Category: Birding

The monthly ASCA field trips was to these two sites today. It was clear all day but cold in the morning warming to the 50s with a biting wind all day. We started at Hulsey around 8:45 and finished the oxidation ponds around 4 PM.

Species seen or heard at Hulsey:
• American Crow
• Turkey Vulture
• Fish Crow
• American Wigeon
• Greater White-fronted Goose
• Canada Goose
• Great Blue Heron
• Snow Goose
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Killdeer
• Carolina Chickadee
• Mallard
• Black Vulture
• White-throated Sparrow
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Northern Mockingbird
• Carolina Wren
• Horned Grebe
• Field Sparrow
• Bewick’s Wren
• Song Sparrow
• Common Loon
• American Pipit
• Belted Kingfisher
• American Coot
• Wilson’s Snipe

Species seen or heard at the Arkadelphia Oxidation Ponds:
• Canvasback
• Snow Goose
• Northern Shoveler
• Turkey Vulture
• American Coot
• Bufflehead
• Mallard
• Laughing Gull
• Black Vulture
• Ring-necked Duck
• Killdeer
• Great Blue Heron
• Gadwall
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Wilson’s Snipe
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Savannah Sparrow
• American Pipit
• Least Sandpiper
• Redhead
• Lesser Scaup
• Fish Crow
• Carolina Chickadee
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Mourning Dove

I went there today around 11 AM in hopes that the thousands of shorebirds reported the other day would still be there. They were not. I did see some Gadwalls, Widgeons, and Shovelers there though. As I came around a pond on the eastern edge to get a better look at them, my wife and I spooked something small in the weeds at the edge of the water. It came up and right back down and all I could tell was that it was not big. I hung around and waited, eventually he decided to fly elsewhere and I got a good look in binoculars. I saw the body and thought “rail-like” then I saw the beak and realized “Sora!”. A new life bird for me! I heard the noises it made and those were similar to the recordings I’ve heard. That’s important because I also heard rustling and that noise at two other nearby spots. I can only confirm one Sora but I think there were at least three.

Species seen or heard:
• Killdeer
• Great Blue Heron
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• House Sparrow
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Gadwall
• Northern Shoveler
• American Wigeon
• Carolina Chickadee
• Sora
• Great Egret
• Pied-billed Grebe

Arrived at the spillway at 7:40. I didn’t have much time as I was going to attempt to early vote again in a bit but I also want so time outdoors. I left 40 minutes later.

Species seen or heard:
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Carolina Wren
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Fish Crow
• White-throated Sparrow
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Eastern Towhee
• Belted Kingfisher
• Great Blue Heron
• Carolina Chickadee
• Tufted Titmouse
• Northern Cardinal
• White-crown Sparrow
• Dark-eyed Junco