Sugar House Pond, 8-14-14

Thought I would run over to the Sugar House Pond this morning to work on my county year list.  It was absolutely loaded with birds.  Water is down a bit leaving a narrow shoreline and that is being taken advantage of by shorebirds and families of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.  Best bird was this distant young Willet which is uncommon in Hidalgo County.

The most abundant bird was the 2000 Wilson's Phalaropes.  I counted up to 800 and then estimated.

Black Terns are on the move.

The 369 Black-necked Stilts I counted is about normal for this time of year.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  400
Fulvous Whistling-Duck  22
Blue-winged Teal  20
Ruddy Duck  25
Pied-billed Grebe  2
Neotropic Cormorant  2
Great Egret  2
Snowy Egret  1
Roseate Spoonbill  6
American Coot  4
Black-necked Stilt  369
American Avocet  46
Semipalmated Plover  4
Killdeer  3
Greater Yellowlegs  2
Willet  1
Lesser Yellowlegs  40
Upland Sandpiper  1
Stilt Sandpiper  500
Least Sandpiper  200
Semipalmated Sandpiper  15
Western Sandpiper  6
Long-billed Dowitcher  10
Wilson's Phalarope  2000
Laughing Gull  3
Gull-billed Tern  3
Black Tern  25
Tree Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  1
Cave Swallow  8
Yellow Warbler  1
Dickcissel  2
Great-tailed Grackle  1