Fall Shorebird Migration

American Avocet by Bill Powell

At summer's end, each week in Jack Chiles'  bird census for Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge you will find various species of shorebirds  being reported. These birds are arriving in increasing numbers on the fall migration.The following is a reprint of an article by Wayne Meyer, PhD, that appeared in the September, 2009, issue of the Featherless Flyer.

Most people know that there are thousands of geese at Hagerman NWR each winter, but not many know that shorebird migrations bring at least twice that many birds through our refuge. North American shorebirds breed in the northern tier of states, Canada or the high Arctic. Most of them spend the winter in the tropics, although some species will travel into South America.This means that they must fly thousands of miles, a feat requiring a great deal of fuel. Wetlands located along the migration routes, therefore, are important places for the birds to stop and refuel. Since Hagerman NWR is on the southern end of the Central Flyway and close to the end of the Mississippi Flyway, it gets lots of traffic each spring and fall.

Solitary Sandpiper by Bill Powell

The spring migration is rushed. Birds travel quickly to get to their breeding grounds and claim the best territories. A few early migrants arrive in late March and the big rush is over by the second or third week of May. Within that period the individual species tend to occur in waves, each species having its own peak period of just one or two weeks within the 6-8 weeks of spring migration.

In fall, however, the situation is quite different. A few birds appear in late July but the last ones don’t arrive until November. For any particular species there may be two or even three waves in one season.

Breeding success helps explain the reason for these multiple waves. The first migrants are failed breeders and nonbreeders. Injured birds, young birds that didn’t collect sufficient resources to breed, and birds whose young were lost to predators head south early. We see them in July and August. Advantages to coming south early include fewer predators and less competition for food.

The adults who raised young will remain on the breeding grounds until their young are able to care for themselves. They take advantage of the long hours of summer sunlight to collect energy for molting and to store fat prior to their long flights.These birds usually begin showing up at Hagerman NWR in late August or September and peak prior to October. This is an interesting time to observe the birds as some wear breeding plumages that we rarely see.

The third wave is usually made up of juveniles who hatched during the summer and are making their first migrations. Since they used food energy for growth, they need more food than their parents did before they can store enough fat. They begin to arrive in mid-September and peak in mid-October, although a few slow-pokes will not pass through until November. Some overwinter at Hagerman NWR.

Take a few visits to the refuge this fall and watch the shorebirds moving through. Each visit is sure to show you different things and you’ll get all the challenge you could ask for in identifying the many birds that use our favorite fueling station.

American White Pelicans

The following entries are excerpted from the  Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge Weekly Bird Census Highlights for 2011, by Jack Chiles:

• September 20, 2011

About 300 American White Pelicans on the lake visible from Wildlife Drive.

• September 27, 2011

2 American White Pelicans on shore of lake

• October 4, 2011

3000 or so American White Pelicans in the shallows of the lake at least 1/2 mile north of the tip of Plover pad.

• October 11, 2011

The American White Pelicans are still here in good numbers.

• October 18, 2011

…Pelicans and American Avocets still hanging around.

• October 25, 2011

300 American White Pelicans … on the lake.

• November 1, 2011

2000+ American White Pelicans.

•  November 8, 2011

250 American White Pelicans.

• November 15, 2011

Just 1 American White Pelican.

Thanks to Jack’s report we have a picture of the swings in population of the American White Pelican at Hagerman NWR during the fall migration.  Pelicans were sighted and photographed at HNWR last weekend, so the 2012 fall migration is now underway.

American White Pelican, by Dick Malnory

American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) breed in the Northern Plains and in Canada, according to Lives of North American Birds, by Kenn Kaufman, and winter along the  California and US Gulf of Mexico coasts.  Their large size (wingspan is 9’) and distinctive bill make them easy to recognize and the subject of cartoons and parodies such as this one by Dixon Lanier Merritt:

               “A wonderful bird is the pelican, His mouth can hold more than his belly can,

               He can hold in his beak

               Enough food for a week.

               I’m damned if I know how the hell he can!”

That famous bill has some interesting characteristics.  It allows for catching and storing fish and is sufficiently sensitive that the birds can locate fish at night by touch.  The bill allows water to be drained before the fish is swallowed.  According to The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, pelicans exercise the pouch to maintain elasticity.  And during breeding season the pouch become brightly colored.

Pelican "Poucher-cize" by Eileen Sullivan

Another interesting aspect of the American White Pelican is their coordinated fishing.  They can be seen swimming in one or more lines, “herding” fish into the shallows for an easy catch.  Most often found in fresh water, they eat primarily fish and crayfish.

Be sure to visit the Refuge this fall to see the American White Pelican!

You can purchase a copy of the HNWR Weekly Bird Census Highlights for 2011 in the Friends of Hagerman Nature Nook at the Refuge.

Butterflies Topic for June 9

Want to identify those beautiful butterflies visiting your garden this summer?  You can learn names and identification tips at Second Saturday at Hagerman NWR on June 9.  Butterflies of North Texas will be the topic, featuring Dale Clark, founder of the Dallas County Lepidopterists’Society.  The program will begin at 10 a.m., in the Visitor Center at the Refuge, located at 6465 Refuge Road in Sherman.  The weather forecast for Saturday is “sunny”, in which case the program will include a short field trip on the Refuge to identify resident butterflies, like the Fritillary, below, photographed by Karen Skogsbergh, May 2012 Photographer of the Month for the Friends of Hagerman.

Clark is the creator of Butterflies Unlimited, a butterfly farm south of Dallas.  He provides over 50 species of live butterflies and moths to zoos and other exhibits throughout the country, and is the editor of the News of the Lepidopterists’ Society, the international newsletter devoted to the study of butterflies and moths.

Birding expert Jack Chiles will lead a guided nature walk on one of the Refuge trails at 8 am Saturday morning, weather permitting.  To join the walk, meet at the FOH Center at the Refuge and wear sturdy shoes; insect repellent is advised.  Participants may bring binoculars, cameras and field guides if desired.  The walk will end in time for the Butterfly presentation.

Youngsters ages 4-10 are invited to the Second Saturday for Youth program on butterflies, also on June 9.  This will be led by Katie Palmer, and will start at 10 a.m. also, ending at 11:30.  Children under age 6 must be accompanied by a parent or other responsible adult!  To assure adequate supplies for each youth, advance registration is required; call the Refuge, 903 786 2826.

All Second Saturday activities are free of charge and open to the public. In addition to programs, the Refuge offers an 11,000 acre habitat for wildlife and wildlife viewing, with five trails and extensive driving possibilities, fishing, boating and more.  Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma.  For more information, call the Refuge or visit friendsofhagerman.com.

A Green-tailed Towhee in Haller’s Haven

Post by Wayne Meyer, PhD

Photo by Jack Chiles

Last December, while I was participating in the Tishomingo NWR Christmas Bird Count, I saw a photo that absolutely astounded me.  Someone had found a Green-tailed Towhee on Pennington Creek, just north of town.  A truly beautiful bird, one I have seen only a few times but always in the sagebrush country of California or Colorado, I never expected one to be in dense, riparian shrubs in southeast Oklahoma.  I would have loved to chase after the bird later that day, but I had to get back to Denison because it was my wife’s birthday and I figured I was already lucky to have been able to spend half a day birding.  I lusted over the photo one more time and went back to Texas thinking, “there’s a bird I won’t be putting on my year list”.

Later in the winter, I noted with interest that several more Green-tailed Towhees showed up on Texbirds and OKbirds, the listserves for Texas and Oklahoma birders.  All those birds were showing up in far western Oklahoma and northwest Texas.  Apparently several of these birds had been forced to leave the hills in Colorado by the lack of seeds due to last summer’s drought.  The winter of 2011-2012 was very special because of a number of sagebrush species wintering far east of their normal wintering country combined with a near record irruption of Snowy Owls after an unusually good year for lemmings in the Arctic.  Since I had to teach a Janterm class this year, I was again prevented from chasing after any of these birds.

Fast forward to March.  It was spring break at Austin College and I had 5 days to myself.  On the 12^th I decided to join Jack Chiles and Dick Malnory on a Monday version of the usual Tuesday bird census at Hagerman NWR.  The refuge was going to be closed on Tuesday for invasive species control work, so we braved the fog and rain to get in a morning’s birding when we could.  I had hopes of making up for some of the regular winter species I had missed in the first two months of the year.  The weather hadn’t been great, it had rained all weekend so I was really aching to go birding.  We walked along the Haller’s Haven trail toward Dead Woman Pond to see how many species of sparrows we could find.  We had gone as far as the dam and were searching the dense brush where sparrows are always pretty common when I saw a big one jump up into view.  My first thought was Fox Sparrow.  Once I got the binoculars onto it, however, I saw a red cap and yellowish-green back and tail.  I recall saying, “Here’s a … oh my gosh, Green-tailed Towhee. Green-tailed Towhee!”  All three of us starting clicking off photo after photo, knowing that most of them wouldn’t be any good, but maybe one or two would be usable. 

Later that day Jack and I posted the bird to Texbirds, thinking at the time that we had a Grayson County first record.  Later Jack found that there had been one previous record at Hagerman NWR in the 1980s, but it was still a very surprising find and all three of us had gotten very good looks at a bird that was a lifer for both Jack and Dick.  Apparently the bird stayed around for about 5 days until the area flooded.  Jack returned for more photos and several birders from the metroplex and Tulsa found it before it left.

So what’s my moral here?  Always be prepared for anything.  You never know when the next oddball will be showing up.  And when it comes to birds, oddballs will show up any time of the year.

Ed. Note:  Be sure to visit friendsofhagerman.com for up-to-date lists of birds sighted and the Photo Gallery that includes albums for waterfowl, waders, songbirds and more.