Greetings All:
I spent almost eleven hours in Hockley County yesterday and found quite a
lot of nifty birds.
A word of warning. The list of highlights may seem a bit long but we are
having, by recent years' standards, an outstanding shorebird season. This,
I suppose, should make up for the fact that, thus far, migrants songbird
numbers are very low.
In the list below I put IN BOLD the single migrant warbler seen during
eleven hours of birding, much of it spent at sites known to be good for
migrant warblers, during the last week of April, when warblers are
generally starting to pop in good numbers and variety. One migrant warbler
in eleven hours may be something of a record for this region on a 23rd of
April - a bad record!
The one exception, vis-a-vis songbirds, is that a decent movement of
thrushes appears to be underway.
Highlights: 16 Blue-winged Teals along Alamo Road, 34 Blue-winged Teals at
the Bison Road Playa, 2 Blue-winged Teals at Brashear's Park, 10
Blue-winged Teals at the Smyer Playa, 44 Blue-winged Teals south of Smyer,
14 Blue-winged Teals at the Sundown Water Treatment Ponds (WTP), 8
Blue-winged Teals at the West x 13th Playa in Levelland, 4 Cinnamon Teals
at the Bison Road Playa, 2 Cinnamon Teals at the Sundown WTP, 2 female
Canvasbacks at the Sundown WTP, 1 female Bufflehead at the Sundown WTP, 2
Scaled Quails along Alamo Road, 1 Ring-necked Pheasant in Petit, 1 Eared
Grebe at the Sundown WTP, 1 Snowy Egret at Brashear's Park, 1 White-faced
Ibis south of Smyer, 1 White-faced Ibis at the Sundown School area, 6
White-faced Ibises at the Sundown WTP, 16 White-faced Ibises at the West x
13th Playa, 1 Broad-winged Hawk along Alamo Road, 8 Black-necked Stilts
along Alamo Road, 14 Black-necked Stilts at the Bison Road Playa, 4
Black-necked Stilts at the Smyer Playa, 2 Black-necked Stilts south of
Smyer, 2 Black-necked Stilts at the Sundown WTP, 12 American Avocets along
Alamo Road, 158 American Avocets at the Bison Road Playa, 19 American
Avocets at the Smyer Playa, 10 American Avocets south of Smyer, 2 American
Avocets at the Sundown WTP, 1 Spotted Sandpiper at the Bison Road Playa, 1
Spotted Sandpiper at Brashear's Park, 4 Spotted Sandpipers at the Smyer
Playa, 2 Spotted Sandpipers south of Smyer, 2 Spotted Sandpipers at the
Sundown WTP, 2 Solitary Sandpipers along Alamo Road, 2 Solitary Sandpipers
at the Bison Road Playa, 1 Solitary Sandpiper at the Sundown WTP, 1 Greater
Yellowlegs along Alamo Road, 1 Greater Yellowlegs at the Sundown WTP, 1
Lesser Yellowlegs along Alamo Road, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs at the Sundown WTP,
1 UPLAND SANDPIPER along Alamo Road, 1 Long-billed Curlew at the Bison Road
Playa, 2 Stilt Sandpipers at the Bison Road Playa, 9 Baird's Sandpipers at
the Bison Road Playa, 4 Baird's Sandpipers at the Smyer Playa, 5 Baird's
Sandpipers south of Smyer, 2 Least Sandpipers at Bison Road Playa, 3 Least
Sandpipers at the Smyer Playa, 1 Least Sandpiper south of Smyer, 1
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER at the Bison Road Playa, 10 Western Sandpipers at
the Bison Road Playa, 1 Western Sandpiper at the Smyer Playa, 4
Semipalmated Sandpipers at the Bison Road Playa, 1 Semipalmated Sandpipwer
at the Smyer Playa, 4 Semipalmated Sandpipers south of Smyer, 28
Long-billed Dowitchers at the Bison Road Playa, 16 Wilson's Phalarops along
Alamo Road, 43 Wilson's Phalaropes at the Bison Road Playa, 49 Wilson's
Phalaropes at the Smyer Playa, 16 Wilson's Phalaropes south of Smyer, 38
Wilson's Phalaropes at the Sundown WTP, 1 Ring-billed Gull at Brashear's
Park, 1 Say's Phoebe near Petit, 4 Say's Phoebes in Pep, 1 Say's Phoebe at
Sundown City Park, 1 Ash-throated Flycatcher at Sundown School, 1 House
Wren in Pep, 2 Swainson's Thrushes along Alamo Road, 1 Swainson's Thrush in
Pep, 1 Hermit Thrush along Alamo Road, 2 Hermit Thrushes near Petit, 1
Hermit Thrush north of Levelland, 1 Hermit Thrush in Pep, 1 male WILSON'S
WARBLER near Petit, 1 Green-tailed Towhee along Alamo Road, 1 Green-tailed
Towhee at the Ropesville Cemetery, 1 Chipping Sparrow along Ellis Road, 8
Chipping Sparrows at Levelland City Park, 17 Chipping Sparrows in Pep, 2
Chipping Sparrows at the Smyer Playa, 11 Chipping Sparrows at Sundown City
Park, 1 Clay-colored Sparrow along Ellis Road, 2 Clay-colored Sparrows in
Pep, 1 Clay-colored Sparrow at Sundown City Park, 1 Brewer's Sparrow in
Pep, 6 female and 28 male Yellow-headed Blackbirds at the Smyer Playa, 4
female and 50 male Yellow-headed Blackbirds at the Sundown WTP, 12 male
Yellow-headed Blackbirds at the West x 13th Playa, 1 female and 1 male
Bullock's Orioles along Alamo Road, 2 female and 1 male Bullock's Orioles
near Petit, and 7 Pine Siskins at Sundown City Park.
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock