This week I decided to try my luck at Bob Woodruff park to see if there were any early migrants. I joined Suresh from Audubon Dallas forum for today's walk. It was good birding with him.
We decided to meet at 7:15AM. The sunrise was at 7:30 today and we decided to reach just before the sunrise to use the time better. When I started from home I thought the day would be warm and there was no need for a jacket. But I realized immediately after stepping out that it was a cold morning. Had to carry the jacket and it was cold :-)
I met Suresh at Woodruff parking lot. And from there we decided to checkout the pond and start birding the park edges(My favorite birding spot in the park). The birding was slow today not sure if it was because of the cold but we saw very little activity. We started off with some Yellow-rumped warblers and big group of Cedar Waxwings. We were photographing some sparrows and suddenly a Red-shouldered hawk flew and perched on a tree behind us. It was as if he wanted to be photographed and it was just for a moment :-)
After photographing the hawk we kept walking along the edge when suddenly the bird activity picked up. Initially we saw some American goldfinches then there was Brown thrasher then came yellow-rumped warblers, few sparrows and a long Blue-gray Gnatcher. Couple of Bluebirds flew over us too. There were couple of titmouse's too. We did see about 4 Brown thrashers chasing each other.
After that it was quite period. We headed towards the Parula bridge and decided to walk the trails towards the Learning center. You get a very good feel walking these trails. I always feel as if I'm back in India walking the forests there. Especially one stretch of the trail towards learning center. The trees are not huge but you do get a good forest feel. And in this trail we saw few Red-bellied woodpeckers, couple of Hermit thrushes and lot of Northern cardinals. We did see lot of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and White-throated sparrows while walking the trails.
After walking the trails past the learning center. I came back to learning center to see if the humming bird was back. I did see the Ruby-throated humming bird. My first hummer of the season. After this I decided to walk the trail close to the stream. Even before that in small grass patch near learning center I saw couple of small birds. When I checked them through Binoculars I could not believe what I saw. It was Scaly-breasted Munias(Nutmeg Mannikin). I was confused how these birds could be found here. I have never read any reports of this bird here. I thought it would be some birds that escaped(pet birds). After coming back home I read about these birds and looks like my assumption was correct. And it was strange to read that there are good breeding colonies in California and Houston. Interesting piece of information learnt for the day.
Also while walking the trail on my way back took some of the butterfly photographs. It was good day to see number of butterflies too.
Looks like my Tamron lens is having issues. Auto focus did not work today. I had to use manual focus during the day :-(
ebird : http://ebird.org/ebird/view/
Birds seen during the day.
We decided to meet at 7:15AM. The sunrise was at 7:30 today and we decided to reach just before the sunrise to use the time better. When I started from home I thought the day would be warm and there was no need for a jacket. But I realized immediately after stepping out that it was a cold morning. Had to carry the jacket and it was cold :-)
I met Suresh at Woodruff parking lot. And from there we decided to checkout the pond and start birding the park edges(My favorite birding spot in the park). The birding was slow today not sure if it was because of the cold but we saw very little activity. We started off with some Yellow-rumped warblers and big group of Cedar Waxwings. We were photographing some sparrows and suddenly a Red-shouldered hawk flew and perched on a tree behind us. It was as if he wanted to be photographed and it was just for a moment :-)
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| Red-shouldered Hawk |
After photographing the hawk we kept walking along the edge when suddenly the bird activity picked up. Initially we saw some American goldfinches then there was Brown thrasher then came yellow-rumped warblers, few sparrows and a long Blue-gray Gnatcher. Couple of Bluebirds flew over us too. There were couple of titmouse's too. We did see about 4 Brown thrashers chasing each other.
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| Brown Thrasher |
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| Eastern Bluebird |
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| Blue-grey Gnatcher |
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| Cedar Waxwing |
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| Mourning Dove |
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| Tufted Titmouse |
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| Hermit Thrush |
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| White-winged Dove |
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| Northern Cardinal |
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| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
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| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
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| Nutmeg Mannikin (Scaly-breasted Munia) |
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| Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
Also while walking the trail on my way back took some of the butterfly photographs. It was good day to see number of butterflies too.
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| Graphic Crescent? |
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| Common Buckeye |
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| Carolina Anole |
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| Tiger Swallowtail |
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| Dusky Blue? |
ebird : http://ebird.org/ebird/view/
Birds seen during the day.
| 1 | Mallard |
| 2 | Double-crested Cormorant |
| 3 | Black Vulture |
| 4 | Turkey Vulture |
| 5 | Red-shouldered Hawk |
| 6 | American Coot |
| 7 | Killdeer |
| 8 | White-winged Dove |
| 9 | Mourning Dove |
| 10 | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| 11 | Red-bellied Woodpecker |
| 12 | Downy Woodpecker |
| 13 | Blue Jay |
| 14 | American Crow |
| 15 | Barn Swallow |
| 16 | Carolina Chickadee |
| 17 | Tufted Titmouse |
| 18 | Carolina Wren |
| 19 | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
| 20 | Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
| 21 | Eastern Bluebird |
| 22 | Hermit Thrush |
| 23 | American Robin |
| 24 | Brown Thrasher |
| 25 | Northern Mockingbird |
| 26 | Cedar Wawing |
| 27 | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| 28 | White-throated Sparrow |
| 29 | Savannah Sparrow |
| 30 | Northern Cardinal |
| 31 | Great-tailed Grackle |
| 32 | American Goldfinch |
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