An Exciting Time for Watching Birds in Wimberley! |
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.CENTRAL FLYWAY MIGRATION |
An Exciting Time for Watching Birds in Wimberley! |
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The only bird species
that breeds entirely within the boundaries of Texas, |
"The migrations of birds were probably among the first
natural phenomena to attract the attention and
arouse the imagination of man.
Recorded observations...date back nearly 3,000 years..."1
The fascination remains.
| Do you ever
wonder. . . which birds may be flapping their wings 3,000 to 26,000 feet above you? Scanning the skies from August to November may offer up the rare sight of a soaring flight of Swainson's Hawks or an undulating V of fast-flying ducks like Blue-Winged Teals. One Wimberley birdwatcher sighted a huge flock of Sandhill Cranes flying south. Among them two immense Whooping Cranes soared with wings flared. Above a Wimberley hill in September, another couple watched soaring hawks form a rolling, swirling "kettle," gliding on the thermals. |
 Map adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife resource. Please see below. (1) |
| Go
on a migrant search. . . and listen as you walk along the creeks or the Blanco River. Look for a Hermit Thrush, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet or passing warblers. This year a flock of brilliant Yellow Warblers lit up the trees along Cypress Creek, busily eating caterpillars in the Cedar Oaks. Many of us have bag worms we would gladly donate to these avian helpers! |
| Black-chinned
Hummingbirds. . . have departed by late July, and in mid-August the feeders are swarming with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. They're building up stamina for their 600 mile pituitary-gland initiated, wind and weather inspired flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps a Rufous Hummingbird will drop by too! Check your feeder for males with orange throats. Providing late-blooming nectar-bearing plants will draw these birds to your feeders. |
Visit these previously featured migrants. . . |
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WHERE ARE THESE BIRDS GOING? |
| Across the Gulf to Yucatan. . . |  |
| Chimney swifts,
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfishers, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Barn Swallows, White-eyed Vireos, Chuck-wills Widow, Common Nighthawks and many kinds of warblers. |
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| Along the coast to Mexico. . . |
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| Painted and Indigo Buntings, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, American Pipits, some Turkey Vultures, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's and Broad-winged Hawks, Rufous Hummingbirds, Golden-cheeked Warblers and probably some other warblers, too. | |
| Flying over
Wimberley to winter on the Texas coast. . . |
 |
| Ducks like American Wigeon,
Gadwalls, Spoonbills, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup and the Canvasback; Canada Geese,
Sandhill Cranes and Whooping Cranes.
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AND
SOME WINTER IN WIMBERLEY! Dark-eyed Juncos, Chipping Sparrows, flocks of Robins and Cedar Waxwings, Goldfinches and Starlings, Lincoln's Sparrow, Fox Sparrows and Song Sparrows. |
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MORE INFORMATION |
| The Texas Parks and Wildlife website has
an excellent section on migration. . . don't miss it! It's actually a booklet online which
you can order in dead tree format for the mere price of postage. Click on the image below
to go straight to the migration section or to order the booklet. (1) Migration and the Migratory Birds of Texas:
The migratory map on this bird page is on page 13 of the booklet.
1From the history of migration at USGS |
