FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] RPT: Various points west KY 8/12/2007

["Palmer-Ball, Brainard (EPPC OOS KNPC)" <Brainard.Palmer-Ball@xxxxxx>]

Matt Stickel, Hap Chambers, and myself visited Lake No. 9 in Fulton
County yesterday for what will likely be one last visit this fall. The
north end now entirely dry with the last pool near the south end
probably only a few days away from disappearing. The previously seen
White Ibis was a no-show, but everybody else was still accounted for
including the juv. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and about 200 Snowy
Egrets/Little Blue Herons (probably slightly more of the former). A few
Great Blues and Great Egrets, 2 Cattle Egrets and 240+ Pectoral
Sandpipers were also present along with many Wood Ducks and Mallards.
Matt I returned mid-day for one more look but all we added were at least
a dozen Mississippi Kites and 36 American White Pelicans feeding and
kettling overhead, respectively. Fish Pond north of Sassafras Ridge
nearby had the greatest concentration of Great Egrets with at least 330
and probably 350-375 present. Nothing much else there, though. A slough
closer to Hickman that had nearly 200 Great Egrets a week ago had only
25-30 yesterday.
 
After lunch, Matt and I headed north to see if we could find any
shorebirds. Along the way we continued to see Mississippi Kites in small
numbers around just about every corner it seemed. We found one good pool
near Laketon, Carlisle County, that had 10 species of shorebirds
including a great looking Wilson's Phalarope that appeared to be
entirely in juv. plumage still, along with 2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers
and an adult Stilt Sandpiper. One nice, close group of peeps yielded
wonderful study of both adults and juveniles of all three regular peeps
(Least, Semi, Western). 
 
With a decent mix of shorebirds there, we decided to stop by Mitchell
Lake before heading home. Mitchell is alive with birds right now as the
dry weather has it really dropping fast. We did not count the shorebirds
but there had to be 750-1000 birds, most of which were Killdeer and
Pects, although we did add a couple of Greater Yellowlegs and single
adult Black-bellied Plover and Long-billed Dowitcher to bring our
shorebird list to 15 species on the day. Mitchell is also serving as a
wonderful Least Tern nursey, with maybe 25-30 or more juvies constanting
whining for food from foraging adults. It's fun to watch the juvies
learn to feed, too, with test dives into the water not always resulting
in efficient captures! The colony of Sedge Wrens continues to sing away
across the road at Lower Beaverdam Slough.
 
bpb, Frankfort