John and Mary Kormendy - Birds of Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory, Austin, Texas
When people ask me, "What's your favorite tourist attraction in Austin", I answer, "Hornsby Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant". This proves that I am a birder. Actually, it is not quite fair: we go to Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory, which is part of the sewage plant. These are a few of the birds that we have seen at Hornsby Bend and at Platt Lane, which is part of the same ecological research station.We have not birded Hornsby Bend thoroughly over the years -- when we were in Austin, John usually worked 7 days per week, and when we were traveling, we mostly birded other countries. But we have accumulated enough pictures over the years to make this web site. And during "covid winter", when other travel was impossible, Hornsby Bend has been a safe day trip from our house. So we have gotten two life birds in Winter-Spring 2021, Rusty blackbird for John and Cliff swallow for Mary. We will continue to go there more regularly, now in Summer 2021, as we wait for the world to open up again for foreign travel.
Birds of greater Austin, Texas
In 2021 - prevented by covid-19 from international travel - we are birding more widely in greater Austin. Rather than start another web site, I now include pictures from the Austin area (but not from our house) in this web site. When birds were photographed elsewhere than Hornsby Bend, I note this in the caption.Birds are ordered taxonomically as in the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Pictures are copyrighted and should not be used without permission.
Northern shoveler is the most common bird here in winter. (male)
Blue-winged teal also are numerous in winter.
Cinnamon teal
Ruddy duck (male in over-the-top breeding plumage: Southeast Greenway wetland, Austin)
Least grebe
Red-shouldered hawk (calling in flight -- 2021 January 17)
Red-shouldered hawk (juvenile)
American coot and chicks (Southeast Greenway wetland, Austin)
Killdeer
Spotted sandpioer (winter plumage)
Least sandpiper (general morphology) or Baird's sandpiper with dirty legs (long wings)? I'd appreciate an email to kormendy at astro dot as dot utexas dot edu. Many thanks!
Least sandpiper (2021 April 12 - developing breeding plumage)
Pectoral sandpiper (2021 April 9)
Wilson's snipe
Wilson's phalarope (developing breeding plumage - 2021 April 12)
Vermilion flycatcher (2021 January 17)
Scissor-tailed flycatcher (2021 April 6)
Barn swallow collecting mud for nest (Southeast Greenway wetland, Austin)
Cliff swallow (This is Mary's life bird, seen on 2021 April 9. The nest is one of many under a Highway 71 overpass over one of the roads that lead into the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.)
American pipit
Yellow-rumped warbler (very common in the winter of 2020/2021)
Vesper sparrow (common along Platt Lane in winter: 2021 January 17)
Savannah sparrow (usually the most common sparrow at the Hornsby ponds)
Dickcissel (Platt Lane)
Red-winged blackbird (Southeast Greenway wetland, Austin)
Rusty blackbird (These were John's life birds on 2021 January 17.)
Our bird pictures from around the world follow standard ecozones approximately but not exactly:
Birds from the USA and Canada: our house, Hornsby Bend and greater Austin, Texas, California, Hawaii, Canada,
Neotropic birds from Central America and the Caribbean: Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago
Neotropic birds from South America: Ecuador 2004, Ecuador 2017, Brazil.
Western palearctic birds: Europe: Germany, Finland, Norway, Europe: United Kingdom, Europe: Spain, the Canary Islands, Europe: Lesbos, Greece, Israel
Eastern palearctic birds: China
Birds from Africa: The Gambia, South Africa
Indo-Malayan birds from India: North-west (Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand) India: North-east (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya) India: Central (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh)
Birds from Australia, New Zealand.
For our 2014 December trip to India, see this travelog.
For our 2016 May-June trip to India, see this travelog.
For our 2017 April trip to High Island, Texas, see this web site.
For our 2018 March trip to India, see this travelog.
For our 2018 May trip to China, see this travelog.
For our 2018 November trip to China, see this travelog.
For our 2019 April trip to High Island, Texas, see this web site.
For our 2019 July trip to China, see this web site.
For our 2021 April trip to High Island, Texas, see this web site.
For our 2021 December trip to Ecuador, see this web site.
For our 2022 January trip to Peru, see this web site.
For our 2022 July-August trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea, see this web site.
For our 2022 September trip to Bolivia, see this web site.
For our 2022 November-December pre-trip to Argentina (before our Antarctic cruise), see this web site.
For our 2022 November-December cruise to Antarctica, see this web site.
For our 2023 January birding in Chile, see this web site.
For our 2023 January-March cruise from Chile to Antarctica and around South America to Miami, FL, see this web site.
For our 2023 March-April birding in south Florida (after the Seabourn cruise), see this web site.