Bird count along the Bosque River Trail August 12, 2026. Grackles and Turtles.
Weather - clear, moderate wind gusts, nice and cool when in the shade, however, the wind is a potential wildfire risk, temp ~80 degrees at 7:00am.
Grackles - Lots of Grackles in the park today. I saw a slow grackle-train of 17 Grackles.
Turtles - I saw a total of 20 turtles. Fourteen surfaced as I crossed the footbridge because a family was dropping bread in the water. The turtles were mostly common Red Stripe Turtles, but there was one big Snapping Turtle. I’ve seen the Snapping Turtle near the bridge a number of times.
Hummingbirds - I saw the Hummingbird near the bridge today. It flew up into the large tree by the bridge and sat on a small branch. The other Hummingbird was flying around the south end of the wildflower garden. I got two good frontal photos of it. But, again, there were no distinguishing marks. So I am still not positive about an identification. I am leaning towards Black Throated Hummingbirds.
Swallowtail Butterflies - I saw a pair of yellow and black Swallowtail Butterflies. This is the first time I’ve seen this type of butterfly this year. They were engaged in frisky behavior at the top of a Mimosa Tree.
Puddle - Its looking grim at the puddle near the bridge. I don’t think its going to last more than about two weeks unless we get some rain. I counted about 40 Perch and two big Catfish in the puddle. There were still hundreds of small black Catfish. The fish aren’t moving around much. There was a Great Blue Heron standing in another puddle further up the riverbed.
Fish nests - I counted three fish nests in the river along the south loop, with Perch still guarding them. Most of the rest of the nests are not distinguishable any more. I saw one random Perch swimming around the nest area.
Bird types - 21 Bird numbers - 98
Number Type
31 Grackles
15 Robins
10 House Sparrows
9 Cardinals
4 Western Kingbirds
3 Scissortail Flycatchers
3 Mississippi Kites
2 Hummingbirds - type uncertain
2 Mockingbirds
2 Great Blue Herons
2 Bluebirds
2 Eastern Phoebes
2 Carolina Wrens
2 Mourning Doves
1 Nighthawk
1 Red Shouldered Hawk
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Green Heron
1 White Winged Dove
1 Painted Bunting - female
1 Raptor - unknown type - small and fast
1 Sparrow - type unknown