Another Green Birding Challenge

I got this website off Laura's Birding Blog, which is very similar to the Bird Day Challenge that I've already committed to. It's not just a green bird day, it's a Big Green Big Year ("Bigby"). Like any other big year or big day, it's an informal competition. The rules of this one is that you can only count birds that you see in areas that you got to with your own energy (walking, cycling, etc.) from your own house. It doesn't count if you drive off somewhere, then start cycling :)

So I thought this was a great idea, and that my Bird Day around Houston would really help to supplement the year list.

Plus, for this one, I don't have to wait until April to start it! I guess, technically, I won't start it until January 2nd, since I'll be in Florida for Christmas.

Results of the Choke Canyon trip

Sorry it took so long to get this written. You know how it is with us working folk :)

The drive down Friday night was dark and uneventful. I did, however, get to drive through three new counties, including the one that the park was in.

That evening, I could already hear the Great Horned Owls calling (a lifer for me!). It was pretty late, so we just made up our bed and went to sleep. Overnight, I heard a clanging, and I thought "boy, my parents are making breakfast early." Turns out it was a couple of raccoons that make it a nightly ritual to go down the road and knock over every metal trash can along the way.

I rode my bike down to the entrance of the park and met up with the others. We went to the dump station to look for night birds. We must of heard 4-5 different Great Horned Owls while we were waiting. Ron, the leader, started with a Screech Owl call, since larger owl calls tend to scare the screech owls away. All of a sudden, a huge bird flew out, and Ron got his spotlight on him just for all of us to get a quick look. It was a Barn Owl, my second lifer of the weekend.

The sun started to come up and we could hear shotguns going off in the distance. Ron shined the light down the road and we saw three Common Paraques (lifer) just before they flew off. The dawn chorus was filled with Olive Sparrows (lifer) and Long-billed Thrashers, both of which we got pretty good looks at.

Other birds of interest were the Green Jays, which were the most numerous passerines, followed by flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers. There were also a few Great Kiskadees, which are always great to see when you get a chance. I also enjoyed the abundance of Vermilion Flycatchers, one of my favorite birds. The Wild Turkeys walking around the campsite was quite interesting as well.

Two other notable birds was a Black Phoebe hanging out near the shut-down swimming pool (for budgetary reasons, I heard) and an Audubon's Oriole (lifer) in the trees near the recreation area. Further down the path, we saw a Franklin's Gull, which I didn't even know was a lifer until I put it into eBird. Up to 6 lifers already!

The afternoon, I took off of birdwatching and spent it with my family. The weather was absolutely perfect. There was a nice cool breeze and the temperature was in the low 80s. It was a great time to just sit around and relax. That evening we cooked s'mores by the campfire, and overnight we had an unfortunate run-in with a mouse in our shelter, which caused us to not get very much sleep.

Sunday morning, I went with my wife and mom down to the county road that Ron pointed out to me, but didn't see the Say's Phoebe that was reported. But, I did see quite a few new raptors for the weekend, including multiple Crested Caracaras dive-bombing each other in the air and a pair of Harris Hawks on the telephone pole.

Then, as a final thank you for coming, there was a small flock of Scaled Quails by the entrance to the park as we were leaving :)

Overall, I had 83 species and 6 life birds (plus three more that were new for me in Texas), as well as 20 new species for the photo scavenger hunt.

(I'll be posting photographs when I get home, so check this post again tomorrow for updates)

Choke Canyon Time!

I'm so excited that I get to go to Choke Canyon State Park this weekend. The weather couldn't possibly be any better (I apologize to you readers up north). It's going to be highs around 85 and lows around 65. I don't think you could ask for better camping weather.

I'll give a full detailed report when I get back, but for now, here are the following "Life Birds" that I'm looking for, based on (the very very few) reports from eBird:

• Sandhill Crane
• Olive Sparrow
• Audubon's Oriole
• Cave Swallow
  

There are also a decent frequency of West and South Texas birds that, while I have already seen them, I would love to see them again, like the Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Long-billed Thrasher, Say's Phoebe, Common Ground-Dove, Pyrrhuloxia, and Black-throated Sparrow, if anything for the photo scavenger hunt! I'm way behind the retired birders ;)

I'm also hoping to stop by Live Oak county on the way back to see those Masked Ducks that have been nesting there, which would add one to my life list as well as my Texas Review species list.