1st Annual Pasadena Birding adventure

Today I took a group out to El Franco to see what we could find. I decided to get there earlier to see what I could flush up. I definitely got looks of very cool birds. Before everyone showed up I did see the mating pair of pileated woodpeckers  and a scissor tailed flycatcher so my hopes were high for the group.

Scissor tailed flycatcher, photo by Shaun Owen

When everyone showed up we took to the gazebo and noticed a red shouldered hawk and some other common birds. I was able to "phish" out a few tufted titmouse along the ditch. Then we walked down the path a ways. Grace noticed something but because of the size I immediately disregarded it. Thinking it was dove or a mockingbird. She corrected me and sure enough it was a Yellow billed cuckoo. Now that is a find out at El Franco. We are able to get a very good look at it. The cool thing about these is that they are very secretive. Most people hardly get a look at one and we were able to see two! That is another addition to the list.

Some other birds seen included yellow crowned night herons, carolina wrens, carolina chickadees, tufted titmouse, red bellied woodpecker, eastern wood pewee, red shouldered hawk, ring necked duck, wood ducks, little blue herons, great egret, white ibis, and northern cardinals.

It was a successful day with a great addition to the list. Until next time, happy birding!

Current Moderate Year Count - 171 Species
Recently added - Yellow billed cuckoo

Ol stomping grounds

I went out to El Franco yesterday to find my "Chi"... Well there was a little action there. I heard that this past weekend was where all the birds were... According to Stephan major fallout occurred this past weekend. That wasn't the case yesterday but I did catch a few stragglers and added one bird.

First I was able to catch a Tennessee and a Orchard Oriole hanging around the beginning of the trail...

I continued down and the usual Eastern Kingbirds hung around like usual and then I found another flock. In this flock of birds was the Carolina Chickadee, Red Eyed Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, and a Blackburnian warbler (new one for the year).


Blackburnian Warlber, Photo by Shaun Owen

 That ended my trip... It was nice to get out and the weather was wonderful. This weekend is the 1st annual Pasadena Birding Adventure so hopefully we will get some nice warblers and a bunch of species. Until next time, Happy Birding!

Current Moderate Year Count - 170 Species
Recently Added - Blackburnian Warbler

Golden Cheeked Warbler...

So the past few days have been crazy. In my last job someone was dumb and I had to go testify for the past two days. I took the time in central Texas to take advantage of the habitat. I wanted to get a look at a real endangered species. The Golden Cheeked Warbler (GCW). Now this species is rare and causes alot of hooplah in central Texas. This is because it is on the endangered species list. It was added to the list in 1990 where it has remained due to habitat encroachment. The GCW prefers rocky hillsides of juniper so that's where we went.

I decided to check out prospect park in San Marcos first. Well needless to say I didn't come up with much. Just lots of vireos, house finches, and a juvenile lesser goldfinch.

House Finch, Photo by Shaun Owen

The next day we went further west to Pergatory Park and let me tell you how many painteds we saw... I think there were at least 20 painteds just at the entrance. When we drove into the park there was one on the road foraging.

Painted Bunting, Photo by Shaun Owen

Well we got to walking and I was just hoping to get a sound of a golden cheeked... We walked and walked. Finally I almost gave up. Meghan said "NO! We have to see this darn bird". Good thing we continued because about fifteen more minutes down the trail and I heard it. We got real quiet and just waited to see where exactly that sound came from... And sure enough!!! This guy spotted us just as I pulled up my camera. I was able to get a few clicks in before he went on his way. Hopefully he's out there repopulating the species somewhere.

Golden Cheeked Warbler, Photo by Shaun Owen

 Happy to see that guy and hopefully he will makes tons more of them so that 20-30 years from now when I actually decide to do a big year I can add his great grandchildren to my list. Until next time happy birding!

Current Moderate Year Count - 169 Species
Recently Added Species - Western Kingbird, Golden Cheeked Warbler

Common nighthawk

I went to pick up a package near beltway 8 and 45... And... Long story short they messed it up but I think it was fate. I walked outside and looked up. What I saw was a common nighthawk. That's a new bird. No picture :( until next time happy birding. Current moderate year count - 167 species Recently added - common nighthawk