Bird count along the Bosque River Trail August 15, 2026. Carp a diem.

Weather - clear, light wind, temp ~80 degrees at 7:00am, very dry, no rain in the foreseeable future.

Bird count - low again today. No Scissortail Flycatchers, Western Kingbirds, or Black Belly Whistling Ducks.

Green Heron - I saw a Green Heron flying up the river channel. I guess one, or a pair, of Green Herons have taken up temporary residence in Stephenville, as I have seen them on and off for about a week and a half.

Dragonflies - there are lots of Dragonflies around. In the park there were a large number of red Dragonflies. Their entire bodies (but not the wings) were red.

Racoon - I saw a racoon today. It ran out from under the bridge near the drying puddle, and disappeared in the bushes on the other side of the riverbank. I suspect this Racoon and maybe others have been catching fish in the drying puddle with the Catfish. There are lots of tracks in the mud around the puddle, and a lot of them look like Racoon tracks. The fish in the puddle looked pretty lethargic. I can’t imagine they will last too much longer.

Fish nests - Well, I spoke or wrote too soon. When I checked the fish nest area today I saw three large Carp snuffling along the bottom of the river. I’m pretty sure they were looking for fish eggs. All three Carp looked about two feet long, and they looked pretty plump. I got several pictures of them.

River - The river north of the park is pretty dry. However, the river south of the dam is also beginning to dry up, even though water is flowing into it from the city’s storm drain. The river in the park and a small way upstream is still pretty full because of the dam.

Types of birds - 17 Number of birds - 89

Number‍ ‍Type

17 Robins

15 House Finches - one flock, again on the ground just south of the dam, east of the river.

8 House Sparrows

7 Mockingbirds

6 Cardinals

5 Starlings

5 Mississippi Kites

4 Sparrows - type unknown - dark brown tops, gray bellies with no stripes.

4 Grackles - noticeably low number compared to other recent bird counts.

3 White Winged Doves

3 Doves - unknown type - flying

2 Barn Swallows

2 Turkey Vultures

2 Bluebirds

1 Carolina Wren

1 Green Heron

1 Mourning Dove

1 Bluejay