Please Note: In July-August we will start the survey at 6:30 AM.
July 19 Survey Report
Peggy Boston, Dick Plumb, and I did the July bird survey at Willow Waterhole Park on a VERY hot morning. It was lovely when we started at 6:30 AM at the Clematis overlook, but was soon terribly hot. We finished the usual route by 9:00 AM with 32 bird species. One of those was a new species for our list -- Monk Parakeet. We saw three of the parakeets on the south portion of Clematis as they flew right over us squawking. Other treats of the day were three ducklings swimming close behind mother Black-bellied Whistling Duck, three rather scraggly-looking juvenile Robins, and two Cooper's Hawks. We adjourned to Annie's Hamburgers to do the count review over breakfast.
The August survey will be hot, too, but we do have fun anyway. Hope to see more of you next time. Thank you, Peggy and Dick!
For a list of the species seen to date, see the eBird hotspot.
- Joy Hester
Background Information:
An exciting new "park" is being developed in near southwest Houston. It's similar to Art Storey Park, in that it's a flood control project that's being built around large detention ponds created by Harris County Flood Control (HCFCD). And, like Art Storey Park, it's attracting water-loving birds even while construction is in progress. This new park is called Willow Waterhole Greenspace Reserve, and it will be an approximately 280-acre park when it's finished. Joy Hester has been leading birdwalks and doing bird surveys at the park for the last few months and entering the data into an eBird hotspot set up by John Berner. She's now organizing a monthly survey on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Please email her if you'd like to participate. (Joy Hester) Park on Ricecrest and meet at 8 AM (7 AM summer hours) at the gazebo on Willow Street.
The park is located just outside the southwest corner of Loop 610. Go south on Chimney Rock past Bellfort; turn left at Westbury High School onto Gasmer. The park begins where Gasmer splits and becomes Willow to the left, Gasmer to the right. It extends all the way to Post Oak and even across Post Oak, although work hasn't begun yet on the other side of Post Oak. There's a paved path almost around one of the large basins, and one of the best places to see birds is off of Gasmer on Clematis where there's a turnaround overlooking one of the basins.
Joy's hope is to establish a good database so that we can track changes in the bird populations as the park develops and changes over time. For a list of the species seen to date, see the eBird hotspot.
