Trip to Fort Worth and the CBC

December 16th

 

After leaving Lorna’s we headed North towards Fort Worth and our Motel where I was to prepare for my CBC tomorrow. However, on the way up I’d have to detour (thankfully) around Austin to try for a Common Merganser ,which had conveniently been present at the Tejas Camp on the North Fork of the San Gabriel River for some time. They usually turn up in Texas "way out west" and I’d already tried at the wonderful Lake Balmorhea without any luck, so this was a second bite.

As always in Texas it took longer than anticipated to reach our destination but with the help of eBird we eventually found the site and parked up. It was another glorious afternoon so Louise set her stall out and I made my way along the scenic river towards the area the bird had been frequenting...

 

The info' had said around half a mile but the views of the river from the path were very limited which meant a few sorties through the undergrowth to get a decent view. I passed a couple of returning local Birders who had come to see the star bird but all they could give me was “keep going, you’ll see it”.

It was now 3.30 and the sun was sinking fast. I’d read on eBird that the female CM was associating with a white domestic (puddle) Duck! At least that should stand out. After what seemed more like a mile I spotted the lovebirds resting on a log in the middle of the river...

 

 

 

It’s “just” a Goosander…but its MY Texas tick (458)! It was a wonderful end to the day for both of us. We left the car park after enjoying a superb sunset and continued North. We reached the Motel in Fort Worth at 8pm. An early night was required.

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December 17th

 

I was up at 4.45am and made my way the 8 miles to my meeting point with Mike Wease in the Albertsons car park. Trouble was things are MUCH easier to find in daylight, well at least junctions and road signs! Granted the Albertsons sign was pretty obvious when I eventually arrived at 5.25.

I introduced myself to Mike and thanked him again for inviting me. After he’d explained the first part of the day I decided to visit the gas station and stock up with junk food. I had the feeling we’d be on the move…all day! His two associates arrived slightly late and off we went to our first site to look/listen for Owls.

Our tally for this session was a heard Eastern Screech…or two.

We then drove to a private site and parked the cars inside the gate. This was the start of a 5 hour walk through the woods and surrounding fields recording ALL birds seen and/or heard. We were blessed with excellent weather. We covered some ground, a lot of it uneven and dense but it was great fun. Mike, Ted and Brent were great company and they were very sharp. It was an education to watch them "at work”. Birds of note included Pileated Woodpecker and Great Horned Owl. The upshot being that I added Golden-crowned Kinglet (459), Fox Sparrow (460) and the much prized (and mis-identified) Purple Finch (461)…

 

We also saw some other great birds…

Cedar Waxwings...

 

 

My favourite Sparrow...Harris's...

 

Eastern Bluebird...

 

Dark-eyed Junco...

 

 

Bad weather was on the way with a strong “Norther” ripping down the continent…we could already feel it. It stayed dry but the temperature dropped like a stone and the wind picked up dramatically. This made our visit to CEMENT Creek Ponds a challenge but this was my only hope of a Longspur now. Mike had kindly visited a site where he’d seen 3 species last year on this date but we didn’t find any. Many thanks Mike.

We made our way out towards the ponds. We formed a short line across the rough ground. A few sparrows were flushed…then Mike shouted “Longspur!”. The bird called a few times and then we watched it gain height and fly off high across the main road. Mike commented how unusual this was?

It was certainly unlucky for me as this was my only sighting. The call was heard well by both of us and we had no doubt we had seen a Chestnut-collared Longspur (462). Not the view I was hoping for…but I’ll take it. Maybe a better view next year together with Lapland and McCown's!!

By the time we returned to Mike’s beast of a truck…(a Dodge Ram 5.6L) it was freezing and we were walking into a gale force wind!

 

Understandably, we called it a day. I said my goodbyes, thanked them again and made my way back to the Motel.

I love Birding with skilful American Birders. I like to think it improves my personal skills regarding the neararctic avifauna. I learn best by experience.

The day list for the record...

 

 

 

1.     Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

2.     Snow Goose

3.     Wood Duck

4.     Gadwall

5.     American Wigeon

6.     Mallard

7.     Northern Shoveler

8.     Northern Pintail

9.     Green-winged Teal

10.   Ring-necked Duck

11.   Lesser Scaup

12.   Bufflehead

13.   Hooded Merganser

14.   Ruddy Duck

15.   Wild Turkey

16.   Pied-billed Grebe

17.   Double-crested Cormorant

18.   Great Blue Heron

19.   Great Egret

20.   Cattle Egret

21.   Black Vulture

22.   Turkey Vulture

23.   Osprey

24.   Northern Harrier

25.   Sharp-shinned Hawk

26.   Cooper's Hawk

27.   Red-shouldered Hawk

28.   Red-tailed Hawk

29.   Virginia Rail

30.   Sora

31.   American Coot

32.   Sandhill Crane

33.   Killdeer

34.   Wilson's Snipe

35.   Greater Yellowlegs

36.   Bonaparte's Gull

37.   Ring-billed Gull

38.   Forster's Tern

39.   Rock Pigeon

40.   White-winged Dove (Jessica)

41.   Mourning Dove

42.   Eastern Screech-Owl

43.   Great Horned Owl

44.   Belted Kingfisher

45.   Red-bellied Woodpecker

46.   Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Jessica)

47.   Downy Woodpecker

48.   Northern Flicker

49.   Pileated Woodpecker

50.   American Kestrel

51.   Eastern Phoebe

52.   Loggerhead Shrike (Jessica)

53.   Blue Jay

54.   American Crow

55.   Horned Lark

56.   Carolina Chickadee

57.   Tufted Titmouse

58.   House Wren

59.   Marsh Wren

60.   Carolina Wren

61.   Bewick's Wren

62.   Golden-crowned Kinglet

63.   Ruby-crowned Kinglet

64.   Eastern Bluebird

65.   Hermit Thrush

66.   American Robin

67.   Brown Thrasher

68.   Northern Mockingbird

69.   European Starling

70.   American Pipit

71.   Cedar Waxwing

72.   Chestnut-collared Longspur

73.   Orange-crowned Warbler

74.   Common Yellowthroat

75.   Yellow-rumped Warbler

76.   Chipping Sparrow

77.   Field Sparrow

78.   Fox Sparrow

79.   Dark-eyed Junco

80.   White-crowned Sparrow (Jessica)

81.   Harris's Sparrow

82.   White-throated Sparrow

83.   Vesper Sparrow

84.   Savannah Sparrow

85.   Song Sparrow

86.   Lincoln's Sparrow

87.   Swamp Sparrow

88.   Spotted Towhee

89.   Northern Cardinal

90.   Red-winged Blackbird

91.   Western/Eastern Meadowlark

92.   Great-tailed Grackle

93.   Brown-headed Cowbird

94.   House Finch

95.   Purple Finch

96.   American Goldfinch