Monday, January 16, 2012

Gage Gardens, a light dabble

With two neighbors in tow, a leisurely stroll through the Gage Gardens this morning was a relaxing way to spend a holiday... before work and take-home finals, at least!

We moseyed as far as the benches overlooking the pond - sitting and letting the thirsty birds come to us made for very cooperative subjects. One duck was flushed from the pond upon our arrival and looked to be a female Blue-winged teal, but the checklist suggests that Cinnamon would actually be more likely - the bill did seem large but the face seemed pale. So ebird wins this round!

22 species (+2 other taxa) total

1 Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal Anas discors/cyanoptera (female/winter/backlit and flying)
1 Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
1 Merlin Falco columbarius (poor look as it darted behind trees)
1 Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
1 Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
3 White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
1 Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
1 Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
1 Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
6 American Robin Turdus migratorius
1 Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
10 Brewer's Sparrow Spizella breweri
1 Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus
25 Lark Bunting Calamospiza melanocorys
30 White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
1 Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
8 Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
2 meadowlark sp. Sturnella sp. (flyovers)
1 Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (scruffy looking)
12 Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
10 House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus
1 American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
4 House Sparrow Passer domesticus

4 comments:

  1. A nice list of birds for a nice stroll. My wife and I are going to be in Marathon Sunday afternoon February 26, then stay at the Marathon RV Motel until Monday afternoon the 27th before heading to Terlingua in the afternoon to check into our motel. Hope to visit the Gage Gardens and Post Park.

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    1. Fantastic! Let us know if there's any other local information we can help with - we should be around!

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  2. Finally a YHBL this winter. Its about time. I've been listening to every slight-trace of robotic screeching only to be disappointed. May they show up en masse soon.

    Glad everyone had a good time.

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  3. Superb photo of the Nutting's.

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