[TN-Bird] Expect the Unexpected!

Saturday, April 24, 2004
 
Duck River Unit of Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) (Humphreys
Co.) and 
Cross Creeks NWR (Stewart Co.), TN
 
It's spring again in Tennessee and I guess I should be used to this by
now, but somehow birds always seem to amaze at this time of the year. 
 
After all of the rain the past week I feared that this trip may run into
high water and that's just what I found. Both Duck River and Cross
Creeks were mostly flooded with many roads impassable. In fact I could
only access a fraction of Duck River and just the area directly around
the headquarters at Cross Creeks. 
 
I began the day at 8 am at Duck River. After waiting out the last of the
morning thunderstorms, I rolled down my window to be greeted by a
cacophony of sound. In the small woodlot next to my car I found 14
species of warbler, 4 species of vireo, both tanagers, both grosbeaks,
and many other neotropical migrants. A fantastic start to the day. I
then turned my attention to the flooded field near the observation
platform just in time to watch an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER as it flew in
and landed. This and nearby fields yielded 1 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 7
LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 9 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 8 LEAST SANDPIPERS and 14
WILSON'S SNIPE. A few FORSTER'S TERNS were also observed inspecting the
flooded fields. Five BALD EAGLES were also in the area and a single male
BOBOLINK also made an unexpected appearance.
 
Cross Creeks wasn't quite as birdy, but the area around the visitor
center was good for sparrows, with 5 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 1
LINCONLN'S SPARROW and several WHITE-THROATED, SWAMP, SAVANNAH and
FIELD. The birds of the day however, weren't observed until I drove down
to the ponds below the visitor's center. Suddenly I observed 3 large
light-colored birds take-off from one of the pools. I immediately jumped
out of the car and was treated to 3 MARBLED GODWITS which circled for
sometime before disappearing. Overjoyed I ventured on, heading in the
direction the birds were last seen. While driving down the road I saw
several large birds around a puddle in the road. Something about this
just didn't compute. Then I watched in horror as a fisherman drove past
them coming from the opposite direction. The birds didn't seem to mind
at all and merely walked to the side of the road, let him pass and then
walked back to the puddle. When I finally got my scope on the birds my
jaw dropped. Filling my scope was a site I never thought I'd see in
Tennessee. Feeding in a puddle on the road were 4 MARBLED GODWITS and 6
WILLETS. Wow! How cool is that.
 
The wonder didn't stop there though. I was treated to another unexpected
bird a few hours later. While heading up towards Land-Between-the-Lakes
just west of Dover, TN I saw a bird soaring that didn't quite fit. As I
pulled off the road for a better look I was astonished to see a single
SANDHILL CRANE soaring up with the hawks and vultures. Absolutely
amazing! All told, I found 121 species on the day. I can't wait to see
what I'm going to find tomorrow.
 
Good Birding!
 
Jay Desgrosellier
Nashville, TN 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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