[birdky] Western Ky and Barren Reservoir

17 October

PARADISE/TVA LAKE 
American Wigeon (3)
Pied-billed Grebe (50+)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (few juvs)
Herring Gull (4 adults)
Forster's Tern (4 including a juv)

KENTUCKY LAKE
Common Loon (15+)
Horned Grebe (5)
Franklin's Gull (5 1st yr.)

ABOVE BARKLEY DAM
Ruddy Duck (80+)


18 October

FULTON COUNTY  HICKMAN BOTTOMS/KY BEND
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk (2 light-morph adult calurus type)
Greater Yellowlegs (8)
Lesser Yellowlegs (3)
Least Sandpiper (3)
Pectoral Sandpiper 
Dunlin (5)
Long-billed Dowitcher (8)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift (several)
Northern Flicker (Nice movement with many flocks of up
to 10-12 birds)
Tree Swallow (1000s)
Rough-winged Swallow (1000+)
Barn Swallow (8-10)
Cliff Swallow
Marsh Wren
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow (tons)
Lincoln's Sparrow (2)
Indigo Bunting (lots)
Pine Siskin


19 October 

LOWER HICKMAN BOTTOMS
Greater Yellowlegs (6)
Lesser Yellowlegs 
Pectoral Sandpiper
Dunlin (3)
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher (17)

KENTUCKY DAM
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1st yr.)

FULTON
Common Nighthawk


20 October

BARREN RESERVOIR AND VICINITY
Ruddy Duck (9)
Pied-billed Grebe (15)
Bald Eagle (adult at State Park)
Northern Goshawk (juvenile near Walnut Creek in Allen
County)
Ring-billed Gull (100+)
Forster's Tern (6)
Wood-Pewee species (photographed...This bird
repeatedly gave a "bert" or "pert" call similar to
that described in Sibley as being that of the Western
Wood-Pewee.  It was not giving the "short i" sounding
call of the Eastern.  I don't know if this call is
considered diagnostic.)
Tree Swallow (200+)
Barn Swallow (15-20)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler (2)
Palm Warbler (Eastern or "Yellow" D.p.hypochrysea
race..photographed  The first of this race I remember
seeing in Kentucky)
Indigo Bunting (2)


Highlights of the week:

A tremendous late season swallow passage occurred on
the 18th along the Mississippi River bottoms.  The
clear skies, warm temperatures, and booming thermals
had flock after flock rising in kettles along with
their ascending "fast-food"..insects..to heights where
they disappeared from view through the scope.  Some of
these flocks approached, if not exceeded, 1000 birds. 
They were comprised primarily of Tree and N.
Rough-winged with the latter making up a remarkable
1/3 or so of the number.  I was able to scrape out and
photograph one juvenile Cliff Swallow among them as
well as a few Barn Swallows.  The swallows were
exceeded in number only by the swarms of mosquitoes
along the levee.

A movement of Northern Flickers was also apparent with
flocks seen moving or feeding in fields through the
day.

While driving near the Walnut Creek area at Barren
Reservoir today, I saw a group of birds overhead in a
thermal and stopped to glass them while sitting in the
car.  I spotted one bird and said out loud to myself
"That's a goshawk".  On parking and getting out, I saw
both vulture species, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a
Northern Harrier.  I said to myself, "surely I didn't
mistake a harrier for a goshawk!"  I then spotted the
other bird off to the side of the group and was able
to get it through the scope confirming that it was
indeed a nicely marked juvenile Northern Goshawk.  It
circled a couple more times then drifted off to the
south steadily until I could no longer see it through
the scope.

Late-season pewees always arouse suspscion, but I
haven't seen or heard one before that looked or
sounded anything different than a typical Eastern. 
The bird I photographed today was giving a call I
haven't heard from an Eastern, and sounded as I have
described above.  This will be fun researching.

While looking through a mixed flock comprised mostly
of Chipping Sparrows, I saw a "Yellow Eastern race"
Palm Warbler foraging on the ground with them.  I was
able to keep up with it long enough as the flock moved
around to snap off a few photos.  This bird and the
pewee were along the road just after turning in to the
Barren State Park from Hwy 31-E if anyone is
interested.  The pewee was in the pines to the left of
the road.

David L. Roemer
Bowling Green, Ky.  
 


 








__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 
================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS==============

The BIRDKY Mailing List requires you to sign 
your messages with first & last name, city, & 
state abbreviation.
--------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, send e-mail to:
birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Visit the Kentucky Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos.htm
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison, Richmond, KY
E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx

Other related posts: