[TN-Bird] Birding the 'Pits', and a Jabiru update

From: "Todd, Michael C." <michael.c.todd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2007 03:24:44 -0500
9/1/07
Shelby Co
Ensley area and Mud Lake
Jeff Wilson and I spent the morning with a visiting Indiana birder David
Dugas, working on some TN birds for him. Jeff and I met at Mud Island
initially, but the sandbar is about gone, and nothing at all on it. Three
Black Terns were the highlight on the Riverfront.

We met David at Ensley, but the shorebird exodus Jeff noticed yesterday was
even more profound today. There were less than 10 total Pectoral Sandpipers
at the Pits, where a week ago there were well over 1000. Least Sandpipers
are the default birds right now. Highlights were at least two, and maybe
three, Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and two molting adult American
Golden-Plovers that dropped in for a little while. We saw only one or two
Western Sandpipers, and probably not over a dozen Semipalmated Sands. Two
young Semi Plovers are nice, as were nine young Lesser Yellowlegs. A Stilt
Sandpiper was heard, but never seen, and we didn't have any luck with
Uplands. We tried long and hard for Baird's, but no luck there either.

We did have a nice raptor movement, with at least fifteen Broad-wings on the
morning, and a huge immature female Cooper's that was assaulting one of the
Broad-wings high overhead. Other raptors were Osprey, Red-tailed &
Red-shouldered Hawks, Mississippi Kite, and American Kestrels.  TVA Lake
yielded nothing more than a Caspian Tern. Memphis TOS had a field-trip here
as well, though I don't know if they picked-up anything that we didn't.

After lunch Jeff headed down to MS to join the Jabiru search (more on that
in a minute). David and I struck out at Mud Lake, and then went south to
Bass Landing in MS, where the highlight was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (my
FOS)

I spoke to Jeff tonight, and though they had an amazing bunch of birds, no
Jabiru yet. There is a report that it was seen as late as Thursday at one of
the operations down there though. At one time Jeff & co. had 174 Roseate
Spoonbills, an unheard of concentration in this area. Wood Storks were
scattered all about. Also, kettling with a group of Wood Storks was a
dark-morph Broad-winged Hawk. Excellent shorebird variety. These are only
some of the highlights he mentioned. The search continues tomorrow; if only
I didn't have to work all weekend! :")

Good Birding!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
www.pbase.com/mctodd
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (home)
Michael.c.todd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (work)




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[TN-Bird] Birding the 'Pits', and a Jabiru update

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