Nalle Bunny Run 2019-08-17

Four people joined me this morning for the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run wildlife preserve. Here are some highlights.

Before the group arrived a pair Summer Tanagers flew in with some interesting behavior. The male was in heavy molt, and he was "whisper singing" which is singing a quieter version of his normal song. See how uneven his tail feathers are in this photo:

Summer Tanager - 1 - 1

A female joined him and she was quivering her feathers like I often see begging juvenile birds do. I don't know if this was a young bird still begging from its parent or the male's mate reinforcing their bond. Here they are together:

Summer Tanager - 1 - 2

After the group arrived we enjoyed a slow walk covering about 1.5 miles and touring most of the preserve. Birds were present but mostly heard rather than seen. Here are some fun non-bird observations we made.

We found these armadillo tracks in the road shortly after we started:

Nine-banded Armadillo

This tiny Green Anole that we found by the graveyard must've been newly hatched:

Green Anole

One of several dragonflies we found was this beautiful male Roseate Skimmer:

Roseate Skimmer - 1 - 2

I was excited to find this White-striped Longtail butterfly feeding on Lantana flowers:

White-striped Longtail

One fun bird observation we made was this female Summer Tanager, chasing, catching, and eating a red wasp!

Summer Tanager eating Wasp

By the end of the walk I had recorded 22 species of birds. Here's our complete eBird list.

Here are a few more photos on Flickr.

And attached are the same photos as iNaturalist observations.

Posted on August 18, 2019 12:00 AM by mikaelb mikaelb

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Zenaida Doves (Genus Zenaida)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 09:10 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 08:43 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 08:41 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

This might be the smallest Green Anole I've ever seen. It must've been newly hatched.

Photos / Sounds

What

Neon Skimmer (Libellula croceipennis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 08:59 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 08:19 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Queen (Danaus gilippus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 09:19 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 09:28 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 07:41 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 09:25 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 07:37 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

This molting male Summer Tanager was whisper-singing and was joined by a female that followed him around quivering her wings similar to begging behavior.

Photos / Sounds

What

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 09:48 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

Photos / Sounds

What

White-striped Longtail (Chioides albofasciatus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 09:32 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

I was excited to see this White-striped Longtail butterfly feeding on Lantana. It seems like a speices you'd only find in the tropics.

Photos / Sounds

What

Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

August 17, 2019 09:43 AM CDT

Description

Taken during the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve.

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