FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Three species of falcons at Ensley Bottoms

[olcoot1@xxxxxxx]

Oct. 13, 2007
Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co. TN
Wapanocca NWR
Crittenden Co. AR
Two extended, morning and afternoon,?trips to the pits produced an adult 
Peregrine, the ever present multiple Kestrels and a female Merlin. I see quite 
a few Merlin in migration feeding along on dragonflies as they travel south 
along the bluff but I've only had a couple stop to chase shorebirds. The female 
yesterday spent 3 hours harassing everyone. She lived up to their reputation by 
diving on and chasing one of the two calurus Red-tails off its perch, she then 
dived on a coursing Harrier, chased a migrating Broad-wing and one of the 
resident Red-shouldered. As I was photographing her she started ducking and I 
looked up to find a feisty immature male Kestrel repeatedly diving on the 
Merlin until she gave up the perch and was escorted away from the pits. But she 
was back chasing shorebirds in 15 minutes.

Among the hordes of Least Sandpipers, I found a single molting, immature 
Western, 2 Dunlin, 6 Pectorals, 12 Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer?and 2 
Long-billed Dowitchers. White Pelicans swarmed in the afternoon with dwindling 
numbers of Great Egrets and a few dozen DC Cormorants.

A midday run to Wapanocca produced an almost dry bed at the lake with tons of 
birds. At first, I could find no Stilt Sandpipers but a Peregrine stirred the 
pot and over 100 Stilt Sandpipers appeared from the cover and began to feed out 
in front of the observation platform, quite a large number for this late in the 
season. Two Bald Eagles, a Harrier, Red-tails and traveling Broad-wings made 
the list. The wing damaged Pelican had the off and on company of up to 12 
brothers while 65 circled heading south. There was a single Great Egret left as 
the huge numbers have left since last week and it also has a broken wing. Large 
numbers of Green-winged Teal have added to the huge mixed flock of ducks and 
Coots hugging the last water in the lake. I think we are losing a great gem 
here in the Delta to the drought and poor planning by USFW. There has been no 
manager at Wapanocca for months.

Jeff R. Wilson
Ol'Coot / TLBA
Bartlett, TN
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