Courtesy of Chuck Sexton, Ph.D., Wildlife Biologist Balcones Canyonlands NWR

BALCONES SONGBIRD FESTIVAL – Faunal Lists
April 28 – May 1, 2006 (all four days)

BIRD LIST: (See separate list below for conspicuous *misses*)
Updated: May 8, 2006

Abbreviations:

h.o. = heard only
BCT = Back Country (Post Oak Cr) trip
CC = Cow Creek
C2C = Creeks to Canyons field trip
FFF = First for overall Festival list (probably more than I’ve marked)
FFR = First Record For Refuge (also = FFF, obviously)
Ops = Ops Center/Headquarters
SOOD = Shin Oak Observation Deck

Trip leader/observers are: CWS (Chuck Sexton), DS (Diane Sherrill), JFK (John Kelly), JM (Jean Martin), JN (Jean & Seay Nance), KaM (Kathy McCormack), KeM (Kelly McDowell), KK (Karen Kilfeather), ME (Michael Eason), RI (Rob Iski), WR (Bill Reiner Jr.).

I list at least one known location/sighting but not necessarily all. For less common species, please let me know if you have additional locations.

1. Wood Duck (4/29, New Salem)
2. Gadwall (Martin West)
3. Blue-winged Teal (Martin West, Corner Shore)
4. Green-winged Teal (Martin West)
5. Wild Turkey
6. Northern Bobwhite (heard at Victoria, elsewhere?)
7. Great Blue Heron
8. Cattle Egret (several flocks)
9. Green Heron
10. Black Vulture
11. Turkey Vulture
12. Osprey (4/28, Ops; 4/29, 1174 @ Beard)
13. Mississippi Kite (4 sightings, total 15+, New Salem, Doeskin, SOOD)
14. Sharp-shinned Hawk (4/30; C2C tour, DS)
15. Cooper’s Hawk (Beard, New Salem, Post Oak Cr)
16. Red-shouldered Hawk (4/29, New Salem, JM; nesting at Nance home, JN)
17. Broad-winged Hawk (1, 4/29, New Salem, WR)
18. Swainson’s Hawk (1, 4/29, Turner, WR)
19. Red-tailed Hawk
20. Crested Caracara (4/29; adult at SOOD; FFF)
21. American Kestrel (4/30, “just E of Ops”, DS)
22. Killdeer (Corner Shore & Lester pond)
23. Solitary Sandpiper (5/1, Corner Shore, CWS)
24. Spotted Sandpiper (CC)
25. Eurasian Collared-Dove (at least 2 on Doeskin Hill)
26. White-winged Dove (Bar-K, Doeskin, New Salem)
27. Mourning Dove
28. Inca Dove (Ops)
29. Common Ground-Dove (2 on CC Rd; 4/29, CWS; also KeM; FFF)
30. Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Simons, C2C, CWS; Round Mtn, JN)
31. Greater Roadrunner (Bar-K)
32. Eastern Screech-Owl (h.o. at Martin Lake, eve. of 4/29)
33. Great Horned Owl (h.o. at Martin Lake, eve of 4/29)
34. Common Poorwill (h.o. Flying X/Beard)
35. Chuck-will’s-widow
36. Chimney Swift
37. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (HQ and F. Johns feeders)
38. Black-chinned Hummingbird
39. Green Kingfisher (CC at 1st crossing; 4/29, WR; FFF)
40. Red-bellied Woodpecker (h.o. at Ops Center/New Salem)
41. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
42. Least Flycatcher (prob. id of calling Empid at New Salem)
43. Eastern Phoebe
44. Ash-throated Flycatcher
45. Great Crested Flycatcher
46. Western Kingbird
47. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
48. Loggerhead Shrike (E side Doeskin Ranch only)
49. White-eyed Vireo
50. Black-capped Vireo
51. Yellow-throated Vireo (h.o. New Salem, Beard)
52. Blue-headed Vireo (Who? Where?)
53. Warbling Vireo (4/29, New Salem, WR)
54. Red-eyed Vireo (h.o. in several locations)
55. Blue Jay (Ops, New Salem)
56. Western Scrub-Jay
57. American Crow (Ops, 1431)
58. Common Raven (Doeskin, Flying X)
59. Purple Martin (Turner)
60. TREE SWALLOW (4/29, Doeskin, JFK et al.; FFR)
61. N. Rough-winged Swallow (New Salem; Cow Cr.)
62. Cliff Swallow
63. Cave Swallow (Ops, 1174, Flying X)
64. Barn Swallow
65. Carolina Chickadee
66. Black-crested Titmouse
67. Canyon Wren (Flying X, CC Rd)
68. Carolina Wren
69. Bewick’s Wren
70. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
71. Eastern Bluebird (Doeskin)
72. Gray Catbird (1 near SOOD, 4/29, CWS)
73. Northern Mockingbird
74. European Starling
75. Cedar Waxwing (2 isolated flocks; CWS)
76. Nashville Warbler
77. Yellow Warbler (2+)
78. Golden-cheeked Warbler
79. Black-and-White Warbler
80. American Redstart (4/29, Victoria, JFK et al.)
81. Northern Waterthrush (4/28, New Salem, CWS)
82. Louisiana Waterthrush (nesting at Nance home)
83. Common Yellowthroat (4/29, New Salem, RI)
84. Yellow-breasted Chat
85. Summer Tanager
86. SCARLET TANAGER (Ops, 4/30; first spotted by Diana Ramirez; JFK et al.; FFR)
87. Cassin’s Sparrow (h.o.; Hoyer, across 1174 from Pond & Prairie Trail,
5/1, CWS; first tract record; FFF)
88. Rufous-crowned Sparrow
89. Chipping Sparrow
90. Clay-colored Sparrow (Simons, Turner, Flying X)
91. Field Sparrow
92. Vesper Sparrow (Turner, Flying X, WR)
93. Lark Sparrow
94. Black-throated Sparrow (Flying X)
95. Savannah Sparrow (Simons, Ops)
96. Grasshopper Sparrow (4/29, Simons, C2C)
97. White-crowned Sparrow (Post Oak Cr; Simons; Eckhardt)
98. Northern Cardinal
99. Blue Grosbeak
100. Indigo Bunting
101. Painted Bunting (most common ever!)
102. Dickcissel (JFK, Turkey Bend, etc.)
103. Red-winged Blackbird (New Salem, Turner)
104. Yellow-headed Blackbird (Turner; with BHCO)
105. Common Grackle (Ops, etc.)
106. Great-tailed Grackle (Lago Vista)
107. Brown-headed Cowbird
108. Orchard Oriole (Simons, etc.)
109. Baltimore Oriole (New Salem/Ops)
110. House Finch
111. Lesser Goldfinch (Ops, etc.)
112. House Sparrow (Lago Vista, etc.)

MISSES: This is a list of possible and likely species that no one seems to have reported. Some of these are regular migrants, some are breeding birds that we missed (some are getting rare), and finally, birds in ALL CAPS are resident in Refuge area.

Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Upland Sandpiper
ROCK PIGEON (resident in Liberty Hill?)
Common Nighthawk (first reported 5/3 on Refuge)
BELTED KINGFISHER (heard 5/3 on CC)
GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER (this assumes that all the Melanerpes woodpeckers heard at Ops Center were Red-bellied)
DOWNY WOODPECKER (prob. nesting in s.e. corner of Eckhardt)
Eastern Wood Pewee (heard at Simons, 4/22 & 5/3)
Empidonax other than Least?
Vermilion Flycatcher (absent at Simons this year?)
Eastern Kingbird
Bell’s Vireo
BUSHTIT
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
thrushes – any sp.
American Robin (possibly nesting in Liberty Hill, Bertram)
migrant warblers other than those listed above
CANYON TOWHEE
Spotted Towhee
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Bullock’s Oriole
Scott’s Oriole (nesting at Bob Mroski’s home in Lago Vista,
but not reported over the weekend)

HERPS:

Cliff Chirping Frog
Northern (Blanchard’s) Cricket Frog
Gray Treefrog
Gulf Coast Toad
Rio Grande Leopard Frog
Texas Cooter
Green Anole
Texas Earless Lizard
?Texas Spiny Lizard or E. Fence Lizard
Ground Skink
Prairie-lined Racerunner
Texas Spotted Whiptail (Doeskin)
Prairie Ring-necked Snake (4/29, Flying X, WR et al., someone has photos)
(2nd Refuge report)
Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Mtn. Cr. Ranch, ME, JFK et al.)
Rough Green Snake

MAMMALS:

Virginia Opossum
Mexican Free-tailed Bat (Kathy McCormack; detector)
Nine-banded Armadillo
Cottontail sp.
Rock Squirrel
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Coyote (calling at Beard)
Striped Skunk (roadkill on 1431; live at Beard)
Mountain Lion (possible tracks on Victoria)
Feral Pig (fresh sign at New Salem, etc.)
White-tailed Deer

BUTTERFLIES:

Pipevine Swallowtail
Giant Swallowtail
Checkered White
Dogface Sulphur
Sleepy Orange
Reakirt’s Blue
American Snout
Gray Hairstreak
Gulf Fritillary
Variegated Fritillary
Question Mark
Red Admiral
Buckeye
Red-spotted Purple
California Sister
Monarch
Queen
Duskywing sp. (Horace’s?)