FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Ensley to Tunica Co, MS 12/11/04 (long)

[<birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

12/11/04
TVA Lake & Ensley area, along with Robco Lake; Shelby Co.
Tunica Co. MS.

Note: Part of this involves birding just below the TN/MS State lines, so be 
warned. This is included as it is close enough to Memphis that it could be 
of interest to several TN birders.

All,

Yesterday, Don Manning and I made a trip to Memphis to meet the Ol' Coot and 
take a long overdue tour of Jeff's stomping grounds down in Tunica Co. After 
going, I can't imagine now why it took me so long to get there, we had a 
blast!

On the way down, we made a VERY quick pass around Oneal Lake in the Hatchie 
NWR, to look for the Vermilion Flycatcher. Once again, it was early and 
still very cold, with a stiff wind, so nothing was perching out in the open. 
This included the Vermilion, which we didn't see. I still don't think us 
missing it this morning at all indicates that it has left.

We got to Memphis and went straight to Ensley to do some looking around for 
a little while until Jeff got freed up. Our 1st stop was TVA Lake, where 
Jeff had both Surf and Black Scoters earlier in the week. With a quick scan 
though bins when we 1st pulled up, I saw two Scoters sleeping among the big 
raft of Scaup. Both of these turned out to be Surf Scoters, the Black didn't 
make an appearance while we were there. Birds trade in and out of here 
constantly, so it's no surprise. But, good looks and a photo-op with a 
couple of Surf Scoters will make my day anytime! Also here among the Lesser 
Scaup were good numbers of Greater, and a single Red-breasted Merganser and 
Bufflehead.

A trip to the pits produced good numbers of Rusty Blackbirds working the 
flats (well over a hundred), and a few Pipits, along with ever-present 
Killdeer and Starlings. Least Sandpipers were shuffling around everywhere, 
and we saw a total of 12 Sanderlings, split up into little groups of 1 to 4 
birds. At one time, when a Red-tailed flushed everything, they all formed up 
together, making for a nice sight. I only saw one Western, and missed the 
Dunlin that had been around. But, with the roads looking like they did, I 
was afraid to do much off the main road.

Jeff arrived shortly afterwards, and we piled in and headed towards Tunica. 
A quick stop at Robco Lake revealed a large number of divers on the lake, 
mostly very distant though. After a few minutes, we pulled a female-type 
Black Scoter out of the mix, with Jeff and I both getting some photos.

This concludes the TN portion:

I was amazed at the amount of good habitat that is present just below the 
State Line. Jeff showed us around to a few of his favorite spots, and 
usually told us what we would see before we got there (seriously, Jeff knows 
this area like the back of his hand, and exactly where certain birds tend to 
hang out)!

Highlights included:

Massive flocks of Greater White-fronted and Snow Geese, with good numbers of 
Ross's mixed in. We were seeing several thousand geese in a flock, but had 
an off-day for Geese in the area, as we didn't see entire fields covered as 
is the norm.

Red-tailed Hawks everywhere, including several dark-morph Westerns, a 
dark-morph Harlan's, and my favorite, an exquisite adult Krider's. In one 
tree we had 8 Red-tails perched (Jeff has had as high as 13!), and 19 along 
about a mile stretch of road.

While stopping to look at some Brewer's Blackbirds, we came upon a field 
with over 150 Wilson's Snipes.

Western Meadowlarks a couple of places, exactly where Jeff said they should 
be, including one that sat just off the road with it's back to us allowing 
great views of the tail pattern.

3 Black-necked Stilts working a wet field with ducks. Don and I certainly 
weren't expecting Stilts this time of year!

Lapland Longspurs at less than 30 feet. We didn't get the big flocks they 
sometimes get down there, but great looks at some as the dusted and got grid 
out of the road just in front of us.

Just before it got dark we were trying to figure out the best area for 
Short-eared's by tracking Harriers to roost. We had hoped to find Sandhills 
flying to roost as well, and found 27 in a field. We watched them fly to 
their roost area, as Harriers were piling into a location we were sure would 
produce Short-eared Owls. Just at dusk, we had seen over 30 Harriers come 
into an area, when the 1st Short-eared Owl came up, and was temporarily 
mobbed by the incoming Harriers. Just goes to show that changing of the 
shifts doesn't always go smoothly, no matter what your occupation! :') we 
wound up with at least 5 Short-eared's, including one that came by very 
close and "barked" for us a couple of times. I've heard the bark many a time 
on CD's and tapes, but my 1st time to hear the Owls actually do it. Amazing 
day!

(But, though Tunica Co. is full of great habitat and birds, it could easily 
be a frustrating area if you just run down and expect to see a lot of stuff 
without having a good idea of where to go. It's a shame more birders don't 
get down there, as there is no telling what could be turned up with more 
coverage)

I have a new gallery, with photos of both Scoters, and the Sanderling, as 
well as a head comparison of Greater and Lesser Scaup. Jeff has some photos 
as well that I'm sure he'll post when time allows: The link is:
http://www.pbase.com/mctodd/memphis_121104

Good birding!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
Carroll Co.
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd


=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    ========================================================