, our tired, wet and excited birders gathered under the oaks in the river bottom at the Weed Prairie Hunting Camp on the Jess Womack Ranch.  We were treated to an excellent meal cooked by A.D. Blackmon, David, and CB.  Lyondell-Basell Corporation provided funding for most of the food and activity fees.

THANKS TO ALL FOR A GREAT JOB!!

Data from the CBC is available upon request.

Hope to see you at our next Christmas Bird Count in 2012.

Sunset photo by Petra Hockey

Photo by Jimmy Jackson

The day started off with below average bird activity. It was sort of balmy weather that preceded the cold front that was going to arrive in the afternoon with strong winds and temps in the 40’s. Owls were not talking much. Most marshes were somewhat dry from an on-going drought and as a result there was not much rail activity. Geese seemed to be present in normal numbers near the mouth of the river and songbird chorus was good.

We sent 63 birders in 23 groups afield inspecting all habitats on public and private lands in our 15 mile diameter count area centered on Green Lake.

Photo by Cullen Hanks

We reported 222 species which places us 2nd in the Nation again behind Matagorda County. This is our 3rd highest species tally in the 7 years we have been conducting the count. We topped two outstanding California counts that had a maximum of 218 species. We located 5 new species for the Christmas Bird Count: Zone-tailed Hawk, Black Rail, Yellow-throated Warbler, Henslow’s Sparrow and Dickcissel. Section Leaders voted the two Tropical Parulas photographed as the BEST BIRDS.

Photo by Bryan Tarbox

RESULTS

ROSS’S GOOSE – BLUE MORPH is a rare color phase of a common goose which looks like miniature Snows. These more western geese mix in with the snows in small numbers. I was fortunate to observe two blue morphs in a mixed flock of geese as they flew over my head.

ZONE-TAILED HAWK is definitely not an expected wintering raptor on the Coast. It is more likely to winter in the Hill Country. This bird which mimics Turkey Vultures in flight was spotted by Don Jeane and Ken Stzraky on Walter Womack’s Ranch.

BLACK RAIL is a rare permanent resident that spends the year mostly in dense vegetation bordering the marshes. They seldom call during winter and it was a major surprise when Bron Rorex and Jane Crone both heard one calling at daybreak on the wildlife management area.

CHIMNEY SWIFTS breed locally in chimneys and typically leave the area in the fall. Reports of small swifts in the winter always raise speculation of Vaux’s Swift passing through coastal Texas. The report of swifts for the 2nd time in 7 years by the McAlisters on the Guadalupe River was unexpected and exciting.

RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER is a western relative of our common Yellow-bellied Sapsucker which winters here. The Red-naped is easy to overlook and skilled birders Petra Hockey and Brush Freeman were able to photograph one on private ranches near the mouth of the River.

Photo by Brush Freeman

RED-EYED VIREO is a common forest breeder that is not known to winter near the United States. Thus, the observation of one of these red-eyed winter rarities was a major surprise when reported by Clay Taylor and Diane Nunley.

TROPICAL PARULA breeds in forested areas of extreme South Texas and occasionally travels to our area in the non-breeding season. They do not typically winter in our area. We were very excited when Petra and Ladd Hockey found one during pre-count scouting and the bird was relocated on count day. We were totally surprised when another one was photographed during the count by Bryan Tarbox.

YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER is a beautiful bird that breeds in coniferous areas ranging from bald cypress bordered rivers of the Hill Country to cypress swamps of East Texas. It is a rare, but regular winterer on the Coast, many times selecting palm trees as its favorite site. It is surprising we have not had one to date and we are particularly pleased that Jon McIntyre was able to locate one during the CBC.

TANAGERS are rare but expected lingering passerines. They spend much of their time hunting insects in the canopy of forests. We were fortunate to be able to locate both Summer and Western Tanagers on the Womack Ranches again this year.

Photo by Mikael Behrens

HENSLOW’S SPARROW is one of those sneaky “mouse” birds that is more known for its winter occupation of wet pine savannahs than its presence on the Coast, but it does occupy moist native grasslands. Michael Kennedy has the honors of locating the first one for this CBC. I have observed them rarely in the county, but never on the CBC.

DICKCISSEL is a common breeder on the Coast that is very conspicuous while nesting, but is hard to detect outside of the breeding season because most migrate to the tropics in the fall and the birds are no longer conspicuously vocal. Clay Taylor was able to hear one while it flew over the river bottom for our first record. We suspect they occur much more frequently, but they are easy to overlook.

TRENDS

HIGHS: (59 species) Wood Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, Am. Kestrel, Black Rail, Virginia Rail, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe, Am. Woodcock, Black Skimmer, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, White-tipped Dove, small swift, Red-naped Sapsucker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, E. Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Winter Wren, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Hermit Thrush, N. Mockingbird, Am. Pipit, Sprague’s Pipit, Tropical Parula, Audubon’s Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, W. Tanager, Summer Tanager, Field Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Nelson’s Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, N. Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Dickcissel, E. Meadowlark and Lesser Goldfinch.

LOWS: (40 species) Canada Goose, Gadwall, Am. Wigeon, Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Eared Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Am. Bittern, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, White-faced Ibis, White-tailed Kite, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Am. Coot, Long-billed Curlew, Short-billed Dowitcher, Com. Ground-Dove, Short-eared Owl, Downy Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Cave Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Bewick’s Wren, Am. Robin, Brown Thrasher, Spotted Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle.

WATERFOWL = 3 of 26 species had higher than average numbers and 9 lower. Low numbers are reflective of overall dry conditions locally. This is a good waterfowl year at a National level, but a very dry fall resulted in little water for the birds.

WATERBIRDS = 9 lows amongst 22 species. Dry fall conditions resulted in many low numbers with no species above average.

RAPTORS = 7 highs and 4 lows from 15 species. Good hawk numbers were present throughout the area.

RAILS = 3 highs and 1 low from 7 species. Drought in combination with cattle grazing really damaged King Rail habitat. Migratory rails appeared in above average numbers.

SHOREBIRDS THRU GULLS = 6 highs and 2 lows out of 27 species. Tides were very low resulting in lots of exposed mudflats in the marshes.

DOVES THRU WOODPECKERS = 3 highs and 1 low from 24 species. Most doves did extremely well with the drought suppressing grasses which made more space for preferred weedy plant species.

Photo by Mikael Behrens

FLYCATCHERS THRU PIPITS = 14 highs and 7 lows out of 40 species. We did very well with most expected species of flycatchers and a variety of songbirds, especially wrens.

WARBLERS THRU TANAGERS = This is our “Signature Group” of species. We reported 14 species of warblers and 2 species of tanagers with 7 occurring in above average numbers. With this report we maintain our tradition of being one of the best winter areas for warbler diversity in the State.

SPARROWS = We reported 22 species of “sparrows” with 9 coming in above average with only 2 below average.

LAST BIRD OF THE DAY

Several teams were searching for the Yellow-headed Blackbird as sunset approached and Brush and Petra had it as their last species of the day while they were tallying the results of the day. It was uniquely perched on a tractor at the end of the road during the last hour of the day.

Photo by Petra Hockey

THANKS

This is a very special count because of the habitats it covers where 3 eco-regions merge. It is successful because of the large amount of cooperation we get from the landowners who generally provide us access and as in the case of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Dow, Ineos, Jess and Walter Womack, and Beverly Fletcher who also provided staff and equipment to help us with the count. We would also like to thank Mrs. Pat Welder, Larry Seydler, Frank Pagel, Gene Colville, Don Walden, Dan Kaspar, the Negley Ranch, and the Landgraf, Spandau and Joe Hawes families for providing us access to their lands. Lastly, we thank the 60 birders who spent their day and huge amounts of energy in searching the landscape for every species which we could locate.
At the end of the day, our tired, wet and excited birders gathered under the oaks in the river bottom at the Weed Prairie Hunting Camp on the Jess Womack Ranch. We were treated to an excellent meal cooked by A.D. Blackmon, David, CB and Brandon. Lyondel-Basel Corporation provided funding for most of the food and activity fees.

THANKS TO ALL FOR A GREAT JOB!!

Data from the CBC is available upon request.

Hope to see you at our next Christmas Bird Count on Wednesday, 14 December 2011.

Photo by Petra Hockey

Brent Ortego
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
2805 N. Navarro, Suite 600B
Victoria, TX 77901

Photo by Byron Stone

It was that kind of a day. Cool, drizzly most of the day and everything was wet. Last year I was complaining about the fog and high tides that lasted most of the morning. This year we got rain until early afternoon and higher tides. We can’t control the weather and with the rain I was making recommendations on Plan C at daybreak.

Photo by Cullen Hanks

The first bird of the day was a Cave Swallow roosting in a culvert. There were no owls, Killdeers or anything moving during the rain at 3 in the morning.

Leading up to the Count, the Region experienced 18 months of drought through August. Then we received 20 inches of rain in the next 3 months, went through 2 river floods and then for 36 hours leading up to the count it rained. Not a great volume, but with all of the moisture already on the ground, it just made everything much wetter and limited our vehicle access to roads at some sites and the boat launch on the Guadalupe River.

RESULTS

What a day! There actually were quite a few birds to be found and with our record 79 birders in attendance, and access to new properties obtained by Holcomb and Nunley we did very well. We reported 216 species, and added 4 new species to the Count: Com. Nighthawk, Brown-crested Flycatcher, W. Kingbird and Tennessee Warbler. The BEST BIRD as voted on by Section Leaders was BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER.

No special ducks were found this year because of limited vehicle access to some key wetlands due to soggy ground conditions.

Photo by Kevin Kriegel

WHOOPING CRANE – A pair set up a territory on the Hynes Bay Unit of the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area and have been seen daily through December. We have had Whoopers reported twice before on the count, but they were just momentary observations. These birds were present all day.

COMMON NIGHTHAWK – We have had nighthawk sp. before on the CBC and this being a “Common” rather than a “Lesser” was a little surprising. This bird was found in native habitat by Dale Friedrichs. Most winter nighthawks in native habitat are Lessers with Commons more likely to linger at developed areas.

BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER – New for the count and voted as its BEST BIRD. I have caught them in January before. So, I was not that surprised of one turning up. It was a pleasant surprise when we had one reported by both Charlie Brower’s and Derek Muschalek’s teams.

WESTERN KINGBIRD – New for the count. This species is expected to infrequently occur in the area and Michael Kennedy found our first.

GREEN JAYs are continuing to expand their range and this report by Bill Farnsworth makes this our 2nd record.

TENNESSEE WARBLER was new for the count and a surprise. This species rarely lingers and offers identification challenges separating it from the highly variable Orange-crowned Warbler. Bob Creglow found one for our count.

YELLOW WARBLER is a rare but regular wintering neotropical migrant. They breed in the United States and pass through the area by the thousands with a few staying behind. They tend to winter in shrub thickets and with diligence they can be found as was done by Cecelia Riely’s team.

PROTHONOTARY WARBLER occur at the southern end of their breeding range at our count, but this species is not expected to linger. The one reported by Clay Taylor was a very pleasant surprise.

WESTERN TANAGER is new for the count. This is a western species which regularly winters in the area in very small numbers. We not only finally got one for the CBC, but we got two. One was photographed by Mikael Behrens and another was reported by Clay Taylor.

SUMMER TANAGER was also new for the CBC. It occurs much less frequently than western and this adult male was also photographed by Mikael Behrens.

Photo by Cullen Hanks

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was reported for the 2nd time this season. It is an extremely rare lingering neotrops and Cullen Hanks’ team photographed the species along the Delta of the River.

TRENDS

HIGHS: (70 species) Wood Duck, Am. Wigeon, Mottled Duck, N. Shoveler, N. Pintail, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Black-necked Stilt, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, Eur. Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Com. Nighthawk, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher, E. Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, W. Kingbird, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Green Jay, Winter Wren, Sedge Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Am. Robin, Gray Catbird, N. Mockingbird, Am. Pipit, Tennessee Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler, Am. Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Com. Yellowthroat, Wilson’s Warbler, W. Tanager, Summer Tanager, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, N. Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle and Bronzed Cowbird.

LOWS: (36 species) Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Eared Grebe, Am. White Pelican, Anhinga, Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White-tailed Hawk, King Rail, Virginia Rail, Black-bellied Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, W. Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Herring Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Com. Barn-Owl, E. Screech-Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-eyed Vireo, Barn Swallow, Carolina Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Hermit Thrush, Long-billed Thrasher, Eur. Starling, Yellow-breasted Chat, White-crowned Sparrow, Brewer’s Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle, Am. Goldfinch.

WATERFOWL = 9 of 26 species had higher than average numbers and 3 lower. High numbers are reflective of good continental populations and not of local conditions because we only have 2 resident species.

WATERBIRDS = 6 lows and 3 highs amongst 22 species. The region is just coming off an 18 months drought and most local waterbirds have bred in below average numbers over the last 2 years.

RAPTORS = 4 highs and 1 low from 15 species. Amazing numbers for the poor soaring conditions for raptors.

RAILS = 2 low and 1 missing from 7 species. Drought in combination with cattle grazing really damaged rail habitat. The only reasonable numbers of rails in the marsh were obtained from areas not grazed.
The most special birding experience for me was the dawn “Whooping” of the pair of cranes that set up a territory in the Hynes Bay area. At 100 yards they were very loud.

Photo by Kevin Kriegel

SHOREBIRDS THRU GULLS = 10 low and 5 high out of 27 species. No tidal mudflats really reduced numbers. Many of the estuarine shorebirds moved inland to flooded ag fields, and some of these were observed during the day.

DOVES THRU WOODPECKERS = 8 high and 3 lows from 24 species. All doves did extremely well with the drought suppressing grasses which made more space for preferred weedy plant species. Walter Womack was also successful in holding onto two hummingbird species at his feeders which greatly helped the count.

Photo by Mikael Behrens

FLYCATCHERS THRU PIPITS = 16 highs and 6 lows out of 40 species. We did very well with most expected species of flycatchers and a variety of songbirds. Local breeding Carolina Wrens and thrashers occurred in much lower than average numbers.

WARBLERS THRU TANAGERS = This is our “Signature Group” of species. We reported 15 species of warblers and 2 species of tanagers with 14 occurring in above average numbers during the rain. I wonder what we would have found on a good weather day. Our CBC will likely report more species of warblers than any other CBC in Texas. We only missed two expected species: N. Parula and Ovenbird.

SPARROWS = We reported 22 species of “sparrows” with 9 coming in above average with only one below average. I was expecting both species of buntings but we found neither. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak was a very pleasant surprise.

THANKS

This is a very special count because of the habitats it covers where 3 ecoregions merge. It is successful because of the large amount of cooperation we get from the landowners who generally provide us access and as in the case with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Dow, Ineos, Jess and Walter Womack, and Beverly Fletcher they also provide staff and equipment to help us with the count. We would also like to thank Mrs. Pat Welder, Larry Seydler, Frank Pagel, Gene Colville, Don Walden, Dan Kaspar, the Negley Ranch, and the Landgraf, Spandau and Joe Hawes families for providing us access to their lands. Lastly, we thank the 80 birders who spent their day and huge amount of energy in searching the landscape for every species which we could locate.

At the end of the day, our tired, wet and excited birders gathered under the oaks in the river bottom at the Weed Prairie Hunting Camp on the Jess Womack Ranch. We were treated to an excellent meal cooked by A.D. Blackmon, David, CB and Brandon. Lyondel-Basel Corporation provided funding for most of the food and activity fees.

THANKS TO ALL FOR A GREAT JOB!!

Data from the CBC is available upon request.

Hope to see you at our next Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, 16 December 2010.

Photo by Jimmy Jackson

18 December 2008

We developed strategies all year on how to take this CBC one step higher to potentially Number One in the Nation.  We recruited people from across the state and got commitments from more birders than in the past.  We made arrangements with landowners and scouted heavily in the days prior to the count.  We get up to start the count and then what do we find:  High tides and heavy FOG!

We can’t control the weather.  So, we go to Plan B with heavy fog lasting until 10 a.m. and strong warm winds developing afterwards.

The Guadalupe River Delta area like much of Texas has experienced extreme drought.  This allowed the bird count the opportunity to survey the response of birds to the drought across the state and limited amount of freshwater along the lower reaches of the Guadalupe River drainage.  This situation was in great contrast to the flooded conditions during our first CBC for the area 4 years earlier.

HOW DID WE DO?

The 5th running of this CBC produced reports of 217 species from 66 birders.  This places us 2^nd in the Nation again for total species, and we are in the running for the highest counts for Merlin, King Rail, Sora, Bell’s Vireo, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Com. Yellowthroat, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Swamp Sparrow.  As we increase participation for this fun CBC and access new lands we should be able to consistently post 230 species results each year and occasionally be the Top CBC in the Country.  We have reported 271 species in 5 years.

            The woodlands along the lower Guadalupe River on Kenyon and Kamey Islands and on the Wildlife Management Area continue to show their high quality for lingering neotrops, and birdlife.  Many of the unusual birds for the count are found in this area.

Best  Birds reported this year were  Red-headed Woodpecker and Harris’s Sparrow as voted upon by Section Leaders.  A general summary of the Better Birds follows:

 LONG-TAILED DUCK is a northern diving duck which seldom winters in the area.  Cecilia Riley’s team found one for the 2^nd year in a row, and again Mike Gray was able to photograph it.

SWAINSON’S HAWK is a raptor which very rarely lingers in the Coastal Bend.  Brent located one on the Hyne’s Bay Unit of the WMA for the first record of the CBC.

The WHOOPING CRANE’s primary wintering grounds are only a few air miles away and it is a puzzle why they do not regularly uses the marshes of San Antonio Bay.  This year one was spotted when landing in area marshes by Brush/Petra.

SNOWY PLOVERs typically occupy large expanses of sand flats which do not occur in this count circle.  This year Dan Kaspar had lowered his lake to attract waterbirds and it dried more than planned.  This resulted in large expanses of exposed lake beds which were used heavily by plovers.  They were observed by both the Kaspar and Brush/Petra teams.

Caprimulgids are extremely rare during winter along the Central Coast.  The 2 WHIP-POOR-WILLS were found by Robert Edwards on Hog Bayou Road before daybreak. 

NIGHTHAWK sp. linger within urban areas on a regular basis, but they are seldom found in rural settings.  Chris Bludau flushed one from the road before daybreak on the J. Womack Ranch.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER is a species that rarely occurs in area counties.  One adult was found by Connie Moberley while kayaking the San Antonio River. 

E. KINGBIRD is a common migrant through the area and very few linger into December.  Scott Mitchell’s team located one for our 2^nd CBC record.

BELL’S VIREO was another great bird found by the Rockport group while they were in the Headquarter pasture. Bell’s breed locally in upland brush habitats, and very rarely winter.

The GREEN JAY each winter makes a northward push following food sources which are mostly corn at deer feeders.  This year a major movement of Green Jays occurred outside of the Brush Country.  Three of our teams located 18 on the McFaddin Ranches this CBC.  A few hung around the Weed Prairie hunter camp all winter.

The YELLOW WARBLER is an abundant fall migrant and a few are expected to linger into December.  This year this species has regularly been found on area CBCs.  Brush/Petra were able to photograph one and two other groups located one during the count.

 This was a great year for HARRIS’S SPARROW. This species normally winters inland from the Coast.  Five birds were found by 3 teams; two in sections bordering Hwy. 35 and 1 on the McFaddin Ranches.

TRENDS

Our birding teams worked through dense fog for hours, and then had to deal with strong warm winds the rest of the day.  We set a record for number of birders for this CBC with 66 and increased our effort (party-hours) by 25%.  This should have resulted in increased bird numbers due to effort, but numbers of some species may have been suppressed due to very dry conditions.

The increased effort won out and 72 of the 217 species were reported in above average numbers.  31 species were reported in lower numbers than normal.  See below.

HIGHS (72 sp.):  N. Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Wild Turkey, N. Bobwhite, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Whooping Crane, Snowy Plover, Am. Avocet, Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Royal Tern, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, Eur. Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, E. Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Parauque, Whip-poor-will, nighthawk sp., Green Kingfisher, Red-headed Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woopecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Bell’s Vireo, Tufted Titmouse hybrids, Winter Wren, Gray Catbird, N. Mockingbird, Long-billed Thrasher, Am. Pipit, Nashville Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Palm Warbler, N. Waterthrush, E. Towhee, Clay-colored Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Brewer’s Blackbird, Com. Grackle, Great-tailed Grackle, Bronzed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, Lesser Goldfinch, Am. Goldfinch, and House Sparrow.

LOWS (31 sp.):  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Mottled Duck, Ruddy Duck, Eared Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, White-faced Ibis, White-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Laughing Gull, Gull-billed Tern, E. Phoebe, Blue Jay, Am. Crow, Cave Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, House Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Wilson’s Warbler, and Savannah Sparrow.

WATERFOWL:  Eight of 27 species occurred in lower numbers than expected and 5 in higher. This group of species and the Waterbirds were likely the most impacted by the drought. Many “wetlands” were dry and others much reduced in size.  In addition, the bay had higher salinities than normal.

WATERBIRDS:  Only 3 of 22 species occurred in above average numbers and 7 were much lower. 

RAPTORS:  Eight of 18 species were reported in above average numbers and 2 were low.  The lower reports were likely due to the fog and windy conditions, and the higher numbers likely due to greater effort.

SHOREBIRDS THRU GULLS:  30 species with 7 highs & 3 lows.  Snowy Plover was new for the CBC.  Tides were high and it made it difficult to locate many birds.  Dan Kaspar’s drying lake was a great assest this year and it was The site for the Snowy’s.  The Solitary Sandpiper pictured above was photographed my Michael Gray and is a rare wintering shorebird for the area.

DOVES THRU WOODPECKERS:  This group of 25 species had 16 high counts which included Whip-poor-will and Red-headed Woodpecker.  Both were new species for the CBC.  Doves and woodpeckers were in exceptionally high numbers.

FLYCATCHERS:  8 species reported was good but lower than expected.  The Team did locate an E. Kingbird and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher which were nice finds, but only had one Myiarchus and no Empids.  Phoebes were considerably lower than previous years.

VIREOS THRU PIPITS:  6 high and 6 low counts.  This group of species which occupy mostly woodlands appeared to be impacted by the drought with much lower numbers of wrens and kinglets than previous years.

WARBLERS:  Warblers is the Signature Group of Species for which this CBC is known.  We have reported as many as 17 species during one count and this year’s 12 species are much below expectations. 5 species were above average in number and 1 was low.  There was good diversity of warblers near water like on Kenyon and Kamey Islands, but not in the drier uplands.  There was an amazing high density of N. Waterthrushes this year.  This was especially surprising considering that the Mad Island CBC just up the Coast did not get one.  We did not locate any unusual lingering warblers as in the past, and we found N. Parula shortly after the count.

SPARROWS:  This was a good year for sparrows.  We reported 21 species with 10 being high in numbers and 1 low.  Harris’s Sparrow was new for the CBC.  Brush and Petra had a grosbeak during the week that we were not able to relocate during the CBC.

THANKS

This very successful count is a major team effort.  We would first want to thank Dale Friedrichs with Lyondell-Basel Corporation for paying for the meal at the Count Down and the activity fees of the birders.  The CBC would not be possible without the great assistance from the McFaddin Family Ranches.  All 3 ranches gave us complete access to their property.  Lou Womack also provided boat and staff to run a team of birders on the river.  Jan Wheelis gave us use of their wonderful lodge.  Walter Womack used his “expert” nature skills to assist us with the bird counting.

            We would also like to thank the Dow and Ineos chemical plants for providing staff and access to their productive wildlife lands.  We are grateful for Mrs. Pat Welder, Larry Seydler, Frank Pagel, Gene Colville, Don Walden, Dan Kaspar, Beverly Fletcher, and the Negley Ranch for providing us access to their lands.  Lastly, we thank the 66 birders who spent their day and huge amount of energy in searching the landscape for every species which we could locate.

At the end of the day, our tired and excited birders gathered under the oaks in the river bottom at the Weed Prairie Hunting Camp on the Jess Womack Ranch.  We were treated to an excellent meal cooked by A. D. Blackman, Buck Packabush and David Drehr.

THANKS TO ALL FOR A GREAT JOB!

Hope to see you at our Christmas Bird Count next year on Thursday, 17 December 2009.

Brent Ortego

202 Camino Drive

Victoria, TX 77905

SPONSORS:

• Lyondell Chemicals
• Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
• Jess Womack Ranch
• LaQuerencia Ranch
• Rio Vista Bluff Ranch

Guadalupe River Delta – McFaddin Family Ranches CBC

20 December 2007

The 4th running of this CBC produced reports of a record 225 species from 59 birders with the Best 3 Birds being Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Bell’s Vireo and Prairie Warbler. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo was heard twice by the Nan Dietert, Diane Nunley and Lydon Holcomb team on Hog Bayou. The Bell’s Vireo was photographed by Brush Freeman and Petra Hockey on River Road, and the Prairie Warbler was photographed by Michael Gray, Cecelia Riley, Steven Bone and David Plunkett.

The 225 species will likely place us in the Top 3 in the Nation which is Great for our count. As we increase participation for this fun CBC and access new lands we should be able to consistently post 230 species results each year and occasionally be the Top CBC in the Country. As an example that our potential has not been reached, we reported 12 new species for the count: Long-tailed Duck (Riley team), Aplomado Falcon (Mitchell team), Greater Roadrunner (Mitchell team), Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Nunley team), Black Phoebe (Ashbaugh team), Great Crested Flycatcher (Farnsworth team), Bell’s Vireo (Hockey team), Chihuahuan Raven (Friedrichs team), Yellow Warbler (Rorex team), Prairie Warbler (Gray team), Summer Tanager (Wauer and Julian teams), and Yellow-headed Blackbird (Freeman team). This brings the total for 4 years of this CBC to 263 species.

The day had pleasant weather with temperatures ranging from mid-40′s to 80 degrees. Bird activity was unusually very slow within the woodlands. Many common songbirds were present in below normal levels. We will be looking at CBC data from across the Nation to try and determine where most of the woodland birds wintered. Geese and many water birds were present in large numbers and entertained birders most of the day. Duck numbers were down mostly as a result of summer long flooding on the rivers reducing their food production. We reported 16 species of warblers which might

be the most in Texas this year. The presence of a high diversity of warblers was one of the main reasons we started this CBC.

We got very good coverage of most of the habitats within the count circle. Petra and Brush did an excellent job again covering tidal marsh, bay and the last riparian woods on Gene Colville’s and other landholdings near the mouth of the river. They were the only birders to report Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Glossy Ibis, Bell’s Vireo, N. Parula, Am. Redstart, Ovenbird, N. Waterthrush and Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ron Weeks & Dan Kaspar were drafted to wade through the tidal marshes and found the only Seaside and Nelson Sharp-tailed Sparrows. Marc Ealy was a big help by accessing tidal mudflats by airboat to help us obtain good counts of shorebirds. His group found the only Stilt Sandpipers. Brent Ortego & Suzie Ross worked the wetlands and thornscrub along the Hynes Bay bluff and located Com. Loon, Clapper Rail, Com. Tern, Pauraque and Yellow-breasted Chat. Charlie & Olivia Brower, and Jennifer Wilson birded small ranches near Hwy. 35 and found the only N. Bobwhite, E. Towhee, Lark Sparrow & Bronzed Cowbird. Bron Rorex and Jon McIntyre led a large group of birders on the wildlife management area and located the only Yellow Warbler. Cecelia Riley and Shawn Ashbaugh led birding teams on the chemical plants and reported exclusives for Long-tailed Duck, Harris’s Hawk, Black Phoebe, Prairie Warbler, and House Finch.

[BLPH photo by Shawn Ashbaugh]

Dale & Bobby Friedrichs, and Scott Mitchell had a great day on one of the area ranches reporting the only Hooded Merganser, Aplomado Falcon, Groove-billed Ani, Chihuahuan Raven, Cedar Waxwing, and Indigo Bunting. The McFaddin Family Ranches birding teams had good outings. Ro Wauer had the only White-tailed Kite, Black-throated Green Warbler, Summer Tanager. Bill Farnsworth & Linda Valdez had White-tipped Dove, Great Crested Flycatcher and Pyrrhuloxia. Ken Sztraky & Ray Jordan located a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Walter’s house. The McAllisters had the only Great Kiskadee on the river.

At the end of the day, our tired and excited birders gathered under the oaks in the river bottom at the Weed Prairie Hunting Camp on the Jess Womack Ranch. We were treated to an excellent meal cooked by A. D. Blackman, Buck Packabush and David Drehr.

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This very successful count is a major team effort. We would first want to thank Lyondell Corporation for paying for the meal at the Count Down and the activity fees of the birders. The CBC would not be possible without the great assistance from the McFaddin Family Ranches. All 3 ranches gave us complete access to their property. Lou Womack also provided boat and staff to run a team of birders on the river. Jan Wheelis & David Moore gave us use of their wonderful lodge. Walter Womack used his “expert” nature skills to assist us with the bird counting.

We would also like to thank the Dow and Ineos chemical plants for providing staff and access to their productive wildlife lands. Mrs. Pat Welder, Larry Seydler, Frank Pagel, Gene Colville, Dan Kaspar, Beverly Fletcher and multiple Fagan families provided us access to their lands. Lastly, we thank the 59 birders who spent their day and huge amount of energy in searching the landscape for every species which we could locate.

THANKS TO ALL FOR A GREAT JOB!

Hope to see you at our Christmas Bird Count next year on Thursday, 18 December 2008.

Brent Ortego                                            Mark Elwonger

202 Camino Drive                                   2605 Toulon, Apt. C

Victoria, TX 77905                                 Baton Rouge, LA 70816

GUADALUPE RIVER DELTA – MCFADDIN FAMILY RANCHES

This CBC has been conducted 3 times and has placed in the top 5 counts nationally for total species each year.  The count surveys one Texas Parks & Wildlife Department wildlife management area, 2 chemical plants and a number of private ranches.  The CBC specializes in trying to locate lingering neotrops which it does well.  It also has high diversity since it is positioned at the border of South Texas and also adjoins coastal marshes.

Birding Opportunities:

BOATS:  There are at least 25 miles of the Guadalupe River within the count circle where the riparian forest can be birded from a canoe or motor boat.  We have permission to bird about ½ of the shoreline.  So, birders can get out and walk as well as travel the river by boat.  We typically have at least two boats working the river, but could use one more.

            Parts of Hynes Bay, Guadalupe Bay and Mission Lake are accessible by a shallow draft motor boat and we need assistance surveying these tidal areas.  The boat would need to be launched at Austwell.

GROUND:  We have access to small and large ranches which provide access to a variety of habitat ranging from riparian forests, Tamaulipan thorn scrub, native grasslands, coastal marshes and suburban.

Most birders will be expected to bird from foot with occasional driving with vehicles.  Birders will need to bring their food and drink with them.  Supper will be provided at the count-down on the Womack Ranch.

There are only about 50 miles of public roads within the count circle.  We need one or two teams to survey roadside habitats and suburban areas for geese, longspurs, Burrowing Owl, Merlin, Ferruginous Hawk, Harlan’s Hawk, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Black-crested Titmouse, hummingbirds, W. Meadowlark, Say’s Phoebe, Brewer’s Blackbird, etc.

Contact brent.ortego@tpwd.state.tx.us if you need more information, or plan to attend.

This very diverse CBC circle was developed by Mark Elwonger and Brent Ortego during the 1990′s. They recognized a nationally significant CBC could be developed in the area, but initially speculated that a very high tally would be limited because of several miles of bay separated the forested mainland from the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, a strategy was developed to focus more on lingering neotrops along the southernmost 15 miles of the Guadalupe River riparian forest rather than a maximum species count. They delayed starting the count because the local birding clubs were very busy supporting several area CBCs and there was a perceived lack of interest from the local landowners to allow birders to access their properties.

Area landowners started exploring ecotourism opportunities during the early 2000′s which peaked the interest of the birders, and exploratory mist-netting by Brent Ortego during winter on the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area captured N. Waterthrush, Ovenbird, and Yellow-breasted Chats on a regular basis. They decided to give it a shot and held the first count in 2004.

Our team of “local experts” predicted the CBC would likely get 188 species and would probably attract about 25 birders. They recruited landowners and as they got permission to survey land they recruited more birders. These sort of built on each other. The CBC ended up with 47 birders for the first count and reported 214 species which was a new CBC species tally record for a first time count in the United States. So much for our knowledge of the area

The initial success of the Guadalupe River Delta – McFaddin Family Ranches was due to the interest, skills and dedication of many people. Petra Hocky and Brush Freeman did an exceptional job of scouting and relocating birds along the southern end of the forested Guadalupe River and the shoreline of Hynes Bay. The Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area provided staff, equipment and access to their conservation lands. BP corporation provided sponsorship for the first 2 years and gave a guided tour of their property during the count. Lyondell Corporation provided sponsorship for 2 years and their properties were not even in the count circle. Numerous birders showed up for this new count from towns as far as 150 miles away. The most impressive assistance came from the McFaddin family ranches where Jess, Jesse and Walter Womack, Jan Wheelis and David Moore opened the gates to their ranches, provided themselves, staff and facilities.

One of the more unique count downs in Texas is held at this CBC. The Jess Womack Family Ranch provides an outstanding cook-out under the live oaks of the Guadalupe River floodplain after sunset. Tired birders dine on exceptional food and listen to the night calls of Barred Owls.

This CBC will continue to evolve through time and will one day report the highest tally in the Nation.

Contact Brent.Ortego@tpwd.state.tx.us if you would like to join us.

Guadalupe River Delta/McFaddin Family Ranches CBC