Bird count along the Bosque River Trail August 8, 2026. A peck of House Finches.

Weather - clear, no wind, temp ~80 degrees at 7:00 am

House Finches - I saw nineteen House Finches. They were in two large groups. The largest group contain nine birds. This flock was on the ground near the city drain water exit.

Ducks or Geese - I saw two flocks of ducks or geese. The first flock I saw had ten birds flying in a loose V formation. The flock was headed north. They weren’t making any sound. They moved so fast I never got a good look at them. I could not tell if they were ducks or geese. About ten minutes later I saw a flock of fifteen Black Belly Whistling Ducks flying south. The Ducks made the typical BBWD call as they flew over the hayfield. I got a good long look at them and two good pictures. So this was a positive identification. I suspect the two flocks may have been the same birds. However, I don’t know for sure.

Hummingbirds - When I approached the wild flower garden today I saw that three garden volunteers were tending the garden. Because of this I figured I wouldn’t see any Hummingbirds in the garden, where I mostly see Hummingbirds. I was wrong. I was about halfway along the garden when I saw a pair of Hummingbirds zoom out of the woods east of the garden. They headed for the flowers at the south end or the garden. However, they saw the workers, flew slightly higher, zipped north down the length of the garden, and disappeared into the woods behind me. The entire flight took only a few seconds.

Fish puddle - The fish puddle keeps getting smaller. So, more fish are visible. There are still hundreds of small catfish, but I also saw more large catfish today and a lot more perch.

Types of birds - 22 -21 Number of birds - 136 - 126 (depends on the two duck/geese flocks)

Number‍ ‍Type

19 House finches

17 Starlings

16 Cardinals

15 Black Belly Whistling Ducks

10 Robins

10 Ducks or Geese - flying flock - too fast to identify

8 White Winged Doves

7 Grackles

7 House Sparrows

4 Mississippi Kites

3 Mockingbirds

3 Barn Swallows

2 Doves - type - unknown

2 Red Bellied Woodpeckers

2 Hummingbirds - type unknown

2 Hawks - type unknown - dark brown

1 Belted Kingfisher

1 Carolina Wren

1 Bluejay

1 Scissortail Flycatcher

1 Turkey Vulture

1 Red Shouldered Hawk

1 Great Blue Heron

1 Crow - was drinking out of the river.