FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] RPT: West KY, April 30, 2003

[Brainard.Palmer-Ball@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Mark Monroe and I undertook an all-day whirlwind in west KY on April 30th.
Having never attempted to maximize a species list a week prior to the peak
of spring passerine migration we weren't sure how it would go.  We birded
from the Peabody WMA area of Muhlenberg County, west to the Land Between the
Lakes and dams, then southwest to western Fulton County.  I figured we could
find 150 species without much trouble, but we were both surprised to tally
174 species on the day, just two shy of last year's May total of 176.  With
a late start for nocturnal species, not much prior scouting of habitats, and
more than an hour spent with the day's best bird -- the Painted Bunting :o)
-- we knew that a 180-species day could have been realized.  Pre-dawn hours
were spent hearing Virginia Rail, Sora, American Woodcock, owls and some of
the breeding grassland birds of the mines.  LBL provided a list of 30
species of warblers in only about 3.5 hours, the best being a Golden-winged,
multiple Cape May, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided and Bay-breasted, and an early
Wilson's (worse misses were American Redstart and Blackburnian).  The lower
lakes and dams area provided a flock of Willets, what must now be a resident
and injured American White Pelican, Common Loons, three gulls and three
terns (best a Common at Ky Dam), several lingering diving ducks, and the
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.  Our late afternoon in western Fulton County was
interruped by the discovery of the Painted Bunting, but we were still able
to fill in some missing raptor holes (including Miss Kites and a Merlin)
thanks to Mr. Monroe's bionic eyes and tally a list of 12 additional
shorebirds (including White-rumped, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, and
Wilson's Snipe). Dusk provided us with a perched Great Horned Owl (Mark
again) and nice views of at least two and probably three American Bitterns
flying over Long Point.  A futile attempt to tack on a missing
Chuck-will's-widow ended the day, but we certainly had no room for
complaints.

bpb, Louisville
brainard.palmer-ball@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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