FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Snow Storm/Gull Storm - Pickwick Dam

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

Feb. 14-15, 2004
Pickwick Dam Area
There could not have been a wider variety of weather in TN than what was 
experienced at Pickwick over the weekend. Nor could there have been a more 
entertaining horde of gulls.

I stopped by the water hole on 69 and found lots of Ring-bills and 2 Herring 
spread across the fields. There were some Lapland Longspurs restlessly moving 
about and settling, only to move again. There were even more American Pipits 
spread out feeding in every direction. In the pool itself there was my largest 
flock of Redheads for the year, 43 with 6 Canvasback, 7 Ring-necked and 2 
Bufflehead. I also photographed a lone Great Egret; he would be impossible to 
see 
in 24 hours.

Saturday started off overcast and then cleared to beautiful spring skies and 
warm enough for shirt sleeves as I scanned the birds. One Lesser Black-backed 
evidently was all there is left of the gang of four. I finally caught up to 
the lighter Thayer's sitting where I could get some shots and this bird 
impressed birders all weekend long. The darker bird made very sporadic 
appearances on 
both days but once we had the two flying side by side for a little while as 
they fought the other birds for turbine chum. The clouds came back around 2:30 
and a cold north wind made it coat time again. It was great while it lasted, a 
taste of spring.

The Satterfields arrived in mid afternoon and had looks at the above 
mentioned birds but their target Great Black-backed had not shown up all day. I 
let 
myself get too tied up in the Thayer's and time slipped by and we were late 
getting to the staging area where the birds collect above the dam before going 
farther south to the roost.

A quick scan caught the Great Black-back just leaving the area but its 
distinct pattern and size let me know it was still in the area. There were a 
few 
Loons and grebes in the upper lake and just a sprinkling of ducks of no 
particular interest.

There were threats of snow on the news cast that evening in Savannah but they 
were pretty iffy about it all. I got up a few times during the night to check 
and at 4 AM there was no snow and I really felt we had dodged the bullet. I 
rolled out at my usual 5 AM and there was 2-3 inches and you could not see 
across the parking lot as huge wet flakes flew by. By the time we ate breakfast 
there was 6" on top of our cars and it had started to lighten up. It seems we 
were in the epicenter. I got a call later in the morning from Mike Todd and 
they 
had no snow at McKenzie to our north and later a call from Steve McConnell to 
the south in Alabama and nothing there either.

I figured we might see the small birds on the road sides in the bottoms and 
sure enough we could drive right up to a variety of sparrows that would sit 
until you were ready to roll over them. Four tail bobbin Palm Warblers looked 
lost in the white fields. We had a dandy male Rusty Blackbird and other 
roadsiders with Pipits and Laps silhouetted against the white stuff. I knew the 
gulls 
would have to concentrate at the dam so we plowed a trail there. The evening 
before we had seen a few thousand gulls coming over going to roost. They had 
been feeding in the bottoms and only a few hundred had fed at the dam, today 
was 
going to be different.

There was a huge swirling mass of gulls feeding below the dam, the most I had 
seen in years at Pickwick. We picked up the Lesser Black-backed and both 
Thayer's almost immediately. The variety of molts, ages and odd patterned gulls 
was better than any seminar you could have attended.

For our tenacity, we were rewarded, suddenly out of nowhere the Great 
Black-backed showed up sitting head and shoulders above the herring gulls and 
proceeded to show off all the details of head, back and rump as it turned and 
preened. The Satterfields headed back on their long drive home with their 
TN-Bird 
under their belts. 

Now I awaited Steve McConnell and a good chance for his Lifer Thayer's. After 
he arrived we enjoyed the light Thayer's flying around in front of us for 
almost 2 hours. We could follow it with the scopes and discussed details and 
enjoyed it sitting on the water as it tussled for shad. Steve was duly 
impressed 
by the subtle plumage of the bird and its unique coloration. I find it fairly 
easy to scan the group without field glasses and finding the bird by color and 
soon Steve was getting into that groove. After years of scanning for Thayer's 
in Alabama he felt vindicated as he said he had never seen anything that 
matched this bird.


Good Birding!!!

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


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