PRESIDENT’S PEN
By Lynn Barber
 
How often do you open a newspaper and get good news? Well, I’ve got wonderful news for you right now! You may remember my plea last month for a new Education Chair and a new Hospitality Chair for our FWAS board. Astoundingly, we now have both!! 
Our new board members to fill these two important positions are Paula Murphey as Education Chair and Marion Midgley as Hospitality Chair, and they both volunteered at the September general meeting. THANK YOU PAULA AND MARION!! Please thank them both when you see them at upcoming meetings, and for that matter, please thank the other board members whose names are listed in this newsletter. It takes all of them, and you, to help this chapter function and succeed.
 
One way, a very important way, that you can help this chapter is by becoming a chapter-only member of the chapter, or by renewing your membership. There are only a few months until the end of this calendar year, and our chapter-only memberships are on a calendar year basis. Most of the income upon which we base our budget comes from “members like you”. It helps us to pay for out-of-town speakers at our monthly meetings, rent the space where we have our monthly meetings, provide Audubon Adventures to the schools, support local and other environmental efforts, print and mail newsletters for those who request them, purchase the required liability insurance, and much more. Thank you for being a chapter-only member (if you already are a member for 2005), and for considering being a chapter-only member for 2006. Information on this is in this newsletter and at our website. 

And while I’m thanking people, I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the people at the local bird-seed stores who help us all by providing information on ways we might help the birds in our yards, often provide door-prizes for our meetings, and help us provide Audubon Adventures to the schools. 

Thank y’all (I’m trying to become a real Texan). 

Remember to join us for Birding in the Park
Foster Park 8:30-10:00 AM 
On Trail Lake Drive,1mile north of I-20
 
First Saturday of each month: Oct. 1st, Nov. 5th, Dec. 3rd
 
Everyone welcome. Easy walking. Binoculars available for use. Guides present to bird with you.
Members, come introduce friendly folks and families to the wonders of bird watching.

General Meeting October 13
John Ingram: "The Colors of Texas"
 
This talk will cover birds, butterflies, and dragonflies from Texas. It will include a wide variety of photos from Central Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, and the Davis Mountains. The great majority of these are made with the most advanced digital equipment and blow-ups will be included to demonstrate the image qualities. As time permits we can discuss techniques.

THE TRAVELING BIRDER
By Lynn Barber
 
Well, I’m still working at my big year, and it is getting to be more and more like work, but mostly, it’s still like one humongous treasure hunt, where I don’t really know where the treasure will land or fly by so that I can see it. But what a treasure! 
In August I spent quite a bit of time out west, trying to find birds that I have very little or no experience with. For example, I had read in numerous sources that Red-faced Warblers migrate through west Texas and nearly every year are seen for a day or two usually during the second week of August in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. But I had never seen one in Texas and wasn’t too sure that I could ever find one. But I needed to try. So on August 7 I headed west, and when I arrived at the Panther Junction visitor center to reserve a campsite for the night of August 9 and learned that Mark Lockwood had seen one a couple of days earlier, I was both delighted and worried that I’d missed it.  
Normally when I climb the Pinnacles Trail to Boot Springs (where Mark had seen the bird), I go slowly and take my time birding so that I don’t get too worn out too fast. But on August 9, I nearly (but not quite) ran up the mountain, which was a feat since I carried camping gear and a couple days’ worth of water! I got to my chosen campsite, hearing thunder in the distance and quickly set up my tent in case I needed a place to duck into to get out of the coming rain. Then I hustled off to the springs area, and at about 1:00 got my first view of the gorgeous Red-faced Warbler. And pictures, although the warbler was way up in the branches feeding diligently and not easy to photograph in the shady leafy area. I followed the Red-faced Warbler until it joined up with a couple of Painted Redstarts. What a show! And then I spent most of from 3:00 pm until the next morning in the tent as the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled and I thought the mountain just might split in half. 
I spent a couple more days at Big Bend on my own and then took some more hikes as part of the 2nd Annual Big Bend Natural History Festival, a great place to learn not only about the birds, but about other fascinating parts of Big Bend. I even trekked back up to Boot Springs one more time, but the Red-faced Warbler was not seen again up there as far as I know. Upon heading out to go home from the park in the pre-dawn, for a few days of real (paying) work, the young mountain lion that others had seen the day before ran across the road in front of me, and there were four Great Horned Owls along the road. A nice way to end a very good trip.
 
My next big trip west was a wide swing through the lower Panhandle and down to Ft. Davis for the hummingbird festival hosted by the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute. In mid-August, hummingbirds of about a dozen species are normally seen out there at hummingbird feeders and flowers, and this year was great too. But I’d already seen most of the possible hummingbirds for the year, so didn’t add any big year birds until I got to see one (or possibly more) of the Lazuli Buntings that had been reported near the visitor center at the Davis Mountain Nature Conservancy property, where there were excellent field trips during the festival. We did get held up in the mountains for a couple of hours one day, however, due to flash-flooding of the normally dry creeks that wander back and forth across the road up into the mountains. 
Toward the end of August, I headed east to Sabine Woods to see if anything good was coming through on migration yet. My goal birds were Mourning Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and lo and behold, both were there! And that brought me to 500 for my big year on August 25! Never thought it would happen.
 
Since then, I’ve wandered west again, and in two separate trips, I was able to find and identify a Hammond’s Flycatcher way up in “the Bowl” at the Guadalupe Mountains, and a Cassin’s Vireo, on the way up the Laguna Meadows Trail in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. 
What’s next? Shortly I’ll be heading out for the third (of five) Texas pelagic trips for the year. And although over the past couple of weeks I’ve looked at nearly every western and central Texas lake for Sabine’s Gull, which I understand really does migrate through Texas in fall, I’m still looking for one of those. Let me know if you see one! And have fun birding yourself! 

ORNITHOLOGY REPORT  
Mid-August to Mid-September
By Greg Keiran
 
NOTEWORTHY RECORDS for Tarrant County: 
 
Rufous Hummingbird (1 female) – 27 August: For those who are interested in such things, "my" female Rufous Hummingbird that arrived August 5 is still around, generally most of every day. I finally had a chance to take some more photos and have posted two more on the August 05 Rufous Hummingbird page ( www.lynnbarber.com ). Her actions and habits and appearance are essentially the same as those of the female Rufous Hummingbird that came last year in August. Other years when she arrived in winter there were plenty of leafless twigs around for her to perch on, but in August last year and this year she splits most of her perching time between the same two twigs (although there are other possibilities). (Lynn Barber, Ft. Worth). Also 10 August, Rachel Dugas reported the return of her Bedford Rufous Hummingbird (or a new bird). 
Black-bellied Whistling Duck: 9 September [w/ 2 tiny babies] at VCDB. (Sue, Highland Village)
 
Mississippi Kite (100+):17 August: At VCDB

Short-billed Dowitcher: 12 August: At VCDB (Barbara Tompkins, Colleyville, TX)
 
Cooper's hawk (1): 23 August: In birdbath in South Ft. Worth yard (Tom Strothers). Could not find many/any Summer records in our area. 1Sept: Flying low, crossing I-20 in south Fort Worth (Andrew Shetley)
 
Willet (1): 7 August: At VCDB (Oscar Carmona, Arlington,   Also 17 August.

Marbled Godwit (1): 5 August: at Village Creek Drying Beds (Greg Cook)
 
Most interesting sightings from North Central Texas area:

Immature Brown Pelican: 20 August: at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (Ross Rassmussen, Brian Gibbons & Derek Hill).
 
Tri-colored Heron: Reported 10 September on FWAS Field Trip to Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area and Lewisville Lake Park
 
2 Roseate Spoonbills were seen in the Tawakoni State Park August 11, a first for the park.

Worm-eating Warbler: 9 August: Our devoted bird-banders recorded a Worm-eating warbler today here on the sanctuary. Michele Dudas, Museum Educator/Naturalist, Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary
 
Caspian Tern: 5 July: A quick trip after lunch to Lewisville Lake Park, on the north side of Lewisville off I-35, produced four species of terns: Forster's, 38; Least, 3; Black,3; and one Caspian Tern. All were resting on the point north of the public restrooms inside the fee area. I also saw one Least Sandpiper and five Ring-billed Gulls. Keith Lockhart, Highland Village

Willet (2): 6 August: at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (Thomas Riecke, Greg Cook, Ross Rassmussen, and Brian Gibbons). As many as 7 reported 20 August.
 
Ruddy Turnstone: 11Sep:at L. Tawakoni Van Zandt Co (Richard Kinney)
 
Short-billed Dowitcher (juvenile): 20 August: at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (Ross Rassmussen, Brian Gibbons & Derek Hill).

Red Knot (immature): 30 August: at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (Lee Lemons). From the records of Karl Haller: Red Knot at Hagerman August 30 2005; Red knot at Hagerman August 30 1969 first record by Karl; Red Knot last seen before yesterday August 1999. Lee Lemons

Piping Plover: 4 September at Lake Tawakoni State Park (Ron Baltzegar)  
Sanderlings (2):  30 August: at Lake Tawakoni (Richard Kinney)
Yellow-green Vireo: Now a bird for discussion: Yesterday (22 August) about 2:45 I saw a Yellow-green Vireo in the oak trees in front of my house. If you have Birds of North America Second Edition on pg.353 at the top right hand corner you can see a picture of the bird I saw. Lee Lemons
 
Sanderling: 11 August: at Lewisville (Keith Lockhart)

Calliope Hummingbird & Curve-billed Thrasher: At Clapp Park (Lubbock) (TEXBIRDS)

Be on the lookout for in September (Fall Migration):
Some Top Prizes possible for October: Red necked Grebe, Surf & White-winged Scoter, Golden Eagle, Sabine’s Gull, Caspian Tern, Black Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Wood Thrush, Sage Thrasher, Philadelphia Vireo, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak. 

Report your sightings to:
Greg Keiran - 9 S. Kingston Ct. - Bedford, TX 76022 
(H) 817/282-3312 - (W) 817/280-7598, gkeiran@AOL.com 

BIRD FORECAST
September – October 
By Dell Little
 
The next 30 days are the most interesting of times for birds in our area, second only to May of course!
Let’s start with the quacks. All of the usual dabblers and divers start arriving by the beginning of October. Gadwall, Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Greenwinged Teal, Scaup, Redheads, etc. Be on the lookout for Cinnamon Teal. (9/24/02 Village Creek Drying Beds, Jim Sipiora) The Black-belly Whistling Ducks should be gone by mid-October.Pied-billed Grebe increase in numbers. Also look for Eared, still in possible summer (alternative) plumage, and Horned Grebe passing through. Large flocks of White Pelicans can start flying over after the 1st.
A few Little Blue Herons, Green Herons and Snowy Egrets should still be here. American Bittern will show up briefly. Even post-breeding wanderers like Ibis and Spoonbills can still be seen. A dark morph Reddish Egret was once seen at Mustang Park, Lake Benbrook (10/5/00 Martin Reid)
Broad-winged Hawks are migrating, look for kettles. American Kestrel are already starting to increase in numbers. Merlin, Peregrine (10/9/97 Simone Jenion VCDB), and Prairie Falcons are passing through. Mississippi Kites can still be found but are rarer. Bald Eagles and Osprey are showing up.

Sora Rail, Virginia Rail, and Common Moorhen are more likely now. In fact Sora can be fairly common at VCDB.
Shorebirds are still abundant. Beware of Black-bellied Plover, Avocets and Sanderling (D.D Currie & Dell Little 9/19/04; Simone Jenion 9/23/02) at Lake Benbrook. All peeps are in good numbers. Stilt, Pectoral, and Baird’s Sandpipers are at VCDB. Wilson’s Snipe and Wilson’s Phalarope also. Red-necked Phalarope (10/04/98 Charlie Amos VCDB) Ring-billed Gulls and Forster’s Terns start becoming a daily occurrence by the end of September. Black Terns are still in the area. This is the time to watch for Sabine’s Gull (D.D. Currie and Dell Little 9/19/04 Lake Benbrook; Martin Reid and Jim Sipiora 9/28/01 Lake Worth Mosque Point) Chimney Swifts are in large numbers migrating south. Whip-poor-will can sometimes be found. (9/29/98 River Legacy Park by Jim Sipiora)
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds taper off a bit. A few Rufous can be locally found still. (See Lynn Barber and Rachel Dugas)
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Northern Flickers appear by October. For some reason, Red-headed Woodpeckers are sighted more at this time around River Legacy Trail, the Botanical Gardens, and Lake Worth. Possible Red-naped Sapsucker (Lake Worth 10/16/02 Martin Reid)Olive-sided Flycatchers are peaking.  Empids are fairly common, including Eastern Wood-Pewee. Scissor-tails are “gathering” in good numbers. Even a female Vermilion Flycatcher has passed through. (10/04/02 VCDB Jim Sipiora)Many vireo it seems can show up now, including White-eyed, Warbling, Philadelphia, Blue-headed are more prevalent. Also look for Bell’s and Yellow-throated Vireos.Some swallows can be found especially at Lake Benbrook-Mustang Park. Trees, Bank, Rough-wings. Be on the lookout for Cave Swallows (Martin Reid 10/18/02)

Red-breasted Nuthatches can show up in early October. Or not. Depends on the year. House Wrens peak on migration and Winter Wrens can appear as early as late September. Marsh Wren (9/27/98 VCDB Jim Sipiora) and Ruby-crowned Kinglet are coming now and hopefully Golden-crowned Kinglets are in this year in good numbers as well. Swainson’s Thrushes, Brown Thrashers and Gray Catbirds should be late Sept. arrivals.American Pipits. And possible early Sprague’s (10/05/02 VCDB Ed Wetzel)Warblers, Warblers, Warblers. They peak around the end of Sept. Black and White, Black-throated Green, Yellow, Wilson’s, Magnolia, Tennessee, Chestnut-sided, American Redstart, Nashville, Northern Parula, Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped begin appearing in mid-October. Here are some notable records. Palm Warbler and “Audubon’s” (Yellow-rumped) Warbler on (9/27/03 “Forbidden Zone” by Jim Sipiora), Black-throated Blue Warbler (10/2/97 Buffalo Ridge Park Sheridan Coffey; 10/14/02 RLP Bill Lawrence and Jim Sipiora; 10/20/02 Barbara Tompkins, Sparger Park, Colleyville)Many sparrows start to show up around last week of September and increase into October. Some are migrating some are winter arrivals. Be on the lookout for Clay-colored. Winter Juncos come in mid-to-late October.
Buntings and Grosbeaks are migrating through (almost all immature) along with Baltimore and Orchard Orioles. A Pyrrhuloxia was found once on (10/12/98 at River Bend nature area by Joe Cox)

American Goldfinches begin arriving around mid October. An immature/female Red Crossbill was found. (10/02/02 Martin Reid at Lake Benbrook Pump Station)

I know this was a long list. Let me know if you have issues with it. (We all have issues) Like I said it will be a busy time period, besides its time to cool off (thank goodness) 

Happy birding. 
Dell Little dellel@sbcglobal.net 

“Excellent Birds” NATIONAL AUDUBON NEWS
Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon Launch New Version of eBird
Ithaca, NY, September 16, 2005 - The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon announce the release of eBird 2.0, an updated version of the powerful Internet-based program currently used by thousands of birders. eBird is a free, user-friendly way for birders across North America to record, archive, and share their observations at any hour of the day. It is also an important tool for conservation, providing researchers with a comprehensive picture of the abundance and distribution of birds. The data come to life via eBird’s colorful new interactive maps. I n addition to a completely new look and feel, eBird 2.0 has a streamlined data entry process and a suite of new output tools geared toward the interests of today’s birders. On customized “My eBird” pages users can now view their life, state and county lists - all generated automatically as individual reports are entered. Begun in 2002, eBird is growing and changing as it builds a strong base of dedicated observers. eBird already supplies data to researchers across the country, and new ways to extract and interpret information will increase its value as a tool for bird conservation. In the coming years, eBird may have a role to play farther south in gathering information in the Caribbean, Central and South America.  To view eBird 2.0, go to http://www.ebird.org 

Hurricane Katrina Update
Audubon Adventures and the mail house that distributes the magazine have arranged for free distribution of Audubon Adventures back issues to children and teachers who have been disrupted or displaced from their schools or homes by Hurricane Katrina. Ken Smith and Mary Smith of Audubon Arkansas came up with this wonderful idea. Audubon Adventures will be directly distributed by staff and volunteers who are in close proximity to evacuees in schools and temporary housing. To date, 3,000 copies have been distributed to our state office in Arkansas and to Audubon Chapters.

We’ve started in Arkansas, and we will be making materials available to other states that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, including Louisiana and Mississippi, when they are ready to take advantage of this opportunity. For more information about participating in this outreach, please contact Elaine O’Sullivan at eosullivan@audubon.org. For FWAS Field Trips information, follow the link on the home page.

From Bird Watcher’s Digest

Dear Bird Watcher:

The Big Sit! is almost here! Register your circle today for this fun and easy bird-watching event.

The 13th annual Big Sit! will take place on Sunday, October 9, 2005. So far, more than 60 teams from 33 states and seven countries have registered. Will your bird-watching clan join the fun? We hope so.

The Big Sit! is an annual, international, noncompetitive birding event hosted by Bird Watcher's Digest and founded by the New Haven (CT) Bird Club. Every team that observes this year's "Golden Bird" has a chance to win $500. We hope bird watchers from around the globe will unite on this special day by participating in this event (it's free!).

Don't delay! Participating teams must register prior to October 9, 2005, by visiting the Bird Watcher's Digest website.

New this year!: Find out how your bird club can use the Big Sit! as a fundraiser. But hurry, because there's only a few more weeks to collect pledges for each species you count!

And don't forget the gear! Your team can browse our specially designed Big Sit! t-shirts and hats in our online nature shop.

REGISTER NOW >>

Special thanks to our Big Sit! sponsors: Swarovski Optik NA and Eagle Optics.

Good birding!
Bill Thompson, III (Editor)
Bird Watcher's Digest