chris runk
11-09-2007, 01:09 PM
North-central Texas is a good area for migrating and wintering sparrows. Fortunately for Dallas birders all of the species that commonly occur can be found within 100 yards of the White Rock Lake shoreline! Your editor’s favorite sites are:
The two unmowed areas of natural prairie on the lake’s east side, the first at the southwest corner where Mockingbird intersects with Buckner Blvd. (Loop 12) and the second at Winfrey Point, west off Garland Road just north of the Arboretum. Savannah and Le Conte’s Sparrows reside in the bluestem grass during winter and can sometimes be flushed out into the small trees at the field’s edges. Once perched, these species remain motionless and can be studied at length. Mainly during fall migration but also throughout winter, up to a half-dozen additional sparrow species can be found in the weeds surrounding the native grasses here.
The Old Fish Hatchery adjoining the dam and spillway. These woods are the best place for White-throated Sparrows and both Spotted and Eastern Towhees. Song, Lincoln’s and Swamp (irregular) Sparrows are commonly found near the ponds. Fox Sparrows are most easily found when singing (often on sunny afternoons) fairly high in a small tree. Field Sparrows are present in the brushy habitat along the edges of the hatchery.
The steep grassy slope of the dam itself descending from the path on top, down to the hatchery woods at the bottom. This slope attracts a half-dozen or so sparrow species during fall and spring migration. Chipping Sparrows are to be expected and Clay-colored Sparrows can be common one year then completely absent the next. When not feeding on the slope, both species perch in the trees at the base of the hill. Usually a few Lark Sparrows and rarely a Savannah or Vesper Sparrow will pass through in the area as well. Mid-winter is best for finding Slate-colored Juncos along the path at the very bottom of this slope right where the woods begin.
The fields alongside the jogging path between the old water pump station at the south end of the lake and Tepee Hill to the northwest. These can be filled with winter sparrows, a fairly reliable spot for White-crowned and Harris’s Sparrows in mid-winter. If present, they are surprisingly easy to spot as they flush up into the scattered small trees. These two species, although never in large numbers at White Rock, are also possible east along the jogging path near Winfrey Point and farther north just past the bathhouse center.
The two unmowed areas of natural prairie on the lake’s east side, the first at the southwest corner where Mockingbird intersects with Buckner Blvd. (Loop 12) and the second at Winfrey Point, west off Garland Road just north of the Arboretum. Savannah and Le Conte’s Sparrows reside in the bluestem grass during winter and can sometimes be flushed out into the small trees at the field’s edges. Once perched, these species remain motionless and can be studied at length. Mainly during fall migration but also throughout winter, up to a half-dozen additional sparrow species can be found in the weeds surrounding the native grasses here.
The Old Fish Hatchery adjoining the dam and spillway. These woods are the best place for White-throated Sparrows and both Spotted and Eastern Towhees. Song, Lincoln’s and Swamp (irregular) Sparrows are commonly found near the ponds. Fox Sparrows are most easily found when singing (often on sunny afternoons) fairly high in a small tree. Field Sparrows are present in the brushy habitat along the edges of the hatchery.
The steep grassy slope of the dam itself descending from the path on top, down to the hatchery woods at the bottom. This slope attracts a half-dozen or so sparrow species during fall and spring migration. Chipping Sparrows are to be expected and Clay-colored Sparrows can be common one year then completely absent the next. When not feeding on the slope, both species perch in the trees at the base of the hill. Usually a few Lark Sparrows and rarely a Savannah or Vesper Sparrow will pass through in the area as well. Mid-winter is best for finding Slate-colored Juncos along the path at the very bottom of this slope right where the woods begin.
The fields alongside the jogging path between the old water pump station at the south end of the lake and Tepee Hill to the northwest. These can be filled with winter sparrows, a fairly reliable spot for White-crowned and Harris’s Sparrows in mid-winter. If present, they are surprisingly easy to spot as they flush up into the scattered small trees. These two species, although never in large numbers at White Rock, are also possible east along the jogging path near Winfrey Point and farther north just past the bathhouse center.