Reeves County birding

This morning's challenge was to find a booby at our nearest large body of water. The commute to Canyon Lake to see a Brown Booby (that seems to have already left) just doesn't fit into our schedules. So we headed to Reeves County in search of water. We birded Co. Rd. 313 (noted on the list as 313) to the Sandia Springs Wetlands Project - unfortunately a total waste of time - and Lake Balmorhea (LB) before going to Balmorhea State Park (BSP).

Tricolored Heron, Lake Balmorhea

 A few 'first of season' birds were seen along with a few generally notable things - these herons were a nice surprise (at least two Tricoloreds have been around since early August), but the push of passerine migrants was what kept us on our toes. Admittedly, we did not cover every inch of the shoreline, so if there's a booby, it has evaded us until next time.

Young Yellow-crowned Night Heron at Balmorhea State Park.

Date: Sep 5, 2012
Species: 59

Locations:
Balmorhea State Park (FWTX 19) (BSP)
Lake Balmorhea (FWTX 20) (LB) <- most birds at LB, unless otherwise noted
Reeves Co - Co Rd 313 (313)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) 10
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 3
duck sp. (Anatinae sp.)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) 4
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) 30
Western/Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis/clarkii) 10
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) 2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) 1 (BSP)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 5
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 1
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 14
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 1
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 2
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Inca Dove (Columbina inca) 1 (BSP)
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris) 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) 1
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) 4 (BSP)
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) 1 (BSP)
Empidonax sp. (Empidonax sp.) 2 (BSP)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) 1 (BSP)
Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya)
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) 4
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) 7
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) 2
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) 1 (BSP)
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 2 (BSP)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 40
Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) 3
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) 1 (BSP)
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 6
Townsend's Warbler (Setophaga townsendi) 3 (BSP)
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) 2 (BSP)
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) 2
Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) 1
sparrow sp. (Emberizidae sp. (sparrow sp.))
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) 1 (BSP)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 2 (BSP)
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Eastern/Western Meadowlark (Sturnella megna/neglecta)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) 300 (313)
Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) 2 (BSP)
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)