Greetings All:
I managed to locate 105-106 (the jury is still out on my scaup
photograph) species in Lubbock County yesterday, despite the
'interesting' wind conditions, from 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM. Of particular
note, small songbirds were in very short supply - I did not see a
single Verdin, Bewick's Wren, or Ruby-crowned Kinglet despite hours in
appropriate habitat - and smaller songbirds are thought to have done
very poorly during the polar vortex. Highlights were nicely scattered
across the sites I visited and included:
1 Snow Goose at City Farms
6 Wood Ducks at Leroy Elmore Park
5 Wood Ducks at Whisperwood Pond
2 Wood Ducks at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 male Blue-winged Teal at MacKenzie Park
1 female and 1 male Cinnamon Teals at Mae Simmons Park
2 female and 2 male Cinnamon Teals at Ransom Lake
4 male Cinnamon Teals at Yellowhouse Canyon
2 female and 2 male Canvasbacks at Andrews Park
2 female and 2 male Canvasbacks at Lake Two
2 male Canvasbacks at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 female Redhead at Andrews Park
1 female and 1 male Redheads at Lake Two
1 possible female Greater Scaup at Lake Two
2 male Common Mergansers at Ransom Lake
3 Scaled Quails at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 Eared Grebe at Lake Two
6 Long-billed Curlews at City Farms
1 Wilson's Snipe at MacKenzie Park
1 Greater Yellowlegs at Andrews Park
1 Ring-billed Gull at Ransom Lake - normally not a highlight in March
but they vanished from the region after the polar vortex and this was
the only one I saw all day.
1 Neotropic Cormorant at Leroy Elmore Park
3 Turkey Vultures at City Farms
3 Turkey Vultures at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at the Lubbock Cemetery
1 Downy Woodpecker at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 Merlin at Whisperwood Pond
1 Prairie Falcon at City Farms
1 Eastern Phoebe at Ransom Lake
1 Say's Phoebe at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 Common Raven at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Lake Two
1 Tree Swallow at Lake Six
3 Tree Swallows at Lake Two
2 Tree Swallows at Ransom Lake
2 Barn Swallows at Lake Six
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch at MacKenzie Park
1 Canyon Wren at Ransom Lake
1 House Wren in my Lubbock yard
1 Marsh Wren at Ransom Lake - normally not a highlight in March but
this species is said to have done poorly during the polar vortex and
was the only one seen all day.
1 Carolina Wren at Yellowhouse Canyon
2 Eastern Bluebirds at Yellowhouse Canyon
1 Townsend's Solitaire at the Lubbock Cemetery
6 Cedar Waxwings at Ransom Lake
25 Pine Siskins in my Lubbock yard
14 Pine Siskins at Ransom Lake
2 Lesser Goldfinches at Ransom Lake
1 Brewer's Sparrows in my Lubbock yard
1 Swamp Sparrow at Yellowhouse Canyon - normally not a highlight in
March but this species is said to have done poorly during the polar
vortex and was the only one seen all day.
6 Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Yellowhouse Canyon.
Anthony Hewetson