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Rylirk's 2019 list (1 Viewer)

February 13 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Well, here I am in Lubbock; I'll be here for 2 years if all goes well! Tried some local birding in the afternoon at Clapp Park, but conditions were difficult (poor light and very high winds). Managed a few Southwest specialities, and picked up my first Lubbock lifer.

156. Great-Tailed Grackle
157. Northern Mockingbird
158. American Goldfinch
159. * Red-Shouldered Hawk
 
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February 14 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Had a look around another park this morning (McAlister, to be precise), with considerably more success than yesterday! Unlike Clapp Park, McAlister's lake actually has water in it at the moment! A nice mix of new birds, birds I've seen elsewhere in the US and American birds I've seen as vagrants in the UK!

160. * Northern Harrier
161. * Savannah Sparrow
162. Horned Lark
163. Red-Winged Blackbird
164. Ring-Necked Duck
165. Pied-Billed Grebe
166. Great Blue Heron
167. * Killdeer
168. * Prairie Falcon
169. * Cackling Goose

And then, after an afternoon of paperwork for my position at Texas Tech, one more year tick on campus:

170. * White-Winged Dove
 
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February 16 - Lubbock & Ransom Canyon, TX, USA

With weekend upon us and my father down to visit from Pennsylvania, we could finally have a proper look around the town! After setting up a US bank account for me, the first stop was Lubbock's ranching heritage centre, which yielded a couple of birds for the year list:

171. House Finch
172. * Myrtle Warbler

Then on to the small town of Ransom Canyon to the east:

173. * Curve-Billed Thrasher
174. * Snow Goose
175. American Coot
176. Cedar Waxwing
 
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February 17 - Palo Duro, TX, USA

Went a little further afield today, up to Palo Duro canyon near Amarillo. But first of all, a lifer from the car near the town of Abernathy:

177. * Chihuahuan Raven

Then picked up a few more birds hiking around the (very impressive) canyon:

178. * Golden-Fronted Woodpecker
179. * Canyon Wren
180. * Spotted Towhee

And then... the motherlode! Found a bird hide with feeders:

181. * Pine Siskin
182. * White-Crowned Sparrow
183. * Black-Crested Titmouse
184. Brown Thrasher
185. * Bewick's Wren
186. * Red Fox Sparrow

All in all, the best bird day in Texas thus far.
 
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February 18 - Lubbock, TX, USA

No lifers today, but one year tick in a park after work:

187. * Ladder-Backed Woodpecker
 
February 23 - Quitaque, TX, USA

A very windy day at Caprock Canyon state park yielded a few birds for the list, including an unexpected lifer (who knew swifts wintered in Texas!?):

188. Ruddy Duck
189. Field Sparrow
190. * White-Throated Swift

But the real excitement happened during the 2 hour drive back to Lubbock; 2 lifers in a single journey, and both were pretty damn high on my Texas wishlist! Unfortunately the roadrunner didn't stick around to have its photo taken, but luckily they are pretty unmistakable birds.

191. * Greater Roadrunner
192. Green-Winged Teal
193. * Sandhill Crane
 
February 24 - Lubbock, TX, USA

A full day's birding locally around Lubbock... partly motivated by the continuing quest to get a photo of the apparently elusive roadrunner. Still no roadrunner pic, but got a few new birds from today. First up to Mackenzie Park for my second attempt at burrowing owls (no luck there either!):

194. * Western Meadowlark
195. Belted Kingfisher

Then up to Lubbock Lake National Monument for another trio of lifers:

196. * Bufflehead
197. * American Kestrel
198. * Sage Thrasher



Summary for February:

72* year ticks
27 lifers

* see entry for May 11
 
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March 1 - Lubbock, TX, USA

I don't exactly get a lot of birding done sat in the office all week, but today I got a lifer at work! Only the second time that's happened for me (I got my first grey wagtail at the University of Southampton back in c.2014) and the first time at Texas Tech :D

199. * Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
 
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March 2 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Went birding in the East of town with a friend of the owners of the B&B I'm staying in! The targets were Burrowing Owl and Ferruginous Hawk; 1/2 again!

200. * American Wigeon
201. Greater Yellowlegs
202. * Canvasback
203. Wood Duck
204. * Ferruginous Hawk
 
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March 3 - Lubbock, TX, USA

It was a cold one today! Started off at the Lubbock cemetary in -5C and light snow:

205. * Western Bluebird
206. * Audubon's Warbler

Then onto the trails behind 'Lake 6'; its amazing how quickly Lubbock stops and becomes wilderness...

207. * Eastern Phoebe
208. * Eastern Bluebird
209. Marsh Wren
210. * Lesser Scaup
211. * Redhead
 
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March 9 - Lubbock, TX, USA

I guess I'm running out of common winter birds in Lubbock because, despite an all round good day's birding, I only got one bird to add to this list! Also found another roadrunner, but still no photo...

212. * Brown Creeper
 
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March 10 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Perhaps I spoke too soon in my March 9 update, or perhaps the summer birds have started to come in. Retraced the same route as yesterday with significantly more success! By far the best birding day I've had in Lubbock, and finally got the last of the "Big 3" birds I wanted before moving to Lubbock (Roadrunner, Burrowing Owl, Sandhill Crane):

213. House Wren
214. * Lincoln's Sparrow
215. * Burrowing Owl
216. * Northern Bobwhite
217. Black-Crowned Night Heron
 
March 12 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Had to sit through a 'new employee orientation' meeting all morning, so I treated myself to a spot of birding after work, aiming to find a Wilson's Snipe which had been reported at McAlister Park. Conditions were... challenging to say the least; extremely foggy and quite damp. But I did manage one lifer.

218. * Buff-Bellied Pipit
 
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March 16 - Lubbock, TX

A return to McAlister in better weather in the vain hope of finding that snipe. No snipe of course, but I was treated to fantastic views of Rough-legged Buzzard (<10m away feeding on a jackrabbit) and a few other bits and pieces, including by far my best views of Burrowing Owl!

219. * Rough-Legged Buzzard
220. Least Sandpiper
221. * Say's Phoebe
 
March 17 - Ransom Canyon, TX, USA

I've been trying to work out for a while whether it's possible to Uber to and from Ransom Canyon... turns out it is!

222. Purple Martin
223. * Rock Wren
224. * Sharp-Shinned Hawk
 
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March 21 - Corpus Christi, TX, USA

Went down to Corpus Christi for a few days birding with an acquaintance from one of the Texas birding groups I'm now a member of. I can't overstate how well it went! Easily the best birding trip I've ever done! Over 3 days we got 109 species (plus 1 on the 4th day while I was doing tourist stuff), and ticked off an awful lot of birds from near the top of my wishlist! Went in with 5 main target lifers (Skimmer, Spoonbill, Green Jay, Caracara and Harris Hawk): got all 5 plus 31 more!!

First day in Corpus I was on my own, and decided to start of searching for warblers in the Rose Hill Cemetery:

225. Laughing Gull
226. * Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher
227. * Blue-Headed Vireo
228. * Orange-Crowned Warbler
229. * Northern Parula
230. * Great Kiskadee
231. * Black-Chinned Hummingbird

Then onto Hans Suter park for my first attempt at Corpus water birds, and the first of my 'big five':

232. * Black Skimmer
233. Forster's Tern
234. Snowy Egret
235. * Willet
236. * Black-Necked Stilt
237. * American White Pelican
238. Tree Swallow
239. * Sedge Wren
240. * Neotropic Cormorant
241. Western Osprey
242. Brown Pelican
243. Tricolored Heron

Then got 1 more back at my accomodation in the city:

244. Barn Swallow
 
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March 22 - Corpus Christi area, TX, USA

The first day birding with my local "guide" ;) Hit a lot of local site on one day, from Port Aransas all the way up past Rockport, and the number of year ticks reflect how productive the visits were!

First stop: Pollywog pond in the outskirts of Corpus, where I got to tick off the second of my Big Five:

245. * Loggerhead Shrike
246. * Bronzed Cowbird
247. * American White Ibis
248. * Long-Billed Curlew
249. * Purple Finch
250. * Couch's Kingbird
251. * Black-Bellied Whistling Duck
252. * Northern Crested Caracara
253. Blue-Winged Teal
254. * Least Grebe

*The purple finch remains a little controversial; there was quite a discussion about this bird over in the Q&A forum over whether it was Purple Finch or Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Consensus was mostly in favour of purple finch. Note that south Texas is outside the range of Purple Finch and my sighting, if accepted, would be the second-most southerly in the state...

Then a quick stop at Labontie park to look for Anhinga, which we did find (eventually), followed by another one! Additionally the underside of a concrete bridge carrying Route 77 (where we found the cliff swallows) may have become the least glamorous place I've ever picked up a lifer...

255. * American Cliff Swallow
256. Western Cattle Egret
257. Common Grackle
258. * Anhinga

Next Stop: Hazel-Bazemore Park in Calallen:

259. Carolina Wren
260. * Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

Then onwards towards Holiday Beach north of the city. Enroute, picked up two more lifers, including number 3 of my Big Five!

261. * Roseate Spoonbill
262. * Reddish Egret

Got a few more in and around Holiday Beach. I believe whooping crane becomes the rarest and largest bird on my life list (although I believe Great Bustard is heavier). Also got Glossy Ibis: a bird I have tried for and failed many times back in the UK!

263. * Whooping Crane
264. * Glossy Ibis
265. Pectoral Sandpiper
266. Lesser Yellowlegs
267. * Black Vulture
268. * Little Blue Heron

Then onto a couple of sites in Port Aransas, which unfortunately still showed some fairly heavy hurricane damage from Harvey. Still picked up a couple of year ticks at Leona Turnbulle Wetlands:

269. * Common Gallinule
270. American Avocet

All in all, not a bad day's birding ;) Beat my personal record for most lifers in a day, set last year in Playa del Rey, CA.
 
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March 23 - vicinity of McAllen, TX, USA

The third and last day of birding in South Texas was spent in the Rio Grande valley along the Mexico border. All sorts of strange and tropical birds down this way, including the green jay I have been dreaming of seeing for years :D

But first of all, we picked up a couple of birds enroute to the valley in the vicinity of Falfurrias, TX, including #4 of my Big 5:

271. * Harris's Hawk
272. * White-Tailed Hawk

Then onto Bentsen State Park in Mission, TX, where I completed my Big 5 at last :D In terms of the sheer quantity and quality of birds seen, I think this was easily my favourite stop of the whole trip, and green jay was definitely the standout star I had hoped it would be :)

273. * Lark Sparrow
274. * Clay-Colored Thrush
275. * Plain Chachalaca
276. * Inca Dove
277. * Black and White Warbler
278. * Broad-Winged Hawk
279. * Buff-Bellied Hummingbird
280. * Green Jay
281. * White-Tipped Dove
282. Black Phoebe
283. Common Yellowthroat
284. * Altamira Oriole

The B&W warbler was a relief because one of the others in my group had spotted one at Pollywog Pond the previous day which I had missed!

Then onto a final stop at Estero Llano where we picked up, among other things, a beautiful sora which I've been looking for ever since I moved to TX :)

285. * Mottled Duck
286. * Sora
287. * Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
288. * White-Eyed Vireo
289. * Olive Sparrow

In total for the entire trip: 65 year ticks, 49 US ticks (including 2, ruddy turnstone and red-breasted merganser, which were not year ticks) and 36 lifers. Certainly can't complain ;)



Summary for March:

92 year ticks
53 lifers
 
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April 6 - Lubbock, TX, USA

April hasn't started anything like as well as March did; after my first ever lifer-less birding trips in Lubbock last weekend, I did manage to get a couple new birds for the list today; although the star for me was a Greater Roadrunner that *finally* stayed long enough for me to get a photo!

Both year ticks today were from Clapp Park:

290. Chipping Sparrow
291. * Cassin's Sparrow
 
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April 7 - Wolfforth, TX, USA

Technically left Lubbock again today to go check out the various sites in neighbouring Wolfforth. Got a couple for the list:

292. * Brewer's Blackbird
293. Cinnamon Teal
 
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