Fires, Pewees, local updates, oh my

Saturday, April 30 - from Marfa Public Radio
"A Red Flag Warning is in effect today. Winds gusting up to 35 mph will be from the SW. Increased fire behavior is a threat with the extremely dry conditions. Balmorhea State Park is open. McDonald Observatory is open to the public and can be accessed from Fort Davis. Hwy 118 is closed at the Hwy 166 intersection north of the McDonald Observatory."

Otherwise, John Vanderpoel reported a Greater Pewee from the Homer Wilson Ranch portion of BBNP the other day, and posted a lovely review of Carolyn Ohl's Christmas Mountains Oasis in case any of you missed it!

Activities associated with Wildlife Weekends have been postponed until further notice, do call or e-mail ahead if you're interested in the bird walks or blacklighting and we'll do our best to arrange something. Last night's [informal, unscheduled] blacklighting was hosted at the Double Bacon, a private residence in Marathon, and we anticipate that the next few [informal, unscheduled] blacklightings will continue to be held there - again, please contact us for details. Unfortunately, our primary blacklight is on its way back (hopefully under warranty), but the Double Bacon has prime wall space and a porch light that's quite impressive!

Earlier in the week, for at least 2-3 days there was an adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird visiting feeders at the Double Bacon; he seems to have moved on. The Scott's Orioles who like to swing the feeders around until sugar water splashes out... they're still here, still swinging on the feeders!

Otherwise, we'd like to say 'hi' to folks on a boat near Titusville, FL ...and thanks for reading our blog!

Mass Audubon Post [Park] sightings for 4-28-11

This post is backdated for reference, we really appreciate folks letting us know what they've seen in the area when we can't cover it!

***

We had a successful late morning visit to The Post on April 28. And thanks to your directions, we also found the prairie dog colony with a number of burrowing owls north of Marathon. FYI, I've included a list of the birds our Mass Audubon group found at The Post. Thanks again for your assistance.
Rene Laubach, Mass Aududbon

Birds seen at the Post 4-28-11, 10:45 a.m. - 1:10 p.m.:

Wild Turkey-1
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk- 1 ad.
Zone-tailed Hawk-1 along Hwy 385 near Marathon
American Coot-2
Killdeer- 2 in marshy spot along road near The Post
Spotted Sandpiper-3
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher- male
Golden-fronted Woodpecker- female
Empidonax sp.
Vermilion Flycatcher- male
Western Kingbird-1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher--1
Bell's Vireo
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cactus Wren-h
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow Warbler-1
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler-1
Black-and-white Warbler- 1
Wilson's Warbler- male
Canyon Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lark Bunting- 2 males
Lincoln's Sparrow-1
White-crowned Sparrow
Summer Tanager- male, female
Blue Grosbeak- 3 males
Indigo Bunting- male
Orchard Oriole- male
Pine Siskin- 6+

Back in "fire" mode...

As of this morning, I heard from a Davis Mts Resort resident that the DMR was under mandatory evacuation orders, though I've not found it on any sites... but this news of evacuating the Balmorhea area from Marfa NPR's feed:
New fire behind Fort Davis Motor Inn. Seperately, Reeves County officials ask residents who live on the outskirts of Balmorhea, to come into town. Officials are evacuating area around Balmorhea Lake. Residents can get further information at a command center at City Hall.

http://www.marfapublicradio.org/


Edit - 6:42 pm from Texas Mountain Trails:

Via McDonald Observatory Due to wildfire in the area and very high winds, McDonald Observatory is closed for tonight's Star Party, and closed tomorrow, April 27, through at least noon. Also, due to wildfires in the area, Highway 118 NW of the Observatory between the Observatory and Kent (I-10) might be closed or reduced to one lane over the next few days.


Edit - 9:00 pm from Marfa NPR, bad news since these fires have been spreading mostly north and east:
Fire on Shurley Ranch about 26 miles south of Marfa.

Migration at Post Park!

This morning we finally had some decent numbers of migrants, 'first of season' critters and new species for the park. It felt a lot like my last trip to Mexico - every warbler was a Wilson's Warbler. We probably undercounted them because almost every blur of movement turned out to be one of them. Birds of interest are in bold; one critter not on the list is Golden Eagle, it was over the main road in Marathon around noon. As always, you have to check every 'vulture' in this county!

Post Park / Fort Peña Colorado:

1 Mallard (Mexican)
2 Blue-winged Teal
2 Green-winged Teal
1 Wild Turkey
1 Green Heron
15 Turkey Vulture
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 American Coot
1 Killdeer
20 White-winged Dove
1 Mourning Dove
4 Black-chinned Hummingbird
1 Belted Kingfisher
10 Golden-fronted Woodpecker
2 Ladder-backed Woodpecker
8 Vermilion Flycatcher
4 Ash-throated Flycatcher
12 Cassin's Kingbird
3 Western Kingbird
1 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
4 Bell's Vireo
1 Plumbeous Vireo
2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
10 Barn Swallow
3 Cactus Wren
1 Bewick's Wren
1 Marsh Wren
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3 Northern Mockingbird
8 European Starling
3 American Pipit (one was in full breeding plumage!)
5 Yellow Warbler
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)
15 Wilson's Warbler
1 Yellow-breasted Chat
3 Canyon Towhee
20 Chipping Sparrow
1 Vesper Sparrow
1 Lark Bunting
3 Lincoln's Sparrow
10 White-crowned Sparrow
16 Summer Tanager
1 Western Tanager
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Pyrrhuloxia
1 Lazuli Bunting
2 Indigo Bunting
2 Red-winged Blackbird
6 Brewer's Blackbird
1 Bronzed Cowbird
7 Orchard Oriole
6 Scott's Oriole
3 House Finch
2 Pine Siskin

Total species reported: 54


Post Road:

4 Scaled Quail
2 Wild Turkey
1 Swainson's Hawk
1 American Kestrel
1 Loggerhead Shrike
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Blue Grosbeak

Total species reported: 7


Considering that many of our 'regular suspects' were absent or low in number, it was quite the productive morning! We suspect that incubation is the culprit for those species keeping a low profile, hopefully those numbers will pick back up soon.

Davis Mts SP after the fire

Click here to go to the Texas Mountain Trail blog post about Davis Mountains State Park after the fire; photos are very telling. I hadn't realized how close the fire got to the lodge!

Hoary Bat revisited

For the full blog post to describe this bizarre photo, click here. No, the cactus is not trying to eat the bat... but close!