Birds of Williamson County TX

Many avid bird watchers have stayed with us at Scurlock Farms.

They have visited to see as many birds of Williamson County as possible.  2/3 of all birds seen in Texas are seen in Williamson County.  We are located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and so far, all guests staying at the farm have seen a lifer – a bird they had never seen in person before!  Guests staying multiple times have seen a llifer each visit.

I was giving a tour to a couple from Kansas when she noticed something fluttering in the dried dusty area where we were going to pass through a gate.  It was a Roadrunner taking a dirt bath!  She was so excited as she had never seen one.  While giving a couple a tour around the farm, a Roadrunner ran, then flew across the road right in front of us.  The woman was from Ukraine and she was very excited to see the Roadrunner as she had never seen one!  On another guest tour, this time to a young family from Grand Cayman, the young mother also saw a Roadrunner as it ran into the pasture.  A Roadrunner nesting near Indian Bluff would pause for photos for a family from Canada as they returned back to their guest house on the farm!  One guest commented she had not realized they were real birds, but cartoon characters.

During the spring when the Roadrunners are nesting, I frequently see one as I drive up or down the drive.  When they are feeding their babies, they will be up and down the drive constantly, chasing bugs and lizards.

This baby Roadrunner fell out of his nest too early.  The nest was in a large cedar tree near Indian Bluff.  We tried to reach the nest with our tallest extension ladder, but could not.  At dusk the mother Roadrunner was leading the baby into heavy brush inside the pasture fence.  I hope the baby survived until he could fly!

The terrain of Scurlock Farms lends itself to seeing many varied species of birds.

The top pasture is prairie; we have heavily wooded bluffs and heavily wooded acreage with many dead snags for woodpeckers, owls and squirrels to nest in; a 20 acre pecan orchard; and river bottom wetlands.

I have had guests visit Scurlock Farms from 26 countries and all 50 states that have enjoyed just sitting under the trees, reading a book and listening to the many different song birds and the owls in the evening.  Some didn’t even care what kind of bird it was.  They were just enjoying the peace and serenity as they listened to the birds.

Great Horned Owl

A man from Arizona spent a week with us and he commented the highlight of his trip was seeing a Great Horned Owl fly in at dusk and land on a telephone pole about 30′ from where he was seated outdoors.

A pair of Scissor-tails at Scurlock Farms was very unhappy with this pair of Vultures

We have several pair of Scissor-tail Flycatchers that nest around Scurlock Farms each year.  For several years, one pair built a nest on a metal platform on the top of Dan’s 55′ tower.  Another couple of pair make their nests near Rocky Overlook.  They do not like it when I do landscaping near where they are nesting.

The Scissor-tail Flycatchers are very vocal in their displeasure and luckily have never dive-bombed me the way they did the Vultures!!  These are beautiful, graceful birds, and they eat a lot of mosquitoes and other flying insects.

 

The Mockingbird is the state bird of Texas and there are many of them on the farm.

One Mockingbird lives in a pyracantha bush at the end of the drive near the farm entrance.  Another nests in one of the trees in my front yard, and during the spring and summer, both are singing constantly!

Brave Mockingbird 5′ from me as I worked in a pasture

Dan and I were working picking up the remains of a burned brush pile early in the spring, and this little guy was totally unafraid of us!  He visited us several times.

Mockingbirds are territorial and one way they “mark” their  territory is to constantly sing a repertoire of songs.  The one at the end of the drive will sit on the top of a telephone pole near the entrance, fly a few feet into the air, then back down to the pole, all the while singing!  During the winter he sits in the pyracantha bush and sings away.  The grandchildren love seeing and hearing him in the mornings as they wait on the school bus.  He is a ball of fluff on cold days and is beautiful sitting on the end of a branch among the red berries.

 

Now you see him, now you don’t!  Whoops, here he comes!!

Last spring we had a problem with coyotes killing our goats.  In this video David is at the goat barn using an infrared night-vision scope looking for coyotes.  He sees a pair of eyes (the smaller “light” just to the left of the target and in the lighter shaded grass) about 200 yards out in the pasture and thinks it is a coyote until it begins to float around in the air (at 1:11 on the video), then flies right towards him and lands on an electric line just above him.  It was a Great Horned Owl!  At about 2′ tall, very impressive.

Did you know . . .

• The oldest known wild Great Horned Owl was 28, but one in the San Francisco Zoo was 50 in 2012?
• Females are larger than the males?
• Have a wingspan of 3.3′ to 4.5′?
• They live from the Arctic to South America?
• They are monogamous birds?
• When they are “hooting” they are claiming their territory?

A pair of Great Horned Owls nests in a tree near our son’s home.

One of our granddaughters sleeps upstairs, and many nights she goes downstairs as the Great Horned Owls are “hoot hooting” at each other right outside her window.  Guests sitting out at dusk and in the evening have loved hearing them call to one another.

Often when I am giving guests a tour late in the evening, we will flush a Great Horned Owl out of the trees in front of Rocky Overlook.  One flew out over the pasture this week right at dusk.  They are majestic as they silently glide down towards the river bottom.

While giving a family a tour at dusk, we flushed a great Horned Owl out of a tree near the drive.  As we came back up the bluff after the tour, the mom spotted him sitting near the top of a tree watching us as we passed below.

Can you can spot him in the photo.  Hint:  He is about 1/3 down from the top of the tree just to the left of center.  Look for his silhouette.

 

Great photos of birds of Williams County here!

List of Common Birds of Williamson County

* marks birds seen on Scurlock Farms

1. Bittern, American
2. Bittern, Least
3. Blackbird, Brewer’s
4. Blackbird, Red-Winged *
5. Blackbird, Yellow-headed
6. Bluebird, Eastern *
7. Bluejay *
8. Bobwhite, Northern *
9. Bufflehead
10. Bunting, Indigo *
11. Bunting, Painted * (male has been seen several years, hundreds of females seen each year)
12. Canvasback
13. Caracara, Crested * (Mexican Eagle)
14. Cardinal, Northern *
15. Cattle Egret *
16. Chat, Yellow-breasted
17. Chickadee, Carolina *
18. Coot, American *
19. Cormorant, Double-crested * (this is the bird that my dad called a Water Turkey) *
20. Cowbird, Brown-headed *
21. Crane, Sandhill * Seen and heard flying over many times during migration
22. Creeper, Brown *
23. Crow, American *
24. Cuckoo, Yellow-billed *
25. Dickcissel (looks like a miniature Eastern Meadowlark – sings beautifully and often)*
26. Dove, Eurasian Collared *
27. Dove, Inca *
28. Dove, Mourning *
29. Dove, Rock (AKA Feral Pigeon) *
30. Dove, White-winged *
31. Duck, Ruddy
32. Duck, Mottled *
33. Egret, Great *
34. Egret, Snowy *
35. Finch, House *
36. Finch, Purple *
37. Flicker, Northern *
38. Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed *
39. Gadwall *
40. Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray (we saw 3 of them today) *
41. Goldfinch, American *
42. Goldfinch, Lesser *
43. Goose, Canada *
44. Goose, Greater White-fronted*
45. Goose, Snow *
46. Grackle, Common *
47. Grackle, Great-tailed *
48. Grebe, Pied-billed *
49. Grosbeak, Blue
50. Gull, Laughing *
51. Gull, Ring-billed *
52. Harrier, Northern
53. Hawk, Common Night *
54. Hawk, Cooper’s *
55. Hawk, Red-shouldered *
56. Hawk, Red-tailed *
57. Hawk, Sharp-shinned *
58. Hawk, White-tailed *
59. Heron, Black-crowned Night
60. Heron, Great Blue *
61. Heron, Green *
62. Heron, Little Blue
63. Hummingbird, Black-chinned *
64. Hummingbird, Ruby-throated *
65. Junco, Dark-eyed *
66. Kestrel, American *
67. Kildeer *
68. Kingbird, Eastern *
69. Kingbird, Western
70. Kingfisher, Belted *
71. Kinglet, Ruby-crowned *
72. Kite, Mississippi
73. Lark, Horned
74. Mallard *
75. Martin, Purple *
76. Meadowlark, Eastern *
77. Merganser, Red-breasted
78. Merlin
79. Mockingbird, Northern *
80. Nuthatch, Red-breasted
81. Nuthatch, White Breasted *
82. Oriole, Baltimore *
83. Oriole, Orchard
84. Owl, Barn *
85. Owl, Burrowing (Seen near Scurlock Farms)
86. Owl, Eastern Screech *
87. Owl, Great Horned *   (nesting near The Studio)
88. Pelican, American White *
89. Pigeon *
90. Phoebe, Eastern *
91. Pintail, Northern *
92. Pipit, American (we saw several dozen today) *
93. Redhead
94. Roadrunner, Greater *
95. Robin, American *
96. Sandpiper, Least *
97. Sandpiper, Spotted
98. Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied *
99. Scaup, Lesser
100. Shoveler, Northern *
101. Shrike, Loggerhead (the bird that Daddy called the Butcher Bird) *
102. Siskin, Pine
103. Snipe, Wilson’s
104. Sparrow, Chipping *
105. Sparrow, Grasshopper
106. Sparrow, Harris’
107. Sparrow, House *
108. Sparrow, Lark *
109. Sparrow, Lincoln’s *
110. Sparrow, Savannah *
111. Sparrow, Song *
112. Sparrow, Swamp
113. Sparrow, Vesper (very common there in winter) *
114. Sparrow, White-crowned *
115. Sparrow, White-throated
116. Starling, European *
117. Swallow, Barn *
118. Swallow, Cliff (These are the swallows that nest on overpasses in mud nests) *
119. Swift, Chimney *
120. Tanager, Summer *
121. Teal, Blue-winged *
122. Teal, Green-winged
123. Tern, Forster’s
124. Thrasher, Brown
125. Thrush, Hermit
126. Titmouse, Tufted *
127. Towhee, Spotted *
128. Turkey, Wild *
129. Vulture, Black *
130. Vulture, Turkey *
131. Warbler, Black and White *
132. Warbler, Prothonotary *
133. Warbler, Yellow-rumped *
134. Waxwing, Cedar *
135. Whip-poor-will *
136. Wigeon, American *
137. Woodpecker, Downy *
138. Woodpecker, Harry *
139. Woodpecker, Ladder Backed *
140. Woodpecker, Pileated *
141. Woodpecker, Red-Bellied *
142. Woodpecker, Red-headed *
143. Wren, Bewick’s *
144. Wren, Carolina *
145. Wren, House*
146. Yellowlegs, Greater *
147. Yellowlegs, Lesser
148. Yellow-throat, Common

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