Missbirders,
On Saturday, April 16, Jason Hoeksema and I conducted a Big Day in
Mississippi as a fundraiser for Delta Wind Birds. We largely followed the
same route as last year with the substitution of Spence's Woods for
Logtown, removal of the boat trip to Point Aux Chenes, and no stop at
Clower-Thornton Nature Trails.
We began at midnight on Pipeline Rd in the Pearl River WMA at the north end
of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. A light rain had just finished over the
reservoir before we arrived. King Rail was the primary target here and
didn't take long to make its presence known. Common Gallinules and Least
Bitterns were plentiful and we even lucked into a Purple Gallinule as well.
For the second year we missed American Bittern and Virginia Rail at this
spot. We're still scratching our heads a little on that. In general the
skies seemed to be pretty quiet, providing us no identifiable flight calls
as we listened in the night.
On the way south we picked up Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Eastern Phoebe,
American Robin, and Eastern Screech-Owl at stake-out spots. Many thanks to
those of you who let us wander onto your property at obscene hours to
spotlight a nest for a few moments before rushing off. We then made a brief
stop in the Hattiesburg area around 4am to again listen for flight calls.
The skies were still pretty quiet but we managed one Swainson's Thrush
flight call, and an early riser Gray Catbird singing in the neighborhood.
We set out to reach the coast at dawn with 15 species under our belts, a
good start.
We arrived at Spence's Woods about a half hour before dawn, still needing
to pick up Great Horned Owl before the daytime birding got underway in
earnest. We had no luck initially and soon started tallying songbirds as
the morning chorus began. Spence's Woods held up its end by supplying most
of our target breeding songbirds, Belted Kingfisher (which we somehow
missed last year), and some lingering winter residents. And shortly after
dawn a Great Horned Owl started hooting! [We still need a good spot for
Barn Owl to get an owl sweep, so if you know of one between Jackson and the
coast, please let us know].
eBird list: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S28975987
Leaving Spence's Woods we headed to Ansley to bird the oak cheniers and
check for Bronzed Cowbird. The wind had risen to 10-15 mph where it would
stay pretty much for the rest of the day. Skies were overcast and damp with
occasional light drizzle. The oak cheniers were good but not great and set
the theme for migrant diversity that would be repeated throughout the day:
abundant Red-eyed Vireos, Rose-breasted and Blue Grosbeaks, Summer and
Scarlet Tanagers, and Wood Thrushes. The warblers tended toward breeding
birds such as Black-and-white, Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded, Kentucky, etc
but we also picked up Black-throated Green. We hoped for a little Caribbean
flavor from the strong E winds, say a Black-whiskered Vireo or a
Black-throated Blue Warbler, but couldn't find either one. We also struck
out on the cowbird, which seemed to be playing a little coy with the
weather, before we had to move on.
eBird list: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S28978357
After Ansley we made an inland detour to Diamondhead for a continuing Snow
Goose and also picked up Tri-colored Heron and Black-bellied Whistling
Ducks in a very efficient stop before heading back to the beach. In Pass
Christian we again leaned on local hospitality to get an Inca Dove around a
feeder.
Along the waterfront we had good luck finding Horned Grebes and
Red-breasted Mergansers in the harbors, but things started to go awry at
Moses Pier. The combination of high tide and a boat show had run virtually
all the shorebirds off the beach. This was our only stop for Marbled Godwit
and a good shot at lingering Piping Plover. We added a little additional
time to drive the beach looking for these, but we got neither. On to Seaman
Rd Sewage Lagoons.
Seaman Rd is a key stop on our itinerary and for good reason. We picked up
several waterfowl including a single female Redhead, plus Pied-billed Grebe
and a lingering Neotropic Cormorant. The recent heavy rains seemed to hurt
us on the shorebird front as the water levels were deeper than average
around the lagoons. Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted and
Solitary Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Black-necked Stilt were about
all we could salvage. This proved a major point on a windy day as became
apparent later.
While Seaman was productive, we had some big misses. White Ibis!!! Did we
miss a lagoon? Another head-scratcher, leaving us trying to build in
another spot somewhere in our schedule. We also missed Black-crowned
Night-heron and Stilt Sandpiper, which is more forgivable but still
disappointing.
eBird list: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S28985238
At this point in the day we were doing okay despite a few misses thanks to
picking up some lingering winter birds. Using the winter birds to fill the
gaps left by lower migrant warbler diversity this early in the season, we
were behind last year's pace mainly on two fronts: shorebirds and raptors.
It was early afternoon and we had exactly one raptor species checked off
(Broad-winged Hawk). Thank you, overcast skies and high wind. We were
relying on Singing River Island to work its magic and help us make up some
ground. A Northern Harrier along the causeway provided a ray of hope that
our raptor list might recover.
Singing River Island gave us the bare minimum of shorebirds, but ultimately
not enough. Some of the best habitat is on the eastern end of the island.
The strong easterly winds seemed to have driven off all but a handful of
birds, although we did pick up Western Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs,
both of which we missed last year, plus Short-billed Dowitcher and Wilson’s
Plover. A Reddish Egret dancing in the shallows was a nice surprise.
American Oystercatchers were absent, another miss. Moving back toward the
interior of the island, the day got a lot brighter very quickly. Down near
the water's edge we came across a Hooded Warbler hopping along on the
ground, allowing us to get within just a few feet before moving on ahead of
us as we walked along the shoreline. Moving up away from the water we
noticed a tree with five resplendent male Scarlet Tanagers sitting in the
wide open within a foot or two of one another. What a sight! Then a tree
with several Blue Grosbeaks.
One Scarlet Tanager was perched near the access road on a branch over a
grassy area. As we were getting a camera out, it flew away and was
immediately replaced by another Scarlet Tanager! Jason resumed his effort
to ready the camera but as he raised it to the window... BOOM! The tanager
was hit by a Merlin and carried off. Wow. Photo: https://flic.kr/p/FX3gMf
Moving around the island it became apparent that birds were arriving in
numbers. One tree held 20 or 30 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and more could
be seen flying in off the gulf in small groups of 1-3. Red-eyed Vireos
seemed to move in flocks (again we failed to find whiskers). Shrubs were
bedizened with numerous Summer and Scarlet Tanagers. Barn Swallows swarmed
over head. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds chattered and buzzed all around.
Orchard and Baltimore Orioles were notable for being among the few species
actively singing and for what seemed a fairly even mix of males and
females. Among the other sexually dimorphic species, there was a
preponderance of males. Warblers called, but almost never sang, from bushes
and even from the grass! This was great for working on warbler chip notes,
but despite a quick 10 warbler species, not one of them was a new addition
to our list. Jason caught a glimpse of an interesting warbler that we
chased as it moved quickly around the margin of the island, but it got
away. We saw the Merlin again, and again it was carrying a songbird in its
talons. The Singing River Island buffet was open, but we needed more
songbird diversity than it was providing.
The island supplied us with several species (including a few crucial
raptors), but even more so with a very memorable experience. It's hard to
describe the visual impression of so many fresh alternate plumages of so
many male birds concentrated in a few hundred yards of shrubs. I was even
treated to a singing Swamp Sparrow holding his own in a bush among the
migrants.
eBird list: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S28992653
After Singing River we had some holes to fill with short stops around the
mainland before heading to our final stop for Red-cockaded Woodpecker,
Bachman's Sparrow, and Chipping Sparrow. Bethel Bike Trail was a nice
peaceful stop at the end of the day. As promised, Bachman's Sparrow sang
and the woodpeckers arrived at their holes just at sunset. We had a Hermit
Thrush call from the forest and Common Nighthawks calling too. But we
struck out on Chipping Sparrow. Perhaps we got lucky here last year with
that species. They seemed to be plentiful last year, and we banked on them
there this time. But no dice. We headed off for a bleary-eyed drive through
Barn Owl territory, but none appeared.
Final tally: 167 species. It was an early Big Day in terms of migration,
but I don't think that hurt us much on the final tally. Lingering winter
residents largely made up the difference there. We were a little unlucky
with migrant warblers, had a few big misses probably related to the
weather, and really had a disappointing shorebirding day due to a
combination of the wind, previous rains, and high tide in the middle of the
day. The route, though, especially with the changes from last year, was
solid. It was a fascinating contrast with last year in many ways. In 2015,
we went late in the cycle, missing out on many lingering wintering birds,
but making up for it with migrants, enjoyed a lot of good luck, but were
hurt by the inefficiency of our route. This year, we went earlier in the
cycle, relied more on lingering winter birds, and had a better plan, but
experienced worse luck and poorer birding conditions. In neither year, did
we turn up any true rarities. Given the birding effort and the Caribbean
birds showing up elsewhere along the coast, not crossing paths with
something interesting was unlucky. Overall, I don't think we'll have to
change much for next year, except to try to avoid high tides and high
winds.
We had a blast, saw a lot of birds, and after 38 wakeful hours we slept the
incomparable sleep of the deliriously exhausted. But best of all, we raised
a substantial fund for shorebird habitat thanks to those of you who pledged
your support. Thanks again to you all for another successful Big Day.
Good birding,
J.R. Rigby
Oxford