Some South Texas Birding

On Saturday, June 25, I left early to travel to San Antonio to attend the Wild Birds Unlimited Annual Meeting. I traveled about 100 miles south of San Antonio to the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area about eight miles west of Artesia Springs. I arrived about 10:30 and had about three hours to go birding. My target bird was the Green Jay, but I knew that I would see several other species I'd never seen before. I pulled up to the office, stepped out of the car and saw a couple of Olive Sparrows hopping on the ground beneath a tree - life bird #1 of the day. Pretty quickly behind the sparrows, two Curve-billed Thrashers were, um, making sure of the continuance of their species, if you know what I mean - life bird #2 of the day. As I walked to the office, a Pyrrhuloxia flew toward a small pond. I had seen them before, but never this close. Being a Saturday, the office was closed. After a quick, unsuccessful search for a map, I walked back toward my car. A Cactus Wren flew to a small bush in front of me - life bird #3 for the day. Little did I know that by the end of my time there, I would be tired of seeing Cactus Wrens! I walked behind the office and found a couple of Bronzed Cowbirds - life bird #4 for me. I had seen a trail head on my way in so I decided to walk it. A Brown-headed Flycatcher flew into a tree and sang - life bird #5. Mockingbirds and cardinals were singing from various locations around the office. As I walked toward the trail, I had to walk toward the tree where I saw the Olive Sparrows. I saw a couple of Long-billed Thrashers chasing each other around the tree - life bird #6. Black-throated Sparrows were abundant on the trail. Those are really pretty birds. I had seen them in Junction a few years ago. Lark Sparrows flew from tree to tree as I walked along the trail. When I finished walking on the trail, a young lady who works at the WMA drove up and told me where my best chance to find Green Jays were. I drove about two miles to a campground used by hunters in the wintertime. The first bird I saw when I got out was a brilliant Vermilion Flycatcher. Brown-headed Flycatchers were more abundant at the campground. As I walked around the campground, an Audubon's Oriole flew into a tree on his way to a stock tank full of water - life bird #7. After deciding that there were no Green Jays at the campground, I got into my car and drove along the driving trail. About 3/4 of the way along the trail, four Cassin's Sparrows were foraging alongside the road - life bird #8. I finished the driving trail with just enough time to head to San Antonio to check into the hotel. I was disappointed that I didn't see a Green Jay, but I was excited to have eight new birds! I don't know the last time I added eight new birds to my list. It was exciting to see them as well as birds I don't get to see all the time. On my way to San Antonio, I stopped in Pearsall to get some gas and a male Bullock's Oriole flew into a tree near the station and sang.

Birds seen at the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area, 6/25/11: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Turkey Vulture, Crested Caracara, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Vermilion Flycatcher, *Brown-crested Flycatcher, Black-crested Titmouse, *Cactus Wren, Bewick's Wren, Northern Mockingbird, *Long-billed Thrasher, *Curve-billed Thrasher, *Olive Sparrow, *Cassin's Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Painted Bunting, *Bronzed Cowbird, *Audubon's Oriole

* = life bird

Beginning The Year in Colorado

January 5 - 10 found me in Colorado Springs for the National Conferences on Youth Ministries. The conference lasted from Monday through Thursday. Kristen and I decided to take Friday as a day to do some birding and sightseeing around Colorado Springs. We started that morning at the Fountain Creek Nature Center in the southern part of Colorado Springs. It was COLD! A cold front had moved through and snow was quickly following it. They have a really nice visitor center with bird feeders right outside the window. There were Red-winged Blackbirds all over them. But, there were several American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins and Dark-eyed Juncos (both Slate-colored and Pink-sided) at the feeders. Kristen and I decided to brave the cold and walk one of the trails. Just as we started, I saw my lifer Black-capped Chickadee. I know I've been in places where Black-capped Chickadees occur, but for some reason I have never laid my eyes on one until this trip. That was pretty cool. There were also a couple of White-breasted Nuthatches on the trees. I haven't really seen those guys in quite a few years. There wasn't much on the trails. The winds had really picked up and the temperatures were dropping. We came to a little bridge over a small stream and an American Dipper flew out from under the bridge to some cattails. It's been since 1996 since I've seen a dipper. We came to a larger pond that had quite a bit of the water open (most of the ponds were frozen). There were some Hooded Mergansers on the water, but then I saw two larger Common Mergansers a little further out. Those were new for me as well. I also saw the southwestern subspecies of the Song Sparrow that I had never seen before. It just got too cold to stay out anymore, so we decided to get in the car and drive to Focus on the Family where we could do some sightseeing indoors! There were several Black-billed Magpies in the parking lot. This guy stayed still long enough for me to get a shot of him.


We left Focus on the Family and drove to visit the home of a gracious lady who offered for us to go birding at her home. Her home is enough to make anyone envious. It's nestled in the foothills of the Rockies surrounded by tall pine trees. My target birds were Pygmy Nuthatches. Unfortunately, the Pygmy Nuthatches didn't cooperate, so I missed them. But, I did get to add Mountain Chickadees to my list. I haven't seen them since 1997, so that was a treat to see them.

Overall, my birding in Colorado Springs was good. I added two life birds and saw several birds I haven't seen in over a decade. I need to get out west to go birding more often! But, I saw 29 species:

Canada Goose, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, American Coot, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker (red-shafted), Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Mountain Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Dipper, American Robin, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, House Sparrow

We go back to Colorado Springs in two years. I told Kristen I'm going to take the entire day to go birding at lots of different places. Even though I enjoyed the snow, I hope it isn't in two years so I can get up in the mountains and go birding some.