Texas Panhandle Bird Nerd

Adventures of a new birder from amarillo

Since I started birdwatching (the cool kids call it "birding") in 2019, I've been trying to discern which sparrow is which, to figure out where to see a variety of birds in the Texas Panhandle, and to learn to compose beautiful pictures of the amazing wildlife I have encountered. This website is a record of that journey.

Thanks for visiting!

Vicki Wilmarth

Birding and Wildlife Stories

Northern Harriers Silently Glide over Panhandle Countryside

Oct 13

Northern Harriers Silently Glide over Panhandle Countryside

Northern Harriers soar over the agricultural fields of the Texas Panhandle all year, but they are particularly populous in our area...

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Tips for Better Photography

Sep 15

Tips for Better Photography

Tips for Better Photography is a presentation both by video and PowerPoint slide show that provides six easy tips to taking better pictures.

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Burrowing Owls are Summer's Entertainers

Jun 13

Burrowing Owls are Summer's Entertainers

The Texas Panhandle was one continuous prairie dog town once upon a time. Observers in the 1870's commented on the endless burrows and...

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McClellan Lake Birding and Camping

Jun 4

McClellan Lake Birding and Camping

Red-headed Woodpeckers have found something they really like at McClellan Lake in Gray County (just off I-40 near McLean). I don't know...

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Snow Birds

Feb 15

Snow Birds

As much as I love photographing colorful Painted Buntings in the summer or energetic Yellow Warblers in the fall in the Texas Panhandle,...

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Birding Hot Spots in the Texas Panhandle

Jan 5

Birding Hot Spots in the Texas Panhandle

For a new birder, one of the most difficult challenges is figuring out where to find interesting birds to watch. Over the last two years,...

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Bird Nerd on a Podcast

Dec 21, 2020

Bird Nerd on a Podcast

Anette Carlisle, education guru and fellow birder, invited me to share a little about Texas Panhandle birding and my now two-year old...

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Christmas Bird Count 2020--Amarillo

Dec 20, 2020

Christmas Bird Count 2020--Amarillo

Eighty-nine species of birds showed up on Saturday, December 19, 2020, to be counted by 15 local birders in the 121st Audubon Christmas...

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Cooper's Hawks Nesting in our Yard in Amarillo (Updated)

Nov 15, 2020

Cooper's Hawks Nesting in our Yard in Amarillo (Updated)

Since April, we have happily followed the adventures of a pair of nesting Cooper's Hawks in our suburban front yard in Amarillo.

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Why eBird?

Nov 13, 2020

Why eBird?

eBird makes birding more fun and lets me participate in citizen science, treasure hunting, and scrapbooking all while learning about birds.

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Swainson's Hawk Migration Begins

Sep 15, 2020

Swainson's Hawk Migration Begins

A cool fall morning in northeast Potter County marked the early stages of very long journey for the dozens of Swainson's Hawks that I...

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Birding a Different Part of Texas

Jun 6, 2020

Birding a Different Part of Texas

At the beginning of June, birding in the Texas Panhandle slows down and can seem a little, well, monochromatic. The migratory birds are...

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Mystery Birds

May 20, 2020

Mystery Birds

Quick! If you are a birder, what kind of hawk is this? This picture is from my front yard in Amarillo, taken on May 9, 2020. You can see...

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The Reopening of Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Apr 20, 2020

The Reopening of Palo Duro Canyon State Park

For two weeks in April, the animals had the 26,000 acres of Palo Duro Canyon State Park to themselves and they quickly staged a takeover.

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The Eagles of Amarillo

Feb 17, 2020

The Eagles of Amarillo

As many as a dozen Bald Eagles call Amarillo home during the winter months, but they can go unnoticed unless you know where to look for them

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Bosque del Apache Should Be on Every Birder's Bucket List

Jan 21, 2020

Bosque del Apache Should Be on Every Birder's Bucket List

Rohn and I spent the weekend in New Mexico at the birding dream location, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

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Buffalo Lake's Boisterous Northern Shrike

Dec 22, 2019

Buffalo Lake's Boisterous Northern Shrike

A beautiful, buff-colored bird has sparked birdwatcher's interest in Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge this winter. The juvenile...

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Christmas Bird Count 2019--Amarillo

Dec 15, 2019

Christmas Bird Count 2019--Amarillo

For 120 years, birders have been trudging out into fields, lakesides, mountains and beaches as citizen scientists to record the types and...

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Yellow-Headed Blackbirds By the 100's

Dec 13, 2019

Yellow-Headed Blackbirds By the 100's

While huge flocks of blackbirds are not uncommon, particularly in agricultural settings, I was startled in early October 2019 by more...

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The Great Varied Thrush Stakeout of 2019

Dec 9, 2019

The Great Varied Thrush Stakeout of 2019

While I was visiting my big brother, Steve Hart, in Lakewood, Colorado, he created a small birding sensation when he spotted a Varied...

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Playa Lakes are the Lifeblood of the Texas Panhandle

Dec 4, 2019

Playa Lakes are the Lifeblood of the Texas Panhandle

Playa lakes provide water, food and shelter to migratory and local birds and have become one of this bird nerd's favorite destinations....

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Aoudad Sheep in Palo Duro Canyon

Dec 3, 2019

Aoudad Sheep in Palo Duro Canyon

A herd of fascinating non-native North African barbary sheep roam the canyon, but they are seldom seen in the state park. The sheep (who,...

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Palo Duro Canyon Beauty

Dec 3, 2019

Palo Duro Canyon Beauty

The Texas Panhandle is just a blank canvas on which God paints a new masterpiece every day. Growing up in Arlington, Texas, I thought...

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Palo Duro Canyon Bird Blind

Dec 3, 2019

Palo Duro Canyon Bird Blind

The bird blind at Palo Duro Canyon State Park yields a treasure trove of interesting local birds.

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Ferruginous Hawk (dark morph)

Dec 2, 2019

Ferruginous Hawk (dark morph)

Only 10% of Ferruginous Hawks are dark morphs, so I felt lucky to see this beautiful guy in northeast Amarillo. On the west side of NE...

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Northern Parula in Palo Duro Canyon

Dec 1, 2019

Northern Parula in Palo Duro Canyon

Someone needed to tell this bird it was the middle of November and he wasn't supposed to be here. I was birding at Palo Duro Canyon State...

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Favorite Photos

Coyote stirring up the birds Greenways 8

golden-fronted woodpecker pdc bird blind

Black-crested titmouse PDC bird blind 11

Wood duck pair Thompson 10-4-20 3.JPG

Sandhills in the snow 10-29-20 5.JPG

Cardinal at Copper Breaks 10-11-20 2.JPG

Upland Sandpiper McBride 8-21-20 8.JPG

Yellow Warbler Thompson 8-30-20.JPG

Rufous Hummingbird 9-13-20 6.JPG

capital peak pdc 7-5-20.jpg

cactus wren plum creek 8-2-20 3.jpg

Buffalo WMNWR 9-12-20 4.jpg

Vermillion Flycatcher Thompson 6 4-11-20

blue grosbeak bugbee 5-3-20 2.jpg

Antelope Plum Creek 8-2-20.jpg

swainson's hawk mcgee 8-16-20.jpg

cattle egret on post mcgee 5-24-20 (1).j

painted bunting pdc 5-7-20.jpg

barn swallow pdc 5-14-20 3.jpg

Aoudad 9-11-20 5.jpg

Indigo bunting PDC 7-18-20 2.jpg

northern flicker (yellow shafted) greenb

lark bunting mcgee 4-18-20 4.jpg

Blue-grey gnatcatcher PDC 4-26-20 3.jpg

yellow warbler rita blanca 5-2-20.jpg

Broad-winged Hawk in Claudia's tree 8-24

Juvenile BCNH posng as a branch Thompson

Beaver at WMNWR 9-13-20 4.JPG

Red-headed woodpecker Bugbee 5-17-20 4.j

High Island Egrets 3-17-20.jpg

hawk nesting in front yard 4-20-20.jpg

upland sandpipers in road mcgee 8-16-20

Tom turkey 4 PDC 3-22-20.jpg

Gamble's Quail 3 BdA 1-19-20.jpg

Northern Harrier - Prairie Dog standoff.

Loggerhead Shrike McGee 3 4-11-20.jpg

Male Northern Harrier (Grey Ghost) Bolivar 03-17-20

Bald Eagle on the ground McGee 2-8-20 (2

Junco on the feeder 2 2-4-20.jpg

American Kestrel in Bushland 12-17-19.jp

Red-tailed hawk BdA 1-18-20.jpg

Red-winged blackbird Greenways 2 4-7-20.

red-tailed hawk in flight mcgee 2 2-16-2

Cara Cara Anuhuac 3-17-20

Osprey at Lake Tanglewood (edited).JPG

black-crested titmouse pdc 2-15-20 2.jpg

Sandhill crane in water at BdA 1-19-20 (

Buck at Palo Duro Canyon 7.jpg

Ferruginous Hawk Amarillo 2-2-20.jpg

Hooded Mergansers (3) balanced at Medi-P