[birdky] RPT: Fort Massac State Park, IL (Kentucky Purists, delete)
- From: "bennetts" <bennetts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BIRDKY" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 18:05:23 -0500
May 22, 2002:
I birded some in Fort Massac State Park, just across the river from the west
side of Paducah, in Southern Illinois today. I was there for about 2 & 1/2
hours beginning at 11:00 AM, CDT. I was both birding and re-acquainting myself
with my roots as I grew up in adjacent Metropolis.
The birds of the Nature Preserve section of the park were much as one might
expect. Brief notes follow:
Very common to abundant species were Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula,
Prothonotary Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting (and several other similar
species), Eastern Wood-Peewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher,
Yellow-throated Vireo and typical woodland/river bottom residents of KY.
Migrants and other birds of interest (at least to me) were 2 Wilson's Warblers,
1 Canada Warbler, 1 Northern Waterthrush, 3 Kentucky Warblers, 2 -3 Fish Crows,
1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 - 4 Pileated Woodpeckers, several Red-headed
Woodpeckers, and the screeching sounds of a Great Blue Heron rookery (the
Herons themselves were blocked by the upper canopy of forest).
I have always loved Fort Massac, since I was a boy/youth. I used the ride the
roads, now nature preserve foot paths, on my bicycle for hours at a time,
taking occasion to walk to the river and enjoy its silent majesty. Where did
the time go? It is amazing for me to recall picking blackberries in newly
acquired farm fields that were in early succession as they are now solid
woodland; the Black Locusts that remain being the only reminder that only a few
years ago, the land was just out from the plow.
I had intended to bird a little in KY on the way home, but I lingered too long
in my forgotten forest from the past. The beauty of the environment and the
singing of the numerous birds allowed me to all but ignore the sounds of
Interstate 24 that now bisects the park.
That concludes this report.
Mark Bennett
Russellville, KY
Logan County
bennetts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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