[leasbirds] Highlights from Bailey, Lamb and Hockley Counties on 3 August
- From: Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, leasbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 14:41:55 -0500
Greetings All:
Whilst working on my field notes today, I realized that I had never posted
my highlights from last weekend's foray to Bailey, Lamb, and Hockley
Counties.
On Sunday, 2 August 2014, I rambled up to Muleshoe NWR from Lubbock. The
only highlight on the way was a sighting of 4 Cave Swallows just west of
Littlefield.
Muleshoe NWR was pretty good though, given the amount of water and shore at
Paul's Lakes, it should have been better. Paul's Lakes kicked out 4
American Avocets, 2 Snowy Plovers, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Least Sandpiper,
2 Western Sandpipers, and 9 Northern Rough-winged Swallows. The
HQ/Campground area kicked out 1 Scaled Quail, 1 Prairie Falcon, 2 Least
Flycatchers, 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and 1 Painted Bunting.
The drive up to Muleshoe and then eastward towards the Bailey/Lamb County
line kicked out one good stop: a flooded woodlot south of Muleshoe with 14
Scaled Quail and 2 Painted Buntings in attendance.
Just west of Springlake (Lamb County) I spotted 2 American Avocets, 1
Greater Yellowlegs, and 2 Lesser Yellowlegs in a roadside puddle. The
playa on the northern outskirts of Springlake was awesome: 14 Cattle
Egrets, 4 Black-necked Stilts, 18 American Avocets, 3 Greater Yellowlegs,
32 Stilt Sandpipers, 1 Pectoral Sandpiper, 6 'peeps', 1 Least Sandpiper, 6
Baird's Sandpipers, 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 2 Western Sandpipers, and 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallows. The playa near Circle was pretty good too:
1 Snowy Egret, 1 Cattle Egret, 7 American Avocets, and 3 Long-billed
Curlews. FM 168 down to the Lamb/Hockley County line kicked out only a
single hightlight: 6 Cave Swallows east of Fieldton.
I made two stops in Hockley County. The first of these was a major playa
(both sides of FM 168) at the intersection of FM 168 and Iowa Avenue. This
joint was jamming with highlights including 1 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Cattle
Egret, 1 White-faced Ibis, 11 Black-necked Stilts, 36 American Avocets, 22
Greater Yellowlegs, 35 Lesser Yellowlegs, 8 Stilt Sandpipers, 130+ Wilson's
Phalaropes, and 1 RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. The Smyer Playa was less rewarding
but I did spot 6 Black-necked Stilts, 2 American Avocets, 1 Spotted
Sandpiper, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, and 14 Wilson's Phalaropes amidst the muck
and mud.
The Red-necked Phalarope was, depending on the experts and/or references
consulted, a very bright first year bird (which seems unlikely) or a very
odd looking male in partial molt (which seems more likely). Nobody was
biting on female in partial molt (which would be most likely this early in
the season).
Lubbock County highlights on the way back: 1 Double-crested Cormorant and 2
Snowy Egrets at Maxey Park.
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
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- » [leasbirds] Highlights from Bailey, Lamb and Hockley Counties on 3 August - Anthony Hewetson