2007 Matagorda County - Mad Island Marsh CBC
MATAGORDA COUNTY - MAD ISLAND MARSH CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
17 December 2007
Our Team of 113 very dedicated birders reported 235 species during the 15th running of our CBC. This is our 4th highest tally and is a very good total for this “down year” for total species. Guadalupe River Delta reported 225, Dan Diego, CA, 215 and Freeport 203 species.
BEST BIRD
Our section leaders had a very close vote for the Best Bird. OLIVE SPARROW won by one vote over Green-tailed Towhee. There seemed to be a consensus that they would prefer seeing an Aplomado Falcon next year on the t-shirt. Does anybody have a good photo of an Aplomado with an Olive Sparrow in its talons?
We had a nice collection of rare bird sightings and they will be discussed below:
The FULVOUS WHISTLING-DUCK has been reported on 4 CBCs and is generally expected each year. This year Ro Wauer found one in the wetlands north of the preserves.
LEAST BITTERN has been reported on 6 of our counts and this year it was heard calling by two birders on the east end of the CBC.
An APLOMADO FALCON has been observed on the TNC preserve for 3 weeks. It was found on count day by the Serrill’s on the Preserve.
I looked at many Laughing Gulls this year trying to make them into a FRANKLIN’S GULL without any luck. “Eagle Eye” Jim Stewart, Steve Gast & Lou Fowler located 2 at STP again this year for the 5th time for this CBC.
The ACADIAN FLYCATCHER is not an expected bird for the count and is very difficult to identify in the winter. Bob Barth, Noreen Damude and Lars Pomara described one they found at Selkirk.
The GREAT KISKADEE is an expected vagrant and has been reported 3 times on the CBC. This year Michael Kennedy’s team found one on the Lyondell property.
The SWAINSON’S THRUSH is a very challenging species identification in the winter. It is very similar in appearance to the common wintering Hermit Thrush, and unless a person gets exceptional views of the tail it is better called a Hermit. It has been reported a couple of times on the CBC and each time details just did not have enough information. This years report had a good description for an observation over several minutes, but I am still uncomfortable with accepting a report on this species unless there is an excellent photo or specimen.
The WOOD THRUSH used to be in a situation similar to the Swainson’s Thrush. However, it has been photographed during this CBC, and has been reported 8 times. This year’s bird was found by Michael Kennedy in the Lyondell section.
The YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER is a warbler that is expected to winter in the area in very small numbers. It has been reported on the CBC 4 times and this year Howley Poinsett described one on the Selkirk Section.
The PRAIRIE WARBLER is a very difficult to locate lingering neotrop during winter on the Coast. It has been reported 4 times at Mad Island and this year Malcolm Swan photographed one on the TNC Preserve.
The SUMMER TANAGER is expected more frequently than we find it on this CBC. It has only been reported 4 times. This year Tony Frank & Breck Sacra located one at STP.
The OLIVE SPARROW breeds along the Coast as close as Refugio County. It is not expected on the CBC and this year one was observed at very close range by Jared Laing, Scott Summers & Clay Carrington in appropriate thorn scrub habitat on the TNC preserve.
The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE is a regular winter resident in the southwest and only occasionally wanders to the Coast as far north as Matagorda. Charlie Brower located our 2nd record in the town of Matagorda.
The PYRRHULOXIA is expected to wander along the Coast periodically. We have reported them 3 times and this year two teams located birds east of Matagorda.
The BLUE GROSBEAK is an uncommon migrant through the area, but is an extremely rare wintering bird in the United States. Dale Friedrichs located our 2nd record on the Lyondell property.
The PAINTED BUNTING is an expected over wintering species that should occur in small numbers in thickets or at bird feeders. Some years birds will survive and return to the same location in following years. Steve & Laura Gast located one at STP.
The YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD is a regular wintering species on the Coast in small numbers, but it is frequently overlooked because it hangs out with red-wings and how many birders study flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds? The report by Bron Rorex and Karen Straub from the TNC preserve was our 6th record for the CBC.
* * *
Mad Island is a great count for many reasons and depending on where people bird, they get different impressions of this CBC. This count produces huge amounts of water and land birds and many different groups stand out as special. However, from a total species standpoint, we are probably better known for our lingering neotrops. With this year being another “down” year, we still amassed 13 species of warblers which few CBCs in the country can duplicate. This list included 3 Nashville, 1 Yellow, 1 Black-throated Green, 1 Yellow-throated , 1 Prairie, 7 Black-and-White, 9 Wilson’s, and 7 Yellow-breasted Chat. We were very disappointed we did not have an Am. Redstart, N. Waterthrush nor Ovenbird.
Every section hustled this year to get the quality results we produced. They recruited birders, made arrangements with landowners, pre-scouted their sections, developed strategies, and implemented a plan and made adjustments to birds and weather as the day progressed. I would like to thank all of the section leaders for their efforts: Jim Hargrove, Charlie Brower, Sumita Prasad, Karen McBride, Ural and Terry Donohoe, Jerry McIntyre, Michael Kennedy, Bill Baker, Cathy Porter, Ro Wauer, Jean Martin, Jim Renfro and Marc Ealy.
I would like to bring special attention to the Great Work Jared Laing and his birders did on The Nature Conservancy Preserve. Jared organized a group of 24 skilled birders and they reported 166 species. This is the most species I know that have been reported on a property as small as 7,000 acres on a CBC in the United States. Jared kept on top of his crews and with frequent use of cell phones he was able to focus all the birders to search for a few select species as the day wound down. Great Job TNC Team!!
MISSES
While we had an outstanding CBC. We noticed few lingering unusual neotrops and a number of species we normally tally were missed or absent. Species missed that do not require details or rarer species that were observed during count week were: Any loon other than common, and White-winged & Black Scoters which are difficult to ID in large water bodies. We have had Harris’s Hawk for 10 years and have gotten spoiled about finding one each year in our brushlands. Large Gulls are scarce in our CBC because of low amounts of garbage available to them. We have marginal habitat for Greater Roadrunner and it has been mostly luck to find one in past years. We do not understand why we do not have more hummingbird species than are reported on the CBC. Nearby areas regularly report 5 of 8 normal occurring species each year. We need to encourage our friends in Matagorda and Selkirk to aggressively manage for them every fall/winter. There was an odd void of kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers this winter. Brown Creeper, Dark-eyed Junco, and Pine Siskin were surprise misses with this being an invasion year for boreal forest birds. N. Parula, Am. Redstart, N. Waterthrush and Ovenbird are warblers which should be found every year in our woodlands. E. Towhee, Harris’s Sparrow, Indigo Bunting were surprise misses for species who occur regularly in low numbers. We have never been a good oriole CBC. It is probably related to the small amount of residential in which we have in the count circle.
THE DAY
113 field observers began counting at mid-night and continued until 6 p.m. Winds were light during dark, but it was much colder than the forecast for low 40’s. Frost started forming about 3 p.m. Most owls stayed in cover to avoid the cold and did not respond to tapes nor perch on fences readily. Rails, however, responded very well before daylight to tapes broadcast over loud speakers.
The winds stayed relatively mild and blew out of the East all day making bay waters easy to bird. Grebes and loons were scattered throughout East Bay, but nothing special was found.
The Nature Conservancy had better luck using mechanization to pick up Black and Yellow Rails during daylight. Jared Laing held back some flooded ricefield acres that needed roller chopping for the CBC. He roller chopped one field during mid afternoon when birding slowed and gave observers great views of 9 Yellow and 1 Black Rail.
TRENDS
Mad Island has been conducted 15 times. A high count is considered as one of the top 3 tallies and a low is one of the lowest 3. 65 species had high counts, 24 had low and 147 fell somewhere in between. This is a more normal year as far as population trends. Last season had lower diversity, but overall twice as many species with increasing trends.
Listed below are species in the high and low categories and they will be followed by a general discussion of each major species group trends.
HIGH = 69 species: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Least, Pied-billed & Eared Grebe, Am. White & Brown Pelican, Anhinga, Least Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, Yellow Rail, King Rail, Virginia Rail, Com. Moorhen, Am. Coot, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Whimbrel, Sanderling, Short-billed Dowitcher, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Forster’s Tern, Groove-billed Ani, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Vermillion Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, White-eyed Vireo, Am. Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Winter Wren, Gray Catbird, Am. Pipit, Yellow Warbler, Yellow Throated-Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler, Olive Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeak, W. Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle and House Sparrow.
LOW = 24 species: N. Bobwhite, N. Gannet, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, White-tailed Kite, Am. Avocet, Laughing Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Caspian Tern, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Barn Owl, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, N. Rough-winged Swallow, Cave Swallow, Carolina Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, E. Bluebird, Eur. Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Vesper Sparrow, andWhite-throated Sparrow.
Waterfowl = 9 species high and 0 low. There was substantial waterfowl production on the breeding grounds and wet conditions inland allowed many birds to stay north.
Divers = 3 high and 0 low. Numbers looked good. An interesting example of year to year swings in population. Last year we had low numbers of Pied-billed Grebe and this year we had a record high.
Pelicans through Ibises = 6 high, and 2 low. Major roost on wildlife management area shifted outside of the survey area.
Raptors = 7 high and 1 low. Local Catfish Farms are attracting numerous scavengers. Large numbers of eagles were present this year.
Shorebirds = 6 highs and 1 low. We got good coverage of shorebirds in the Colorado River Delta and wildlife management area by airboat, and wetlands on the conservation areas had too much water. Good numbers, but lower than last year.
Woodland Birds = 23 highs and 9 lows. Woodlands birds not as numerous as last year, and not many lingering neotrops.
Grassland Birds = 2 highs and 1 lows. Grasslands generally in good shape. Not much happening with populations this year.
TEAM WORK
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 and The Nature Conservancy 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 Chamber of Commerce, Matagorda County Birding & Nature Center, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept., Lower Colorado River Authority, The Nature Conservancy, South Texas Nuclear Project Operating Co., Equistar Chemicals, Celanese, Wells Fargo Bank, Bay City Title and Abstract.
LANDOWNERS: Lower Colorado River Authority, George Harrison, PCS Phosphate, Inc., Jack Miller, Carl Anderson family, Charlie Brower’s family, Roy Poinsett, Eugene Welfel, Bahr Ranch, Lyondell Chemicals, South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company, Julius Ledwig, Linda Joy Stovall, Bill Von Gotten, Smith Marsh, The Nature Conservancy of Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
BOAT OPERATORS: We appreciate the services and the boats provided by James Arnold, Bob Gardner, and David Sitz.
NEXT YEAR
Can we get better. Yes! And we can get a lot worst! Weather is the Great Equalizer in CBCs.
One of our weaknesses is urban birds. We like having small residential areas because it maximizes native habitats. However, urban areas add diversity. 8 species of hummingbirds regularly winter in our area and we only observed 2 species this year. We need more people to manage for hummers throughout the year, and maintain grain feeders in town for the oddball songbirds that like seeds.
We need access to more land. While we potentially have access to 75% of the count circle. It is not all covered and there are a few forested properties on the river where we need permission to bird. Shallow mudflats and ponds in the marshes bordering the bays are not covered very well. Brushy ridges along the navigation canals are generally not birded.
Yes. More birders would increase our production. This is a great count, come back next year and bring a friend.
Spreadsheet of count results is available upon request.
Brent Ortego
2805 N. Navarro, Suite 600B
Victoria, TX 77901
361/t76-0022 X 24
Brent.ortego@tpwd.state.tx.us
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