[TN-Bird] Gulls-Gulls-Gulls with a few Goodies in the mix.

Jan. 27- 28, 2007
TVA and Robco Lakes
Shelby Co. TN
Tunica Co. MS
Arkabutla and Sardis Lakes, MS
 
I think, this weekend, I saw more total Ring-billed Gulls than I've seen  
anytime or anywhere. At TVA Lake there were 30 plus Ring-billed, 2 Herring and 
1  
Bonaparte's just for starters. The cold weather and snow northwest of us 
really  pushed in new birds. The scaup numbers were high on Saturday and had 
dropped off  considerably with the colder weather and sunshine on Sunday. The 
birds 
were  stoking up the furnaces over in McKellar Lake.
 
At Robco, the duck numbers were real high both days but you just can't see  
them well at this lake. There were 9 Great Egrets hunting the shoreline  on 
both days. There were over 100 Ring-billed Gulls but nothing of  interest.
 
Now the mother lode was found at all the locations in Mississippi. From the  
delta to the two lakes there were 50,000 Ring-billed Gulls and 10,000  
Bonaparte's Gulls and those numbers were probably way low. On Saturday, I  
counted 
and closely estimated 24,000 ring-billed just around the dump (most  roosting 
in 
3 fields)and that did not even touch the gulls at the catfish ponds. 
 
The best mix of the weekend was found at the roosting sites around the  
Tunica dump. Five hours of scanning over 2 days there produced 3 THAYER'S 
Gulls,  
all first year and photographed. The single, immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED  GULL 
on Saturday was not relocated on Sunday. About 20 first year Herring Gulls,  
2 third year and 2 adults were all the other large gulls seen around the dump  
and 40 plus Bonaparte's Gulls were seen late Saturday heading to roost at  
Arkabutla.
 
I found 91 Sandhill Cranes on Saturday and 78 on Sunday, all around  
Arkabutla Lake Road, Buck Island Road, and Hambrick Roads both days.  The 
numbers of 
Greater White-fronted Geese has been by far the greatest  numbers I've ever 
seen here in the south. I photographed only my second Greater  White-front/Snow 
Goose HYBRID. 
 
On Sunday, I had a little time to check Arkabutla and Sardis Lakes, here I  
found mind numbing numbers of Ring-billed at both lakes with only a sprinkling  
of Herrings. Both the upper and lower lakes at Sardis were covered with  
Bonaparte's Gulls. A couple of Forester's Terns were found on the upper lake at 
 
Sardis. The only other birds of interest were a single Greater Yellowlegs at  
Arkabutla, 2 Common Loons, 32 Horned Grebes and 7 Pied-billed Grebes at Sardis. 
 
Good Birding  !!!

Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135



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