Bird count along the Bosque River Trail August 21, 2026. Gray Finches and a Yellow Warbler.

Weather - clear, no wind, temp ~80 degrees at 7:15 am. Supposed to be 106 degrees this afternoon.

Bird count - The bird count and numbers of birds were low again today.

Yellow Warbler - I watched a bright yellow bird fly from bush to bush along the bank of the river just north of the dam. I managed to get a picture of it. Unfortunately, the bird is partially hidden behind a branch stem. However, the picture is good enough to tell that the bird is completely yellow. Its tail, belly, and head are all bright yellow. I’m sure the bird was a Yellow Warbler.

Killdeer - I saw two Killdeer inside one of the baseball fields. I often distantly hear these birds along the south loop but I haven’t seen one in a while.

Gray Finches - I was watching a House Finch on a group of bushes at the city museum. The House Finch was a male and it didn’t look healthy. Its head had a mottled ragged look to it. Maybe it was molting. There were at least three other finch-like birds with the male House Finch. I think they were female House Finches, but they didn’t quite look like female House Finches. These three birds were light gray, and had real pale heads. I got several good pictures of these birds but I still can’t figure out with absolute certainty what they are.

White Tailed Deer - I saw six White Tailed Deer today. Two of the deer were fawns with spots. The other four were in a herd, and curiously they were all males with antlers. Two of the deer were six pointers, one was a four pointer, and one I couldn’t see how many points it had. The antlers still had felt on them. Usually the herds of deer I see consist of females. Sometimes I see one male with a herd of females. A male deer herd is unusual.

Red Shouldered Hawk - I went down the path where I saw the Owls. I didn’t see any Owls but a Red Shouldered Hawk flew up from a branch hanging over another of the drying river puddles. So, I think we can add Red Shouldered Hawks to the list of critters taking advantage of the fish trapped in these puddles.

Puddle - The puddle by the bridge is shrinking. There was one large brown snake in the puddle today. It was trying to catch a fish but was unsuccessful while I was watching.

Bird types - 16 - 17 Bird numbers - 81

Numbers‍ ‍Type

19 House Sparrows

12 Grackles

10 Cardinals

8 Robins

6 Mourning Doves

3 White Winged Doves

3 Starlings

3 Red Bellied Woodpeckers

3 Mississippi Kites

3 Gray Finches - female House Finches probably

2 Killdeer

2 Belted Kingfishers - heard but not seen

1 White Eyed Vireo

1 Red Shouldered Hawk

1 House Finch - male

1 Black Vulture

1 Yellow Warbler