FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Ensley Bottoms Black Scoter plus

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

Feb. 13, 2004
Robco Lake, Ensley Bottoms
and President's Island
Shelby Co. TN

I tried my luck on Friday the 13th as I came back from a job site in 
Mississippi. There evidently was a partial blow out of the dam at Robco 
lowering the 
lake 4 feet or more. Looks like they are getting it stabilized.

Most of the ducks had left but there were a few still hanging it there, 
Mallards, Gadwall, 1 Shoveler, a few Red-breasted Merganser males, Canvasback, 
Hooded Mergs, Bufflehead, 1 Common Goldeneye female, and a few Ruddy. There are 
DC 
Cormorants using the last perches on the huge old tree out in the lake that 
has almost lost all of its branches after years of service.

The gulls were nice with a lot of Ring-billed, 2 immature and 2 adult 
Herring, 2 Bonaparte's and 3 Forster's Terns. The Mud flats here could make for 
some 
interesting sightings if the lake does not fill back up rapidly.

At TVA I took my chances, as the Fear Factor has been again raised to ORANGE. 
I had just enough time to locate a sleeping Black Scoter when I was asked to 
leave by the Police because of the Terrorist Level. I did get some photos. 
This could be the same bird that I found earlier this year, always a nice find 
in 
west TN. Of the Thousands of Greater and Lesser Scaup (maybe most of Robco's 
came up here) this was the only other species of duck that I found in my short 
but productive stay. There were a lot of Scaup out on McKellar also. A quick 
count of the Ring-billed Gulls at TVA Lake hit 450 with a single immature 
Herring.

I quick run around on President's Island found only a couple of hundred ECDO 
and no Hybrid. A run down on comments about the heritage of this hybrid dove 
from across the US and Europe is forth coming.

Now to try for some frustrating gulls on the TN River.....


Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL'COOT / TLBA
Bartlett, TN


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