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The Eagles of Amarillo

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 numbers of birds seen in their area at Christmastime. So times have changed a bit. There was no trudging across any kind of field or mountain when Rohn and I participated in the 2019 Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Amarillo. In fact, we birded from the comfort of a Lexus RX350 with heated seats, mostly in a gated lakeside community. Boy, I

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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 than 1500 blackbirds with one thing in common--yellow heads. When I first saw this huge flock of blackbirds (a "murmuration" in birding terminology), I just assumed that they were our common red-winged blackbirds. The birds were flying away from me, so I took a few pics and watched them twist and turn like a school of fish evading a shark. Then

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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. The first places I visited when I started birding in 2019 were two playa lakes in Randall County. One was on Sundown Lane at I-27 and the other was on Helium Road west of Hillside Christian Church. That's where I first saw elegant Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets. Clown-like Killdeer populate almost every playa lake in the Texas Panh

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Palo Duro Canyon Bird Blind

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 24th and Loop 335 in Amarillo is a large prairie dog town. The area is criss-crossed with power poles, and during the winter it is not uncommon to see a bald eagle sitting on one of the poles (just out of range to get a really good photo, of course). But on Sunday, December 1, 2019, in addition to two mature bald eagles, I also saw this gorgeo

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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 Park early in the morning of Saturday, November 16, 2019. I spotted this little bird along the Comanche Trail, which runs behind Hackberry Campground along the creek and is one of the best birding trails in the park. Typical for a warbler, this bird was incredibly difficult to photograph at all, much less photograph well, because warblers a

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