Nalle Bunny Run 2022-04-02

Yesterday I spent the morning on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run wildlife preserve in west Austin. It was the first time I've visited the preserve this spring, and I had a great morning finding newly returned summer resident birds, winter resident species soon to head north, and a few migrants passing through. The most exciting bird was a female Eastern Towhee in the vine-covered fence near the northeast corner of the property. Unfortunately I only got two brief looks and could not photograph it. This eastern species is rare in Austin during the winter and during migration. Maybe it was the same female I found here back in March of 2019?

I was lucky to see and smell some of the Agarita and Mountain Laurels in bloom:

This male Black-chinned Hummingbird was probably a newly returned summer resident observing his territory from an open perch:

White-eyed Vireos and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were back in force. Here's one of the male gnatcatchers singing:

I detected two Northern Parulas singing near the northwest corner, and I faintly heard (only twice) a Yellow-throated Warbler singing in the cypress trees along the bank of the lake.

This morning I was most excited to find two new dragonfly species for the preserve. The first was this male Stream Cruiser. I didn't know what it was when I saw it, but it perched so cooperatively that after taking photos with my big camera I was able to get an iPhoto shot good enough to post on social media, and my friends ID'd it for me before I got home! It was a lifer for me:

The second new dragonfly for the preserve was this beautiful Springtime Darner which perched very briefly in some switchgrass near the bank of the lake. I was only able to get a few quick photos before it disappeared:

Springtime Darners are infamous for continuous flight up and down a small stretch of water, making them extremely hard to photograph. I was lucky to get the above photo! And this was only the second time I've seen this species.

Here's my complete eBird checklist.

And here are the same photos and a few more on Flickr.

Posted on 04 April, 2022 00:27 by mikaelb