FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Wet and Windy in Shelby Co.

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

March 31, 2006
Mud Island, Eagle Lake
Shelby Forest, Ensley Bottoms
and Robco Lake
all in Shelby Co, TN
 
Mike Todd and I had not birdied together in over a month and decided to do  
Shelby Co, just to see what was around. We loaded up with carbs at  I-Hop and 
started at 6:30 in the rain and finished at 6:30 P M, watching at pair  of 
breeding plumaged Yellow-crowned Night-Herons displaying their feathery  finery 
to 
one another at a nest.
 
The top experience for us on the day (among many) was watching the first 3  
sticks being placed by a pair of adult Bald Eagles in the crown of a cypress  
tree. The site is perfect with 4 large limbs to give support to the future 
home.  I'll post photos as construction progresses. 
 
In second place was an encounter with a very large Cottonmouth, a female  
just emerging from the winter siesta. You could see how loose the scales and  
skin were, even at that she was well over 3 feet and quite hefty but tolerated  
our photo session with open mouth but never struck the first time, not even 
when  being politely escorted to the side of the road. I find them far less 
likely to  strike than Copperheads or Rattlesnakes but have a great respect for 
them. They  just get their reputation from being defiant and refusing to give 
ground. We  have some fine photos of Big Mamma. I've seen Cottonmouths out and 
about for two  weeks so be careful where you step.
 
Through the morning wind and rain and the windy afternoon we found the  
following:
 
On the Mississippi River, we saw a group of 300+ American White Pelicans  
flashing as they circled and sped north on the wind. Only 12 species of  
waterfowl, with nothing really unexpected but quite a few species seen earlier  
in the 
week have left. Raptor wise, we only had 6 species with the down-town  
Peregrine a no show, which probably was doing just like the others staying out  
of 
the wind and weather as much as possible.
 
We saw Wild Turkeys at every turn with the males really strutting their  
stuff. Shorebird wise the winners for most elegant appearance were 2 sleek,  
streamlined, breeding plumage Baird's Sandpipers at Ensley. A Western  
Sandpiper 
was a first of season for me in TN and it brought the total to  only 9 species, 
as we could find no Golden-Plovers in the wind. Eurasian  Collared- Doves were 
seen in every commercial, residential and industrial site  we 
visited..........Two Bonaparte's Gulls at different locations on the river  
with the 
Ring-billed Gulls on Robco that were joined by 3 Forster's Terns  filled our 
pelagic 
list. 
 
The wind kept the woodpecker species list down to five and only the  
White-eyed Vireos (some in stunning coloration) were seen in that family. We 
had  both 
the crow species calling and cavorting in the wind. Carolina, House and  
Winter were the only wrens coaxed into view. Both the Kinglets were singing up 
a  
storm along with multiple Hermit Thrushes, up to 3 at one location, all trying 
 to out do their brethren with their almost surreal artistry of song.
 
Warblers have arrived but were few and far between as we ended with only  six 
species and a handful of distant sky high feeders in the tops of the wind  
whipped trees. Sparrow species were hunkered in and we saw only the expected,  
numbering seven, heck, we even had a hard time finding Goldfinches.
 
Over all, just as any day in the field is better than working, we had a  
great time finding 101 species on the day.  
Good Birding  !!!

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



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