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BIRDS
For some reason, Spring Creek Park Preserve is always turning up some unusual bird. Maybe it's because we visit this park often. Maybe it's because such diverse habitats attract many species. Whatever the case, Spring Creek is a great birding spot year round. Some of the more unusual sightings include: American Woodcock (11/21/98; 12/27/98; 1/24/99), Blue-winged Warbler (4/5/99), Cerulean Warbler (4/30/98), Golden-cheeked Warbler (5/10/97), Swainson's Warbler (4/5/99), Hooded Warbler (4/2/99), Bell's Vireo (5/10-11/97), Grasshopper Sparrow (11/11/98; 4/3/99; 10/10/99), LeConte's Sparrow, Veery (4/2/99), American Tree Sparrow (3/9/98), Sedge Wrens (4/27/00), and Henslow's Sparrow (11/18/04).
I flushed a Sora on 10/18/98 from the field. During summer look for Painted and Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-billed cuckoo, Red-eyed Vireo, Scissor-tailed and Great-crested Flycatchers, Western Kingbird, and Swainson's Hawk.
During winter, sparrows can be abundant, with Harris's, Swamp, Lincoln's, Chipping, Field, White-throated, Song, LeConte's, Savannah, Dark-eyed Junco, and Spotted Towhee. Fox Sparrows are often numerous along the hedgerow that extends northwest of the parking lot. Grasshopper and LeConte's Sparrows are scarce but regular migrants and winter residents. Also during winter there are Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creepers, Carolina Chickadees, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Hairy Woodpecker, Great-horned and Barred Owls, and others in the woods. Migration here is good also, with several warblers, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Catbird, Clay-colored Sparrow, Blue-headed Vireo, and others. Spring Creek is also great for butterflies during the warm months. Habitat includes remnant rocky prairie with cedar-elm/eastern red cedar islands or copses and bottomland hardwoods with bur, chinquapin, and shumard oaks.
Derek Hill
Bird songs for common species such as Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse,
and White-eyed Vireo were recorded during the summer of 2000 at Spring
Creek and can be found on the
North
American Bird Sounds web site. Also check out
Key to bird calls, songs and sounds from Cornell University.
Bent's Life Histories of Birds - perhaps the best source on natural history of our birds
Join your local Audubon Chapter to meet fellow birders and see more birds:
Birds of Spring Creek Park Preserve
Garland, Dallas County, Texas
Compiled by Jack and Derek Hill
Derek's Neotropical Migrant Checklist for Prairie Creek
Bird Checklists for
Texas
* indicates probable nester (nesting behavior has been
observed)
12/06/2011
Last Update
Double-crested Cormorant
Sandhill Crane (flyover)
Hooded Merganser
Merlin
Franklin's Gull (flyover)
White-Winged Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo*
Red-bellied Woodpecker*
Horned Lark
Bell's
Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Brown Creeper
Mountain Bluebird 2007
Prothonotary Warbler
Prairie
Warbler
Summer Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Henslow's
Sparrow
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Purple Finch
Red Crossbill (flyover)
2004 Audubon Texas Watch List
Although the Leconte's
and Grasshopper Sparrow are not on the Texas Watch List, they
are prairie-dependent
birds on the decline. Total: 170 species.
See
Events, Nature
Notes & Weather for recent birding events as well as field
reports from
Prairie Creek, a tributary
to Spring Creek in Richardson, Texas. Visit the Texbirds Reference
Page at
http://www.moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds.
For good birding
spots are Dallas click here on maps used on old Birding Texas site: Photos by Ben Cox
Lincoln's Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
Lincoln's
Sparrow Fox Sparrow
(click to
enlarge)
Savannah Sparrow
Northern
Flicker
Brown
Thrasher
Eastern
Bluebird
click on
above Northern Mockingbird to enlarge White-throated sparrow Rare visitor seen upstream of Spring Creek
Preserve and Forest...
Photo of Rock Wren taken at Spring Creek Natural Area,
located in Richardson near Plano Road and Renner. The bird has been
observed by several folks over the period of several weeks, with the
last reported observation on December 16th. Taken by Dede Crusinberry.
Now Available: Seasonal Abundance Checklist of Birds for Spring Creek.
E-mail
kinglet32@yahoo.com
for a free copy.
White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Wood Stork (flyover)
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Mallard
Wood Duck
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk*
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk*
Fuertes (fuertesi)*
Eastern (borealis)
Western (calurus)
Harlan's (harlani)
American Kestrel
Mississippi Kite
Northern Bobwhite
Sora
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
American Woodcock
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove*
Greater Roadrunner
Great-horned Owl*
Barred Owl*
Eastern Screech-Owl*
Common Nighthawk
Chuck-Will's-Widow
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird*
Belted Kingfisher*
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker*
Hairy Woodpecker*
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe*
Great-crested Flycatcher*
Western Kingbird*
Eastern Kingbird*
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher*
Loggerhead Shrike*
Red-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay*
American Crow*
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
N.Rough-winged Swallow
Carolina Chickadee*
Tufted Titmouse*
Carolina Wren*
House Wren
Winter Wren
Bewick's Wren
Sedge Wren
White-breasted Nuthatch*
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Eastern Bluebird
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird*
Brown Thrasher*
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula *
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler
Yellow-rumped "Audubon's" Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Golden-cheeked Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Swainson's Warbler
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Le Conte's Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Smith's Longspur
Lapland Longspur
Northern Cardinal*
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting*
Painted Bunting*
Dickcissel*
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch*
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
