chris runk
02-01-2007, 09:27 AM
The following was posted in February 2007 as a lengthy drought was ending. The shorebird habitat around the shrunken lakes which had attracted overwintering Dowitchers among other species, gradually disappeared!
"As area lakes begin to refill after recent rains, great habitat is evidently created as water covers the dense vegetation which had grown up during drought conditions. Thousands of ducks have been reported at Lake Tawakoni (Texbirds posts- Richard Kinney and Ron Baltzegar). Closer to home, two upper reaches of Lake Ray Hubbard, Wynn-Joyce Park and Columbia Park, are showing similar, if more modest, (mostly dabbling) duck numbers. A Jan 29th visit found hundreds of N. Pintails and A. Wigeons, >300 Ring-necked Ducks, about two dozen Canvasbacks, a Redhead or two, several Buffleheads, and huge numbers (~1000?) of Green-winged Teal right at the newly submerged shorelines."
"As area lakes begin to refill after recent rains, great habitat is evidently created as water covers the dense vegetation which had grown up during drought conditions. Thousands of ducks have been reported at Lake Tawakoni (Texbirds posts- Richard Kinney and Ron Baltzegar). Closer to home, two upper reaches of Lake Ray Hubbard, Wynn-Joyce Park and Columbia Park, are showing similar, if more modest, (mostly dabbling) duck numbers. A Jan 29th visit found hundreds of N. Pintails and A. Wigeons, >300 Ring-necked Ducks, about two dozen Canvasbacks, a Redhead or two, several Buffleheads, and huge numbers (~1000?) of Green-winged Teal right at the newly submerged shorelines."