Tuesday, July 3, 2001

Venture out for summer birding

Summer is hot in South Texas but there are still plenty of birds to enjoy. Almost all of them are busy nesting and seem a bit harried. Never mind- get outside, or you will miss good things.
   The sun does not set until 8 p.m., so get in the car, windows up, air conditioning on, and head for the edges of town. Go to Chapman Ranch Road, way out Staples to beyond the Botanical Gardens, or several brushy roads off the back road out of Gregory and around Sinton. Leave the traffic behind and start looking.
   You may not see much at first but keep going, and you will get better. Notice birds that sit on wires between utility poles and fence posts. A good place to go now is Hazel Bazemore Park, or the residential streets from County Road 624 toward the Nueces River.
   What to look for
   Bronzed cowbirds, for instance, are still putting on a great show for their lady friends, puffing themselves up for an airborne pirouette, then landing for a cake-walk strut. A green heron was in the water of the pond at Hazel Bazemore. Many black-necked stilts are around wherever there is water.
   I hear woodstorks can be seen from the pier at Hans Suter Wildlife Refuge on Ennis Joslin. These large black and white birds do not usually arrive here until August. When a storm is around, look for magnificent frigate birds. We saw two after Tropical Storm Allison, along the bayfront.
   They sometimes come to the back of the Oso and can be seen from S.P.I.D. Remember to look up.
   I saw a nervous kildeer at the edge of the road at Airline and Gollihar. I could not tell if it was a young bird or protecting a young bird. Purple martins are still in residence at a home on Peerman and Santa Fe but others are beginning to gather in late afternoon on wires above Center near Lamar Park. This post-nesting gathering also usually begins later in the summer.
   Road-trip to Rockport
   For a good late afternoon trip, head toward Rockport on 35, then from business 35, turn off on 1069. The wetland along the sides is probably dry, but look for small spots where a little water is left. The road is windy, and some of the small or dead-end roads that turn off of it can be interesting.
   Cape Velero is a failed real estate development on 188 out of Rockport. Its ponds, even when water is low, can have feeding wading birds of many different species. Expect snowy, reddish and great egrets, along with mottled ducks, and flocks of white ibis. Ibis are white with decurved red beaks but the young are brown.
   In brushy thickets, listen for the scritchy-scratchy song of a painted bunting, then search the surrounding tree tops for a sight of the tiny bird. You will have to roll the windows down to hear these birds.
   Don't waste your summer sitting by the TV.
  
  

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Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi resident, has studied birds in Texas since 1960.

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