Spring 2011 Report

With spring migration winding down, I start looking at the birds that I missed during spring migration. This year featured particularly lower warbler numbers (18 species). I'm not sure the reason, but the howling south winds throughout the spring may have had something to do with it. They just didn't stop, and if they did, they didn't stop long. The warblers I missed on the property this spring are:

Nashville Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Canada Warbler

Non-warbler species that I missed on the property this spring are:
Black-billed Cuckoo
Acadian Flycatcher
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Orchard Oriole

It's still possible for me to see Kentucky Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher since they nest around here. Of course, I can see nearly all of them in the fall except Blackpoll Warbler when they come south.

As I began looking at the birds I missed, I started wondering what the percentage of years I've seen each species. I've been keeping spring migration records since the spring of 2004, so this makes the eighth year. Here is a list of the warblers and the percentage of years I've seen them:

Blue-winged Warbler - 88%
Golden-winged Warbler - 38%
Tennessee Warbler - 100%
Nashville Warbler - 25%
Northern Parula - 100%
Yellow Warbler - 63%
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 88%
Magnolia Warbler - 88%
Black-throated Green Warbler - 100%
Blackburnian Warbler - 88%
Yellow-throated Warbler - 63%
Bay-breasted Warbler - 75%
Blackpoll Warbler - 50%
Cerulean Warbler - 50%
Black-and-white Warbler - 100%
American Redstart - 88%
Prothonotary Warbler - 13%
Worm-eating Warbler - 88%
Ovenbird - 75%
Northern Waterthrush - 25%
Louisiana Waterthrush - 38%
Kentucky Warbler - 50%
Hooded Warbler - 100%
Canada Warbler - 50%
Yellow-breasted Chat - 88%

That's one thing that makes birdwatching so fun - it's never the same. One year to the next is completely different and you never really know what to expect. One day to the next is different. It's constantly changing, even within the normal patterns of migration.

So far the Eastern Bluebirds haven't begun building a second nest. It's only been a week since the babies fledged, so it will probably be a least another week before they start thinking of brood number two.

I got a couple more good pictures with the BirdCam on Sunday, May 8.

A Chestnut-sided Warbler


A variety of birds including a Yellow Warbler, Indigo Bunting and Northern Cardinal

Project FeederWatch Week 16 and Other Stuff

Project FeederWatch numbers are down this week and last week. This is the time of year that I would rather be out in the woods seeing what spring migrants are coming through rather than watching my feeders. The American Goldfinch numbers have decreased significantly over the past two weeks. They went from 57 over the weekend of 2/13 to 24 over the weekend of 2/20 to six over the weekend of 2/27. I still have a good number of Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos at my feeders. Pine Warblers are still coming to the suet, but it won't be long before they abandon the feeders. The Red-winged Blackbird numbers dwindled some, but there are still quite a few Brown-headed Cowbirds that visit my ground feeder. There was nothing out of the ordinary captured by my BirdCam in the woods last week. I walked down yesterday to fill the feeders and watch them for a little bit. An Orange-crowned Warbler is still coming to the Bark Butter. There were still several American Goldfinches on the feeders. White-throated Sparrows are cleaning up what was spilled on the ground.

I am anxiously awaiting the spring migrants. So far the only ones I've seen are Purple Martins flying overhead. "My" martins haven't returned yet. These are the earliest dates I've seen for the following wood warblers: Northern Parula, March 9; Hooded Warbler, March 16; and Black-and-white Warbler, March 13. Those are typically the first wood warbler migrants on the Upper Texas Coast. The rest come through during April and into the first couple of weeks of May. I am trying a new position for my BirdCam to capture images from three feeders at one time. I should be able to get some good shots of Indigo Buntings, Painted Buntings, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Blue Grosbeaks as they visit the feeders. It's possible Summer Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles and warblers will visit the suet. This is the first year I've had the feeders in the woods during spring migration, so I really don't know what to expect to see.

After discovering the two bluebird bodies in the nest that the House Sparrow killed, I removed the sparrow nest and opened the box to encourage the sparrow to move on. I left it open for a week and think the sparrow decided to move to my martin house. He's been singing out there for a while. I closed the bluebird box and on my way to work yesterday saw a male bluebird sitting on the top of the box. There has been a pair checking out the box in our yard. I haven't gone over to Mom's to see if there is any activity at the box in her yard. It's still a little early for bluebirds to actually nest, but they're checking out their options.

A Renewed Hatred for House Sparrows

Yesterday, I went out and got my Purple Martin housing ready for their return. A customer told me that the Eastern Bluebirds on her property have already begun making nests in her boxes. I decided to go and check out the box that the bluebirds have used over the past four years. As I walked toward the box, a male House Sparrow flew out. I opened the box and he had already begun constructing a nest. It was obviously a sparrow nest and not the neat, compact nest a bluebird makes. I pulled the nest out and when I did, two bluebird bodies fell out of the box. I examined them and they both had the classic look of a sparrow kill. He probably watched for them to enter the box and then went in and killed them. He built the nest on top of their bodies. I will begin this weekend a new effort to rid the world of as many House Sparrows as possible. I modified my trap to keep the blackbirds and larger birds out and will begin trapping again. I hate House Sparrows!

Eastern Bluebird Photos

I set my BirdCam up on my birdbath since I've had several Eastern Bluebirds coming each evening. I got some great shots of them yesterday and today. Here are a few of them:













You can see all my birdbath photos taken with my BirdCam on my Facebook page. I really love having bluebirds around. They fly over a lot and make their churr call. I wonder how many of them in the winter are migrants and how many are residents. I keep hoping I'll have more than one nesting pair in the spring.

Winter migrants are showing up more and more. I had my FOS (First of Season) Yellow-rumped Warbler today. I thought he was going to come to my birdbath and have his picture taken with the BirdCam, but the bluebirds were too aggressive toward him and he left. An Eastern Phoebe called in the front yard this morning. A Northern Flicker was calling in the woods. I keep waiting to hear American Goldfinches, but so far haven't heard one. I'm also expecting to see Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers any day now.

My hummingbird garden is doing really well. The abutilon is blooming and is about 4 ft. tall now. My first firespike is about to bloom. The turk's cap has been blooming for several weeks now. One of my coworkers gave me some hemelia to put in there along with another plant that I can't remember the name of. It will be great next year. I'm looking forward to the plants being established next winter and hopefully I'll see a Rufous or other wintering hummingbird at it. I do still have a Ruby-throated Hummingbird coming to my feeders.

Excellent Day in the Woods

On Sunday, I walked in the woods with Amberlyn to see what migrants might be there. It was raining on us nearly the entire time, at some times pretty heavily! We came across a few birds, but for the most part it was pretty slow. I figured Monday would be a better day with the rain all night and front moving through. I was right! I ended up with 60 species today. Some of them were at my feeders and in my yard, but the majority were in the woods. I added fourteen birds to my year list today. I saw fourteen species of warblers, three thrushes, both tanagers, both buntings and one grosbeak. There were several places in the woods where there were just too many birds to look at. It was a lot of fun. Before I knew it, I had been down there for four hours. The time just flew by! Yellow-breasted Chats sang from the thick understory. It seemed everywhere I went a Kentucky Warbler was singing. Hooded Warblers sang from several locations too. Red-eyed Vireos have begun singing from high in the canopy. A Blue-winged Warbler sang from thick tree. I almost gave up seeing him, but he finally came out and gave me some really good looks at him. Another Prothonotary Warbler caught my attention. After six years of not seeing them, I've seen one the last two times I've been in the woods. A Scarlet Tanager almost took my breath away with his neon red and striking black wings. Scores of Indigo Buntings called from the understory and looked on the cleared land for seeds. A Painted Bunting perched on a tree limb that had fallen and allowed me about 30 seconds of viewing pleasure! A Cooper's Hawk flew across my yard carrying a bird. The male Eastern Bluebird was chasing him. I hope he didn't get one of the juveniles that just fledged on Saturday. I sure wish I had tomorrow off because it will be a good day as well.

Our Bird-a-thon day was rescheduled to the 25th because of the rain and a stomach bug. Apparently Sunday was an excellent day at High Island. If we can see 200 species, we'll raise over $400 for the Houston Audubon Society.

I mentioned before that the Eastern Bluebird chicks fledged on Saturday. I cleaned the old nest out today. Hopefully they'll start a second nest within the next couple of weeks.

Birds seen April 19, 2010 (60 species): Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Black Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Laughing Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Barred Owl, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow*, Barn Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Gray-cheeked Thrush*, Swainson's Thrush*, Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, Blue-winged Warbler*, Tennessee Warbler*, Nashville Warbler*, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler*, Blackburnian Warbler*, Blackpoll Warbler*, Cerulean Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Kentucky Warbler*, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat*, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager*, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak*, Indigo Bunting, Painted Bunting*, Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow

*= First of Season

Recliner Birding

I spent yesterday in a recliner in front of our backdoor watching the birds at our feeders because of hyper-extending my knee pretty badly on Sunday. There was no way I could have walked in the woods. The worst part is it was an absolutely gorgeous day! Sigh . . .

But, the day wasn't completely without highlights! Pretty early in the morning, a Dickcissel showed up in the tree behind my feeders. I got some excellent looks at him. Later, he hopped down to my ground feeder and ate some of the millet there. He went to my birdbath a couple of times and drank from it. I got several really good looks at him, as did my wife and kids. I checked the UTC Checklist and Dickcissels aren't even mentioned to be here at the end of March, so this little guy was very early. The first week of April it's considered uncommon and then common by the second week of April. I guess he wanted to get a jump on all the other Dickcissels and get some good territory to nest in! He was only the second Dickcissel I have seen on the property in nearly seven years. It was neat to enter the Dickcissel into my Project FeederWatch records. When I was finished, they very politely wanted me to go back and confirm that I actually meant Dickcissel because their records show it is early for my area.

American Goldfinches were coming to the feeders. I had five of them. One of the males had nearly completed his molt into breeding plumage. There was one streak of the light brown on his chest. The rest of his plumage was breathtaking! A House Wren has found my suet and visited several times yesterday. Also, a male and female Yellow-rumped Warbler ate from the suet throughout the day. The male has changed into his breeding plumage. I always enjoy seeing them in that plumage because we don't get to see them like that very often. Like the goldfinches, they leave about the time they molt.

Several Northern Rough-winged Swallows flew over. That was the first time I've seen them this year. Cattle Egrets were following the cows in the pasture. A Pileated Woodpecker flew across the pasture on his way to the woods. The numbers of Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared-Doves is going up at my feeders. I had four of each yesterday. The most I saw all winter of each was two.

The eggs in the Eastern Bluebird nest should hatch on Wednesday or Thursday. I'll walk/hobble over there to see what's going on with them on Wednesday afternoon.

Birds seen 3/29/10 (22 species): Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow (FOS), Carolina Chickadee, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Dickcissel (FOS), Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow

First Outing of the Spring

This morning I went birding in the woods for the first time this spring. I still can't get over how different things look since Hurricane Ike. I was hoping to see some early migrants. I did see four - Great Crested Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Black-and-white Warbler and Northern Parula. It was nice to see them. I look forward to spring migration so much and it is very exciting when I start seeing the migrants come in. The birds are certainly anticipating spring's arrival. The woods were filled with songs of Carolina Wrens, Northern Cardinals, White-eyed Vireos and Hermit Thrushes.

Another sign of spring is nesting. I checked the Eastern Bluebird nest to find one egg in the nest! This is two weeks earlier than they laid eggs in 2008 and a month earlier than last year. If they lay five eggs, the last one will be laid on March 17.

Birds seen 3/13/10 (31 species): White Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird

Project FeederWatch 4th Weekend

This weekend of Project FeederWatch was a little slower. It rained nearly all weekend and the Sharp-shinned Hawk was around quite a bit. But, we were able to add three more birds to our PFW list - Carolina Chickadee, Eastern Bluebird and Pine Warbler bringing our species total to 13. The chickadees had never shown up at the feeders while we were watching them on previous PFW weekends. The bluebirds came in and enjoyed the birdbath. The Pine Warblers came to the suet and the seed cylinder with sunflower hearts and fruit. The Chipping Sparrow numbers were way down, probably due some to the House Sparrow numbers being way up. If it doesn't rain next weekend, I'm going to put out the trap for them and try to thin them out. They're starting to show interest in my martin housing and I'm not going to put up with that! A male Northern Cardinal visited the feeders yesterday and was missing the feathers around each of his eyes. I'm not sure what was going on there.

Tree Swallows flew over the pasture. There were literally hundreds of them. I'm not sure what they are catching out there, but they were certainly going after something! The Red-bellied Woodpecker still shows no interest in trying the feeders, although he's out there in the tree quite a bit. Hopefully he'll find them and be a regular. A Northern Flicker called from somewhere close yesterday. It would be fun to see him at the feeders as well.

Purple Martin Hatching Day!!!

Knowing the Purple Martin eggs were to hatch this weekend, I went out this morning and hoped I'd see some chicks in the nest. I wasn't disappointed! Below are pictures from my first ever Purple Martin hatching in housing I provided for them.




Needless to say, I'm very excited about this! I'm looking forward to watching them grow and fledge successfully. If all the eggs hatch today and tomorrow, we are looking at a fledging date of of June 16 or 17.

In other news, the Eastern Bluebirds haven't started their second nest yet. It shouldn't be too long. I have seen the parent bluebirds busy catching insects, but haven't located the juveniles yet. I have an idea of where they are, but haven't actually seen them. It won't be long before they're coming to the water in my birdbath in my backyard.

A Swallow-tailed Kite flew over yesterday giving me some great looks at him. I ran inside to get a video camera, but by the time I found it and got outside again, he was just going behind the trees across the street. When will I learn this time of year to have a video camera handy so I can get some shots of him?

Nesting Updates

I checked the bluebird nest yesterday morning and one of the five had left the box already. When I checked it yesterday afternoon, all five of the chicks had left. I always have mixed feelings on fledging day. On one hand, I'm really happy to know there are five more bluebirds out there and a second brood can get started. On the other hand, I'll miss checking on them and taking pictures to post here. Hopefully in about three weeks we'll have more eggs in the nest.

I took the camera out to the gourd rack to take pictures of the complete clutch today. It's interesting to me that they are using willow oak leaves as their green leaves. There is a big pecan tree about 60 ft. away from the gourd rack, but for some reason they're flying over to the woods and picking off willow oak leaves. Anyway, here are the pictures.



While I was mowing today, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flew overhead. That's the first one of the year for me. That was fun to see.

Birding On A Windy Day

A strong southerly breeze didn't give me a lot of hope that there would be many migrants around today. Many of them take advantage of the winds and just keep going north once they hit the coast. Those that did stop yesterday take off at nightfall (you can actually watch that on radar between 8:30 and 9:30 usually) and continue their journey north. So, I went out this morning not expecting to see a whole lot. Unfortunately, I was right. Most of what I saw were either year-round residents or resident migrants that nest here. I was only out for a couple of hours this morning. I got back in and Eastern Kingbirds showed up in some really great numbers! At one time there were six of them trying to get to the mulberry tree on the east side of the house. A mockingbird was vigorously defending "his" tree. That was fun to watch. I thought maybe I could go out in the afternoon and catch some of the incoming migrants as they stop to refuel before continuing north. It was pretty much the same story, except for the ten to fifteen Baltimore Orioles that I found in the top of some trees. Those were the only two FOS birds I got today.

The mulberry tree has been pretty productive today. Along with the Eastern Kingbirds, I've seen Orchard Orioles grabbing a few berries. I thought I saw a Baltimore Oriole, but the mockingbird chased it away before I could get my binoculars to see very well. I keep looking for Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in there. They typically show up in there every year.

An adult White-winged Dove showed up at my feeder today. I have never seen an adult at my feeders. That was kind of fun to see, although I know that if they start increasing in numbers, I'll soon want to get rid of them because of how much they eat.

I checked the bluebird nest this morning. The eggs haven't hatched yet. I projected them to hatch tomorrow, so we'll see if I'm right. The Purple Martins haven't continued their nest-building activities. It will happen, but I'm ready for them to get started now!

Even though it was a slower day, I did end up with 43 species. That's not too bad. I checked my list against the birds I saw last year on this date and I'm fifteen species ahead for this year. I'm not sure what to attribute that to. I have seen several birds this spring that I didn't get last year, but I don't think it is that many. Maybe I just had a better winter than I thought.

Bird species seen on 4/24/09 (43 species): Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Barred Owl, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird (FOS), White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole (FOS), House Sparrow

Finally! Maybe . . .

I am cautiously optimistic today! There are four Purple Martins around my gourds and house today. They've been there all morning! I'm very, very excited about this! It's been five years since I put the gourds up. This is the most promising sign of them taking up residence with me that I've seen.

The Eastern Bluebirds are within a few days of completing their nest. They are using quite a few pine needles in their nest. Hopefully we'll see eggs soon.

The birding this morning in the woods was good. There are still a really high number of Northern Parulas flitting around and singing. Not to be outdone today were the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. There were parulas and gnatcatchers everywhere. I have never seen it like that. I did get a few FOS birds - Bank Swallow, Tennessee Warbler and Orchard Oriole. I saw several Black-throated Green Warblers. A male Yellow-rumped Warbler came out nearly in full breeding plumage. I always have to stop and figure out what they are when I see them like that. A Swallow-tailed Kite flew over while I was at the new pond and gave me some really great looks. A flock of eight Anhingas flew over while I was down there too. Red-eyed Vireos are beginning to sing on territory.

Birds seen 4/3/09 (44 Species): Anhinga, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk, Upland Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow (FOS), Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Gray Catbird, Tennessee Warbler(FOS), Orange-crowned Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Orchard Oriole (FOS), American Goldfinch

Eastern Bluebirds

This time of year is always a tough one for me. I know the joys that spring brings - migration, nesting birds, new life and growth. I also know that spring is followed by summer and all it brings - heat, humidity, hurricanes and mosquitoes. So, as winter begins to wind down, I always reluctantly look forward to spring. This morning, I had one of those times which makes me very excited about spring coming. A male and female Eastern Bluebird were showing courtship display and checking out the nest box about fifty feet from my bedroom window. For the past two years, we've had bluebirds nesting in a box in my aunt's yard, but I was never able to attract them to the box in my yard. I moved the box out of the line of sight of the box in my aunt's yard with the hopes that we would have two pairs of bluebirds nesting. So, with those two around my box, I'm looking forward to spring to see if that comes true.

Other than that, not a whole lot is going on around here. There are still lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees around. The Carolina Wren continues to come for my suet. All the "normal" birds - Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Carolina Chickadees, Eurasian Collared Doves and American Goldfinches - continue at the feeders. I was out early this morning to hear the beginning of the chorus of territorial calling that starts as spring approaches. I enjoy listening to that every morning.

Juvenile Bluebird

Yesterday I walked outside and one of the juvenile bluebirds was sitting on the kids' clubhouse. I ran inside and grabbed the camera. He sat there long enough for me to get a couple of shots of him. This was the best one. It's fun to watch the juvenile bluebirds come to my birdbath. There were three or four of the juveniles out there. This was the only one that stayed around to be photographed. Pretty often I'll see the adults come to the water as well. I love living where we get bluebirds!

Bluebird In The Yard

This afternoon, this male Eastern Bluebird was flying around with a female. She inspected a couple of the compartments on the martin house. The male flew over to the pecan tree out the east end of our house. I took this picture through glass about 50 ft. away. It's a little blurry, but the colors are still beautiful!

Birding on the Extra Day of Leap Year

This morning I walked around in the woods for a while. The bird activity was pretty high. I only added two new ones today: Pileated Woodpecker and Neotropic Cormorant (flying over). But, the other birds were very active. There were quite a few Yellow-rumped Warblers still. They were all over the place. The American Robins were still around in large numbers. Several birds are singing quite a bit. Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, White-eyed Vireo and Northern Cardinal were all singing. Purple Martins are flying overhead and singing their gurgling song. An Eastern Bluebird was singing in our front yard this morning. I may go ahead and move the other bluebird box and put it somewhere else besides our yard. The bluebird seems to be claiming the territory in our yard and my aunt's yard.

Birds seen today, Feb. 29 (39 species): Neotropic Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Laughing Gull, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Barred Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, American Goldfinch

'08 Property Birds as of Feb. 29: 59
'04 Property Birds as of Feb. 29: 55

Nice Wake-up Call

This morning when I woke up, an Eastern Bluebird was sitting on our TV antenna just outside of our bedroom. He was singing his heart out. I just laid in bed and listened to him for ten minutes. I really hope he's going to use the box in our yard. He could be checking out the Purple Martin housing too. They nested in one of the gourds a couple of years ago and actually hatched some eggs. A male House Sparrow got in the nest and killed all the chicks. That sparrow was promptly trapped and he experienced the same fate of the bluebird chicks. Anyway, I'm hoping for some success in my box and the box in my aunt's yard.

Not much time for birding this weekend

I wasn't able to do much birding this weekend. I took my aunt down to the new pond yesterday to show it to her. I kept watching the radar and some pretty heavy rain headed here, so I made the decision not to get out in the woods to be drenched by some heavy rain. I kept waiting for the rain and finally checked the radar. It got to the western side of Harris County and fizzled out. By that time, Kristen was going into town and I had the kids. This morning I'm going to a funeral and then going to the church to get ready for our activity tonight.

One exciting thing is that my aunt e-mailed last week to say that she had seen bluebird activity at the bluebird box in her yard. If none of them use the box in our front yard this year, I think I'll put it in the pasture out of the line of sight of the one in her yard.

I've seen more Purple Martins over the past few days. I've got my house and gourds all ready for them when the young birds arrive. I keep watching them. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not even March yet.

Speaking of the pond earlier, it is absolutely full. I need to find the cattail seeds I have and plant them so we can get some cover for ducks and other birds down there. I'm thinking of cutting some new growth off a couple of the willow trees at the old pond and root them. We pull up as many tallow trees as we possibly can everytime we go down there.

I did see a few birds yesterday just around the house (15 species): Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow

'08 Property List as of Feb. 22: 55
'04 Property List as of Feb. 22: 51