Junction, Texas trip report

[lulubelle]

Susan Thrower and I left Friday May 30 and drove to Junction, Texas. Our stops included Pedernales Falls SP, Junction (tennis courts, city park, Flatrock Rd, high school), S. Llano SP, MO-Ranch, Kerr WMA, & Enchanted Rock SNA.
Let me preface the rest of the post with the fact that the BG Gnatcatchers were the absolute trashbirds of the trip and Painted Buntings ran a close 2nd!!!

We stayed at the Legends Inn in Junction for Fri & Sat nights and at MO-Ranch Sun night. Rhandy Helton guided us around the city and S. Llano SP Saturday morning, after that we were on our own. As we opened the door to leave the hotel to meet Rhandy, we were greated by a beautiful male Painted Bunting sitting atop a tree directly acroos from the hotel, singing it's heart out! What a way to start the day! The weather was great while were there, although a bit warm midday (no humidity - yeah!!!). If you haven't been to MO-Ranch, I really recommend it- at least as a day trip if you are driving through. The grounds are beautiful and the birds are good!
I don't want to make a long post, but I think we got some great birds - so if you can bear with me! 71 species total!
N. Bobwhite - heard
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Red-shoulder hawk
Red-tailed hawk
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Greater road-runner
Common Nighthawk
Chuck-wills-widow - heard
Chimney Swift
Black-chinned Hummer
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
E. Wood Pee-wee - seen gathering nesting materials!
Acadian Flycatcher- heard
Black Phoebe - 2 sitting side by side on the river bank
Vermillion Flycatcher - male & female
Great-creasted Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher
W. Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Bell's Vireo
Black-capped Vireo: 1 at S. Llano SP & 3 seen, plus heard at least 1 more at Kerr WMA!!
Yellow-throated Vireo : Mo-ranch
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
W. Scrub Jay - heard
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cave Swallow
C. Chickadee
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Canyon Wren
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2 on nest, feeding young: Pedernales Falls SP
Am. Robin - Hunt, Tx
N. Mockingbird
Golden-cheeked Warbler - S. Llano Sp & poss heard at Kerr
Yellow-breasted Chat - and were they chatty!!
Summer Tanager - male & female
Canyon Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Lark Sparrow - awesome looks!! One with nest near by!
Black-throated Sparrow
N. Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting - 3 male & 1 female
Painting Bunting - everywhere singing away!
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole - male & female gathering nesting materials at tennis courts! Building nest in tree across from tree with Bullock's nest!
Bullocks Oriole - male & female with active nest - watched them feeding young!
House finch
Lesser goldfinch - heard them make noises never head before & interesting flight patterns too! Saw one on a stalk in a field of wildflowers - amazing!
House Sparrow
E. Starling

We had a great time and I think we got a very decent list, even if we just missed migration! I got 6 out 9 target lifers - I am not complaining! It was an absolute treat to see the nesting birds and those building nests - usually we are looking for migrants and don't get to see this activity. We had amazing multiple views of the Black-capped Vireos at Kerr - wouldn't you know - didn't have my camera out!! Stupid me!!

[tomjudd]

Sounds like you had a great trip, Laura.

That's quite an impressive list of birds you saw and heard.

Congratulations!

Best wishes,

Tom

[bitternuthin]

I was down there this weekend as well and saw a bunch of the same birds but Hawks were making a big no show. We only saw one Cooper's Hawk total, it was very strange.

Hope you had as good a time as I did down there, it's such a beautiful place.

Cameron

[lulubelle]

Thanks Tom, we thought it a decent list! There were a couple of birds that I was hoping to get that are common for the area, such as the Scott's Oriole & Bushtit, but they were no shows. Can't really complain and that just means I need to go back again to look for the others!

Cameron,

We thought that the area was strangely devoid of raptors. We actually got 2 RTH's in the area around Junction, but they were both spread out & on different days. We were really hoping for a Zone-tail, but no go. Didn't get a single kingfisher either - thought that odd as well. Where did you stay and what areas did you bird?

[bitternuthin]

We stayed at the Day's Inn and just birded South Llano SP and Walter Buck. We were able to watch two Green Kingfishers just down the river from the bridge into the park. The bridge also is where we saw the Black Phoebes.

I think that Zone-tailed Hawks are a conspiracy made by ornithologists to increase tourism. The Black-capped Vireos were so easy to find but certainly not the Zone-tailed Hawk.

But South Llano was extremely nice and capped a wonderful month of May in which I got 80 lifers from all around the state.

Cameron

[lulubelle]

2 Green Kingfishers - lucky you! I have seen them at Neal's Lodges, but was hoping to get one again. I kept scanning the low trees along any portions of the river that we could see, but didn't spot one. Did you see any Bushtits while you were there? Rhandy told us we could see them on Fawn Trail, near the area where it becomes more like a grassy savanah, but all we got were gnatcatchers! We got a back side view of the Black-capped & heard 2 more at S. Llano, but at Kerr, they seemed all over the immediate area we were looking in. I got one as soon as we parked across from the shleter on the right side of the road, by fawn & doe pastures. I couldn't believe how easy they were to hear & see!

I loved S. Llano SP - it is a great park and I can't wait to be able to go back! However, I would like to go back in the fall or earlier spring when it would be a touch cooler. I am hoping that Susan will be game to going back in the fall.

I think you are right about the Zone-tail! Rhandy says he's seen one flying over the high school, but it obviously didn't want to show itself while we were there. If I read the info correctly, it appears that the Zone-tails nests somewhere in or near the state park in San Angelo. Gives me a good reason to visit that park as well!!

[Hermarco]

If you haven't been to MO-Ranch, I really recommend it- at least as a day trip if you are driving through. The grounds are beautiful and the birds are good!Thanks for the suggestion - I've added to my trip itinerary in August. Hope that is still a good time of the year for birding--that it's not too hot...

[hookbilledkite]

Zone-taileds are definitely out there, you just need to check out every single turkey vulture while in the Edward's Plateau. I have had great luck seeing Zone-taileds around Kicakapoo Caverns State Natural Area (Found Nest in 1993), Lost Maples State Natural Area as well as South Lllano River. In winter, they can also be seen in the Rio Grande Valley, especially anywhere from World Birding Center in Mission west to Falcon Dam.

I was lucky enough to find a Zone-tailed Hawk one winter in Huntsville State Park, which was the only record for east Texas.

Oscar Carmona
hookbilledkite@hotmail.com
www.freewebs.com/texasbirdingtours (http://www.freewebs.com/texasbirdingtours)