Saturday, February 2
Flying X Ranch
Flying X Ranch 89365 S. FM 1174, Bertram, TX
DIRECTIONS: The Flying X is on down the road and on the other
side of the road from Doeskin Ranch. To get to the FLYING X RANCH,
take FM 1431 west out of Lago Vista. Some 1.5 miles past Scooter's
Bend turn right (north) onto FM 1174 and drive about 5.2 miles.
You'll go past Doeskin Ranch (on the right) after 3 or 4 miles.
You will find the entryway to the Flying X on the left hand side
of RR 1174. It is made of stone and has a small sign that says
Flying X. The lane from the entryway to the Flying X parking
area is nearly a mile long. |
SPARROWFEST 2008
Re-post from TEXBIRDS
Hi Texbirders,
On Saturday February 2, 2008, we conducted SparrowFest at Balcones
Canyonlands NWR northwest of Austin. This was our third annual
celebration of the embarrassment of Emberizid riches with
which central
Texas, and BCNWR in particular, are often blessed in winter.
SparrowFest is conducted as a one-day workshop and fundraiser
for
Friends of Balcones Canyonlands NWR with field trips in
the morning and afternoon, lunch and a sparrow slide show at
mid-day,
and an optional "Sparrow Countdown and Dinner" in the evening
after the
last field trips.
This year, our three field trip leaders (me, Bill Reiner and
refuge
chief biologist Chuck Sexton) escorted about 35 festival participants
divided into three groups morning and afternoon to several
different
refuge tracts and two different private properties adjacent
to the
refuge. We had participants from as far away as North
Carolina and Washington state.
Although sparrow numbers appear down somewhat across
central and south Texas this year, we still found good numbers
of birds
and surprisingly good diversity. The six different field trips
combined
found 18 species of sparrows (no longspurs, and we don't include
House
Sparrow in that number). Birding highlights were many, and
included the
following:
1. Bird of the day was probably the Prairie Falcon discovered
by
participant Gary Gray on one of Chuck's Cow Creek Road field
trips,
providing a first record for the refuge
2. Photographs of a pair of Clay-colored Sparrows coming to
feed and
water at Peaceful Springs Preserve in Burnet
County on my afternoon
trip there, providing the first winter record for the species
inn the
refuge area.
3. Outstanding numbers of Grasshopper Sparrows, with most participants
on the Flying X field trips, and the morning trip to Hickory
Pass Ranch
and Lyda tract getting good looks at multiple birds.
4. Our usual excellent numbers of LeConte's Sparrows, primarily
on the
Eckhardt Tract and the Flying X, providing most festival participants
with excellent, close-up looks at this often hard-to-see species.
5. Canyon Towhees at two locations (singing at Hickory Pass
Ranch in
morning; foraging under parked vehicles at Peaceful Springs
in
afternoon)
6. Black-throated Sparrows in morning at Peaceful Springs Preserve,
and
both morning and afternoon at Flying X
7. Great food provided by volunteers at breakfast, lunch and
dinner,
providing ample fuel for trekking through the tall grass.
A birdlist and a few comments follow:
Wild Turkey - 1 or more on Beard tract at noon
Great Blue Heron - 2 in two locations
Black Vulture - several
Turkey Vulture - several
Osprey - 1 - Lyda tract
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 2
Prairie Falcon - 1 - Cow Creek Rd - first refuge record!
Mourning Dove - several
Greater Roadrunner - 1 - heard only, Lyda tract
Belted Kingfisher - 1 - Cow Creek
Ladder-backed Woodpecker - 3, multiple locations
Eastern Phoebe - 10+, multiple locations
Western Scrub-Jay - several
American Crow - several, Cow Creek and Eckhardt
Common Raven - 3, Cow Creek and Lyda
Carolina Chickadee - 10+, multiple locations
Black-crested Titmouse - 15+, multiple locations
Carolina Wren - 4+, Eckhardt, Lyda and Hickory Pass Ranch
Bewick's Wren - 15+, multiple locations
House Wren - 10+, multiple locations
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1 - Hickory Pass Ranch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 15+, Eckhardt, Peaceful Springs, Flying
X and
others
Hermit Thrush - 3+, Cow Creek, Peaceful Springs and Eckhardt
American Robin - several
Northern Mockingbird - 15+, multiple locations
Cedar Waxwing - 50+, Cow Creek, Flying X
Orange-crowned Warbler - 15+, multiple locations
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 10+, Hickory Pass, Lyda, Cow Creek,
Eckhardt,
Peaceful Springs
Spotted Towhee - 15+, Eckhardt, Peaceful Springs, Cow Creek,
Hickory
Pass
Canyon Towhee - 2, one each at Hickory Pass Ranch and Peaceful
Springs
Preserve
Rufous-crowned Sparrow - 5+, Cow Creek, Hickory Pass and Flying
X
Chipping Sparrow - 100+, Eckhardt, Cow Creek and others
Clay-colored Sparrow - 2 seen by group and photographed on
afternoon
trip to Peaceful Springs Preserve
Field Sparrow - 70+, numbers way down this year but seen on
most trips
Vesper Sparrow - 100+, numbers down this year but good numbers
at
Eckhardt, Flying X and Peaceful Springs
Lark Sparrow - 10+ coming to feed and singing at Peaceful Springs
in
afternoon
Black-throated Sparrow - 3 birds, 2 at Flying X and 1 at Peaceful
Springs in morning
Savannah Sparrow - 100+, numbers down this year but good numbers
at
Eckhardt, Flying X and Peaceful Springs
Grasshopper Sparrow - 15+, seen well at Lyda, Flying X
Le Conte's Sparrow - 40+, seen well at Eckhardt and Flying
X
Song Sparrow - 4+, numbers way down, seen at Hickory Pass and
Eckhardt
Lincoln's Sparrow - 35+, multiple locations
Swamp Sparrow - 1 seen and heard calling along creek at Eckhardt
White-throated Sparrow - 1 - Eckhardt
White-crowned Sparrow - 75+, numbers down, but seen at Flying
X,
Peaceful Springs and Eckhardt
Dark-eyed Junco - 15+, numbers down this year
Northern Cardinal - 70+, common on most trips
Red-winged Blackbird - 10+, Eckhardt and others
Western Meadowlark - 40+, none identified to species that I
know of,
but both E & W winter at refuge
House Finch - 5+, Hickory Pass and Peaceful Springs
Lesser Goldfinch - 1 - Lyda
American Goldfinch - 2+, Lyda & Eckhardt
House Sparrow
Number of Species: 56
I personally had 17 sparrow species for the day, missing only
Rufous-crowned Sparrow (which I found the next morning at Flying
X).
I want to thank my co-leaders Bill Reiner and Chuck Sexton,
also Cathy
Harrington, the current president of Friends of Balcones Canyonlands
NWR and chief administrator of this event. I also want to thank
the
many volunteers and refuge staff who helped make this happen.
I also
want to thank Greg Lasley for providing a beautiful large-format
print
of Black-throated Sparrow for all participants. I would also
like to
thank the owner of Hickory Pass Ranch and Paul Sunby, who helped
us
gain access to that tract and helped lead the morning trip
there. I
also want to thank Cynthia and David Castleberry, the owners
of
Peaceful Springs Preserve, for their generous support and for
allowing
access to their lovely property.
We are already planning for next year. Check the website and
become a
member of Friends of Balcones Canyonlands NWR to get on the
mailing
list if you'd like to attend SparrowFest '09.
It was a great day to be a Sparrowhawk!
Sincerely,
Byron Stone, Austin |
2008
Friends Events