Dear MS Birders,
I meant to post this message sooner. At the end of last week, I found a
roost of Black-crowned Nightherons in an area east of Macon, MS. The road
from HWY 14 is Stan Tabor Rd., which is east of Paulette Rd. and west of
Cooksville Rd.
I was looking for Sandhill Cranes that Marion Schiefer had found
previously. Anyway, I saw 5 nightherons on 12/29/2016. I returned the next
day with Terry and Marion Schiefet, and we counted 18 Black-crowned
Nightherons. We felt like this was probably an underestimate. We had heat
distortion, great distance and the birds moved frequently among perches. I
went again yesterday, and they were quite vocal.
Here's a checklist with a digiscoped photo showing 6-7 nightherons in the
field of view.
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S33291522
You will need a spotting scope to view the nightherons. The nightherons
were located on the southern end of the slough or pond amongst hundreds of
dead trees and snags.
This road becomes a private access to a system of catfish ponds to the
south of this location. The owners do not want birders at the catfish
ponds. So, if you go, please do not drive into the commercial pond area.
I also got a Le Conte's Sparrow in the weeds between the road and the edge
of the pond. It only popped into view briefly, but the looks were good
enough for ID. I could not get it up for video recording.
If you are interested in the Sandhills, go to Cooksville Rd. and drive
south to the 1st pond on the east side of the road. The cranes are
roosting in the pond behind the one closest to the road. We counted up to
60 cranes, but there are probably more. We also saw Least Sandpipers and
Dunlin on the sand of the dried pond bed. I also had 3 Horned Larks in a
nearby plowed field with corn stubble.
Good birding,
Jeff Harris
