PAWS AND TAWS CONVENTION CENTER
ROCKPORT, TEXAS

15 April 2010

AGENDA

2:30 pm. CHARATERIZATION OF REDDISH EGRET FORAGING HABITAT AND BEHAVIOR IN THE LAGUNA MADRE OF TEXAS – ELIZABETH M. BATES

3:00 p.m. RAINFALL EFFECT ON CATCH RATES OF BUFF-BELLIED AND RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS – BRENT ORTEGO

3:30 p.m. BIRDS AND VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIVE AND EXOTIC GRASSLANDS ON U.S. NAVY FACILITIES IN SOUTHERN TEXAS – MARC C. WOODIN

4:00 p.m. 2009 WINTER TEXAS GULF COAST AERIAL SHOREBIRD SURVEY – BRENT ORTEGO

4:30 p.m. INTERNATIONAL SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION PLANS -BRENT ORTEGO

CHARATERIZATION OF REDDISH EGRET FORAGING HABITAT AND BEHAVIOR IN THE LAGUNA MADRE OF TEXAS
ELIZABETH M. BATES*, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA
BART M. BALLARD, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA

Abstract: The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) is arguably the rarest species of heron in North America and little is known about its ecology. It is restricted to coastal habitat found primarily along the Gulf of Mexico. The majority of the breeding population occurs along the Texas Coast with greatest concentrations occurring in the Laguna Madre of Texas. Successful management of Reddish Egrets depends on having a clear understanding of habitat requirements. Our research objectives were to delineate foraging habitat based on water depth and substrate characteristics and evaluate the relationship between foraging tactics employed and environmental conditions. We recorded 20-min foraging bouts by 301 Reddish Egrets to assess types and success of foraging tactics used. Environmental variables measured at each site that we recorded foraging behavior included water depth, seagrass coverage, ambient light, and wind speed. We also recorded age and color morph of each individual. The average water depth was 4.70 inches and average seagrass coverage was 17 percent. There was no difference between color morphs for water depth or seagrass coverage. Eight foraging behaviors were identified. We modeled foraging behavior in relation to environmental variables using canonical correlation analysis for 36 individuals. The habitat variates created in the canonical correlation analysis were not effective at explaining the variation in the foraging behavior data suggesting other variables may be better indicators of foraging behavior.

RAINFALL EFFECT ON CATCH RATES OF BUFF-BELLIED AND RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS
BRENT ORTEGO*, 202 Camino Drive, Victoria, TX 77905
BRON ROREX, 122 Cedar Ridge, Rockport, TX 78382

Hummingbirds were captured using mist-nets during 100 days each year from 2004 thru 2008. Netting effort was consistent at baited sites which contained 25 hummingbird feeders during summer, 50 during migration periods and 75 during winter. We averaged banding 142 Buff-bellied (Amazilia yucatanensis) and 1852 Ruby-throated (Archilochus colubris) per year at out banding station in Victoria County, TX, near the central Texas Gulf Coast. The Buff-bellied Hummingbird is a year-round resident species with different populations using the site during winter, summer and migration. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is primarily a migrant at this site with only a few individuals trying to breed each year. January – May and annual rainfall accumulations were negatively correlated with capture rates of both species. Amount of precipitation is also directly related to availability of hummingbird flowers in the area which consisted primarily of red sage (Salvia coccinea), morning-glory (Ipomoea spp.) and Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus drummondii). Victoria County averages about 40 inches of rain annually, and commonly has very dry seasons which limits floral production. It was our experience that we received less visitations to the banding station as the availability of native flowers increased across the landscape. It is difficult to use capture rates of species at baited sites to accurately monitor population trends.

BIRDS AND VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIVE AND EXOTIC GRASSLANDS ON U.S. NAVY FACILITIES IN SOUTHERN TEXAS.
MARC C. WOODIN*and MARY KAY SKORUPPA, U.S. Geological Survey, Corpus Christi, TX.

Beginning in the 1800s and extending into the first half of the twentieth century, a large number of exotic grass species have been introduced into southern Texas to improve cattle forage. The effects of exotic grasses on grassland birds wintering in southern Texas have not been investigated. During 2002-2008, we collected data on measures of vegetation structure, density, floral diversity, seed resources, and bird use of native and exotic grasslands on five U.S. Navy facilities in southern Texas. Exotic grasslands were characterized by more grass cover, greater vegetative density, and greater seed biomass availability than native grasslands, whereas native grasslands were characterized by greater forb cover, more bare ground, greater seed diversity, and higher plant species richness than exotic grasslands. Bird surveys along transects in native and exotic grasslands showed that bird species richness was greater in native than in exotic grasslands, although bird numbers, at least in some winters, can be greater in exotic grasslands. Our results suggest that native and exotic grasslands may be contributing in different ways to maintaining winter bird populations in southern Texas.

2009 WINTER TEXAS GULF COAST AERIAL SHOREBIRD SURVEY.
BRENT ORTEGO*, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 2805 N. Navarro, Suite 600B, Victoria, TX 77901
MARC EALY, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 1700 7th Street (Room 101), Bay City, TX 77414

As part of a cooperative effort of southeastern states, we conducted an aerial survey from 9-17 February 2009 to determine major winter concentration areas for shorebirds along the Texas Gulf Coast. Shorebirds were surveyed from a Partenavia P-68 based out of Victoria with two observers viewing on either side of the airplane while flying at an altitude of 30 m (100 ft.) and flight speed of 185 km/h (100 knots). Shorebirds were placed into size categories when counted because of difficulty of identifying the birds to species under the conditions of the survey, but were tallied to species where possible. All likely high shorebird concentration areas within tidal zones were searched between the Sabine and Rio Grande Rivers. Approximately 1/3 of the major tidal marsh areas were
surveyed due to limitation of available air time. Only freshwater wetlands adjacent to tidal marshes were surveyed. Five airplane hours were used surveying Sabine Lake to High Island, seven hours surveying Galveston and Matagorda Bays, six hours surveying San Antonio Bay and Matagorda & San Jose Islands, three hours surveying Nueces & Corpus Christi Bays, and Mustang Island, and nine hours surveying Baffin Bay and Laguna Madre. Five K (thousand) shorebirds were found between the Sabine River and High Island, 45 K in the Galveston Bay complex with 16 K at Bolivar Flats, 11 K in the marshes west of Texas City and 7 K at the mouth of the Trinity River. Thirty-eight K were found near Matagorda Bay with 11 K being at the mouth of the Colorado River. Forty-six K were counted on Matagorda & San Jose Islands, and San Antonio Bay with 16 K on Matagorda Island. The Nueces & Corpus Christi Bays, and Mustang Island only had 2500 during the survey. The Laguna Madre system had the vast majority of birds with 89 K being on the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay with 60 K being concentrated in the “9-mile Hole” and 11 K along Baffin Bay. The Lower Laguna Madre had 95 K with 68 K using tidal areas between Port Mansfield and the Arroyo Colorado. The 330,000 shorebirds were comprised of 257 K small sized, 33 K medium sized, and 1 K large sized. There also were 14 K American Avocets (Recurvirosta americana), 4 K Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), and 1200 Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa). Ground surveys conducted during the same time indicated that the bulk of the small shorebirds were Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) and Dunlin (Calidris alpine), and the medium shorebirds being comprised of mostly dowitchers (Limnodromus spp.). The density and distribution of wintering shorebirds found during this survey contributes greatly to the knowledge of conservation planners to assist in focusing their efforts on habitat conservation.

INTERNATIONAL SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION PLANS
BRENT ORTEGO, 2805 N. Navarro, Suite 600B, Victoria, TX 77901

As North America moves forward in “All Birds” conservation international plans are developed for individual species. Shorebird planning is much more advanced at this time than other species groups. Of the 39 species of shorebirds that occurs in abundances large enough to be considered for conservation in Texas, international plans have been developed for 18 of these (http://www.whsrn.org/conservation-plans). Plans identified that there are huge information gaps in our knowledge of these species and Texas is not represented very well in many of these plans because not much research has been devoted to shorebirds in Texas. Status and information needs of Wilson’s Plover (Charadrius wilsonia), Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus), Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), Red Knot (Calidris canutus) and Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis) will be discussed.

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

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.

1. LOCATION.  You have to be where the hummingbirds are.

Migration.  Ruby-throats tend to follow rivers, creeks, and edges of lakes, bays and the Gulf.  Largest migration concentrations usually are along the Coast.  Black-chins migrate more inland and north-south oriented rivers and creeks are very good migration corridors.

Homes in isolated woodlots particularly along creeks in ranch country will typically get more visits than homes in a large forest.  The birds can locate the isolate woodlots and hone in on them from a long distance.  The large forest areas tend to dilute concentrations even though they may have more birds in them.

Position of homes in respect to migration influences use by migrants.  Homes located on the north side of a city/town during fall migration tend to get higher use than those further in the community because they are the first sites found and used by the birds when they arrive.  Hummer concentrations get diluted at you move into a community because of all of the competition from the neighbors.  The reverse orientation is true in the spring.

Breeding.  Large breeding concentration of hummingbirds are associated with large areas of habitat which typically do not include the interior of towns.  This means large forested areas with a diverse plant community near homes.  Black-chins tend to prefer open, park-like oak forests or oak forested savannahs with highest concentrations of birds near rivers and creeks.  This means most ranching country in the eastern part of the Texas Hill Country is well suited for the Black-chin.  The Ruby-throat is more of an edge species in the eastern forest and occurs where there is a good mosaic of forest structure with an abundance of wildflowers and insects.

1. QUANTITY.  Hummingbird density frequently is directly proportional to the amount of food available.  There seldom seems to be an upper limit of amount of food provided where more hummers are not attracted.

Quantity of flowers do make a difference as an attractant and its ability to hold large numbers of birds.  I don’t personally believe there is one best hummingbird flower that you must have in your yard.  I believe that the flowers you use must be suitable for hummers, but at the same time attractive to you so that you will be willing to maintain them.  Key strategies are too make sure flowers are available in large numbers during all seasons when hummers are present.  At my Victoria County banding station, I focus on the availability of shrimp plant from fall thru spring, various sages and Turk’s-cap from spring through fall for my annual/shrub mix, and honey suckle, trumpet creeper and morning-glory vines for summer/fall.  I do like coral bean because of its attractiveness but it only last a few weeks in the spring so it is only a minor part of the mixture.

There is considerable debate about using exotic plants versus natives.  The advantage of the natives is that if you have to leave for long trips your natives will likely be alive when you return because they are adapted to the site and environment.  Exotics hummer plants tend to require more care, especially inland away from the warmer and moister Gulf Coast.  Also, natives tend to reproduce and naturally spread more readily across your landscape.

Feeders.  Manage as many as you can safely maintain.  I run up to 75 at my banding station on a six acre site.  I have seen some homes with 50 feeders on ¼ acre.  They had lots of hummers.  From the perspective of the hummers, it is the number of feeder ports available to the birds with food, and not the size of the feeder which attracts them.  Size of the feeders are for the convenience of the manager.  Numbers of feeders is for the convenience of the hummingbirds.

1. COMPETITION.  Hummingbird numbers are typically diluted by the availability of wildflowers and other sites with hummingbird feeders.  Isolated homes in suitable habitat at long distances from neighbors typically will have more birds than individual homes in towns.

During good rainfall years, there is a greater abundance of wildflowers and a lower tendency for hummingbirds to be dependent on feeders.  The reverse is true for dry years with few flowers.

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

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.

Claudia Dorn, Jerry Gips, Jimmy Jackson, Brent Ortego and Bron Rorex mist-netted birds at the Dobie Ranch in Live Oak County from 24-26 October 2008. This is the 4^th year in a row mist-netting has been used to survey the avifauna of this ranch in late October. Weather was very nice with nights dropping into the low 50’s and highs in the 80’s with relatively light winds. 28 species and 246 birds were captured and are both records for the ranch.

2007 was a fairly wet year leading into a very dry 2008 making for a fairly dense, but dry herbaceous community. 5 water features provided by the landowner has made a major positive difference in the abundance of select species (GKIS, GREJ & NOCA) on the ranch to thrive in drought conditions.

Red-shouldered Hawk, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Black-and-White Warbler and White-crowned Sparrow were new species banded on the ranch. Neither of these are surprising captures, but are just hard to catch at this site.

Com. Ground-Dove, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, N. Mockingbird, Long-billed Thrasher, Orange-crowned Warbler, N. Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia and Audubon’s Oriole were call caught at well above average rates.

A list of species captured are provided below:

In addition to individuals captured, a number of additional species were observed on the ranch that were potentially available for capture:

Brent Ortego

The Texas Bird Banding Team

At Ortego – Zalk

We had a busy fall at the banding station in Victoria County.  Weather was generally dry and warmer than normal.  Hurricanes threatened the area twice to the north and once from the south.  We were fortunate those major storms missed us, but weather patterns were extremely dry.

Feeder birds occurred in numbers above average because of dry conditions, but my hernia surgery at the peak of Ruby-throat migration in mid September caused capture of much lower numbers of this species than expected.

We caught much higher numbers of Red-eyed Vireos and Empids than previous years.  Many of these individuals were concentrating on fruits of swamp dogwood at the station.

Western hummingbirds only showed up in light numbers.  We had two Rufous and 1 Allen’s from past years show up in August.  We were also delighted with the capture of a Calliope.  The Calliope migration to the area varies from year to year.  Most years they seem to not stray south of I-10 and we miss out seeing these tiny birds.  In other years we will get several to over-winter.  This Calliope arrived at an early August date and did not stay.  This was not surprising since most western hummers arriving early are still searching for their perceived winter ground.

We had a nice surprise when a young Allen’s I banded on 9/30/8 was captured by banding team member Charlie Brower at his home on 10/6/8.  The rest of the Team had a variety of foreign recaptures of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this fall.  Jim Renfro banding in Houston County caught birds originally banded in Illinoies and Missouri.  Bron Rorex banding in Rockport caught a bird originally banded in North Carolina 10 days earlier, and we received a report of a banded bird found by a home owner near Sugarland that was originally banded at LeCompte, LA.

I would like to thank Sue Ortego, Bron Rorex and Susan Beree for assistance with the banding this Fall.

TOTAL BANDED = 1928 with 919 RECAPTURE EVENTS

INDO              3

YBCU             1

BUFH              95

RTHU              1370

BCHU             15

RUHU             4

ALHU              2

CAHU             1

YBFL              6

ACFL              1

WIFL               4

ALFL               35

TRFL               81

LEFL               7

EAPH              2

GCFL              2

WEVI              24

REVI               13

WAVI              1

BHVI               1

CARW            6

HOWR            12

ETTI                0

CACH             8

RCKI               1

BGGN             4

HETH              1

GRCA             3

NOMO            3

LBTH              3

NAWA            23

OCWA            2

YWAR            4

BAWW           1

MOWA           10

HOWA            1

WIWA             31

CAWA            1

COYE             7

YBCH             28

SUTA              3

CHSP              1

LISP                8

NOCA             70

BLGR              1

INBU               16

PABU              7

OROR             3

BAOR             2

19-23 June

Sue and I left Victoria at 3:30 a.m to meet Ann Lemon at her ranch near Segovia to sample her hummers. We enjoyed visiting with Ann and catching Black-chins with a hill top view. Many Painted Buntings and other seed eaters visited her grain feeders while we worked the hummers. Our sample goal was 100 which we achieved by 10 a.m. Her population appeared to have slowed down in breeding for the season because only 26 of 57 adults were male. The normal sex ratio is 1:1 and males tend to leave when they do not get enough attention. 67% of adult females showed tail wear indicating they probably fed young and 17% of our sample was comprised of young birds. 13 of the adults captured had been banded during previous trips. We ate a nice breakfast at one of the best Junction restaurants and watched a waitress balance raw eggs on their ends which is reported as to be only possible during the summer solstice.

We continued our travel to check-in with Dan and Cathy Brown at their “Hummer House” Ranch for the next day’s big banding event. We set up our gear and visited with Dan/Cathy and the group already assembling. We next met with Bernie Beck at his ranch along the S. Concho River which was about ½ mile down the road. We netted there for 3 hours with Ross Dawkins in the afternoon and caught another 100 hummers. This very shaded river bottom ranch had lots of hummers, but it appeared breeding was almost finished. We handled 5 adult male and 80 adult female Black-chins. We also caught 18 young of the year.

Rain/thunder rolled through the Concho Valley during the night and deposited about 1 inch of rain. We started catching birds at dawn just after the last shower using about 10 mist-nets near the spring, a dozen nets in the backyard, 2 Russell (mist-net tents) traps, and 3 cage traps. We set up the crew into 3 banding teams. Bob Sargent/Kelly Bryan banded hummers at the guest cottages. Charles Floyd/Ross Dawkins/ Austin & Christian Walker, etc. banded songbirds and Susan Beree & I banded hummers near the residence. Sue Oliver, Sue Ortego, Debra Dawkins, Nancy Floyd, Connie Armstrong, etc. coordinated bird capture and data tallying. Hummingbirds initially came fairly quickly to nets/traps because of recent rains, seed eating birds worked the scattered grain as well and they kept banding crews very busy until noon. The spring nets did not catch many birds early in the morning and it was expected because it primarily attracts birds needing water. The recent rains deposited water everywhere and kept temperatures lower than normal. Bird activity near the buildings dropped off fairly quickly after lunch when it starting getting hot. Cathy/Dan and crew again provided an excellent lunch for the banding crews.

The birds of the day were a male Lucifer’s Hummingbird which was the first record for the Concho Valley, and a very photogenic Red-shouldered Hawk that was caught in a mist-net.

We shut down catching activity at 5:00 p.m. and met goals of processing 1,000 birds during the day and getting a fair assessment of bird populations using the Brown’s mega-feeding stations.

We caught:

We caught 636 Black-chinned Hummingbirds on 20 June 2008 at the Brown Ranch. This was the 2^nd highest hummingbird catch for the Ranch. Songbirds were much lower than normal (<400) and their scarcity allowed banders to focus more intensively on catching hummers. We recaptured about 88 hummers from previous years. This was the 3rd year in a row of lower than expected production of young. There was a severe hail storm during spring 2006 that probably killed birds, there was a major freeze in early April 2007 that probably destroyed all nesting attempts at the time. 2008 had much lower rainfall than normal which should lead to lower production and higher dependency of birds on feeders. Adult male to female sex ratios was about 45% male which is about normal for this site and date. It contrasts greatly with ratios from neighboring ranches and shows the significance of this property by being able to support reproduction of high densities of birds late into the season. Win and Beck ranches nearby feeders had a much higher percent of adult females and indicates that breeding is finishing up for the season earlier at these sites than at the Hummer House.

BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD PRODUCTION

BROWN (HUMMER HOUSE) RANCH

CHRISTOVAL, TX

THE END