San Antonio wrap-up

If this isn't a House Sparrow or a Field Sparrow next to that Black-crested Titmouse, that'll be another bird on my list! Any guesses? (It's probably just a house sparrow)

It was quite a week for me in San Antonio: I saw my family, much of whom I'd not seen in four years; I saw my parents' new home; I birded; I had good Mexican food; and I met a bloggy hero, Karen Zipdrive. I'm smiling as I type, just remembering all the good times.

I wish I could post a few more photos from my last morning of birding, but I left my USB transfer cable at my parents' house so I can't get the pics off my camera! Dangit! I'll include some other photos, though, and give you the birdy recap.

Total species seen: 35
Lifers seen: 6

Kinda disappointing, but it IS rather early, even in Texas I think. We had great weather (in the 80s) every day except my first Saturday (60s and cloudy/rainy) and my last Saturday (50s with a serious windchill). Still, there were a lot of cardinals and mockers everywhere, but not a whole lot of other birds.

My list, with lifers highlighted in red--there was some confusion in my brain as to whether I'd already notched a Blue-headed Vireo; I had. However, I realized I had not gotten a Carolina Chickadee, so that made up for it:
American Kestrel
Bewick's Wren
Black Vulture
Black-crested Titmouse
Blue Jay
Blue-headed Vireo
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Common Grackle
Eastern Phoebe
European Starling
Field Sparrow
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Great Egret
Great Horned Owl (heard only, not seen, dangit!)
Great-tailed Grackle
House Sparrow
Inca Dove
Killdeer
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Shoveler**
Orange-crowned Warbler
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Turkey Vulture
White-winged Dove
Yellow-rumped Warbler
**the mystery duck from my other post; thanks to the commenter who suggested that--I saw it again on my last day and checked out his huge bill and knew instantly

Not a bad haul, I guess--considering I had no idea where I was half the time. I'm sure there were other birds everywhere I went. I am certain I saw some sort of thrasher or thrush at one point, but I didn't see it long enough to get an ID. Also, I am almost certain I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker; however, according to the SA Audubon Society's listing, it would've been rather a rarity. I only got a quick glance, but I'm pretty sure that it was a Red-bellied. I wanted to make it into a Ladder-backed, but I couldn't do that either; I just didn't get a good enough look.

Tomorrow, I'll be heading to the Lancaster PA area to visit Middle Creek, where there are up to 80,000 migrating Snow Geese at this time of the year! It snowed on Tuesday, however, so the birder I'm going with said it might be down to like 15,000 -- "only" 15,000. AS IF! My mind is already reeling at the thought of seeing that many birds (much less geese) at one time. I'll take pics, and I'll try to get a camera cord so you can see them. Can't wait!