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A flicker of vivid colors purple, yellow, green, and red flash before my eyes as I scan through the trees and bushes for more flutters and swoops. No binoculars needed with such brilliant colorations. My eyes finally spot this treasured songbird a Painted Bunting, as he briefly stopped to hunt for seeds from a nearby cup grass clump. Whether you are specifically searching for a unique bird or simply casually watching a multitude of birds that visit your yard, it is spectacular when you are fortunate enough to glimpse any rare species or observe unusual wildlife interactions of our feathered friends.
More often than not little brown birds dominate your view who may be difficult to easily identify because of their many similarities. Did you see a Bewick Wren or was it a Carolina Wren? Or perhaps was it a Lark Sparrow, a White-throated Sparrow or a Harris’s Sparrow?
Many folks have a tough time distinguishing one bird from the next unless their feathers are truly outstanding such as a Red Northern Cardinal or a flashy Blue Jay. Maybe the size of a bird is a telltale sign of it’s species such as a small Ruby-throated Hummingbird verses a Scissor-tailedFlycatcher. A binoculars now becomes essential in order to classify birds by color, size and shape of body, wings, beak, tail and feet to determine and correctly identify each species. The actual songs of each bird can help to identify a species especially with limited visibility. Once you become more familiar with viewing a diverse number of birds identification becomes significantly easier. Watching birds in their natural habitat (brown, gray & green colors disguise them) and especially observing them while feeding on seeds, snatching bugs, territorial, mating or simply grooming behaviors can be fascinating to observe.
Feeder Watch is a wonderful opportunity for both the inexperienced and well tuned birder to observe a myriad of songbirds. This Citizen Science project begins November 1st continuing through Winter and the early Spring season until April 30th. Numerous feeding and watering stations are specifically set up near bird blinds throughout Hays County. Dripping Springs Ranch Park and Charro Ranch Park both have bird blinds with bird identification signs to assist a novice or occasional visitor. Driftwood Nature Preserve, Patsy Glen Refuge in Wimberley and West Cave Preserve in Travis County also have similar features available within a short drive from Dripping Springs.
Project Feeder Watch actually started in Ontario Canada with the first survey in 1976. After a ten year stint and hundreds of participants it was decided that a much broader scope to monitor migrating birds was needed. So Birds Canada paired up with Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the U.S. connecting 2 continents and thousands of passionate individuals willing to observe the winter bird populations over a much wider geographic range. Enormous amounts of data have been collected and have been analyzed to determine trends relating to the declining bird populations and perhaps stemming the tide.
Individual and ongoing efforts to monitor bird species in Hays County can continue to provide information and inspire solutions to protect our “canaries in a coal mine.” If you are interested in getting outdoors during the upcoming winter months which in Texas is predicted to be fairly mild, consider spending a minimum of one hour in the mornings on Friday and Saturday at Charro Ranch Park or Sunday and Monday at Dripping Springs Ranch Park observing and recording (completing a user friendly Tally Sheet) a bird count at the bird blinds. You can sign up here: https://signup.com/go/pqaVkSL
Training Sessions will be held at 9am on:
• Nov. 9 at Dripping Springs Ranch Park - 1042 Event Center Dr.
• Nov. 14 at Charro Ranch Park - 22690 W. FM 150
• Nov. 15 at Driftwood Nature Preserve - 15090 FM W. 150
An online resource for Project Feeder Watch: https://feederwatch.org/about/detailed-instructions/#count-your-birds
The Hays County Master Naturalists hope to see you there!
