Thank you to the great group of folks who joined me for the Senior Bus Trip to Buescher State Park on Tuesday, March 12, 2019.
Taking trips to parks I have never been before can always be a bit challenging but I had great help on board and great birders aboard who are always so eager and willing to share their knowledge. The morning started out with a bus ride through dense fog but the fields of bluebonnets and paintbrush along I 10 and highway 71 were beautiful even in the low light conditions.
Upon arrival we headed to the north end of the park and the burned area from the big Bastrop Fire in 2011. It was an eerie landscape in the fog but was home and habitat to lots of birds including bluebirds, warblers, titmice, woodpeckers and chickadees.
After enjoying some of the trails in this area we drove south to the lake. Everyone enjoyed a hearty picnic lunch and our bus driver showed off her crazy driving skills as we made our way through some very tight spots both backwards and forwards. Lakeside we enjoyed more birds and lots of damselflies. A beautiful siege of Sandhill Cranes came streaming by to the delight of us all before we boarded the bus for our return trip. Of course we all enjoyed our visit to Buc-ee’s and Prasek’s Smokehouse along the way.
Next stop for the bus trippers will be High Island in April.
Here is a photo album from our trip.
Here is our bird list:
Buescher SP (HOTE 033), Bastrop, Texas, US
Mar 12, 2019 10:04 AM - 2:17 PM
Protocol: Traveling
12.321 mile(s)
34 species
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1
Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) 1
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) 55
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) 3
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 3
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 3
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 3
Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) 3
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 1
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) 2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 1
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 5
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 4
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 2
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) 3
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 2
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 32
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 4
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 10
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) 1
Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) 1
Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) 3
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 3
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) 2
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) 3
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 6
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 5
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S53744492
