четвъртък, 7 август 2014 г.

Sun City Texas Is A Bird Watcher's Paradise

By Ernesto Berturand


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that Americans by the millions have adopted the pastime of birdwatching. A good number of people view birds in areas near their homes but some take a trip away from home in order to bird watch. A variety of publicly available birding sites are located in close proximity of Sun City Texas. Williamson County offers more than 400 kinds of birds and in addition, the state of Texas boasts the highest number of species of birds in all fifty states at 636. The retention ponds constructed in town to empty water coming from vehicle parking lots are home to of a lot of water birds including great blue herons, many varieties of egrets, wood ducks, and teals.

With the many water features, creeks and natural environments found in Sun City Texas that offer a perfect place for native and migratory wild birds, enthusiasts find many occasions to enjoy wild birds around the community. The Birding Special Interest Group is part of the Sun City Nature Club which advances the study of birds, particularly those indigenous to central Texas. The Birding Club provides a variety of research materials which include training books, digital video disks, audio tapes and various other resources which can be checked out from the library.

Birding club participants assemble for field outings, bird watching hikes and keep an eye on nests for birds in indigenous habitats. Sun City Texas has so many different species of birds. The flocks of wild turkeys may frequently be seen feeding on the wild grasses that thrive in the roughs of the golf greens. The Berry Pond bridge which spans Del Webb Boulevard, is home to a large community of cave swallows. The swallows make their mud nests between the cement spans below the bridge.

Perching together in groups on the shoreline of Berry Creek, there is a big population of turkey vultures near the bridge to the White Wing Golf Course. The largest scavenger birds in the United States, turkey vultures give preference to broad open areas which provide nearby woods for nesting. The dead and leafless trees, victims of several years of scarce rainfall, are ideal for vultures to keep keen eyes over the creek bed, an empty field and further down, the golf course. Feeding mostly on carrion, turkey vultures eat armadillos, turtles, squirrels and rabbits that often become a victim of road traffic throughout Sun City Texas.

Because of the abundant wooded areas, water and food sources available to birds in Sun City Texas, it is a birder's paradise. For those who love to watch the growth and development of baby birds, there are many residents who encourage nest building by erecting bird houses, providing bird seed, and flowering plants to attract them. There are many species of hawks attracted to the fields of native grasses, hummingbirds drawn to feeders and bright flowers, and owls that hunt small vertebrates at night.

Fortuitous Sun City Texas residents have observed the many large road runners that are indigenous to our area. Their habitat is dry and shrubby countryside and the large birds build a nest on a foundation of twigs low in a cactus or a shrub. They may be up to two feet in total length, about 50 % of which is tail. These are especially helpful wild birds which prey on reptiles including snakes, small to medium sized mice, spiders, scorpions and road kills. Several roadrunners may sometimes fight a rather large snake cooperatively.

With wild bird walks scheduled twice each month, the Sun City Texas Birding Club arranges for members to partner and share their mutual appreciation for wild birds and get outdoors.




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