Birds of White Rock Lake and Vicinity

Compiled by Jim Peterson, 1999, 2005, 2005a, 2005b
Contributions by Thomas Riecke and Chris Runk

 

Nomenclature and Taxonomy Follow the Forty-first Supplement

to the AOU Checklist of North American Birds (AOU 1997)

 

LEGEND

 

A Abundant: Should see on every trip in the proper habitat
C Common: Should see on 3 out of 4 trips in the proper habitat
FC Fairly Common: Should see on 2 out of 4 trips in the proper habitat
U Uncommon: Should see on 1 out of 4 trips in the proper habitat
R Rare: Should see on 1 out of 10 trips or less in the proper habitat
I Very irregular: Sometimes occurring only once or twice during a decade

* Nests in the White Rock Lake vicinity

 

HABITATS

 

The Spillway/Fish Hatchery

 

The Spillway/Fish Hatchery Area is a dam spillway adjoined by a few acres of bottomland habitat. The bottomland area contains man-made fish ponds overgrown with a dense shrub component and some older hardwoods (hackberry, pecan, willow and oak trees). Several trails wind throughout the small woodland.

 

The habitat here is particularly diverse and maintains the broadest selection of birds around White Rock Lake. In winter, water birds frequent the ponds (dependent on water levels) while sparrows and towhees forage in the shrubs surrounding them. In spring, the area is a small migrant trap and is generally a good place to look for thrushes, wood-warblers, grosbeaks, orioles, and tanagers. In summer, Wood Duck, Barred Owl, Red-shouldered Hawk, Great-crested Flycatcher, and Warbling Vireo have all nested in close proximity of the spillway.

 

The spillway itself is a very good place to look for sandpipers in migration and gulls in winter. A wide variety of ducks and occasionally pelicans can usually be found by walking the area just above the dam.

 

West Lawther Drive

 

A drive from the Fish hatchery area north on West Lawther Drive will hug the western edge of the lake. Beginning at the historic pump house on the northern edge of the dam, one can usually see (or more likely, hear) Monk Parakeets. These birds currently nest in the power poles across from the pump station. Driving north around the edge of the lake, one can usually find a variety of ducks and grebes. At the very northern edge of the lake, bike trails lead north into a thick tangle of hardwoods. This area is good for wood-warblers and other songbirds in migration.

 

East Lawther Drive

 

East Lawther Drive is accessible from White Rock Lake Park on the east side of the lake. The drive winds through large pecan and oak trees which are particularly good for migrating warblers and flycatchers during migration and an occasional Eastern Bluebird in spring and summer. The drive ends at Sunset Bay which is an excellent place to look for ducks, gulls, egrets and a variety of songbirds.

 

Out of range birds or unexpected birds with few known records.

 

Western Grebe (1 record)
Neotropic Cormorant (1 record)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (2 records)
Common Merganser (2 recent records)

Ross’s Goose (2 reports presumed to be wild birds)
Piping Plover (1 record)

Black-necked Stilt (1 record)
Willet (1 record)

Jaeger sp. (1 record)

Mew Gull x (possibly hybrid)

Glaucous Gull (at least 1 record)

Thayer’s Gull (at least 4 records)

California Gull (at least 4 records)
Laughing Gull (1 record)

Least Tern (pair, 1 record)

Black-legged Kittiwake (1 record)

Whip-poor-will (1 recent record)

Black-chinned Hummingbird (1 record)

Acadian Flycatcher (1 record)
Bell's Vireo (1 record)
Hooded Warbler (1 record)
Vesper Sparrow (1 record)

Lazuli Bunting (1 record)

Western Tanager (2 records)

 

Small Flycatchers at White Rock:

 

Chris Runk recently did an informal study of the hard-to-identify Traill’s complex of empidonax flycatchers around White Rock Lake. Over several years, Chris visually identified 25 birds that fell into the Traill’s complex (Willow or Alder flycatcher). Of the ones that called, 17 birds were Alder, 2 birds were Willow, and 6 birds were silent and remained unidentified as to species. Willow is an early fall migrant in Dallas and of the few empids that can be identified in July, most are Willow.

 

Most other small eastern empid flycatchers can be identified visually, but it’s frequently difficult to get an adequate look. Call and song are still preferred as ID characteristics, particularly in Texas where a western empid is still quite possible. Most empids in Dallas Co., are May migrants in spring, but an unusual Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in June is still possible as this species can sometimes be quite late. Acadian Flycatchers might be possible as early as April, but this flycatcher, common to the southern bottomlands, has never been particularly common in Dallas County even though it nests only about 100 miles to the south and east. Most small flycatchers stretch out their fall migration through August and September.

 

 

Species

SP

S

F

W

Common Loon

R

 

 

I

Pied-billed Grebe

C

I

C

C

Horned Grebe

U

 

U

FC

Eared Grebe

C

 

U

FC

American White Pelican

C

I

C

C

Neotropic Cormorant

I

Double-crested Cormorant

A

 

A

A

American Bittern

R

R

Least Bittern *

R

R

I

 

Great Blue Heron

C

C

C

FC

Great Egret

C

C

C

R

Snowy Egret

C

C

C

 

Little Blue Heron

C

C

C

I

Tricolored Heron

 

R

R

 

Cattle Egret

FC

FC

FC

 

Green Heron *

C

C

U

 

Black-crowned Night-Heron

FC

FC

U

U

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron *

FC

FC

U

I

White Ibis

U

U

U

White-faced Ibis

I

 

I

 

Black Vulture

U

R

R

I

Turkey Vulture

U

R

U

R

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck*

I

I

Greater White-fronted Goose

R

 

R

R

Snow Goose

U

 

U

U

Canada Goose

FC

 

U

U

Wood Duck *

FC

U

C

C

Gadwall

C

I

U

C

American Wigeon

C

 

FC

FC

Mallard *

A

C

A

A

Blue-winged Teal

C

I

C

I

Cinnamon Teal

R

 

 

I

Northern Shoveler

A

 

C

C

Northern Pintail

C

 

C

U

Green-winged Teal

C

 

C

C

Canvasback

U

 

U

U

Redhead

U

 

U

R

Ring-necked Duck

U

 

U

U

Greater Scaup

I

 

 

I

Lesser Scaup

C

 

C

C

Surf Scoter

 

 

I

I

White-winged Scoter

I

 

I

I

Oldsquaw

I

 

I

I

Bufflehead

U

 

U

C

Common Goldeneye

R

 

R

R

Hooded Merganser

R

 

R

R

Red-breasted Merganser

I

 

 

I

Ruddy Duck

C

I

A