FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Wind Bird Movement + Hudsonian

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

April 1, 2007
Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co. TN
 
The Hudsonian Godwit was found again early Sunday morning and photographed.  
The storm front moving up from the Texas coast evidently swept this super bird 
 along and dropped it at the pits. This is an early arrival for TN by just 
over 2  weeks but there are records in this time frame from states to our west 
which  fall in the migration patterns for this bird. Storm events are 
responsible for  most of our records of large shorebirds because they normally 
over fly 
our  area after leaving the coast due to their fast flight and long-distant  
capabilities. Recent telemetry studies show 3-4,000+ mile non-stop flights by  
some of the trans-ocean godwits in the Pacific. Even with better looks at the 
 plumage in good light, I could not be sure as to the sex but I felt the 
bird's  feathering suited female more than first year male. After being pushed 
down  by Saturday's bad weather, it nervously moved around occasionally giving 
a 
call  that the Black-necked Stilts reacted to again and again. Single birds 
calling do  not usually stick around. It was first found in the rear and then 
twice more up  in the small pools in the tailing piles. 
 
Other birds were on the move and for about 45 minutes there were 10  
Long-billed Dowitchers trading around the pits but they never settled to feed  
but 
just to stand, preen and rest for a few minutes; "zugunruhe" had their  engines 
revved and soon they were heading north over the steam plant. A few  other pods 
of Wind Birds came and left over the next few hours and sometime in  all the 
hustling about, the godwit disappeared.
 
Five and a half hours, searching the pools and fields, plus sitting and  
watching the birds' movements yielded: Eleven WIND BIRD species with many  
Killdeer at scrapes, one with a single egg, NO Golden-Plovers, 26 Solitary  
Sandpipers, 8 Greater Yellowlegs, 48 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 HUDSONIAN GODWIT, 7  
Black-necked Stilts (3 pair and a bachelor) 156+ Least Sandpipers, 32 Pectoral  
Sandpipers, 10 Long-billed Dowitcher, 8 Wilson's Snipe and a single  Baird's 
Sandpiper left over from Saturday. 
 
Three resident Red-tailed Hawks, 2 high Red-tail travelers, 4  Kestrel and 2 
pair of displaying Red-shouldered Hawks were all the raptors  seen Sunday. A 
few Turkey Vultures and a trio of Black Vultures lolled about in  the breeze 
plus the Great Horned Owl sat in a tree next to the youngsters in the  nest and 
enjoyed the morning sun.
 
A photo of the Hudsonian and a couple of Great Horned Owls at nests can be  
viewed at:
 
_http://www.pbase.com/ol_coot/new_2007_ 
(http://www.pbase.com/ol_coot/new_2007) 
 
 
Good Birding  !!!
Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135




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