August 9, 2009

The Austin-Area Rare Bird Alert is a service of the Travis Audubon Society. This update is as of 9.00am, August 9th, 2009:

--- EXCEPTIONAL SIGHTINGS---

An immature GREEN-BREASTED MANGO (Anthracothorax prevostii) was photographed at a private residence roughly 5 miles northeast of Camp Ben McColloutgh during its short stay there on August 1st and 2nd. This is the first Austin-area record of this species.

--- RARITIES FOUND THIS PAST WEEK---

A bit early was an AMERICAN REDSTART (Setophaga ruticilla) at (Big) Webberville Park on August 9th.

A female BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (Pheucticus melanocephalus) was photographed on August 3rd at a private residence in Kingsland.

--- CONTINUING BIRDS FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS ---

Two MOTTLED DUCKS (Anas fulvigula) have been present on-and-off on the ponds at Hornsby Bend since the spring. The most recent sighting was from August 8th.

A pair of SCOTT'S ORIOLES (Icterus parisorum) have been present at a private residence near Volente on Lake Travis since early July, last reported on August 3rd.

--- RARE SIGHTINGS FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS ---

A VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (Tachycineta thalassina) was studied briefly at the Hornsby Bend ponds on August 2nd.

An immature REDDISH EGRET (Egretta rufescens) was present on July 25th on the water along the east side of the causeway at Canyon Lake.

A RINGED KINGFISHER (Megaceryle torquatus) was seen on July 25th at Commons Ford Park in west Austin.

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Reports for the Austin area RBA cover a 60-mile radius centered in downtown Austin. This circle extends north to Belton Lake (Bell County), south to Leesville (Gonzales County), east to Somerville WMA (Lee/Burleson County), and west to Blumenthal (Gillespie County).

Bird sightings mentioned here have been filtered & scrutinized by the compiler and are believed to be genuine. When documentation or photographs were provided, that is mentioned along with the other information about the bird(s) being seen.

The most recent update can always be found at:

http://www.travisaudubon.org/rba.html

Visit Travis Audubon online at:

http://www.travisaudubon.org

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For questions or updates about birds mentioned here or to report rare or unusual bird sightings in the Austin area, please send an e-mail to
ecarpe@gmail.com.

--
Eric Carpenter
Rare Bird Alert Compiler, Travis Audubon Society

TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds