The Johnsons came up again from Eldorado yesterday to go birding here in the San Angelo area. The first stop was at the bird blind at San Angelo State
Eastern Bluebird
Park. Well, hey, the birds are back. I think we saw about 19 species there. Finches, warblers, sparrows, etc., plus a bonus. A not-often seen Spotted Towhee.
From there we went to the boat ramp and saw about 100 American White Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, several un-identified shorebirds. Pretty far away, but I think there were some Greater Yellowlegs, and some dowitchers. Also, the Harris’s Hawk put on another show for us.
We then headed for Twin Buttes Reservoir. We got on some of those heavily rutted back roads and at first we were a little disappointed as there were no birds to be seen. But we were rewarded when Suzanne yelled out that she had spotted an owl. It took the rest of us several minutes to see what she was seeing because of dense growth of trees and brush. But we did get a view of it finally and it was a beautiful white-faced Barn Owl. That was another lifer for me. But I could not get a clear view to get a usable photo.
After that we headed to Spillway Road. At the road leading to Spring Creek
Eastern Bluebird
Park we turned in and on the left we spotted what must have been about two dozen Eastern Bluebirds, and several Yellow Rumped Warblers. We spent nearly an hour observing and photographing the bluebirds, and I have two of the shots here.
Finally back in town, we stopped at the little lake off of Sunset Drive. We spotted Northern Shovelers, Pied-billed Grebes, Ring-necked Ducks and Gadwalls. Not a bad day at all. I think we ended up spotting 43 species.
Happy Birding!!
more photos at www.zellertexasphotos.com
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 