FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] Recent Highlights

[David Roemer <dlroemer@xxxxxxxxx>]

A catch-up on highlights from recent birding trips is
as follows:

8-25

Mitchell Lake  Ballard County

Gr. Egret  150+
Snowy Egret  30+
Little Blue Heron  10
Cattle Egret  1
Mississippi Kite  23
Common shorebirds including Wilson's Snipe
Least Tern  45+
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Fish Crows


Mississippi River at Laketon  Carlisle Co.

Common shorebirds including Black-bellied Plover
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern  75+
Black Tern  50+
Mississippi Kite  4  
Fish Crows


8-26  

Back yard along Drakes Creek  Warren

Least Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Black and White Warbler  2


8-27  w/ Joanie

Lake Barkley at Kuttawa

Lesser Scaup  3
Caspian Tern  150+

Fulton County

Lake 9

Great Egret  1500+
Cattle Egret  1000+
Snowy Egret  appr. 100
Little Blue Heron  4-500
Ring-necked Duck  male in molt
Bald Eagle  2 adults, 1 sub-adult, 1 juv

Willow Pond

Black-necked Stilt  4 including 2 juvs
Short-billed Dowitcher  juv

Miller's Crossing

Stilt Sandpiper  juv


8-28  w/ Joanie

Mississippi River  Hickman County

Am. White Pelican  10
American Avocet  adult basic plumage
Baird's Sandpiper  juv
Willet
Buff-breasted Sandpiper  3  adult and 2 juvs

Only one Mississippi Kite was observed at Ballard wma
and the Mississippi River on the 28th compared to 27
in the same area on the 25th!  Time to head south.

A total of 19 species of shorebirds were observed for
the week.

8-28  Drakes Creek/Warren 

Blue-winged Warbler  2
N. Parula  3 inc. 2 juvs
Magnolia Warbler  ad. female
Black and White Warbler
Ky. Warbler
Mourning Warbler  ad. female
Least Flycatcher


Yesterday, August 30, Robert Dever and I made a trip
to Kentucky Dam to observe the Long-tailed Jaeger. 
Several birders from Kentucky and Tennessee enjoyed
the bird throughout the day.  

The jaeger spent most of the day at least 3/4 mile
above the dam, and often much farther.  It spent a
great deal of time thermal soaring and hawking insects
on the wing, occasionally resting on the water for a
period of time.  The bird was also observed a number
of times flying above the water, then rising up and
pausing briefly in flight before dropping to the water
for food.  The rising and pausing being a behavior
believed to be characteristic of Long-tailed Jaeger.

Only one time did I see it kick into overdrive, flying
low and fast over the water in attack mode.  And the
bird it attacked, an OSPREY!  It dive-bombed the
Osprey carrying a fish four or five times, but the
Osprey never dropped its lunch.  The fish seemed to be
large for a jaeger, and I wondered if the attack was
in aggravation as raptors will do rather than in
actual pursuit of food.

I wish to congratulate Hap, Robert, and Nicole on
finding and sharing such a fabulous bird.

dave



















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