[TN-Bird] Gull-billed Tern details 5/22/04 Dyer Co.
- From: <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 09:46:01 -0500
Gull-billed Tern
5/22/04
Dyer Co. TN
The background of this story is as follows: I was birding my way down to White
Lake yesterday morning, with the main purpose of looking for the Whimbrel seen
Thursday. I did have a few birds in particular in mind, including a tern,
(White-faced Ibis, Great-tailed Grackle, and timing is right for Arctic Tern)
but obviously Gull-billed has really never even crossed my mind in TN.
I got to the area of Hwy 103 and the Great River Rd, and went east on 103 to
check out the pools fairly close to the road, this is the same area the
White-faced Ibis was previously this month. While looking at the pool
immediately north of 103, I saw a couple of Least Terns sitting on the edge of
the pool, and noticed a single larger tern in the distance, working over the
dry field between the pool and Great River Rd. levee. When I 1st saw the bird
at a glance, I assumed it was a Forster's/Common. As the bird came towards me,
(I'd say the initial distance was 300 yards) and I continued to watch it, the
thought ran through my mind (but not yet thinking it actually was one) that
this bird looks like a Gull-billed Tern. The wingbeats were slow and the flight
buoyant, and the bird kept is bill down most of the time, as all terns will do,
but especially to me Gull-billeds. The bird was staying low over the field,
probably 20-30 feet above the ground most of the time, and even hawking insects
in mid-air (I can't say for sure that's what it was doing, but that was the
impression).
As the bird continued to fly towards me, I could make out more detail and it
started to hit me that this really DOES look like a Gull-billed. The underparts
were immaculate white, and the bird had a full black cap, so a breeding-plumage
adult. Even at a distance, the bill looked stubby. As it banked once, I got a
good look at the upperwing, which was uniform pale gray without the flash of a
Forster's, with a dark trailing edge to the primaries. The underwing also had a
nice dark trailing edge to the primaries. I'm not sure, but the trailing edge
looked a little wider on the underwing than the upperwing. I never saw this
bird interacting with another bird, but the impression was of a bigger,bulkier
bird than a Forster's, enhanced by the wing-action probably.
This bird would cover a lot of ground in a short time, and within a minute of
looking at it, with it coming towards me all of the time, it was close enough
to be certain it was a Gull-billed. As it got within 50 yards of me, it banked
and headed back north again, working over the same field towards the levee. At
this point, looking through the scope, I could easily see the short, heavy
black bill, and though the tail was nicely forked, it was a shallow fork with
no outer streamers, giving a very short-tailed look.
At this time the bird was going away from me, towards the levee, so I jumped
back in the car and sped up on the levee to try and get a shot of the bird.
From the levee, it was working out in the middle of the field again, in the
vicinity of where I 1st saw it. I watched it hawking over the dry part of the
field again, and it went to ground a couple of times, always in dry areas, not
over 100 yards away, but only for a few seconds each time, presumably eating
grasshoppers or the like. While it was on the ground, with quick looks through
the scope I could once again clearly see the bill structure and color, long
(for a tern) black legs, and that the wings extended substantially past the
tail at rest. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed in getting a photo of the bird,
as it never quite stayed still long enough for me to snap a shot. At one point
I had the camera up, getting a focus, when it flew. Ironically, in Korea I
messed up the threads for the adapter of my extender for camera shots, so I
didn't even have it with me, or I could have gotten a flight-shot.
While I was watching the bird this 1st time, Nancy Moore called, we talked
briefly and she was on the way. During this time, the bird made a dash south in
the field, and I got blocked by some trees. I got in the car and went back to
103, but couldn't relocate the bird. Shortly later, while talking to Jeff, I
picked the bird up again, coming from the south,and heading back to the same
area I had been watching it. I went back up on the Great River Rd. again, and
watched the bird working over the far side of the field, and setting down in
the field a couple of more times feeding briefly again for a few seconds,
before it again crossed 103 heading south and I lost it low over the field. I
was hoping it was headed for a wet area just south of 103, but I never
relocated the bird. This second time I only had the bird for a total of 3 or 4
minutes, compared to the 8 to 10 minutes the 1st time. When this bird decided
to move, it would be gone from the field in just a matter of seconds.
Fifteen to twenty minutes later Nancy arrived, and we began searching the area.
Jeff arrived within the hour, and we spent the rest of the day checking areas
for the bird. Nancy and I went to White Lake, as we thought it would be a good
spot for this bird to drop in as I last saw it headed south. No luck with that
or the Whimbrel, only 19 Dunlins, a mixed group of Semi and Least Sands, and 4
Black-necked Stilts. Jeff checked areas north of 103, and had what appeared to
be a bulkier, short-tailed tern feeding over a flat with Forster's, but the
distance was too great. He also had 3 Whimbrel fly into a huge field here and
disappear. We later walked out into this area, which was perfect for Whimbrel,
but didn't have either the larger terns or Whimbrels.
Other highlights were 3 Black-bellied Plovers, several White-rumped Sands, and
4 Sanderlings (2 in breeding-plumage) and a Caspian Tern out on a sandbar.
The obvious question with the Gull-billed is what it's doing here now? The only
thing that seems to make much sense at all, is that it got brought inland with
the bad weather of a few days ago, and is working it's way back south. I
haven't checked the weather patterns yet to see if this looks plausible
yet.There are a (very) few inland records of Gull-billed, but I haven't been
able to dig any info up on these to find out if they were all weather-related
as would be expected. I am glad that I'm familiar with Gull-billed's from TX,
FL, NC, and AL, with great looks at them last month at Dauphin Island. I have
photographed them several times, unfortunately just not in TN! If I hadn't been
familiar with the bird I might have written it off in the distance as a
Forster's.
Hopefully the bird will be refound and photographed.
Good birding!!
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
Carroll Co.
birdre1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd
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