FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Weekend Ramblings - TN-AR-MS

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

March 10-11, 2007
Shelby Co. TN
Crittenden Co. AR
DeSoto, Tunica Co. MS
 
Just running the roads to witness the ever changing conditions and  birds as 
we are on the cusp of the seasons. I found Western Meadowlarks in all  three 
states at 6 locations. The birds at Bob White Road and Highway 50 in AR  fed 
along the roadside and allowed a few photos of their distinctive plumages  and 
tail patterns. Only a dozen Lapland Longspurs were left on Bob White Road,  AR 
while only two could be detected in a flock of Horned Larks in Tunica  Co, MS. 
More Brewer's Blackbirds were seen in the drying fields, lack of rain  
concentrated this shiny species. There were more fishermen and boats at  
Horseshoe 
Lake in AR than birds. The Red-throated Loon, Canvasback and Redhead  Ducks 
evidently did not linger.
 
I located 5 occupied Red-tailed Hawk nests and had displaying  Red-shouldered 
Hawks along the levees in all three states. Harlan's Hawks were  photographed 
in all three states with 2 of my regulars still fast on their  winter 
territories but I bid them farewell till hopefully they fill their  appointed 
places 
next year. One of the dark Harlan's in Tunica County, MS  has returned now for 
5 years to the same crossroads, approaching Shy's  record of 6 years 
wintering at the another location before disappearing. 
 
Every Great Horned Owl nests had fuzzy headed young peering back at  this 
fuzzy bearded birder. Cooper's Hawks have returned to my yard and are  
displaying 
and calling and a single Sharp-shinned zoomed through at Ensley  Bottoms 
where the Red-tailed Hawks have thinned considerably in the last two  weeks. 
The 
male Harrier's are passing back through and the females have headed  north as 
the 8 to 1 ratio indicated.
 
An adult Bald Eagle circling over the buildings in downtown Memphis was a  
treat but did not phase an adult Peregrine busily having breakfast on a high  
perch located on a bank sign. Purple Martins are now in at all nest sites in  
downtown and Tree, Rough-wing with a single Barn Swallow all danced and enjoyed 
 
the warm breeze.
 
The only large concentration of gulls was at the Tunica Dump in MS but in  
the masses only 2 Herring Gulls could be detected. A few Bonaparte's Gulls and  
Forster's Terns were in with the gulls at Arkabutla Dam, MS. There is a 
rookery  of 20+ occupied nests of Great Blue Heron off of a little creek that 
flows  
across the new connector route between I-55 and the Tunica Casinos. I  first 
saw these distant nests two weeks ago and suspected they belong to Great  Blue 
Herons and confirmed this Sunday by the birds standing in every nest. Great  
Egrets have moved farther north as they were seen in north Shelby Co, this  
weekend. Their numbers have fallen at Robco Lake, TN where up to 12 birds  have 
over wintered.
 
Last year at this time a female Goldeneye hung out with a few Ring-necked  
Ducks in the Horn Lake Slough. The bird has returned and again is feeding  in 
this shallow water with her friends. The Lesser and Greater Scaup are  using 
the 
pools at TVA Lake in greater numbers on the weekend. Counting these  birds 
and 2 groups on McKellar Lake I came up with 30 Greater and 760 Lesser. On  
Robco Lake, they have almost disappeared in the last two weeks.With geese  and 
duck numbers declining due to migration I did have a nice selection but a  lot 
of 
loners scattered about, 21 species were tallied.
 
Least Sandpipers were found in wet fields at all locations, along with  
Killdeer, Golden-Plovers, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers 
and  
Wilson's Snipe with a few LB Dowitchers and a Dunlin. Horned Larks are  larking 
and one was detected scurrying through the grass carrying nesting  material 
while hubby displayed high overhead. I'll have to return to see if  I can 
locate the nest. This is one hard nest to find but easier now than next  month. 
 
Good Birding  !!!

Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135

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