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Selected Bird Reports, October 2005
Documentation for HIGHLIGHTED birds has been reviewed and the record accepted by the San Antonio Bird Records Committee.

Ducks continued to increase in number and diversity through October. Notable were a male GREATER SCAUP and Redhead at Mitchell Lake on the 10th (DE, GS). Ring-necked ducks were reported in Spring Branch in Comal County on the 16th (LL), and reported from Mitchell Lake on the 26th (GS, IP). Unidentified geese were seen flying over Thousand Oaks Drive on the 19th (GG). A BROWN PELICAN at Mitchell Lake on the 24th (MR) through at least the end of the month continued the trend of nearly annual reports for this species. Not wanting summer to end, Anhinga, Neotropical Cormorants, White-faced Ibis, White Ibis, and Roseate Spoonbill continued at Mitchell Lake throughout the month (m.o.).

Osprey at Mitchell Lake on the 4th (LK), a Zone-tailed Hawk in west Bexar County on the 8th, and 8 Swainson’s Hawks at the Botanical Gardens on the 14th (GL) highlighted the raptors. The first reported Kestrel of the season was on the 1st near US 281 north (RN). Cooper’s Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk were widely reported, including a Cooper’s in a bird bath (MM,JM). Sora returned to Calaveras Lake by the 10th (BD) and was seen there on the field trip on the 16th (m.o.). Sandhill cranes were reported overhead on the 22nd (RG).

This year has been a good one for shorebirds, and that trend continued in October. A Snowy Plover continued at Mitchell Lake on the 1st (MS). The first returning Wilson’s Snipe was reported at Mitchell Lake on the 3rd (GS) and the next day at Evans Lake (HR). A very rare RED PHALAROPE was at Mitchell Lake from the 10th through the 12th (BD, m.o.). A late Willet was seen at Mitchell Lake on the 11th (HR,GS).

A Vaux’s Swift was reported and photographed at Mitchell Lake on the 11th (MR), and stayed through the 13th. If accepted, this will be the first documented record for the state (and of course, the county).

The first reported returning Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was on the 13th at Avenue A (MC), with a Red-naped Sapsucker reported in Comal County on the 16th (LL). Six species of swallows were reported at Mitchell Lake on the 11th, including a Bank Swallow and an immature VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (MR). A second VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, this time an adult, was reported there on the 14th (MR).

A Brown Creeper was found in Comal County on the 19th and 20th (BD). Winter Wrens can sometimes be hard to find, but not when they hit a window and knock themselves out (GL on the 7th). A trip to Natural Bridge Caverns in Comal County yielded Canyon Wren and Rock Wren on the 29th (MG, GS). The first Golden-Crowned Kinglet of what promises to be an exceptional year was found on the 30th in Guadalupe County (SS).

A Swainson’s Thrush in north Bexar County on the 23rd (JL,LL) is not totally unexpected, but a reported Gray-cheeked Thrush on the 19th (PM) at Cordillera Ranch in Kendall County is very rare. Gray Catbirds were reported on the 14th in Guadalupe County (SS) and the 16th at Avenue A (MC). Returning American Pipits were first seen at Mitchell Lake on the 10th (BD).

Migrating warblers continued throughout the month, the most notable of which was an Ovenbird seen on the 4th along the Leon Creek Greenway (HR) and 2 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS in Comal County on the 6th (BD). Summer Tanagers become quite uncommon by October, but one was seen at the Botanical Gardens on the 1st (SC).

Returning sparrows are represented by first-of-season reports of Green-tailed Towhee on the 14th in Kendall County (SW), Field Sparrow on the 6th in Comal County (BD), Lincoln’s Sparrow on the 10th in Guadalupe County (SS), White-Throated Sparrow on the 14th in Guadalupe County (SS), and White-crowned Sparrow on the 9th in Wilson County (WS). Pine Siskins were reported on the 20th in Bandera County (MH) and the 24th in Medina County (JMC).

OBSERVERS: Eryn Autry (EA), Sheridan Coffey (SC), Mike Creese (MC), Colette Del Rio (CDR), Bob Doe (BD), Dodge Engleman (DE), Mike Fatone (MF), Jerry Fischer (JF), Andy Garcia (AG), Mariann Golden (MG), Richard Grant (RG), Gwen Grigsby (GG), Curt Harwerth (CH), Maury Heiman (MaH), Mitch Heindel (MH), Linda Koehler (LK), Joan Lasswell (JL), Lynn Lasswell (LLa), Leslie Linehan (LL), Greg Lisciandro (GL), Paul Mason (PM), Jan McClintock (JMC), Minnie Middleton (MM), James Middleton (JM), Robin Nowak (RN), Harry Noyes (HN), multiple observers (m.o.), Iliana Pena (IP), Martin Reid (MR), Helen Rejzek (HR), Susan Schaezler (SS), Georgina Schwartz (GS), Willie Sekula (WS), Herb Smith (HS), Malcolm Swan (MS), Sandi Wheeler (SW), Sue Wiedenfeld (SW)

Reports are compiled by Georgina Schwartz and written up by Bob Doe. All reports go to the Bird Records Committee, even if they don’t appear here. Thanks for your submissions! Send your reports to <birdreports@saaudubon.org> or Bob Doe, 748 Copper Rim, Spring Branch, TX 78070. Report your birds using the online form at <www.saaudubon.org/birdreportform.html>, call them to the club’s tape at 308-6788, or paper forms can be had at any SAAS meeting or by mail from the club address.

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