Lake Mineral Wells

TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE BIRDS OF LAKE MINERAL WELLS STATE PARK & TRAILWAY A FIELD CHECKLIST 2015 Cover: Illustration of Harris’s Sparrow by Clemente Guzman. INTRODUCTION L ake Mineral Wells State Park, located in Western Parker County and Eastern Palo Pinto County, encompasses 3,282 acres of rolling to hilly terrain and is dissected by several deep canyons. Fed by Rock Creek, the lake itself covers 646 acres. Sandstones and shales of the Mineral Wells Formation were deposited over 300 million years ago during the Pennsylvanian Period to form the geologic setting for the park. The Trailway consist of 262 acres spanning the 20 miles of abandoned Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern (WMW&NW) railroad bed that travels between Cartwright Park on the northwest edge of Weatherford to the southwest and ends in downtown Mineral Wells, all the while being nestled in between ranches, farms and rural communities. The vegetation is typical of the Cross Timbers and Prairies Vegetation Region with upland savannas covered by mid to tall grasses with scattered Post Oak, Blackjack Oak and Mesquite, also canyons and bottomlands supporting deciduous forests of Pecan, Texas Oak, Texas Ash, Cottonwood, American and Cedar Elm trees. Thick brush rims the deeper canyons, while upland dry woodlands contain Ashe Juniper, Sugarberry and several oaks. Elbow bush and Fragrant Sumac are common shrubs. Nearly 190 species of birds have been recorded inside the park. Here, Canyon Wrens reach their eastern limit in North Texas where they can usually be found at Penitentiary Hollow. A canoe ride along Rock Creek in summer can yield nesting Yellow-crowned Night-Herons and Great Blue Herons plus a variety of woodland species such as Red-shouldered Hawk and Barred Owl. Hooded Mergansers, Wood Ducks and other duck species usually hide out in winter at “Lost Lake” located upstream from Lake Mineral Wells along Rock Creek. Though mud flats are lacking in the park, a glance over the spillway area during migration may yield a shorebird or two. The marsh below the spillway and the larger patches of reeds found along the lake’s edge attract Common Yellowthroat, Marsh Wren and sometimes a Sora or two, especially in migration. 1 Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway is truly a point where “east meets west” in Texas. White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, and Prothonotary Warbler near or reach their western limit here in north Texas, while the Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Black-crested Titmouse are examples of those reaching their eastern limit. This mix of eastern and western species also includes both Ladder-backed and Downy Woodpeckers as well as Ruby-throated and Black-chinned Hummingbirds. Newcomers to this part of the country may be pleased to learn that Painted Buntings and Harris’s Sparrows are both common here in proper season and habitat. Some of the best birding in the park can be done on a canoe ride up Rock Creek where species indicative of river bottom woodland can be found. Other favorite birding areas include the primitive camping areas, the Trailway, the marsh and woods immediately below the spillway and Penitentiary Hollow. This checklist was compiled by Carl B. Haynie and Teresa A. Risdon and updated by David L. Owens. The co-compilers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the park staff and the Fort Worth Audubon Society for their contributions to this checklist. Checklist nomenclature and organization follow the A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds (7th edition) as currently supplemented. You can contribute to our knowledge of the park’s birdlife by sharing new and unusual sightings or changes in status with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Please report your observations to the Natural Resources Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin Texas 78744, or leave your detailed observations at the park headquarters for forwarding. Please help us protect the natural avian communities in state parks by refraining from using playback tapes of bird songs. Frequent use of these tapes disrupts normal avian activity patterns, disrupts essential territorial behavior and may lead to nest failure. Thank you for your cooperation. 2 LEGEND Sp S F W Spring (March – May) Summer (June – August) Fall (September – November) Winter (December – February) C Common – Should be seen or heard on any given day in proper season/habitat. Fairly Common – Likely to be seen or heard on any given day in proper season/habitat. Uncommon – Usually present but difficult to locate or local in distribution. Rare – Not expected more than once or twice per season or year. Occasional – Very Rare. Not Expected more than once every 2 to 5 years. Vagrant – Far out of normal range or season. Not expected to occur more than once every 10 years. F U R O V Note: “proper season” typically implies some fraction of the total season. I / * + Irregular: when used with status above, indicates abundance may vary plus or minus a status code from year to year. When preceding summer status, indicates bird’s presence in summer is due to early fall migrants. Confirmed breeding. Suspected breeding. 3 CHECKLIST Sp S F W ____ Black-bellied Whistling-Duck................... U U U U ____ Greater White-fronted Goose.................... O U ____ Canada Goose.......................................... O U ____ * Wood Duck............................................ F U F F ____ Gadwall.................................................... U U U ____ American Wigeon..................................... U U U ____ Mallard.................................................... R U F ____ Blue-winged Teal...................................... U U ____ Northern Shoveler.................................... U U ____ Northern Pintail....................................... R R U ____ Green-winged Teal................................... U F F ____ Canvasback.............................................. R R U ____ Redhead................................................... R R ____ Ring-necked Duck................................... R U U ____ Lesser Scaup............................................ O R U ____ Bufflehead................................................ O U U ____ Common Goldeneye................................. O ____ Hooded Merganser.................................. R F ____ Ruddy Duck............................................. R ____ * Wild Turkey........................................... U U U U ____ * Northern Bobwhite................................ C C F U ____ Pied-billed Grebe..................................... F F F ____ Horned Grebe.......................................... R R R ____ Eared Grebe............................................. R R ____ Double-crested Cormorant....................... F F C ____ American White Pelican........................... R F ____ * Great Blue Heron................................... C C C C ____ Great Egret............................................... U U U ____ Snowy Egret............................................. O R ____ Little Blue Heron...................................... U F U ____ Cattle Egret............................................... U U U R ____ * Green Heron.......................................... F C U ____ Black-crowned Night-Heron..................... O R ____ * Yellow-crowned Night-Heron................. F F U ____ White-faced Ibis....................................... O R ____ + Black Vulture......................................... F F F C 4  Sp S F W ____ + Turkey Vulture....................................... C C C C ____ Osprey..................................................... U U ____ Mississippi Kite........................................ R R ____ Bald Eagle................................................ O ____ Northern Harrier...................................... O U U ____ Sharp-shinned Hawk................................ U U R ____ Cooper’s Hawk......................................... U U R ____ * Red-shouldered Hawk........................... F F F F ____ Broad-winged Hawk................................. O R ____ Swainson’s Hawk...................................... U R U ____ + Red-tailed Hawk.................................... F F F F ____ Sora......................................................... U U R ____ American Coot......................................... C R C C ____ Sandhill Crane.......................................... O F ____ Black-necked Stilt.................................... O O ____ American Avocet....................................... O O ____ Black-bellied Plover................................. O ____ * Killdeer.................................................. C C C F ____ Greater Yellowlegs.................................... R ____ Willet....................................................... O O ____ Lesser Yellowlegs..................................... R /R R ____ Spotted Sandpiper.................................... U U ____ Upland Sandpiper.................................... U U ____ Least Sandpiper........................................ U /U R ____ Baird’s Sandpiper..................................... O ____ Wilson’s Snipe.......................................... O U U ____ American Woodcock................................ O ____ Franklin’s Gull.......................................... R R ____ Ring-billed Gull........................................ U U F ____ Least Tern................................................ O O ____ Forster’s Tern........................................... U U U ____ Rock Pigeon............................................. U U U U ____ + Eurasian Collared-Dove......................... O O O O ____ + Inca Dove.............................................. U U U U ____ * White-winged Dove................................ F F F F ____ * Mourning Dove...................................... C C C F ____ * Yellow-billed Cuckoo............................. C C F ____ + Greater Roadrunner............................... U U U U 5  Sp S F W ____ + Barn Owl............................................... O O O O ____ + Eastern Screech-Owl.............................. R R R R ____ + Great Horned Owl.................................. U U U U ____ * Barred Owl............................................ F F F F ____ Common Nighthawk................................. C F U ____ Common Poorwill.................................... R R R ____ + Chuck-will’s-widow................................ C C R ____ + Chimney Swift........................................ C F C ____ Ruby-throated Hummingbird................... U U ____ * Black-chinned Hummingbird................. F F U ____ * Belted Kingfisher.................................... F F F F ____ Red-headed Woodpecker......................... R R R ____ * Red-bellied Woodpecker....................... F F F C ____ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker......................... U ____ * Ladder-backed Woodpecker.................. F F F F ____ * Downy Woodpecker............................... F F F F ____ Northern Flicker...................................... C C C ____ American Kestrel...................................... F F F ____ Peregrine Falcon...................................... O ____ Olive-sided Flycatcher.............................. R R ____ Eastern Wood-Pewee................................ R R ____ Least Flycatcher........................................ U /U U ____ Empidonax sp.......................................... F /U ____ * Eastern Phoebe...................................... F U F U ____ * Great Crested Flycatcher........................ C C U ____ Western Kingbird..................................... U U ____ Eastern Kingbird...................................... R R ____ * Scissor-tailed Flycatcher......................... C C C ____ Northern Shrike....................................... V ____ + Loggerhead Shrike................................. U U U F ____ + White-eyed Vireo.................................... F F F ____ Blue-headed Vireo................................... U U ____ Red-eyed Vireo......................................... F F ____ * Purple Martin........................................ F F ____ Northern Rough-winged Swallow............. F F ____ Bank Swallow........................................... O ____ * Cliff Swallow.......................................... C C ____ * Barn Swallow......................................... C C C 6  Sp S F W ____ * Blue Jay................................................. F F C C ____ * American Crow...................................... F F F F ____ * Carolina Chickadee................................ C C C C ____ * Black-crested Titmouse.......................... C C C C ____ Red-breasted Nuthatch............................. IU IU IU ____ Brown Creeper......................................... F F ____ * Canyon Wren......................................... U U U U ____ House Wren............................................. F F R ____ Winter Wren............................................. U U ____ Marsh Wren............................................. U U U ____ * Carolina Wren........................................ C C C C ____ * Bewick’s Wren....................................... C C C C ____ Golden-crowned Kinglet........................... IF IF IC ____ Ruby-crowned Kinglet.............................. C C C ____ * Blue-gray Gnatcatcher............................ F C F R ____ + Eastern Bluebird.................................... F U F F ____ Swainson’s Thrush................................... U U ____ Hermit Thrush......................................... U U ____ American Robin....................................... C R F C ____ + Brown Thrasher..................................... U U U U ____ * Northern Mockingbird........................... C C C C ____ American Pipit......................................... R R ____ Cedar Waxwing........................................ C C ____ European Starling.................................... F U F U ____ Black-and-white Warbler......................... U U ____ Prothonotary Warbler.............................. O R ____ Orange-crowned Warbler......................... U U U ____ Nashville Warbler..................................... F F ____ Mourning Warbler................................... R R ____ Common Yellowthroat.............................. U U U ____ American Redstart.................................... O ____ Magnolia Warbler.................................... O ____ Yellow Warbler......................................... U U ____ Yellow-rumped Warbler........................... F F F ____ Black-throated Green Warbler................. U U ____ Wilson’s Warbler...................................... U U ____ Yellow-breasted Chat................................ R ____ Spotted Towhee........................................ C U C 7  Sp S F W ____ Eastern Towhee........................................ O O O ____ * Rufous-crowned Sparrow...................... U U U U ____ Chipping Sparrow.................................... R ____ Clay-colored Sparrow............................... U ____ * Field Sparrow........................................ C U C C ____ Vesper Sparrow........................................ U U U ____ + Lark Sparrow......................................... U F U R ____ Savannah Sparrow.................................... U U U ____ Fox Sparrow............................................. F U C ____ Song Sparrow........................................... C F C ____ Lincoln’s Sparrow.................................... F F C ____ Swamp Sparrow....................................... R U ____ White-throated Sparrow........................... F U C ____ Harris’s Sparrow...................................... F U C ____ White-crowned Sparrow........................... U U U ____ Dark-eyed Junco...................................... C C C ____ * Summer Tanager.................................... F F F ____ * Northern Cardinal.................................. C C C C ____ + Blue Grosbeak....................................... U U R ____ Lazuli Bunting.......................................... O ____ * Indigo Bunting....................................... F F ____ * Painted Bunting..................................... C C ____ * Red-winged Blackbird........................... C C C C ____ + Eastern Meadowlark.............................. U U U U ____ + Common Grackle................................... F F F ____ Great-tailed Grackle................................. U U ____ Brown-headed Cowbird........................... C F F O ____ Orchard Oriole........................................ R ____ Bullock’s Oriole....................................... F F ____ Baltimore Oriole...................................... R R ____ Purple Finch............................................ IU ____ House Finch............................................. U U U U ____ Pine Siskin............................................... IU IU ____ American Goldfinch................................. U U C ____ * House Sparrow...................................... U U U U 8 CITATION Haynie, Carl B., Theresa A. Risdon, and David L Owens. April 2015. Birds of Lake Mineral Wells State Park: a field checklist. Natural Resources 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. 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If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any TPWD program, activity or facility, or need more information, please contact Office of Diversity and Inclusive Workforce Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church VA 22041. Natural Resources Program Texas Parks and Wildlife 4200 Smith School Road Austin, Texas 78744 © 2015 TPWD PWD BK P4501-103B (4/15) In accordance with Texas Depository Law, this publication is available at the Texas State Publications Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries.