Region 1
Spring 2000
Region 1 - Panhandle
Lorie Black
3334 South 11th Street
Abilene, TX 79605
915-698-7842
ldblack@abilene.com
Spring: Spring of 2000 might be characterized in two words: Hot and windy. Record and near-record temperatures were recorded throughout the period with extreme heat noted in the last half of April and in May. Migration was characterized by one Panhandle birder as "hit or miss" without massive movements or fallouts. Migrant movement was fairly steady, with several species arriving earlier than usual. There was an unusually heavy Chipping and Clay-colored Sparrow Migration in the south. While the southern part of the region recorded fewer warbler species than average, the north had a lively warbler migration. Twenty-two warbler species and eight vireos were reported in the northern Panhandle this spring. Shorebird migration was generally down throughout the region. In the southern portion of the region, where the drought has been more severe, many typically active shorebird areas were dry this year. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was found in Randall County. Another excellent find was a HENSLOW'S SPARROW in Oldham County.
Common Loon: (6) 1 April (Harvey Oatman, Irene Oatman) and (1) 18 April (Barrett Pierce), Greenbelt Lake, Donely Co.
Horned Grebe: (2) 12 March (Deborah Lee, Peggy Trosper), Buffalo Lake NWR. Eared Grebe: (1) 6 March (Barrett Pierce), 45th and Georgia, Amarillo; (5) 11 March (Big Country Audubon Soc.), Abilene Waste Water Treatment Plant, Jones County; (2) 12 March (Deborah Lee, Peggy Trosper), Buffalo Lake NWR; (3) 20 March (Lucy Kay Jalbert, Ed Kutac), Randall County. Clark's Grebe: (1) 13 May (Kenneth Seyffert), Buffalo Lake NWR [First reported in the Texas Panhandle, continued to be seen through May 29].
Western Grebe: (2) 16 April (Peggy Trosper), (2) 17 April (Bill McKinney), (2) 21 April (Peggy Trosper), and (1) 28 April (Ed Kutac, Rosemary Scott), all at Buffalo Lake NWR; (1-5) 18-29 May (Kenneth Seyffert, et al), Buffalo Lake NWR [including 2 on 5/19 performing courtship display]; (2) 6 May (Ed Kutac, Barrett Pierce, Rosemary Scott), Oldham County. Least Bittern: (1) 29 May (Barrett Pierce), Buffalo Lake NWR.
American Bittern: (1) 11 May and (1) 19 May (Kenneth Seyffert), Buffalo Lake NWR. Little Blue Heron: (1) 10 May (Rich Kostecke), Clapp Park, Lubbock [Rare in migration] White-faced Ibis: (11) 30 March (Bill McKinney), Tradewinds Playa, Randall County; (1) 6 April (Big Country Audubon Society), Abilene Wastewater Treatment Plant, Jones County; (1) 30 April (Lorie Black), Kirby Lake, Abilene.
Ross's Goose: (2) 14 April (Rudy Cadra), Carson County.
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck: (10) 3 May (Leanna Smith) and (5) 4 May (Toby McBride, Ellen Roots), Levelland, Hockley County [First County and area record]. Cinnamon Teal: (1) 11 March (Big Country Audubon Soc.), Abilene Waste Water Treatment Plant, Jones County.
Greater Scaup: (1) 5 March (Anthony Floyd, Rich Kostecke), Canyon Lakes, Lubbock County; (1) 8 March (Bill Rydel), Buffalo Springs Lake, Lubbock County [Casual].
Golden Eagle: (1) 9 March (Panhandle Bird Club); (4) 26 March (Barrett Pierce, Carol Pierce), all at Palo Duro Canyon, Armstrong County; (1) 30 May (Judith Evans), Amarillo. Cooper's Hawk: (1) 28 April (Ed Kutac, Rosemary Scott), Buffalo Lake NWR. Broad-winged Hawk: (1) 9-21 May (Panhandle Bird Club), Buffalo Lake NWR.
Prairie Falcon: (1) 11 March (Ed Kutac, Rosemary Scott, Peggy Trosper), Randall County; (1) 18 March (Ed Kutac, Bill McKinney, Barrett Pierce, Rosemary Scott), Donley County.
Peregrine Falcon: (1) 8 March (Laura Sare), Randall County; (1) 16 April (Peggy Trosper), Buffalo Lake NWR; (1) 20 April (Mike Keck, Jim Ray), Pantex Plant, Potter County. Lesser Prairie-Chicken: (14) 30 March (Ed Kutac, Barrett Pierce), Gray County; (12) 8 April (Panhandle Bird Club), Hemphill County; (5) 17 April (Lucy Kay Jalbert, Ed Kutac, Ethel Kutac), Hemphill County; (14) 24 April (Lucy Kay Jalbert, Ed Kutac), Gray County. Scaled Quail: listed as occasional in the Lubbock area, but this species has not been doing well in the region and it was surprising to have several sightings in and around Lubbock March 12 - April 28; John Brunjes also had a scaled quail x northern bobwhite hybrid within this time period.
Sora: (3) 13 February (Panhandle Bird Club), SE Park, Amarillo; (2) 25 March (Panhandle Bird Club), Lake McClellan, Gray County.
Snowy Plover: (1) 4 March (Warren Conway), Tahoka, Lynn County [Rare in migration]. Semipalmated Plover: (1) 19 March (Anthony Floyd), White River Lake, Crosby County [not previously listed for March for county or area].
Willet: (4) 17 April (Bill McKinney), Buffalo Lake NWR; (2) 26 April (Kenneth Seyffert), Taylor Lake WMA,Donley County; (1) 3 May (Rich Kostecke), Clapp Park, Lubbock; (1) 8 May (Rich Kostecke), Crosby County [Casual to rare]. Lesser Yellowlegs: (3) 1 May (Lorie Black, Gary Hamilton), Nelson Park, Abilene. Solitary Sandpiper: (1) 15 April (Panhandle Bird Club), (1) 16 April (Peggy Trosper), (1) 17 April (Bill McKinney), (2) 23 April (Barrett Pierce), all at Buffalo Lake NWR; (1) 1 May (Peggy Trosper), Canyon Roadside Park, Randall County.
Marbled Godwit: (3) 15 April (Panhandle Bird Club), Buffalo Lake NWR. Dunlin: (4) 30 March (Bill McKinney), Tradewinds Playa, Randall County.
White-rumped Sandpiper: (1) 18 May (Rich Kostecke), Crosby County [Rare]. Pectoral Sandpiper: (1) 30 March (Bill McKinney), Tradewinds Playa, Randall County; (1) 25 April (Kenneth Seyffert), Western and Hollywood, Amarillo; (1) 6 May (Big Country Audubon Soc.), Nelson Park, Abilene; (1) 9 May and 19 May (Rich Kostecke), Crosby County [Casual in migration].
Upland Sandpiper: (3) 26, March (Laura Sare), Randall County; (6) 6 May (Lorie Black, Jan & Lonnie Hobbs), north of Hawley, Jones County; (2) 17 April (Harvey Oatman), Donley County; (6) 21 April (Harvey Oatman), Collingsworth County.
Short-billed Dowitcher: (1) 8 March (Bill Rydel), Twin Ponds, Lubbock [Rare for March].
Stilt Sandpiper: (1-30) throughout May (many observers), Randall County; (4) 6 May (Big Country Audubon Soc.), Nelson Park, Abilene. Common Snipe: (2) 25 March (Panhandle Bird Club), Gray County; many reports for April, mostly from Buffalo Lake NWR.