Recent sightings Wed., the 3rd (after an airport drop-off),trail- ponds near
Hwy77bridge to Old Cedar: Sharp-shinned Hawk chasing up a whole flock of Robins
in the buckthorn and nearly crashing into me, Northern Shrike, Amer.Tree
Sparrows, Fox Sparrow, Wilson's Snipe. Later, found the 7 Long-billed
Dowitchers on the mudflat SSE of the EnviroEd pavillion loop trail. Ducks of
note: several dozen Pintails, one Amer. Black Duck, Am.Widgeons,Ruddy,
Canvasback, plus others. Tundra Swans, both flyover flocks and staging groups.
Also, I want to report a possible White-winged Dove, as a dove flew up from the
thickets---I assumed it to be a Mourning Dove (same size), but upon getting it
in view, the curvature of the bill was much stronger, a strong black mark below
the malar, and a thin-slight white edge along the wing edge was seen, and then
the bullying Robins drove it off and I could not relocate it...ahhh! I wrote
it off as a Mourning because I thought WWinged to be ...say...EurCollared Dove
sized and with a thicker white-edge as I remember from birding in Texas, and
now by studying the field guide I see they are near the same size. Studying
now the drawings in the field guides, I am really leaning to this possibility
that I sighted on a White-winged. So...please you who bird this stretch often,
find it! :)
Location: between the Old Cedar Bridge parking lot eastward toward the Hwy 77
bridge...look for a huge cottonwood on the N side of the trail where a small
opening to a cattail pond with Widgeons in it. The event happened in the
thicket along the south side, yet prior to the opening further eastward where
there is a dugout pond along the south side of the trail. Sincerely, mjb
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