FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Memphis to Pace Point

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

Nov. 12-13, 2005
 
I started Saturday on the Mississippi River and the first thing I noticed  
was the increase of Killdeer. It seemed like there was a bird every few feet on 
 
the bank across from Mud Island and this was evident at every place I stopped 
 over the weekend. There were a few Least Sandpipers and 6 Sanderling to fill 
out the shorebird bill and I added 6  species of waterfowl plus a single 
Horned Grebe and 2 Ring-billed Gulls. I  photographed an adult Peregrine Falcon 
perched on a piece of driftwood on Dacus  Bar.
 
At Ensley Bottoms, on TVA Lake, there had been an influx of scaup but no  
Greater could be picked out as the birds moved in and out of McKellar Lake. The 
 
Least Sandpiper numbers have finally fallen into the hundreds and again the  
Killdeer numbers had risen with the cold front. A Wilson's Snipe sat for photos 
 and American Pipits were seen scattered around the flats and fields. The 
best  birds here were my first of season Rusty  Blackbirds, just 3 adult males. 
These birds are in a spiraling  decline and no one, as yet, knows why. Here is 
a site that you might visit and  help with a study on their numbers and 
distribution: 
 
_http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Research/Rust
y_Blackbird/_ 
(http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Research/Rusty_Blackbird/)
 
 
I stopped at Hatchie NWR off I-40 in Haywood Co,on the way north and found  
the best sparrow habitat for Nelson's Sharp-tailed  Sparrows and LeConte's that 
I have seen in years and in just a few  minutes in the right grass produced 
both species. It is getting toward the late  end of the season for Nelson's but 
good weather and great stands of Barnyard,  Panicum with Lady Finger and 
Foxtail will hold them for a while. One Nelson's  and 2-3 LeConte's were a nice 
treat for a 30 minute investment in  time.
 
At Manor Road boat ramp, overlooking the Big Sandy Flats in Henry  Co, I had 
Least Sandpipers and 4 Sanderling plus 1  Greater Yellowlegs and more Killdeer.
 There were 3 adult and 4 immature white  morph Snow Geese in with the Canada 
Geese on the flats and one Franklin's Gull among the ever changing numbers of 
 Ring-billed and Herring. 
 
From the observation platform at Britton Ford, a scan revealed a sleeping  
bird that had to be a grebe but was too large and not the right color for a  
Horned but not long bodied enough to be a Western/Clark's type, leaving one  
choice, Red-necked. I took photos from several  locations and it was amazing 
how 
much this bird changed in looks from different  angles and lighting. I'll post 
some shots later. There were scads of ducks to  sort through but the grebe was 
best bird of the day. Pipits in the fields and  close looks at an adult 
Sharp-shinned Hawk were nice birds to study.
 
I arrived late at the Port Road overlook and had too many birds to scan.  
Some of the loons had moved south but I could count 230 plus Common Loons at 
one  
time. In last light as the loons came together in large groups, I watched as 
the  gull roosts formed and could pick out one Franklin's as it dropped in for 
the  night. Great Horned and Barred Owls called but I did not wait long 
enough to  hear the resident Screech.
 
Sunday morning, I scanned Eagle Creek and could not ferret out anything  
unusual but did add Forster's Terns to the weekend list. Two Bald Eagles had  
taken possession of one end of the island off Paris Landing but with the duck  
blind built on it, it will not be too productive for roosting gulls. There  
were 
huge flotillas of mixed waterfowl out from the dock and a single sleeping  
Surf Scoter was the best I could do. I still need a  White-winged which I 
missed 
on last years' list for TN.
 
At Port Road, I had the same old Common Loons in big numbers but got lucky  
at Trailer Road where an adult Red-throated Loon  skirted a group of 70 plus 
Common, that were feeding close to shore. That was  not the best bird for the 
day as a huge 2nd winter Great  Black-backed Gull flew in and scattered the 
pirating Herring Gulls  but big boy shortly continued traveling south, up the 
Big 
Sandy reach. Another  quick stop at Britton Ford garnered 2 Franklin's Gulls 
and a single Dunlin (new  for the weekend) plus good looks at some Black Ducks 
including a couple of  hybrids.
 
I relocated the GBB Gull again at New Hope Landing in Benton Co, and  another 
huge slick of mixed coots and ducks but they were too far away to pick  out 
anything interesting. At Lick Creek there were gulls and a couple of  Wilson's 
Snipe with a Harrier and Cooper's as flybys.
 
At Pace Point, Rocky Point and Budwieser Beach I had more scanning than one  
person could do justice and came up with a ton of loons but nothing more than  
Common. Good numbers of Redhead Ducks were seen in all of these 
concentrations  scanned. A Palm Warbler was a nice addition to the weekend list 
but NO  
eagles?
 
Ended the weekend with just 18 species of waterfowl but enjoyed close up  
Redheads which I think are real cool birds.
 
The Pace Point area will just get hotter and hotter and I'm looking forward  
to an extended Thanksgiving trip.............
 
 
Good Birding  !!!
Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135


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