Backyard Bird Count

The backyard bird count was this past weekend. A few of us met on the north shore of Lake Wichita in front of Wild Bird Rescue. The Rolling Plains Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist, The North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club and Wild Bird Rescue were well represented. And, for once, the weather started off nice. Seems every time we meet for a bird count/watch it is either cold, a cold wind or raining. Or, any combination of the three. We were there for two hours and saw the following birds;

White Pelican 42
Ring-billed Gull 7
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Great Blue Heron 2
American Coot 9
Double-crested Cormorant 29
Cananda Goose 300+
Mallard 4
Ring-necked Duck 3
Gadwall 3
Pintail 10
Northern Shoveler 2
Duck species 35 (too far across the lake to makes positive ID)
Killdeer 2
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Bewick's Wren 1
Marsh Wren 1
Cardinal 1
Blue Jay 1
Mockingbird 1
Eurasian Collared Dove 3
White-winged Dove 4
Robin 75
Red-winged Blackbird 14
Great-tailed Grackle 3
European Starling 1
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1

This is not an accumulative count, but a count of the most you see of a species at one time. After two hours the winds picked up and the birds sought shelter. So, we did too. Great day of birding with friends.

Spring Time?

Penny Miller reported in her blog, "A Charm of Finches" she was hearing Mockingbirds sing for the first time this year. There is a Robin in the Mulberry tree here at the Rescue Center singing his little heart out!

Hopefully, spring is here and we are finished with this cold weather.

Don't forget the Backyard Bird Count this Sunday, the 20th. Here at WBR at 7:30am.

Great Backyard Bird Count

It is time for the Great Backyard Bird Count, http://www.birdscource.org/gbbc/ , February 18 - 21. This is really a great outdoor activity for families. It could also be incorporated into science activities for home schools or public schools.

You can take part for as little as 15 minutes and you don't have to be an expert on birds to take part in this event. This is a count that allows you to indicate you were not able to identify all the birds you see, and it is perfectly OK to do so.

For those of you who prefer to see what it is all about by taking part in a group activity, the Rolling Plains Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists will be hosting a count on Sunday, February 20th, at 7:30a.m. behind Wild Bird Rescue, 4611 Lake Shore Dr. Remember, the wind will be blowing off the lake so it can be chilly. Dress in layers and be comfortable.

Another Success Story

This Red-tailed Hawk came to us on Sunday, January the 16th. Lila was working and she received a phone call from a State Trooper. Evidently, a couple driving on the highway noticed a large bird laying on her side, in the highway, with one wing up in the air. The couple stopped (in the middle of the highway) and found the bird to be a live. The State Trooper stopped to see why someone had stopped in middle of the road and he was the one who picked up the hawk and called Wild Bird Rescue. Lila met him on Hwy 281 and brought the Hawk to the Rescue Center. Her initial exam did not leave a good prognosis. She was totally

non-responsive. Lila started our head trauma protocol and hoped she would still be a live in the morning.

When I came in on Monday, I found a very alert Red-tailed Hawk standing in her carrier. However, she had NO sight response. We continued our head trauma treatment and force fed her twice a day. We determined her sex by her size and weight. Raptor females are noticeably larger and heavier than the males. By Tuesday all sight had returned and she was self-feeding. What a turn-around in condition in just a matter of days. By Friday she was too much too handle in the infirmary so we moved her to the outside aviary to ensure she was strong enough to fly. On Friday, the 28th, one of our board members came by to take her to property in Archer County where she was released! YES, we do like to brag about our successes!

2010 Statistics

2010 has come and gone. I have finished the annual report I must send to Texas Parks & Wildlife and I am now working on the annual report required by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services. We had a busy year in 2010. I might add we had a very successful year in 2010. We missed our goal of a 70% release rate, but we get closer and closer every year. In 2009 our release rate was 66.5%. Last year we released 67.89%!

2010 Birds received = 1025
Transferred to other facilities = 1.08%
DOA = 9.46%
Died in our care = 16.38%
Euthanized = 14.66%
RELEASED = 67.89%

Our release rate continues to climb every year. This is due to our continued education in the rehabilitation field, dedicated rehabbers and volunteers and our financial supporters.

Thank You

Yesterday afternoon, volunteer Marjorie and I were on the front deck and we heard Sandhill Cranes flying overhead. I had already spotted two flocks earlier in the day. As we were searching the skies for the cranes, I noticed a large bird circling over Lake Wichita Park east of the Rescue Center. As he banked and turned the sun caught the distinguished white head and tail. I ran inside my office, grabbed my binoculars and positively ID a Bald Eagle! I gave the binoculars to Marjorie and she too had a good view of our visitor. He circled and circled, each loop carrying him further east until he was out of sight.

Both the Bald and Golden Eagle winter in the Wichita Mountains 45 minutes north of Wichita Falls. I have received numerous reports of Bald Eagles northeast in Nocona, TX. As far as I am aware, this is the first Eagle spotted over Lake Wichita in the 5 years I have been here.

Photo is from Cornell's Lab of Ornithology, "All About Birds".

Whooping Crane

One of our Game Wardens came by the Rescue Center last week. He wanted to let us know of a flock of Sandhill Cranes with a Whooping Crane amoung them. There is a plowed field of maize north of Electra where the cranes come in every day to feed and he saw the Whooper there. I put the word out to our rehabbers, board members and volunteers and the quest to see the most endangered spieces of bird in North America began. Terry and her mom, June, saw him; Elizabeth, Penny and Lila saw him. The day we went my wife saw him, but he walked down the other side of the ridge before I could get my binonculars up.

My quest for the Whooper is not over. I will go back and try again!

Even though I did not get to see the Whooper, watching approximately 20,000 Sandhill Cranes in one place is a sight well worth the drive. WOW!