ID Challenge ANSWERS!

OK! Feel good about your answers?! Click the link to see how you did!

ID Challenge #6

This sparrow was seen out in a grassy, mowed field hopping around with several other of his friends.

ID Challenge #5

This bird was seen near a large field. It retreated to a distant tree when I got to close and peaked over the top of the branch to check on me.

Bonus photo! The chest is still a little obscured, but you can see a little more streaking. So two key field marks are a streaky chest and an eye ring.

ID Challenge #4

Good Friday morning! We'll cover a couple of more unknowns today in preparation for the trip on Saturday. I'll have a final post with the answers this afternoon.

This bird was seen in a wooded edge near a meadow in a medium sized flock.

ID Challenge #3

Alright, last one for today. Another bird seen in a marshy/reedy area. Work on this one- I have another picture that can help - leave me a note if you want to see it.

ID Challenge #2

Back for more huh? Now we'll work on some of the more tricky sparrows. This was taken in a swampy/marshy area on the edge of a wooded lot.

What say you RBASers?

Bonus photo! Zoomed in of the original...

ID Challenge #1

I'm going to post a picture of a sparrow taken in the Brazos Valley in the past month or two, along with a quick description of where it was taken. From there I'll let everyone run with the informed opinions! Maybe I'll blur the picture a little, or crop out part of the bird to make it a little tricky. Or maybe I'll post one of my many bad photos :(

Either way the point of this is to not just start yelling out sparrow names, but to look at the bird, notice the specific parts and colors and stripes, and come up with an answer. They may not all be right- IDing birds from photos is a different challenge and not always as cut and dry as you might think. Anyway, enough words, bring on the birds!

Sparrow #1
Taken at the George Bush Library pond- woodland edges with a pond and a creek running behind the woods.

OK good luck!

Sparrows! Part2

Sparrows! Cont'd.

For Sparrows! Part1, See HERE

MARKINGS

So, you’re going to half to break down and learn the parts of the bird… and I don’t mean just head, legs and wings! There are some specific parts to look at when you see an LBJ in the bushes or on the ground. You’ll need to learn a few new words so we’re all talking about the same thing. These will get you started:

Crown, Supercillium, Eye-line, Eye-ring, Lore, Cheek, Mustatial Stripe, Sub-mustatial Stripe, Malar Stripe, Throat, and Chest.

In the front of every bird guide, there should be some sketches like the one below pointing out all of these same things. Live it, learn it, love it. It will make these sparrows much less problematic!

Important parts of a sparrow

Sparrows! Part1

Ok, so I know I promised some sparrow ID challenges before our adventure to Washington on the Brazos this weekend, but before I get to that, I wanted to cover some of the basics about sparrows.

Despite their reputation for being boring, drab, brown stinkers that all look the same, sparrows have a fantastic variety of earth-tones and patterns. As a matter of fact, we should be excited for sparrows!

• No one ever got warbler neck from looking at sparrows all day

• Sparrows are our hearty winter buddies- they don’t go on vacation to the tropics when the weather cools down - they come and visit us!

• Gives you a better appreciation for all of the different shades of brown

• Makes you think about patterns, not just splotches of color

• They aren’t gaudy, like warblers

• At least they aren’t gulls!

Factors to consider when looking at a little brown job:

Habitat: Where are you? In a field? Near a swamp? Your suburban backyard? Your location can help narrow down the likely suspects.

Markings: Streaky or plain chest? Eye-line? Eye-ring? Crown? Cheek color or malar stripe? Any color on the lores? What about the color of bill and legs?

Behavior: Is it foraging along the ground? Is it in a big flock? Hopping or running? Does it flush to a tree branch or brush? Or does it duck into clumps of grass after it flies?

For the purpose of this crash course, we will stick with the Central Brazos Valley and we’ll talk

primarily about the sparrows we find here in winter. I’ve omitted some of the more vexing or less

common species in favor of ones you are more likely to bump into while walking through a park

or driving through an agricultural area.

The list: Chipping, Savannah, Field, Song, Swamp, Lincoln's, White-throated, White-crowned, Vesper, and Lark

Lick Creek Park Nature Center and Rio Brazos Audubon

At a recent meeting of the Friends of Lick Creek Park, David Schmitz from the City of College Station Parks Department described the plans to finish the design and start construction of a Nature Center at Lick Creek Park. This center was part of the long-term master plan and a bond for the construction was approved by voters in 2008. 

After enduring the economic downturn, the City is ready to allocate the funds to build the building. At this time, there are no hard and fast plans for the buildings and structures- David Schmitz presented several renderings made by the architectural firm (below), but final plans won't be made until City Council OKs it.

We at RBAS, as well as the birding community in the Brazos Valley and beyond, realize the uniqueness of LCP as a birding hotspot (187 birds in Ebird) and prime habitat for birds year round- from nesting neotropic migrants, to over wintering sparrows and towhees. We use the park formally for our monthly Birding 101 program, BioBlitz with TAMU in April, North American Migratory Bird count in May, North American Butterfly Count in July, and the Christmas Bird Count in December. Not to mention all of the times we go out as individuals to get into a natural, wooded area. In addition to our uses, TPWD recognizes LCP as a hotspot on their Birding Trails List along with other important birding destinations across the state. So what’s going to happen? A lot of good things I think...

What is planned?

There are a lot of details still in the air, as City Council hasn’t given final go ahead to generate specific plans- but we do have some ballpark rendering to give us an idea:

- Expanded parking

- LEED certified building (potentially)

- Indoor and outdoor classrooms

- Restrooms

- Storage for classroom materials

- Office for staff

- WiFi?

- Pond?

- Butterfly gardens? With an emphasis on Monarchs (milk weed)?

Rendering of potential LCP Nature Center and parking area

Side-view of LCP Nature Center

Other notes:

- Building sight and expanded new parking lot will tie in to current parking lot

- Current chimney swift tower, butterfly gardens, and memorial bench will be untouched

- They are planning on having a capacity of 60-100 people for a class (think school field trips)

- Some lighting will have to go in, but they are conscious of the stars and darkness

- Central open air breezeway will have some displays (flat poster types)

- Rain water harvesting and solar power are planned

- ADA compliant

Blow-out view of Nature Center- classroom/storage on left, facilities
and office on right, breezeway in middle

Side-view of Nature Center

Outdoor teaching space and storage

So what is RBAS’s roll in this?

We have the opportunity to provide our knowledge and expertise to help the City in the implementation of their plans. In teaming with Friends of Lick Creek, Brazos Valley Texas Master Naturalist , and potentially others, we will be able to have a conversation with the City to help work in some of the ideas, desires, wants and needs that we see as valuable. 

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The knowledge base that our groups bring together has significant breadth and depth- we have the people that know the things that make a center like this work- and what would work for this specific center in this specific place. We need those voices- the people that use and enjoy this park the most- to share their ideas- what would we like to have? Where would we like to have it? How much? Too much? More? When? What can we do to help?

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Firstly, we will need people to show up to the City Council meeting when this item comes before the board to voice our support for the project.

As for the bigger question of what can we contribute to this project and what do we want this park/Nature Center to look like… Well? It’s up to us to get our ideas organized and start the conversation with them before the planning is done. 

Time is of the essence as we will need to collaborate with these other groups and speak to the City with more or less one voice. They are optimistic that they can get an up or down vote to go ahead with the bidding process in the coming month or two. 

Leave a comment below with some of your ideas or things you would like to see at (or close by to) this facility (or send an email to riobrazosaudubon@gmail.com if you have a lot on your mind).