Dallas to Anahuac, Texas: January 2007

THE AUDACIOUS BIRDER
Texas: January 12-17, 2007
124 species, 5 Life Birds

I planned a winter birding trip to Texas to try to see some new sparrows. Unfortunately just days before my planned departure a winter blast from the Arctic descended on the lower 48 states and was headed as far south as the Gulf of Mexico by Monday. I had made too many advance plans to cancel the trip so I packed up all the best rain gear and winter storm gear I had and early Friday morning January 12, I flew from SFO to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. I arrived around mid-day and drove straight to the Fort Worth Nature Center, just west of Fort Worth. A light rain began to fall as I reached the entrance kiosk. I drove to Lake Worth and walked out onto a dyke across the lake. There was little action in the lake, just some American Coots, Double-crested Cormorants, Bonaparte’s Gulls, and Great Egrets. In the trees beside the lake were Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Mourning Dove, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The rain began to fall more steadily so I drove over to the Visitor Center and went inside to see if I could observe any birds at the feeders from the large pane glass window. There were many Field Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos but not the sparrow I was seeking. The rain continued to fall but due to the lack of activity at the feeder I decided to try my lot on the nature trail. It’s a lovely place to take a nature walk and one advantage of taking it in the rain was that I was the only person there.

As I walked the nature trail I saw more birds typical of winter in the south but still no target bird. There were many American Robins, American Goldfinches, Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures circling overhead and lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers. A bird flew into a tree nearby. I got my binoculars on it and was surprised to see a VARIED THRUSH. Varied Thrushes winter on the coast of California and I have seen many of these beautiful birds but I was shocked to see one in Fort Worth, Texas. I thought about filming it but then thought that was silly when I can see them at home. I didn’t actually know there were Varied Thrushes in Texas. I didn’t think any more about it though because I was looking for something in particular. It was raining steadily by this time so I decided to walk back to the visitor center and pick up a bird list. By the time I reached the visitor center my outer clothes were soaked while inside I was snug as a bug. I went inside and a man came from behind the counter and asked if he could help me. I told him I saw a Varied Thrush and he looked at me in amazement. I said, I didn’t know there were Varied Thrushes here and he said there aren’t. I asked for a bird list which he gave me and sure enough there was no Varied Thrush on the list. He pulled out his copy of Sibley and there was one green dot in the vicinity of Dallas-Fort Worth! Wow, I was now a green dot in Sibley. He looked at me dubiously and asked where I had seen it. I said I didn’t know the name of the trail as I was just wandering looking for sparrows. He directed me to a sparrow location but it was past 4:00 PM by that time and it closed at 5:00 PM so I had little time. The temperature was dropping fast too. I walked the area he indicated but the birds were hunkering down for the night so as closing time approached I left and decided to try the Nature Center again on the last dayof my trip if time permitted.

I drove through tacky downtown Fort Worth and then tacky downtown Dallas and then 37 more miles east to Lake Tawakoni where I planned to camp. They lock the gates in state parks in Texas at 10:00 PM so I had to get there before then in order to camp. As I was filling out a permit a truck pulled up and a ranger hesitated at his door unable to pull himself out into the cold. If he was talking to me I couldn’t hear him over his diesel truck noise so he finally got out and asked me what I was doing like I was an insane ax murderer. I said, camping. Oh, he said, well I lock the gate at 10:00 PM so that’s why I was asking. I thought to myself, no you were asking because you think I am insane to camp in the cold and rain. I picked out a spot; they were all open as I was the only person there and just laid out my sleeping bag in the back of the Grand Cherokee I had rented. It was still raining and it seemed pointless to set up my tent in the rain. The ranger drove by my camp site three times before he was convinced I really intended to camp, and left for the night. I left the back hatch open and read a book until sleep overcame me. I woke up repeatedly during the night due to rain pounding the car roof.

I got up early to a drizzle and 35 degrees. I set up my little single burner stove on the ground and stood over it to keep warm as it heated up my water for coffee. A new ranger came by and asked me if was cold enough. He asked me if I was joining the birder group and I said I was a birder but knew nothing about it. He said that the leader was expecting birders from as far away as 100 miles. It rained all day long and 35 turned out to be the high temperature that day; I never saw another birder that day or any other day for the rest of my trip. I looked around the Tawakoni State Park but could only find Field Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Eastern Phoebe, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, and Eastern Meadowlark. So I left the state park and drove around the lake stopping at Sabine River to check the river banks. I found several Swamp Sparrows there and as I was walking back to the car an adult BALD EAGLE flew overhead. Next I drove to the open field owned by the Dallas Audubon Society near the Thousand Trails Campground. I stupidly pulled off the pavement on the turnaround in case someone else wanted to join me. I could see that the adjacent grass was quite saturated from the extensive rains from the day before but figured I would have no problem getting out with a 4x4 Grand Cherokee. I crossed the fence and walked across the open field looking for Longspurs. It was raining harder and harder but I was determined. Birding Texas by Watter & Elwonger says that the far eastern side of this field is good for wintering Sedge Wren and LeConte’s Sparrow. I saw no Longspurs but reached the eastern edge and found a large mixed sparrow flock. Bingo! I saw my first HARRIS’S SPARROW in a tree at the edge of the field. The blue stem grass was full of sparrows, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, VESPER SPARROW, Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow. I didn’t dare bring my ipod or camera across the field in that driving rain so I had to rely on my whistling capabilities to draw out the birds. One sparrow popped up briefly as I was looking at a Harris’s Sparrow that appeared to have a yellow supercilium but it immediately dropped back down into the thick weeds and out of sight before I could identify it. I felt it was a LeConte’s but the look was all too brief to call it anything at all. I walked around the grasses nearly to the reservoir’s edge and even through the grass trying to flush something interesting but the LeConte’s, if it was even there, refused to reveal itself. So I started to walk back across the field to the car. I crossed a flock of American Pipits but no longspurs. I got in my car and started to pull forward but the car wasn’t moving. I opened the door and accelerated but saw only the rear wheels moving. Oh god, it was not a 4x4 after all. The wheels spun around and around digging a hole about 12 inches deep. It was raining hard and it was cold and I was in a field not even in a town. I called AAA and they sent Bubba out to tow me out.

I needed to get to Stephen Austin State Park outside of Houston, a five hour drive, before the gate locked so it was time to give up on LeConte’s, Sedge Wren, and longspurs for the time being. I had to drive through Dallas to get to Houston so I decided to stop at White Rock Park downtown on the way. This park is usually packed on weekends but due to the incredibly execrable weather there were only one or two people there. My rain pants were a little damp inside because water will permeate even clothes that call themselves waterproof if exposed long enough to a driving rain as I had done. No matter. I got out and walked past the spillway where there were hundreds of Bonaparte’s Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls and across the dyke to the pump house. Across from the pump house a big flock of MONK PARAKEETS were perched on the power towers. I could see their nests from last year on the cross rails. Even though these parakeets were clearly introduced birds, they are countable on a life list as these birds have established a viable colony. I walked a trail through the wood back to the car and saw a White-winged Dove. Then it was off to Houston. I pulled into Stephen Austin State Park outside of Houston with plenty of time. Incredibly there were other people camping there. I found a good spot and parked. As I lay on top of the sleeping bag in the car reading someone pulled up and said “how y’all doing?” I ignored him because I assumed he was talking to someone else since I was alone and as we all know “y’all” is plural. Something made me turn around though and I’ll be darned if it wasn’t a ranger talking to me. I assumed he figured no way a woman would be camping alone. He asked me to register in the morning and then bid me good night. Before I fell asleep I heard two BARRED OWLS calling to each other in the woods and a pack of coyotes howling.

On Sunday morning I got up as early as possible in order to arrive at dawn at Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. I knew my chances of actually seeing a Prairie Chicken were dim but this was another good place to look for the elusive Sedge Wren and LeConte’s Sparrow. I arrived at dawn (I never saw the sun the entire trip) and walked the Pipit Trail. I really liked this place and would like to go back one day when the Prairie Chickens are booming (after February 1 apparently) and look in earnest for them. On the pipit trail I came across no LeConte’s Sparrows or Sedge Wrens but did find one SPRAGUE’S PIPIT in the trail that I was able to film despite the poor conditions. As the pipit trail curled around it passed a wooded area where I saw a white possum. After the pipit trail I tried to walk the Sycamore Trail but not only was it submerged in water about 50 yards in; it was blocked by a veritable river about 100 yards in. It had rained so hard the past two days that the trail was literally a river. I turned back and decided to drive the auto tour instead. I stopped at various locations and played my Sedge Wren song and LeConte’s Sparrow songs on my ipod but to no avail. I got out and checked some appropriate habitat but oddly enough could only find House Wren and Marsh Wren which are not even as common as Sedge Wren. It was very odd. I heard a Bobwhite making a partial song. A couple of CRESTED CARACARAS flew around and then I saw a large hawk perched on fence and got out my spotting scope to get a better look and there in the mist was a WHITE-TAILED HAWK. The viewing was bad as it was misty with very low visibility. Some Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes flew overhead and there were many ducks in the flooded fields, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, and Ruddy Duck. Around the marshy areas there were a lot of Common Yellowthroats and one Orange-crowned Warbler. On the auto tour I found a Swamp Sparrow and a Lincoln’s Sparrow but no LeConte’s or Sedge Wren. After the auto tour I decided to drive the Katy Rice Fields outside of Houston. The habitat looked promising but there were no shoulders to pull into in most places and it’s all private property so that birding is strictly by the roadside which is my least favorite birding. I saw a FERRUGINOUS HAWK and a PEREGRINE FALCON flying over, a field of about 30 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, and two WOOD DUCKS in a creek. It was still raining and I wasn’t enjoying the roadside birding so I decided to head on down to Anahuac NWR on the Gulf Coast.

I arrived at Anahuac around 3:30 PM. I checked the Willows and saw a gorgeous male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER and a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. I drove around Shoveler Pond and saw TRI-COLORED HERON, ROSEATE SPOONBILL, WHITE-FACED IBIS, WHITE-TAILED KITE, MERLIN, and one alligator. After dark I parked at the Yellow Rail prairie and played a tape hoping desperately for one to respond but heard nothing other than a SHORT-EARED OWL yelping across the road. I did not believe my friend Ken when he told me to take bug spray with me to Texas even in January; so I had none. I had on my rain gear but there were thousands of mosquitoes and they attacked in the only place they could—my face and my hands. I was bitten repeatedly on my hands. Then I felt something sting my lower lip. One of the little bastards had bitten my lower lip which immediately swelled the size of a bicycle tire. For the first time in years I had no wrinkles around my lips. After an hour of fighting off malicious mosquitoes and only hearing one lone CLAPPER RAIL I decided to check into a hotel in Winnie, TX and tend to my wounds. At the hotel I looked at my face in the mirror and was shocked to see my fattened lip and swollen hands.

It continued to rain all night and into the morning. I dragged myself out of bed determined to arrive at the Yellow Rail prairie early. My enthusiasm was checked as I awoke to yet another day of rain. I pulled on my rain gear and headed back out to Anahuac anyway. Even though I only had a pair of gortex lined boots on I walked out into the marshy prairie in ankle deep water in the driving rain trying to flush a Yellow Rail. I could hear some partial vocalizations that I took to be the Yellow Rail. No matter how far into the marsh I walked in the water the rail always stayed just five feet ahead of me at all times. I was afraid to continue because I was wearing the only pair of boots I had and if they became saturated I would have been in wet boots the remainder of the trip. After an hour I gave up on the Yellow Rail and tried walking Salt Cedar Road. I walked up and down in the wind and rain but only saw more Savannah Sparrows. I drove to the end of the road at the East Bay and saw some ROSEATE SPOONBILLS another MERLIN and a BALD EAGLE. At the end of the road I saw a few RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS in the bay. I drove back to Salt Cedar Road and found more CRESTED CARACARAS and another FERRUGINOUS HAWK. I drove around Shoveler Pond and saw GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, MOTTLED DUCK, WHITE IBIS, WHITE-FACED IBIS, AMERICAN KESTREL, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, SWAMP SPARROW, and WHITE PELICAN. I walked up and down Salt Cedar Road but saw no LeConte’s and no Sedge Wrens but did flush two WILSON’S SNIPES. Curiously I saw yet another HOUSE WREN. There was one LITTLE BLUE HERON but still no Sedge Wren but amazingly another HOUSE WREN. On my way out I saw a BOAT-TAILD GRACKLE in a flock of several dozen White-faced Ibis.

Having failed in the Sedge Wren/LeConte’s Sparrow department once again, I left Anahuac and headed south on the Gulf coast to Aransas NWR. I arrived with just an hour left in the day and went immediately to the observation tower. I had gone to the trouble of bringing my big 77 mm APO Leica spotting scope for this very purpose and I was glad I did. I walked up to the deck with my scope in hand. The rain had stopped but the wind was blowing hard. Even with my sturdy Carbon One 440 Bogen tripod my scope shook in the wind. At first all I could pick out were a few AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS. But then there out in the slough were two WHOOPING CRANES! These shy elegant birds with a 77 inch wing span were once nearly extinct from a low of 15 in 1941 but now to over 450 in North America today. I felt so privileged to see these magnificent creatures before they depart this old earth. Aransas NWR hosts the largest flock of wintering Whooping Cranes in North America but they can only usually be seen from this observation deck or on a boat tour which was out of the question in this foul, treacherous weather. I took the auto tour on the way out hoping for an owl but only saw a few White-tailed Deer. I drove down to Goose Island which is across the Jack Peninsula from Aransas to camp for the night. I paid my camping fee and found an open spot. I got up early and was huddled around my little single burner propane stove sipping coffee at 6:30 AM when the camp host came by. He shinned his head lights on me so I turned my back hoping he would leave. What was he doing up so early? He got out and started writing down my license plate and taking my name. He handed me a permit and told me to pay on my way out. Incredulous, I said I had already paid and he said sorry ma'am and left.

On Monday it wasn’t raining but it was very windy. I arrived at Aransas before the visitor center opened so I headed back to the observation tower and looked again for the Whooping Cranes. The same pair from the day before was out in the slough dancing and eating. They were too far out to film but it was a joyous way to start my day despite the foul weather. Also in the slough were American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, and Dowitchers. I next took the entire Rail Trail, both Birding Trails, and the Heron Trail trying desperately for the Sedge Wren or LeConte’s. I found neither. However, at the Rail Trail I was delighted to find a wintering NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, Orange-crowned Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, and LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER. I found one LITTLE BLUE HERON, another MERLIN, more WHITE-TAILED HAWKS, CRESTED CARACARA, and one OSPREY. I checked the auto tour one more time but only saw a few Javelinas and no birds before leaving to try my luck somewhere else for Sedge Wren/LeConte’s. I drove two hours north up the Gulf Coast to Brazoria NWR Birding Texas says it is only open sporadically but actually it is open daily sunrise to sunset and in addition they have added a discovery center and two walking trails. I walked the trail and saw a Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, and some Sandhill Cranes. At the marsh I found another Marsh Wren but no you know what. I checked all the likely areas for you know what but only saw Savannah Sparrows. I saw one suspicious looking sparrow in some short grass and walked out into it only to have the bird literally vanish before my eyes. Amazing how those little buggers do that. It was bitterly cold with a brisk wind so I opted for the auto tour. The only new bird I saw was a Black-necked Stilt. I was getting desperate and also having a lot of self doubt. What was wrong with my birding strategy? Was I just a bad birder? Was I just overlooking the Sedge Wrens and LeConte’s? Was I just having incredibly bad luck? I was starting to feel bad. I lingered too long at Brazoria NWR not leaving until the bitter end when the wind and cold had me scurrying to my car after each excursion. It was time to make the long drive back to Dallas. I wanted to go back to Attwater which I really enjoyed but I knew with the foul weather on the way I needed to get to Dallas before morning or I would be stuck out on the interstate all night or worse in the morning. So I started up I-45 north for the long drive back to Dallas. Why do so many people live in Dallas anyway? I can understand living in Houston; it’s close to the coast and beaches but Dallas? It’s far inland, it’s cold in winter and hot as hell in summer and what is there after all? What is the attraction? I don’t understand why it has become such a huge metropolis. What is the draw? The draw for me was a cheap ticket to DFW Airport, Harris’s Sparrow and possibly Smith’s Longspur. As I started up I-45 the Arctic blast that had crippled the Midwest descended on Texas. A freezing rain came down and every single overpass and bridge was covered in ice. Soon it was sleeting and freezing rain was falling. The temperature plummeted to 29 degrees. As I traveled up the interstate it got so bad that I was leaning all the way into the passenger’s seat looking through a quarter sized area on the windshield, the only area where ice had not completely blocked my vision. Eventually I was forced to exit the freeway and scrap my windshield in order to continue. I thought about just sleeping at a rest area but all the picnic areas and the rest stops were completely overtaken by truckers. I do not like truckers. They spew carbon into the air, they are incredibly inefficient, they are moving atom bombs easily able to crush a car in a collision, they leave their trucks idling all night, spewing more carbon into the air while they sleep at rest areas, they block access to picnic tables at the picnic areas, and they are morons. Buy local, please! The rest area was completely full of idling reprobate truckers; it was too noisy for me so I continued on to Dallas. I could only go about 50 MPH maximum due to the inclement weather, finally arriving in Dallas at 11:30 PM. I took the first hotel I could find as it was too late to make the 10:00 PM deadline at Tawakoni SP and collapsed exhausted in bed. I had intended to sleep in—what was the point in getting up early in this weather?-- but forgot to turn the alarm off and was awoken at 6:00 AM to an insistent alarm 30 feet away so I had no choice but to get up. I packed my bags and left but not before scrapping two inches of ice off the car with my AAA card, the only thing I had. Two inches of snow were on the ground. I got in my car and with great trepidation headed down I-30 toward Lake Tawakoni where I made one last final desperate attempt at the “you know what” birds. I could only travel at 40 MPH maximum as the interstate was completely covered with ice at every bridge and overpass. Something most people probably do not think about is the fact that 75% of interstate highways are in the air on bridges or overpasses and that air passing under these creates significantly lower temperatures. On this wintry day I was traveling on a treacherous interstate 75% covered with ice and snow. Far more deadly than a snow storm is one of the south’s famous winter ice storms. There I was in Dallas in the middle of one. All the public schools, banks, and most businesses were closed for the day due to the execrable weather and there were numerous overturned cars, cars in ditches, crashed cars, and cars slammed into the median. And there I was on my way back to Lake Tawakoni for one final desperate attempt at Sedge or LeConte’s. It took me two hours to get to Lake Tawakoni to the Dallas Audubon Open Field. I parked safely on the pavement this time and walked across the field to the sparrow flock. There were still no longspurs in sight. I took my camera this time and videotaped some Harris’s Sparrows but despite a vigorous effort I still could not find any Sedge Wren or LeConte’s Sparrow. I tried hard. It was bitterly cold with a high temperature for the day of only 29 degrees with intermittent snow and rain. The cold and foul weather didn’t bother me really but why couldn’t I find these birds? For all that effort I deserved to see them. As I approached the blue stem area I spotted a hawk in a tree. I think it was a Cooper’s Hawk; it had a banded tail and it was very banded overall. I will need to study my video to see what it was. The only new bird was a Carolina Wren, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Brewer’s Blackbird, and an Orange-crowned Warbler. I searched and searched but finally with time running out and my face wind chaffed and fingers numb I headed back to the car. I checked the open fields on the way back into Dallas with no luck.

I drove to Cedar Hills State Park, planning to spend my final hours walking the trails there but upon arrival was informed by the park staff that the trails were closed due to muddy conditions. I thought ruefully of myself a few days before tramping through the marsh in 12 inches of water with nothing to protect me but my gortex boots at Anahuac, as I turned around and left Cedar Hills for what is incorrectly called the Dallas Nature Center in Birding Texas. It is actually called Cedar Ridge Preserve and is a wonderful place to take a walk in an urban setting. The trails were snow lined but passable and picturesque but there were few birds. I wasn’t really expecting any, just really wanting to stretch my legs before my flight home in the evening. At the cattail pond there were two Ring-necked Ducks but the only other birds I saw there were Northern Cardinal, a nice color addition to a bleak day, Carolina Chickadee, and Golden-crowned Kinglet. As I was leaving the park I heard the beautiful song of the White-throated Sparrow. Neither rain nor sleet nor ice nor snow will stop this birder from birding even when the target bird is inexplicably absent from the appropriate habitat, the conditions are astoundingly execrable, and the birding is well, just plain bad, because no matter what there is always something to draw the nature lover and bird lover back again even if only something as ordinary as the bright red Cardinal on a snowy day or the beautiful song of the plentiful White-throated Sparrow.
Michelle Brodie 1/18/07

Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Northern Bobwhite
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
WHITE-TAILED HAWK
Ferruginous Hawk
Osprey
American Kestrel
Merlin
Crested Caracara
Peregrine Falcon
Northern Bobwhite
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Whooping Crane
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Royal Tern
Forster’s Tern
Rock Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-dove
Barn Owl
Barred Owl
Short-eared Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
Varied Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
SPRAGUE’S PIPIT
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Rufous-sided Towhee
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
HARRIS’S SPARROW
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Brewer’s Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow