FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] RPT: West Ky April 29-May 1

[Brainard.Palmer-Ball@xxxxxx]

Jackie Elmore and I visited a variety of places in west KY last Thurs
afternoon thru Sat.

April 29: 

Peabody WMA, Homestead Unit, Ohio Co.: Bell's Vireos were heard a couple of
places; all the harriers we saw (3) were males, so females must be on nests.

Paradise Steam Plant, Muhlenberg Co.: nice little group of waterbirds on the
main impoundment flats including 5 Long-billed Dowitchers and 15 Forster's
Terns.

Camp Mines complex, Union Co.: a few shorebirds including 2 (probably a
pair) of Piping Plovers, 1 Dunlin, Soras, 2 Am Bitterns, 1 Virginia Rail.

Sloughs WMA, Sauerheber Unit, Henderson Co.: we went after dark and played
rail tapes; highlight was 3 King Rails answering.


April 30:

Land Between the Lakes -- we tallied 29 spp of warblers from 10:00 a.m.-3:00
p.m. CDT when the rains arrived. Highlights were 4 male Golden-wingeds, 100+
(Jack says 250-300+!) Tennessees, some Nashvilles, Cape Mays, Blackpolls and
Palms, only 1 Black-throated Green, 1 Bay-breasted, 4+ Blackburnian, 2
Chestnut-sided, 1 Magnolia (song only -- not seen), plus all the nesters
including 3 Hooded and 3 Cerulean. Our big miss was American Redstart, for
which I know of no breeding spots in the KY portion of LBL.  We also had
lots of Swainson's Thrushes and 2 Gray-cheeks. No Philly Vireo yet. Perhaps
the most interesting thing we saw were a pair of Mississippi Kites over the
head of Cravens Bay in LBL.

Grand Rivers -- we watched the Scissor-tailed Flycats nest building on the
same utility pole used in 2002.

Kuttawa -- 10 Western Willets on the marina breakwater.


May 1:

Lower Hickman bottoms -- recent rains have shallow water and wet soil
everywhere, so finding the best shorebird holes is hard. We saw mostly
common spp but heard a Black-bellied Plover. Nice flocks of Bobolinks were
scattered about, mostly in fields covered in butterweed; marshy spots at
Long Point yielded Marsh Wren, Soras, a Virginia Rail and an American
Bittern. We put in a pretty decent search for the Miller Painted Bunting
(from 2003) but heard and saw nothing suspicious.

Our only Miss. Kite was over Hickman and we saw only 2 Eur Collared-Doves in
town.

Upper Hickman bottoms (Obion WMA) -- again mostly common stuff, but 7
Black-necked Stilts were feeding on one of the impoundments near the back.

bpb, Louisville
================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS==============

The BIRDKY Mailing List requires you to sign 
your messages with first & last name, city, & 
state abbreviation.
--------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, send e-mail to:
birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Visit the Kentucky Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos.htm
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison, Richmond, KY
E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx