FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Coming and Going

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

June 14-15, 2003
Lake and Dyer Co. TN

In the shorebird line this weekend there were birds both coming and going. At 
2 locations, I found single Least Sandpipers and 2 more were seen at 103 
Highway and the Great River Road. All of these birds were found either sleeping 
or 
just preening and were gone just minutes later.

I found quite a few Black-necked Stilts still trying to nest. I had one fly 
over the truck on Saturday and I noticed it was cleaning its legs in flight, a 
sure sign it was going to take over nest duties. The bird flew about 200 yards 
and landed. It walked along alternately shaking its feet and suddenly a 
female appeared out of nowhere. She immediately started tossing debris in the 
air. 
Another sure nest sign and the male strode up and carefully settled on a nest. 
Chalk up another for the day.

American Golden-Plovers in non-breeding first summer plumage were seen on 
Friday by Glen Criswell at the 103 and GRR location. On Sunday we saw 3 Lesser 
Yellowlegs, 1 Stilt Sandpiper and 4 White-rumped there along with the male 
Black 
Duck. The water has dried up almost completely and the White Pelicans have 
moved on to White Lake refuge. The Mississippi RV has averaged slightly more 
than a foot rise each day for over a week and all the sandbars are under again. 
The sandbar, west of Mud Lake, where just last week upwards of 200 Least Terns 
were starting to nest, is gone. These birds have again, moved back into the 
fields to try again. I photographed birds at new scrapes with plows roaring in 
the back ground. Two Black Terns were seen at the Highway 103 location on 
Saturday morning and one was an immature. June 22, was my previous early date 
for 
immature Black Terns. Two Caspian Terns were seen off of west 79 Highway early 
on Sunday. One of these was a begging young bird and July 1, was my previous 
early date for an immature of this species.

A single BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK was seen on Saturday on the east side 
of Mud Lake. The bird swam down a ditch and then flew over a spoil area and out 
of sight. A territorial Song Sparrow was seen and heard at the Bogota/Obion 
Refuge in Dyer Co. An Eurasian Collared-Dove was seen flying over Black Bayou 
Refuge, they can be expected anywhere now days. 

The Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were last seen Friday afternoon. I searched 
around the area 5 times this weekend with no luck.

In Kentucky, I was cruising around the area east of Lake # 9 without a 
pass;o) and came across a male Black-necked Stilt taking a bath in a pool of 
water. 
After an extended period of preening and drying out, the bird picked up and I 
followed it for about a mile to another pool and was able to see this bird 
change places with a female on a nest. In the pools here I also located 3 Least 
sandpipers preening. They flew south after about 10 minutes.

Last but not least, another adventure of the snake kind. As I was standing on 
the levee at Mud Lake I saw a head stick out of the grass. I stood still as a 
Speckled King Snake slithered out onto the road. I let him commit himself and 
then I hurried and grabbed it before it could make it to the other side. It 
was one of the largest I had ever seen and not too friendly. When it finally 
settled down, I was able to straighten it out on the gravel by holding on to 
the 
tail and was able to mark by sight a particular rock at the head and mark the 
approximate end of the tail. I was able to get a few photos of this beauty, 
all 54 inches, which is a really good sized specimen.

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.


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