Karen Gleason
It’s great to know that the information gathered here in Del Rio will help Audubon Society scientists protect birds and their habitats throughout the U.S., but what I really love about the annual Christmas Count is the time I get to spend in the field with Michael G.
Mike and I are Count teammates, which we have been ever since we began helping with the Count all those years ago. For the 2020 Del Rio Count, which was held on Monday, Dec. 28, we set out early in the morning in Mike’s old Ford truck and headed for the Rincon Del Diablo along the San Felipe Creek.
As I’ve mentioned, the 2020 Count, along with every other aspect of our lives, was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of our regulars stayed home in 2020, and I certainly understand their decision to do so.
Mike and I really, really appreciate the assistance of Connie Hoke and her sister Cynthia Woodrow, Sarah Howard of the Amistad National Recreation Area and her assistant, Marilyn Long, and Ron Rames, who covered the Hidden Valley RV Park in south Del Rio.
In the Rincon, Mike and I found a Ringed Kingfisher, Eastern Bluebirds, American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins and a Northern Flicker.
My favorite bird from the Rincon was the Pine Warbler, which provided a bright spot of color in the gray morning. Pine Warblers, as their name implies, nest and breed in pine forests throughout the eastern and central U.S. During the summer, they usually forage high in the pines, making them more difficult to observe.
We see them here in the winter, often in mixed flocks with Yellow-rumped Warblers, House Finches, goldfinches and sparrows.
And speaking of warblers: We found an inordinate number of Yellow-rumped Warblers everywhere we looked this year, but despite some intense searching, we did not find the Rufous-capped Warbler that had been seen along the creek since late November 2020.
Mike and I continued along the creek, checking out the old cemetery near La Loma De La Cruz and the new county park along the Calaveras Creek drainage across from the San Felipe Cemetery.
In these areas, we picked up a handful of Morelet’s Seedeaters, a Wilson’s Snipe, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Cedar Waxwings.
Later, along the creek at the end of the Dora Alcalá Hike and Bike Trail, we found a flock of American Robins, and we watched these winter visitors taking morning baths.
All in all, it was a good day; though, as all days in the field, it was over too soon.
