[dropcap]I[/dropcap] have seen very few new birds at my backyard feeders lately, mostly just the regular Carolina chickadees and tufted titmice. But other folks have been reporting some most interesting sightings.
A common merganser was seen at Camp Tejas in Williamson County and a ferruginous hawk at Hornsby Bend near Austin. Two whooping cranes were photographed on private property in Bastrop County east of Buescher State Park and two black phoebes were identified at Palmetto State Park in Gonzales County.
And while hummingbirds have been long gone from my home, they are still hanging around in the area. A male broad-tailed hummer was spotted in southwest Austin and a male calliope hummer was seen at a residence in New Braunfels.
Perhaps the champ in recent sightings is Tom Toporowski. On a recent morning walk, he spotted nine sandhill cranes flying high over the old golf course in Woodcreek North near Wimberley. He also identified an American kestrel on the same walk. “It was a nice way to start a morning,” he noted.
