Caprock Canyons

TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE BIRDS OF CAPROCK CANYONS S T A T E P A R K A FIELD CHECKLIST 2018 INTRODUCTION C aprock Canyons State Park is located approximately 5 miles north of Quitaque on Hwy 1065 in Briscoe County. The park consists of 13,916 acres of canyon and prairie landscape including Lake Theo. The park contains a mixed-grass prairie with mesquite and juniper scrub along the breaks of the Caprock escarpment. Many birds make their home here and water sources like creek beds or Lake Theo are great spots for observation. Prairie wildlife including quail are common in the park and their presence helps to measure the health of the prairie ecosystem. Dry Creek Lake is a small pond surrounded by cottonwood, hackberry, and various scrub plants that provide wildlife cover. A wildlife viewing blind is available at this location for visitor use. Bald eagle, golden eagle, and osprey are infrequent visitors, but it is not uncommon to see a few individuals during the fall and winter. Many song birds and birds of prey make their home in the park year-round. Look for red-tailed hawks soaring overhead and American kestrels hovering over the prairie grasslands. Seed eating birds such as the colorful painted bunting are seasonal visitors. The park hosts a monthly bird walk on most every last Saturday of the month. Please check the online events calendar or ask a staff member in the Visitor’s Center for more information. Please help us protect the natural avian communities in our parks by refraining from using playback tapes of bird songs. Frequent use of these tapes disrupts normal avian activity patterns and essential territorial behavior, and may lead to nest failure. Thank you for your cooperation. 1 LEGEND Abundance c – Common (Present, easy to find) f – Fairly common (Present, should see or hear) u – Uncommon (Present, harder to find) r – Rare (Present, hard to find, or may not occur every year) x – Accidental (not usually present, lost, result of an event) Seasons Sp – Spring (March, April, May) S – Summer (June, July, August) F – Fall (September, October, November) W – Winter (December, January, February) Cover: Illustration of American Kestrel by Rob Fleming. 2 CHECKLIST Sp S F W ____ Snow Goose.......................................................f f f ____ Ross’ Goose.......................................................r f f ____ Greater White-fronted Goose.............................r r u ____ Cackling Goose..................................................u u u ____ Canada Goose....................................................c c c ____ Wood Duck.......................................................u u u ____ Green-winged Teal.............................................f f c ____ Mallard.............................................................f c f c ____ Northern Pintail.................................................u r f u ____ Blue-winged Teal...............................................f f ____ Cinnamon Teal..................................................u u ____ Northern Shoveler.............................................c f f ____ Gadwall.............................................................u f f c ____ American Wigeon..............................................f r f c ____ Canvasback.......................................................r r u ____ Redhead............................................................r f u ____ Ring-necked Duck.............................................u f u ____ Greater Scaup.................................................... r r ____ Lesser Scaup.....................................................c u c ____ Common Goldeneye..........................................u u u ____ Bufflehead.........................................................f u u ____ Hooded Merganser............................................r c c ____ Common Merganser..........................................r r c ____ Ruddy Duck......................................................c c u ____ Northern Bobwhite............................................c f 3 c f Sp S F W ____ Scaled Quail......................................................u u u u ____ Ring-necked Pheasant.......................................u u u u ____ Wild Turkey.......................................................u r u u ____ Pied-billed Grebe..............................................f f c c ____ Eared Grebe......................................................u u u ____ Western Grebe................................................... x ____ Rock Pigeon......................................................f u u u ____ Eurasian Collared-Dove.....................................c f c c ____ White-winged Dove............................................u f f r ____ Mourning Dove.................................................c c c c ____ Yellow-billed Cuckoo.........................................f f ____ Greater Roadrunner..........................................c c c ____ Common Nighthawk..........................................c c f f ____ Chuck-will’s-widow........................................... x ____ Common Poorwill.............................................f f c ____ Chimney Swift....................................................f c u ____ White-throated Swift.......................................... x ____ Black-chinned Hummingbird............................u c u ____ Virginia Rail....................................................... x ____ Sora..................................................................u u u r ____ Common Moorhen............................................u u u u ____ American Coot...................................................f f f f ____ Sandhill Crane...................................................f u f ____ Black-necked Stilt.............................................u u f ____ American Avocet................................................f r f ____ Snowy Egret.......................................................f f 4 Sp S F W ____ Killdeer.............................................................c f c u ____ Greater Yellowlegs.............................................r f f ____ Willet.................................................................u ____ Lesser Yellowlegs...............................................r f ____ Upland Sandpiper.............................................. c ____ Stilt Sandpiper................................................... f ____ Sanderling......................................................... f ____ Baird’s Sandpiper.............................................. f ____ Least Sandpiper.................................................f f ____ Semipalmated Sandpiper...................................u ____ Western Sandpiper............................................f f ____ Wilson’s Snipe................................................... u f ____ Spotted Sandpiper.............................................f f ____ Solitary Sandpiper............................................. c ____ Ring-billed Gull.................................................u u ____ Black Tern......................................................... f ____ Forster’s Tern....................................................f r f u ____ Red-throated Loon............................................ x x ____ Common Loon................................................... u r ____ Double-crested Cormorant................................u u r ____ American White Pelican.....................................u u ____ American Bittern...............................................r r ____ Least Bittern......................................................r r ____ Great Blue Heron..............................................f f ____ Cattle Egret........................................................f c f ____ Great Egret........................................................u 5 c Sp S F ____ Green Heron.....................................................f c f ____ Black-crowned Night Heron..............................u c W ____ Yellow-crowned Night Heron............................. x ____ White-faced Ibis................................................u f ____ Turkey Vulture...................................................c c c ____ Osprey...............................................................f f ____ Mississippi Kite..................................................u c f ____ Bald Eagle......................................................... r r ____ Northern Harrier...............................................u f f ____ Cooper’s Hawk..................................................f u f ____ Sharp-shinned Hawk.........................................r r u ____ Red-tailed Hawk................................................f f r f f ____ Swainson’s Hawk...............................................f c ____ Rough-legged Hawk.......................................... u ____ Ferruginous Hawk............................................. u f ____ Golden Eagle..................................................... u u ____ Barn Owl...........................................................u u ____ Great Horned Owl.............................................u u ____ Burrowing Owl..................................................u c f c ____ Belted Kingfisher...............................................u f f f ____ Red-headed Woodpecker..................................r x x r ____ Golden-fronted Woodpecker.............................f f f c ____ Red-bellied Woodpecker................................... r ____ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker...................................r u ____ Ladder-backed Woodpecker..............................f f f ____ Downy Woodpecker..........................................u f f 6 f Sp S F W ____ Northern Flicker................................................f f c c ____ American Kestrel...............................................c f c c ____ Merlin...............................................................f r r ____ Prairie Falcon....................................................u u r u ____ Peregrine Falcon...............................................u ____ Least Flycatcher.................................................f f ____ Olive-sided Flycatcher.......................................f ____ Eastern Phoebe.................................................f c u ____ Say’s Phoebe......................................................f f f ____ Ash-throated Flycatcher.....................................c f u ____ Western Kingbird...............................................f f f ____ Eastern Kingbird................................................u f f ____ Scissor-tailed Flycatcher....................................f c c u ____ Northern Shrike................................................ r ____ Loggerhead Shrike............................................u u ____ Bell’s Vireo........................................................r r u r ____ Warbling Vireo.................................................. x ____ Blue Jay.............................................................u u u ____ Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay.....................................f f u u ____ American Crow..................................................u f f f ____ Chihuahuan Raven.............................................f f f f ____ Common Raven.................................................f f u ____ Horned Lark......................................................u r f ____ Purple Martin....................................................r ____ Tree Swallow.....................................................f u ____ Northern Rough-winged Swallow.......................u 7 u u u Sp S F W ____ Bank Swallow....................................................u u ____ Cliff Swallow......................................................c f u ____ Barn Swallow....................................................c c f ____ Carolina Chickadee........................................... r ____ Black-crested Titmouse.....................................f f f f ____ Verdin...............................................................u u ____ Bushtit...............................................................f f f u ____ Red-breasted Nuthatch......................................r r r ____ Brown Creeper.................................................. r ____ Cactus Wren......................................................u u u ____ Rock Wren........................................................f f f f ____ Canyon Wren.....................................................f f f u ____ Carolina Wren...................................................u f c ____ Bewick’s Wren...................................................f u c ____ House Wren....................................................... u f f ____ Winter Wren......................................................u f ____ Marsh Wren.......................................................u f f ____ Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.......................................f u ____ Golden-crowned Kinglet.................................... u ____ Ruby-crowned Kinglet.......................................u u f ____ Eastern Bluebird...............................................f u u ____ Western Bluebird...............................................f f f ____ Mountain Bluebird............................................ u c ____ Townsend’s Solitaire..........................................r u ____ Swainson’s Thrush.............................................u ____ Hermit Thrush...................................................u f 8 Sp S F W ____ American Robin................................................f u c ____ Gray Catbird...................................................... x ____ Sage Thrasher...................................................r u ____ Brown Thrasher................................................u u u ____ Curve-billed Thrasher........................................f f f u ____ Northern Mockingbird......................................c c f f ____ European Starling..............................................u u u ____ Cedar Waxwing..................................................f u u ____ Bohemian Waxwing........................................... x x ____ Phainopepla...................................................... u u ____ House Sparrow..................................................u u r u u ____ American Pipit...................................................r ____ House Finch......................................................f f f f ____ Red Crossbill.....................................................r r r ____ Pine Siskin........................................................u u f ____ American Goldfinch...........................................u u c ____ Lesser Goldfinch................................................f r f u ____ Chestnut-collared Longspur............................... c ____ McCown’s Longspur.......................................... r ____ Eastern Towhee................................................. r ____ Spotted Towhee.................................................f u f ____ Rufous-crowned Sparrow..................................f f u f ____ Canyon Towhee.................................................u f r f ____ Cassin’s Sparrow...............................................f u f ____ American Tree Sparrow..................................... r ____ Chipping Sparrow..............................................f 9 f u u Sp S F W ____ Clay-colored Sparrow........................................f u ____ Brewer’s Sparrow..............................................u ____ Field Sparrow....................................................u u f ____ Vesper Sparrow.................................................f f ____ Lark Sparrow....................................................c f f ____ Black-throated Sparrow....................................r r ____ Lark Bunting.....................................................u f ____ Grasshopper Sparrow........................................f u u f ____ Savannah Sparrow.............................................f f u ____ Fox Sparrow......................................................u u u ____ Song Sparrow....................................................u u c ____ Lincoln’s Sparrow..............................................f u u ____ Swamp Sparrow................................................u f u ____ White-throated Sparrow....................................u u u ____ Golden-crowned Sparrow.................................. x ____ White-crowned Sparrow....................................f f c ____ Harris’ Sparrow.................................................r r u ____ Dark-eyed Junco...............................................f u c ____ Yellow-breasted Chat.........................................x ____ Red-winged Blackbird.......................................f f f f ____ Eastern Meadowlark..........................................u f u u ____ Western Meadowlark.........................................f f f c ____ Yellow-headed Blackbird...................................u f ____ Brewer’s Blackbird............................................ u ____ Great-tailed Grackle..........................................u f f ____ Common Grackle..............................................u f u 10 u Sp ____ Brown-headed Cowbird.....................................f S F W f u u ____ Baltimore Oriole...............................................f ____ Orchard Oriole..................................................u u ____ Bullock’s Oriole................................................f f f ____ Northern Waterthrush........................................ x ____ Black-and-white Warbler................................... x ____ Orange-crowned Warbler..................................u f u ____ Tennessee Warbler............................................ x ____ Nashville Warbler..............................................u u ____ Common Yellowthroat.......................................u f ____ American Redstart.............................................r r ____ Yellow Warbler..................................................f f ____ Yellow-rumped Warbler....................................f u ____ Wilson’s Warbler...............................................f f ____ Northern Cardinal.............................................c c f c ____ Pyrrhuloxia....................................................... r r ____ Black-headed Grosbeak....................................u u ____ Blue Grosbeak...................................................f f ____ Dickcissel..........................................................u ____ Indigo Bunting..................................................f f ____ Painted Bunting.................................................f f 11 citation Le’Ann Pigg. January 2018. Birds of Caprock Canyons State Park; a field checklist. Natural Resource Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. In 1983, the Texas Legislature created the Special Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Fund. This fund may be used for nongame wildlife and endangered species research and conservation, habitat acquisition and development and dissemination of information pertaining to nongame management. Money for this fund is obtained through private donations and sale of nongame wildlife art prints and stamps. This fund now gives Texans a unique opportunity to help support this state’s valuable and sensitive nongame resources. Your individual contributions and purchases of nongame art prints and stamps will help determine the level of nongame conservation activities in Texas. For more information call toll-free (1-800-792-1112) or contact: Nongame and Endangered Species Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas 78744. TPWD receives funds from the USFWS. TPWD prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, and gender, pursuant to state and federal law. To request an accommodation or obtain information in an alternative format, please contact TPWD on a Text Telephone (TDD) at (512) 389-8915 or by Relay Texas at 7-1-1 or (800) 735-2989. If you believe you have been discriminated against by TPWD, please contact TPWD or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office for Diversity and Workforce Management, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041. 12 Natural Resource Program Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 4200 Smith School Road Austin, Texas 78744 © 2018 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department PWD BK P4506–0079A (7/18) In accordance with Texas Depository Law, this publication is available at the Texas State Publications Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries.