4th of July Birding in Liberty
| <<< Pirates and Rum! | Day Trip to Clear Lake >>> |
July 4, 2006:
After spending all day yesterday in front of the TV because it was raining, I was quite happy to wake up to a cloudy, but rain-free sky. I looked at the weather map online, and found that most of the preciptation was south of me, so I decided to head north to Liberty County to visit Upper Texas Coast Wildlife Trail #32: Liberty.
I had originally planned to do most of the Trinity River Loop from the Wildlife Trail, but it turned out that #32 was a collection of spots in Liberty County, since it was such a birding hotspot, so I spent most of my time there.
The first place was Liberty Municipal Park. It was generally a little league complex, but it did have a wooded area with a hiking trail nearby. When I first got out, I saw what I thought was another Mockingbird, which are abundant. It turned out to be a Loggerhead Shrike, which is like a Mockingbird but smaller with a wider beak and with a black band around the eyes. I also looked up at the utility pole next to the baseball field and saw a Redheaded Woodpecker! This was my first confirmed woodpecker! The day was off to a good start. Before getting chased away by mosquitos on the hiking trail, I also saw some other song and water birds that I had seen before (see the logbook for a complete list).
Next up was the Liberty City Cemetary, which was just down the road. Upon pulling in, I saw a collection of black birds that I assumed to be Grackles, but as I got closer, I saw they were much too small. After checking my field guide, I found them to be a collection of European Starlings (another common bird I hadn't seen yet).
Next up was the big stop of the day at Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge. This was my first trip to a National Park on my own! The most noticible part of this park was the volume of butterflys and dragonflys around. Pam would love it here! The park itself was very cool looking, with lots of swampy-looking water areas. In the big entryway/fishing area, I saw a Great-crested Cormorant and an Anhinga. I walked down a dirt (rather, mud) path for a long distance. I saw some common birds, but I also found some uncommon birds. I saw a small collection of Painted Buntings, which were quite spectacular. They had a red breast with a blue head and a yellow back. I also saw a Great-crested Flycatcher. According to the book, this species is pretty shy and avoids people, so I was lucky to see this guy. On the way out, I saw a Pileated Woodpecker, the second woodpecker for the day!
Next I tried to get to UTC #33: Sheldon State Park (back in northeastern Harris County) . By the time I got there, it had started to rain. I found the sign for the Great Texas Birding Trail, but all I could find was a parking lot surrounded by swampy water. I did see a Snowy Egret and another Little Blue Heron, but not much else. I wandered around and found Eisenhower Park, a Harris County-owned park, but didn't see any birds. By now it was raining pretty hard, so I went home.
After proof-reading this, I realized that I spent the 4th of July in a county called "Liberty." I just got the irony of it!
Recent News
| 2008-06-27 - | So very busy, but upcoming road trip! |
| 2008-06-11 - | Luckily, fate missed |
| 2008-06-04 - | Gas prices have got me down |
| 2008-05-28 - | May Update |
| 2008-05-07 - | Dropping hobbies like bad habits |
| 2008-05-02 - | Stuck in the middle (random thought) |
| 2008-04-28 - | On this day in Carey's life... |
| 2008-04-21 - | And so starts a new chapter in my life |
| 2008-04-01 - | Time keeps on slipping... slipping... |
| 2008-03-28 - | Blog changes |
| 2008-03-25 - | Cell Phone Woes |
| 2008-03-01 - | Texas Independence Day 5k Run |
| 2008-02-29 - | Running Pains |
| 2008-02-26 - | Law School |
| 2008-02-20 - | Busy Last Month: Travel, Health, Family, Home, and Fun |
| 2008-01-14 - | Aramco Houston Half Marathon |
| 2008-01-08 - | Road trip to Florida |
Entries from 2007 (click to view)
Entries from 2006 (click to view)
Entries from 2005 (click to view)
Entries from 2004 (click to view)
