Prospect Park bird hike
A brilliant sky greeted the 24 early risers to the monthly bird walk. We met at the Prospect Park trail head on a crisp Oct. 1st morning. We saw 19 different species of birds, many in the meadow below the karst and wetland features of the natural area that connects to the larger Purgatory Creek natural area.
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| Eastern Phoebe (Colton Robbins) |
Recent rains of 8+ inches were evident as the trails were no longer muddy but the grass was laid-down where the flows streamed down to the creek. The natural areas work to protect the quality of water flowing into the aquifer and flood control as the water washes over the undeveloped land.
Many of our sightings were made in the tops of the numerous mesquite trees that are dominating the grassland meadow. The grassland included Johnson grass and King Ranch bluestem, both invasives. Goldenrod with brilliant yellow flowers also filled the meadow and will serve as nutrition for sparrows and finches in the coming weeks.
The bird walks take place on the first Saturday of each month and are led by Stephen Ramirez and Colton Robbins who provides the list of birds we’ve seen. Contact [email protected] to be added to eMail list. Facebook pages for San Marcos Bird Walk and San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance also have similar information. –LJ
Oct 1, 2016 7:35 AM – 8:50 AM
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| Goldenrod |
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
19 species
Black Vulture 1
White-winged Dove 30
Mourning Dove 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 2
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 3
Cave Swallow 3
Carolina Chickadee 3
Black-crested Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 2
Bewick’s Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Cardinal 6
Great-tailed Grackle 4
House Finch 3
Lesser Goldfinch 2
View this checklist online at
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