5 May 2012 sightings

I managed to make it out of the house with neither point-and-shoot nor 'real' camera with me, couldn't find a notebook so an envelope had to do... cell battery was half gone and the park was full of people and an off-leash dog. All things considered, six birders from Houston took it in stride and still managed to find some goodies. Butterflies for the day included most of the usual suspects (Monarch, Queen, Red Admiral, Checkered White, Variegated Fritillary) and First of Season American Lady as well as West Coast Lady. The latter two were puddling upstream of the fence in what was left of some vegetation after some feral hogs left their mark.

Post Park:

20 Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
2 American Coot Fulica americana - heard only
2 Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
6 White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
2 Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
2 Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri
4 Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
6 Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus
1 Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens
8 Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis
4 Bell's Vireo Vireo bellii
4 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
2 Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus - heard only
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
2 Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
1 Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
1 Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
2 Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia - heard only
1 Canyon Towhee Melozone fusca
5 Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
1 Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana
1 Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
6 Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
1 Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
2 Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus - male displaying
5 Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
10 Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
4 House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus

First of season Desert Ironclad Beetle also made an appearance - they are wrinkly looking creatures that tend to startle into a faux death pose fairly easily.

To make up for lack of photos from today, here are some relevant bits from a our other blog, SeeTrail, about desert ironclad beetles. (2010)



Desert Ironclad Beetle, Genus:  Zopherus Omorgus.




After Post, I headed a few miles west to the Hwy 90 tank:

2 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
2 Mallard (Mexican) Anas platyrhynchos diazi
1 Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera
2 Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor
1 Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
1 Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerulea
1 Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
1 Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
2 meadowlark sp. Sturnella sp.
1 Bullock's Oriole Icterus bullockii