[birdky] RPT: Various points, west KY 16-17 June
- From: "Palmer-Ball, Brainard (EPPC OOS KNPC)" <Brainard.Palmer-Ball@xxxxxx>
- To: "BIRDKY" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:27:07 -0400
Yesterday evening I went by Morgans Pond in southern Christian County.
Unfortunately, there is a fat and happy coyote or raccoon with a belly full of
Black-necked Stilt eggs :o( There were 16 birds there, but none were on the
spit where they have been incubating; at one point I walked out on a point on
the far side of the lake from where they have been nesting, and 16 birds came
up and began harassing me ... one poor female was even doing a broken wing act
... it must have just happened the night before or yesterday morning. There
was quite a bit of calling and bickering even before they gathered to chase me
away, so maybe some will try to renest, but I'm afraid that with no island on
which to nest, the same thing will probably happen again. A week or so ago I
considered trying to put up some fencing to keep predators away from the spit,
but decided to just let the inevitable natural course proceed ... and
unfortunately it did.
On the flip side of the stilt downer, I counted *at least* 38 broods of
Blue-winged Teal scattered about on 6 different ponds in the vicinity and
didn't have time to check a couple more before dark. I had to wonder about the
poor female who had TWENTY-SIX ducklings in tow ... somebody apparently didn't
live up to being a good mom ... with an average of something on the order of
8-10 ducklings per brood, that's *a lot* of teal production on these ponds.
I was quite surprised and disappointed not to see a single Northern Shoveler,
not even one of the loafing males that has been around. Perhaps nesting was not
successful and they moved on???
The most interesting birds at Morgan's Pond, to say the least, were *3* female
Wilson's Phalaropes. First the nest at McElroy ... now 3 females
out-of-season??? What's going on with that species this year? They appeared to
have no ties to any spot on the lake and were always together ... makes one
wonder if they came from some other body of water nearby that dried up ? ? ?
Also present in the vicinity were 8 Ruddy Ducks, 1 female Ring-necked Duck, a
few Pied-billed Grebes, and 5 American Coots. The 10-day to two-week hiatus
between spring and fall shorebird migration is certainly alive and well with
nothing else seen in the shorebird line.
This morning I ran my favorite Breeding Bird Survey in Livingston County. I
could see my breath at several of the first stops and the crisp, dry air was
really carrying bird song (and there were NO cicadas!). I ended up with 78
species on the route (about average for a morning with good weather). When I
was done I returned to one of the first stops where I have seen
Chuck-will's-widows two years in a row. Sure enough, sitting within 10 feet of
where I have seen them the previous two years were two adults and a young bird
that could not fly very well. When it flushed I didn't go any farther, but I
did get some pictures of one of the adults perched in a sunlit spot on a branch
and some of the nicest looks I've ever had at this bizarre nightjar.
bpb, Frankfort
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