FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Franklin's Gulls Galore!!

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

Nov. 2, 2003
Lake Co. TN

I got to Britton Ford too late Saturday to see Mike's phenomenal aggregation 
of Franklin's Gulls and missed my chance to add that species to my year list. 
After putting the Red Phalarope to bed at dusk along with 9 Dunlin, 21 
Wilson's Snipe, and a group of 12 Least Sandpipers, I decided to traveled to 
Reelfoot.

Coming down 78 highway in the early morning today, I saw string after string 
of gulls heading from the roost on the lake to the river. I arrived at the 
park west of Tiptonville on the Mississippi and saw three large groups of gulls 
in the morning light on the huge sandbar. Scanning the first or southern most 
group, I came across a single Franklin's Gull and was quite pleased to finally 
make that tick for the year.

I moved north to look over a big flock of American White Pelicans and after 
counting 243, I started looking at the gulls. Wow, they were almost 100% 
Franklin's, I counted over 800 and they were still coming in. I called Nancy 
Moore 
and she left breakfast in the pan to see the spectacle. Just before she got 
there I looked at the other group of gulls and they were all Franklin's plus 
more 
were falling in. I started a recount and had 1130+ in the first group and 
610+ in the second. I told Nancy to recount the south group and she came up 
with 
about 1100 also. We then noticed that there were even more birds just over the 
rise in the sandbar but these were too hidden to count. The birds stretched 
about 1/4 of a mile down the bar. 

She had to get back to her guest's breakfast and I pulled out a stool and sat 
down to go back through the groups. As another group came in I was able to 
pick out 2 very large dark gulls that turned into winter plumaged Laughing 
Gulls. A few birds would come in and then a few started leaving and came across 
the 
river directly toward me, I followed them and turned to discover even more 
birds were passing behind me. I scanned and found a huge funnel cloud of 
Franklin's to the east. I got into the truck and went east and counted 320 
birds in 
the funnel and in a steady wide spread movement due south. I traveled south to 
Ridgley without ever being out of sight of Franklin's Gulls. I found two more 
funnels and concentrations of 327 and 462. 

As the birds left the top of these clouds they dispersed and wandered south. 
From 7:30 to 10:45 I had a total of 2849 plus many that passed uncounted. I 
returned to Tiptonville when the birds became too widespread to follow. There 
were fewer birds there and shortly the whole lot got up in a cloud and headed 
south. I got a photo of part of that group and some flight shots as they passed 
overhead. There were only 3 Franklin's left on the bar.

I went south to Island 13 Road and sat at the boat ramp and again was joined 
by Nancy. The birds were still passing over and by 12:44 the birds had thin 
out and I had added 296 making a total of over 3,145 Franklin's Gulls counted. 
To say the least it was an impressive movement to have witnessed.

I had a few Franklin's through the afternoon at every river stop as far south 
as Heloise.

Added bonuses were 4 Black-bellied Plovers, a group of 14 Greater 
White-fronted Geese and an immature Lesser Black-backed Gull in with numerous 
Ring-billed, Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls on the Tiptonville Bar.

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL'COOT / TLBA
Bartlett, TN


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