[TN-Bird] Avocetes in TN and AR plus BIG LIFE BIRD!

Sept.22, 23, 2007
Ensley and MS RV
Shelby Co. TN
Rice Fields and Wapanocca NWR
Crittenden Co. AR


On Saturday, there was little movement on the MS Rv except for a nice build up 
of swallows and swifts?but no prizes among them, soon.....

I met Gail King at the Pits prior to our crossing the bridge to search out 
combines and rice. There are still good numbers of Least Sandpipers but only a 
hand full of Semipalmated and no Westerns. There were 3 Buff-breasted, 4 Lesser 
Yellowlegs (one has a bad leg and has been around over 10 days) and 2 Pectoral 
Sandpipers. We heard a Semipalmated Plover calling when all the birds were 
flushed by an unseen threat. On Sunday, the Semipalmated, Buffies and the 
healthy Yellow-legs had left. The last Wood Stork was seen on Wednesday.

In AR, we found a lot of harvested rice fields but still located some that is 
not quite ripe and the time is getting right (almost October) we should have 
some good wet fields if we get a little rain on this front. Next weekend might 
turn the trick for numbers and variety. We found a couple of fields being 
worked by single combines and saw a few Sora but they were working fairly dry 
fields, so we decided to search out potential locations.

The best BIRD of the day was seen banking over a rice field near 
Crawfordsville. A low flying STEALTH fighter bomber that gave us LIFER LOOKS. 
Evidently in the Air Show at Memphis. Sure was a kick in the pants........

On the MS RV Sunday, there was a flock of migrating ducks laying out on Dacus 
Bar, I could make out Shoverler and Blue-wings but there were some light colors 
mixed in. When the flock was startled out popped 3 AVOCETwith ?more to come at 
Wapanocca. They seem to like to migrate with ducks, I don't know how many times 
I've seen them resting with and flying with their feathered buddies. Avocet's 
are shaped just like ducks, with a laterally compressed body, they have webbed 
toes and are often seen out in the middle of?lakes paddling around.

At Wapanocca, the lake was chocked full of birds. While ducks were most 
numerous with Canada Geese?and a single Blue Goose (hunting left over), a total 
of 11 species of waterfowl?including Pintail and Gadwall made for a long search 
for something rarer. A single White Pelican rested among the Great Egrets and 
there were many Great Blue and Snowy Egrets but only one adult Little Blue 
(breeding around here of this species has just about stopped in the last couple 
of years and few immatures are showing up compared to thousands in recent 
rookeries). American Coots and a single AM BITTERN were gleaned out of the 
reeds along with?single Ring-billed Gull and Forster's Tern. Shorebirds were in 
great numbers also, although you could not see the whole area, I counted the 
following species; 1 Black-bellied Plover, 3 Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, 47 
Black-necked Stilts, 19?AVOCET, 21?Greater Yellowlegs, 72 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 
Solitary Sandpiper (getting late), 2 Spotted, Scattered Semip
 almated, hundreds of Least Sandpipers, 12 Pectoral Sandpipers, 9 Stilt 
Sandpipers, 4 immature Short-billed Dowitchers and a single flyby Wilson's 
Snipe, 2 immature Wilson's Phalarope and my FOS twirling immature RED-NECKED 
PHALAROPE, for 17 species of WIND BIRDS..................?



Jeff R. Wilson
Ol'Coot / TLBA
Bartlett, TN

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