Birding Hike at Ringtail Ridge Natural Area -- 4th of July 2015

  Nine of us awoke bright and early on the nation's birthday to locate and view 25 different species of birds at Ringtail Ridge natural area. Although the park encompasses 45 acres of natural area we confined our walk to the one-mile ADA loop around the three ponds that all hold water. Recent rains have filled the ponds which begets flying insects which begets numerous insect-eating birds.
  Stephen Ramirez led the hike and Colton Robbins documented our sightings and reported them to eBird. Not all insect predators were flying as we encountered several webs with spiders enjoying an abundance of insects.
  The trails are showing the effects of heavy downpours since the Halloween flood of 2013 and repairs to the crushed granite pathways are expected in the coming months. The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance plans on visiting all the trails and string-trim the heavy vegetation growth.  --LJ

Stephen Ramirez and Colton Robbins

Ringtail Ridge, Hays, Texas, US
Jul 4, 2015 6:50 AM - 8:05 AM
Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
25 species

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1
Black Vulture  2
White-winged Dove  8

Lesser Goldfinch  2
Mourning Dove  1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1
Chimney Swift  3
Black-chinned Hummingbird  1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker  1
Eastern Phoebe  2
Ash-throated Flycatcher  1
Western Kingbird  1
White-eyed Vireo  3
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  1
Common Raven  2
Barn Swallow  10
Carolina Chickadee  3
Black-crested Titmouse  2
Carolina Wren  1
Bewick's Wren  2
Northern Mockingbird  1
Northern Cardinal  4
Painted Bunting  4
Brown-headed Cowbird  3