Grace’s and Blue-winged warblers, small swift, Greater Pewees and Crimson-collared Grosbeak were the headliners for CBCs following one breeding season after four years of major drought. Most counts reported above average numbers of lingering species during the 1st week of season, and these numbers declined as winter weather arrived. Matagorda County led the state with 239 species, and was followed by Guadalupe River Delta with 224. Freeport greatly improved with a report of 211 and San Bernard (195), Corpus Christi (186) and Port Aransas (180) had a good year on the Coast.
Other CBCs with at least 150 species were Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken N.W.R. at 177, Bolivar Peninsula (176), Galveston (173), Rockport (172), La Sal Vieja (167), Weslaco (166), Aransas N.W.R. and Laguna Atascosa N.W.R. (165), Corpus Christi-Flour Bluff (164), Sea Rim (159), Anzalduas-Bentsen (157), Armand Bayou (155), Houston and Santa Ana N.W.R. (154), and Brownsville (152).
Weather conditions were mild and fall like during the first week of the CBC season, but changed to periods of rain and strong winds during the latter half. Twenty-four percent of the counts experienced rain, and 22% > 20 mph winds. Heavy rains in the spring and fall created wet conditions by filling wetlands, deepening reservoirs long depleted by droughts and causing rivers to flow over their banks. Adding to this wet landscape were abnormally high tides making it challenging to locate waterbirds along the Coast during the CBCs.
This was not a good year for irruptive species nor montane species with the exception of the Pyrrhuloxia which was reported in many places to the East.
What a nice experience as a compiler when you find a new species for your area, it hangs around for the count, and WOW it turns out to be the Best Bird for Texas. This was the case with the Grace’s Warbler at Armand Bayou, and the emotions likely experienced by Martha Hood. Her bird lingered until 9 January. The Grace’s was previously reported on Texas CBCs on the 75th and 91st CBCs in West Texas.
David Hanson, Chuck Davis, and Bob Sauger had a brief flyover by a small swift on the Old River CBC. This is the 7th accepted report for Texas CBCs. Chimney Swifts historically nested in tall hollow cypress and tupelo trees in settings similar to the reported location. This was the same setting as the two CBC reports of swifts coming from the Guadalupe River Delta. Although, at this time of year the Vaux’s is thought to be the most likely species.
The Greater Pewee made its appearance for the 4th year in a row at the Buffalo Bayou CBC, and Anzalduas-Bentsen also reported one. Another Greater Pewee was reported outside of a CBC area in Refugio which led to the discovery of two more rare birds for Texas. This makes the 6th year a Greater Pewee was found on a Texas CBC and is particularly interesting that three birds were found this winter when overall this is a very rare bird anywhere in Texas.
El Paso produced another rarity when Jim Paton photographed the Dusky Flycatcher. This was the 10th time this species has been reported on a Texas CBC. A Blue-winged Warbler was reported by Sue Heath for the 2nd year in a row at Matagorda County, for the 6th CBC record for Texas. Tad Finnell had reported one the year before nearby.
John Bartos and Susan Strasevicz located the Crimson-collared Grosbeak at the Weslaco CBC. This was the 6th season this species was reported on a CBC. Another Crimson-collared was found at Laguna Atascosa later in the winter but was missed on their count. Norther Jacanas made many birders happy. One occurred at Estero Grande State Park, Choke Canyon Reservoir and Santa Ann during the fall. The one at Santa Ana was the only one found during the CBCs.
A total of 3021 birder days expended 7864 party-hours on 110 CBCs to produce 376 species, 12 infraspecific forms, and 11 exotics. Four traditional CBCs were not run with no immediate plans to restart two of these. During the last 10 years 15 species which were found 60% of the time were missed as were 99 species that had been reported at least once during that period. Too many species were deleted for lack of documentation. Most compilers were very cooperative by providing 80% of the required documentation for unusual sightings with 180 of the species being photographed. Western Screech-Owl, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Rufous-backed Robin, and Black-throated Gray Warbler were only reported during Count Week.
EXCLUSIVES
One exciting aspect of participating in CBCs is finding the only species for a count and maybe for Texas. There were many “exclusives” this season. Texas had 38 instances where a species was found at only one CBC and 28 of these instances only involved one individual of a species. This is amazing when you realize birders spent 3200 days in the field and they only found one individual of each of those species. Production of exclusives varied from six at Freeport, three each at Davis Mountains and Matagorda County, and two each at Armand Bayou, Attwater’s, El Paso, and Love Creek. One species was exclusive to 18 other CBCs.
Talented birders on the Freeport CBC had a very good day. Numerous rarities were found which included the only Black Scoter, Thayer’s Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, and Prairie Warbler for Texas CBCs this season.
Davis Mountains had their obligatory Montezuma Quail and Kelly Bryan’s research team were able to identify the only Allen’s and Broad-billed hummingbirds. Matagorda County continued to show that it could produce rarities along with high numbers of species. White-winged Scoter, Parasitic Jaeger, and Blue-winged Warbler were only reported there this season.
Armand Bayou also produced the only Henslow’s Sparrow along with its Grace’s Warbler mentioned earlier. El Paso reported the only Broad-tailed Hummingbird and Dusky Flycatcher. Attwater’s found its obligatory Greater Prairie-Chicken and also the only Bank Swallow. Exciting birds continue to be found at Love Creek with the only Louisiana Waterthrush and Scott’s Oriole this season.
Population Trends
[The population trend report will compare number of individuals reported this season to the last 10 years in Texas. Population changes indicated will be for those reports which deviated by more than 1 standard deviation from that species 10-year average unless otherwise indicated.]
Percentage of species increasing or decreasing by season is listed below. This season’s results show similar patterns to non-drought winters in Texas.
| Season | Increasing | Decreasing | No Change | |
| 109th | 19 | 16 | 65 | |
| 110th | 24 | 14 | 60 | drought |
| 111th | 30 | 4 | 66 | |
| 112th | 26 | 22 | 52 | drought |
| 113th | 19 | 24 | 57 | drought |
| 114th | 13 | 21 | 66 | drought |
| 115th | 25 | 15 | 60 | |
| 116th | 21 | 16 | 63 |
As an indication of breeding conditions in Texas, the percent of resident species which showed positive populations changes went from 28% during the 114th season at the end of the drought, to 68% during the 115th one season after the drought, and 21% this season. Twenty-one percent of residents increased, and 17% decreased this season. Resident waterbirds increased most frequently and woodland birds decreased most often.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated breeding ducks in the traditional survey areas in Canada and United States set a record high with 49.5 million birds. Despite these above average numbers of waterfowl on the breeding grounds birders did not report high numbers of many species in Texas which traditionally is one of the major wintering states. The prevailing thought for low numbers of waterfowl was few birds moved south because of mild weather conditions and those populations that did were diluted by the widespread availability of water across Texas. Warmer weather species like the whistling-ducks and Blue-winged Teal did linger in above average numbers. The more traditional wintering species like Canada Goose, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, and Redhead were reported below average.
Snow Goose numbers have been low for so many years that this season’s low numbers has become more the norm than an anomaly. Food resources and mild weather to the north are more than adequate to stop massive numbers of geese from migrating to Texas like they did during the 80’s.
How many of you remember when Cypress Creek CBC used to lead the nation in counts of Snow Goose over two decades ago. This year its 51,000 is ranked a distant 13th and the leader Squaw Creek, MO, reported 950,000, and 2nd was Lacassine, LA, with 414,000. How many of these birds used to come to Texas?
Widespread rains in the spring and fall were the catalyst for above average quail production. Gambel’s Quail, Northern Bobwhite, and Montezuma Quail were all reported in above average numbers.
Diving birds also showed up in higher numbers with above average counts for Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, and Clark’s Grebe.
Eleven species from pelicans through spoonbills were reported in above average numbers with only Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, and Black-crowned Night-Heron reported below average. Several species topped the highest tally for the last ten years. A Brown Booby was reported at both Brazoria and Houston CBCs. Port Aransas continues to lead with the most Least Bitterns with six (bird sanctuaries do work). Birders at Guadalupe River Delta found an exceptionally large roost of Great Egrets which helped the CBC tally 1107. The abundant wetlands of Matagorda County continue their productivity by tallying 2991 White Ibis.
Diurnal raptors numbers generally did not change from previous seasons, though, six showed an increase and three decreased. The 1324 Ospreys reported was the highest in the last ten years with Matagorda County and Coastal Tip each posting at least 100. Likewise were the 546 Coopers Hawk with Austin having the highest count, and 21 Aplomado Falcons with Brownsville and Laguna Atascosa N.W.R. being tops. On the “flip-side” Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Red-tailed Hawk were reported at their lowest level in ten years.
I enjoy Red-shouldered Hawks. We have a pair at home that along with hunting frogs, snakes, lizards, and squirrels, they have developed skills to catch birds at feeders. We now have a few less Inca Doves and Northern Cardinals at the house. This species was identified as potentially declining two decades ago. Both CBC trends posted above and USGS Breeding Bird Survey trends today indicate the population is slowly increasing.
Marsh bird counts are hard to evaluate. Some of the CBCs associated with national wildlife refuges will make extensive efforts with marsh equipment to count birds while other counts may only try to get the minimum one of each. One thing is sure, Whooping Cranes continue to increase with a record 192 reported this season.
The King Rail is a Species of Concern nationally. Its population has declined along with large freshwater wetlands and the encroachment of trees upon them. Like other species of rails, there appear to be inconsistent CBC effort in surveying them to determine their true status. The CBC trends illustrate widely varying results. Conservation organizations are developing plans to survey marsh birds along the Gulf Coast.
Fourteen of the 28 shorebird species which occur regularly deviated from the norm. Six species set record high counts and four low for the decade. Abundant wetlands inland scattered birds and extreme high tides forced birds away from the Texas Coast. Rice fields in the Attwater’s and Cypress Creek CBCs helped produce record numbers of Killdeer with many fields being wet. Eighty-seven Mountain Plovers at Granger and 36 at Kingsville was the highest tally this decade. It is one of my goals to develop a population estimate for this species which is extremely difficult to detect. Body coloration and behavior make it almost a ghost in large landscapes of ag fields and short grasslands. CBCs covering wind tidal flats reported very large numbers of Willets with Coastal Tip, Kenedy County, and Port Aransas each reporting over 1000. Spotted Sandpiper, Red Knot and Western Sandpiper were reported in record lows for the decade. High water levels over wind tidal flats made it difficult for short-legged sandpipers like the Western to forage. With five reported, the Red Knot is becoming one of the harder to locate winter residents.
Every five years the US Geological Survey coordinates an international survey of Piping Plovers with January 2016 being the next survey. Looking at past CBC data this species has been reported in increasingly higher numbers thru time, and birders this season reported average numbers. With this species primarily foraging on exposed tidal flats that birders do not have easy access CBCs are not generally referenced when discussing status of this species in Texas. They are used, however, to identify important sites for the species.
Seven of the 17 gull and tern species reported showed some deviation from normal numbers for the decade. Mild conditions leading up to the CBC season seemed to make conditions suitable for greater than normal numbers of Black and Sandwich terns lingering and also did not push many Bonaparte’s Gulls south. Fifty-four Franklin’s Gulls were reported on a record 14 CBCs and they were led by the 26 at Trinity River Audubon Center. Freeport and Houston each had over 1000 Herring Gulls which helped produce the record 3671 for Texas. Lesser Black-backed Gulls continue to increase with 107 of the 137 reported for the State being found at Freeport. While relatively wide spread, there are some noticeable areas where they are scarce like the Central Coast.
The White-winged Dove was tallied for a record high and Inca Dove, Common Ground-Dove, and Mourning Dove all had record lows for the decade. It seems strange not talking about the continuing expansion of the Eurasian Collared-Dove, but it only had an average season.
Barn, Western Screech, Eastern Screech, and Short-eared owls all had a below average season. With only about 1.5 hours per CBC invested into nocturnal birding, it is difficult to determine if low numbers were due to bird densities, or weather events at key CBCs. My experience this season was owl response to calls/lures was below expectation. The first night of the CBC season was calm and cool and I started with great expectation of a high tally at Matagorda County by using squeak lures at a number of traditional dense-tall grassland sites and got very little response. The overall numbers for the State reflect similar below average results.
A number of Caprimulgids were reported but did not come with supporting documentation and were deleted.
In general, the diversity and abundance of hummingbirds in the eastern count areas had dropped during the drought years and have not recovered yet. Archilochus and Selasphorus hummingbirds are very challenging to identify in the field. Many birders do not take the time to satisfactorily document these species and as a result they are allowed to only be identified to the genus.
Of the 13 regularly occurring woodpeckers, two occurred in above average numbers and three below. Tallies of Acorn Woodpecker and Red-naped Sapsucker set record lows and these numbers may have partially been related to bad weather at the Chisos and Guadalupe Mountain CBCs.
Monk Parakeet numbers continue to be high as has been the case for the last four years. Increasing interest in the Red-crowned Parrot might be the main reason for this year’s tally of 692 being double the past average for this species. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and its conservation partners followed up on the CBC counts with an intensive survey of all roosts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley two weeks after the season and reported 650.
Most flycatchers occurred at expected levels except for the Black Phoebe which was reported for a record low. This number might have been related to two of the top CBCs for the species having bad weather.
Hutton’s Vireo set a record tally with Love Creek reporting over half of the birds.
Passerines from corvids through mimids had mixed population changes. Blue Jay, Common Raven, Canyon and Carolina wren, and Eastern Bluebird were above average with the 41 Clay-colored Thrushes setting a record for Texas. On the other hand, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire, and four of the seven mimids occurred in below average numbers. The Rufous-backed Robin at Del Rio CBC likely was missed due to horrendous weather.
With the proposal of the Sprague’s Pipit being listed as federally Endangered, interest in this species has increased. Texas CBCs have reported it at well below average during the recent drought and numbers have returned close to normal since then. Attwaters and Freeport had the highest tallies this season with 38 and 35, respectively.
Twenty-one species of warblers were reported this season with Magnolia and Wilson’s occurring at above average levels. Black-throated Gray only showed up for Count Week. Guadalupe River Delta reported the most warblers with 14 species, and was followed by 13 at Matagorda County, 12 at Freeport, and 11 at Brownsville. Several CBCs had nine species.
Out of the 32 sparrow-like species which are regularly found, two occurred in above average numbers, 12 below average, and 18 at normal levels. The White-collared Seedeater and Lark Bunting set records for abundance while Henslow’s, Le Conte’s, Olive, Chipping, Clay-colored, Field, and Lark sparrows, plus Eastern Towhee set record lows. One out of every three sparrow species being below average is an extraordinary event. Suspicions explaining these results are that these species lingered to the north during the mild winter rather than populations declining during very good habitat conditions in northern prairies.
This was definitely a season for orioles with six species reported and record tallies for Orchard, Hooded, Bullock’s, and Scott’s. The only normal oriole missed was Baltimore.
The most widespread species occurring in the 110 Texas CBCs were Mourning Dove and Red-tailed Hawk on 109 counts, American Kestrel and Northern Mockingbird on 108 each, and Great Blue Heron and Loggerhead Shrike on 107 CBCs. The least abundant were the 27 species where only one individual was found. These single individuals represented 7% of the species. Another amazing aspect to the only one individual of 27 species being found was that the number tallied of one was the most frequent abundance of all species reported. The 2nd most frequent was two which occurred 12 times, and 3rd was three which occurred ten times.
Not all birds reported in December make it on the CBCs. Many do not occur within count circles, some leave the area and others just do not live long enough as evident by the lone Northern Jacana feather below.