Fledglings on a Hot Summer Day

Calm clear skies greeted me today at the park along with the May Full Moon. The sun intensified throughout the morning. With no winds I could hear and ID most singing birds all morning. Quite a few fledglings were moving around in family units. These included Carolina Chickadees, Black-crested Titmice, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Golden-cheeked Warblers and Northern Cardinals.
Still no kingfisher sightings anywhere along the Pedernales River.
Nothing new and exciting at the bird blinds. Summer is certainly settling in to the Texas Hill Country.

May 22 Pedernales Breeding Birds

Overcast survey days really make the effort enjoyable this time of year as temperatures start reaching the 90's. Plus today there was a steady breeze.

The Louisiana Waterthrush continues to feed young in the nest at Tobacco Creek Seep. Only one Acadian Flycatcher has taken up residence at my stations this year located at East Park Boundary. Waterthrush numbers are down also. This is the first year I do not have any Green Kingfishers nesting along the river. Perhaps a result of flood waters bringing great turbidity and cloudiness to the water. Yellow-billed Cuckoos are doing well. It is no wonder with the great number of caterpillars and newly pupating butterflies everywhere!

The Eastern Phoebe pair at Twin Falls is using the same cliff nest as last year. I believe the female is in the egg-laying phase now.

I managed a snapshot of my favorite Hill Country cactus, the Lacey, plus I stopped by the bird blinds at 7:15 AM between my surveys for a special treat: a first year male American Redstart. This male had a dark gray head with patches of black and where normally the markings are red they were still yellow.

One other fun observation today was a Red-shouldered Hawk flying over the Pedernales River carrying a snake.

May 16 Breeding Birds @ the Park

This morning was a nice calm day to survey breeding birds at the park. I was greeted by Chuck-wills Widows and Common Nighthawks as dawn broke under overcast skies and 65 degree temperatures.

Today's highlights were finding two bird nests. The first was an Ash-throated Flycatcher nest in a utility pole. Both adults were feeding the nestlings. Out at Tobacco Creek Seep I found a very attentive Louisiana Waterthrush with food in its mouth near its nest. I had to watch this bird for what seemed like eternity before it went to the nest along a bank covered in small ferns.

Not much new at the bird blinds but I did get a close-up view of a male Black & White Warbler and Painted Buntings.

Prickly Pear Cacti have been blooming for the past week. Here is one large plant with multiple blooms showing off today. With all the rains this spring there are plenty of grasses and forbs for caterpillars to feed on. Newly metamorphosed butterflies are easy to get great photos of as they wait for their wings to dry before flying.

May Birding at Pedernales

I arrived at the park before sunup and biked a fast pace to East Park Boundary. Along the way I saw and heard Chuck-wills Widow and Common Nighthawks. At station #10 I found two Black-chinned Hummingbird nestlings still in the nest but ready to fledge. One was beating its wings so quickly I could not see them move.

Acadian Flycatchers have settled into their usual territories - four males in all. Both Yellow-throated Vireos and Yellow-billed Cuckoos just returned. I found two Least Flycatchers singing along the river on this overcast, cool day - much like their northwoods breeding territory.

At the bird blinds highlights were a male Baltimore Oriole, a first year Western Tanager, and a Lazuli Bunting, all seen by the park hosts before my arrival. The last of the winter sparrows finally left this week for their more northerly breeding territories.

Cacti are about to flower at the park. Here is Indian Blanket in bloom which can be seen all along the roadsides in the Hill Country right now.

More Migrants & Young in the Nest

Today there were a couple of stations where the birds sang incessantly. This occurred early in the morning before winds picked up. Heavy overcast skies and bouts of sprinkles kept me from traversing my bike route until later in the morning.
I took advantage of this time to stop in the bird blinds where I saw a Yellow Warbler and Swamp Sparrow. After surveys were completed I visited the blind again and picked up a Gray Catbird. Blind hosts also reported Orchard and Baltimore Orioles today plus a first of year Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
The first Acadian Flycatcher arrived at one of my stations. The Black-chinned Hummingbird nest has two half grown nestlings being tended to by the female. These nestlings' bills are about 3/4" long. There were also multiple Swainson's Thrushes singing along the river this morning. This is the first time they have been so vocal during spring migration. This year there is only one Canyon Wren on territory at my stations. Numbers have gone down of this species over the past two years. Listen to its song by clicking on the name above which directs you to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's web page. Then select Sound. It is a musical descending cascade of liquid notes.

Breeding Birds & Migrants Today

This morning was a reasonable spring birding day along the Pedernales River. Several new arrivals and a few migrants revealed themselves. Welcome back Painted & Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks and a Great-crested Flycatcher. Passing through were singing Nashville Warbler's and a Swainson's Thrush.
I had an Eastern Screech Owl trilling along Twin Falls Creek at 11:30 AM. The female Black-chinned Hummingbird is now incubating eggs in her nest only 20 feet above the Pedernales River.
At the bird blind today I missed all three species of buntings including the Lazuli. But behind the blinds in the open fields I did see a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
Rains came through Friday night making it a very wet morning to be hiking through tall grasses and weeds along the Pedernales River. But the sun and wind allowed the vegetation to dry some, all but my shoes and feet. :p)

Birding Slow at the Park

A wet, cool, overcast day at the park kept many birds from showing at my survey stations or the bird blind. Summer Tanagers are now common along the river.
I found a Black-chinned Hummingbird nest at East Park Boundary. It is 20' above the river attached to a straight dead limb of a bald cypress tree. I noted the female last week collecting spider webs from the trees in this area. Today I saw the female again flitting around the cypress trees gathering invisible spider webs. She immediately zipped back to the nest remaining stationary long enough for me to suspect a nest at 150 feet away. Upon closer inspection I was pleasantly surprised. With overcast skies and temperatures around 58 F. this female was off the nest too long to have already laid eggs. I believe she is just finishing the nest, it taking perhaps a week or a few days longer to build.
I waited at nest box #4 to confirm the species nesting in this box. It turned out to be a Black-crested Titmouse, not a Carolina Chickadee. The adult was either feeding young or the other adult inside. Northern Parula continue to sing at various sights along the river.
At the bird blind a single White-throated Sparrow along with several Lincoln's Sparrows still are hanging around. Bird blind hosts say there have not been a great influx of migrating birds at the blinds for the past week. They anticipate new species arriving any day now, especially the buntings and blue grosbeaks.
This past week's rains have caused the Pedernales River to raise to the highest levels I have seen in the two plus years I have been surveying here. Waters were muddy and flowing quite fast. No chance of fording the river anywhere along the park's length. No kingfishers to be found this week. I bet they are having a hard time finding fish in the mirky waters.