[tn-bird] July Big Day (very late)
- From: "Desgrosellier, Jay" <jay.desgrosellier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 20:40:32 -0500
(This posting is EXTREMELY late due to a problem I encountered in sending
messages to tn-bird and some level of inattentiveness on my part. I'm only
sending this now because I felt that despite the tardiness of this report some
of you may still be interested in our forays. Again, I am very sorry for the
delay.)
Saturday, July 20, 2002
Reelfoot Lake (Lake Co.) to Memphis (Shelby Co.), TN
4:30 am to midnight
540 miles!
Not many birders have any desire to spend an entire day in the heat and
humidity of a typical Tennessee summer, but that's just what Chris Sloan and
myself did this Saturday in our attempt at a July big day. The record was an
impressive, but seemingly surmountable 116 species. The key would be to find as
many of the resident breeding birds as possible. A task we knew would be
difficult given that many birds had stopped singing and some had already begun
migration and post-breeding dispersal. Those we missed we would have to make up
for in shorebirds and waders.
The day got off to a good start when we found an EASTERN SCREECH-OWL and a
screaming BARN OWL in close succession. As day began to break we headed for
Walnut Log Road where we found both BARRED and GREAT HORNED OWLS to give us all
four of the expected owls. As we entered Walnut Log Road we were treated to
wave after wave of YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS flying to roosts. As we slowly
drove along the road we found calling ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT,
WOOD THRUSH, SUMMER TANAGER, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO and NORTHERN PARULA. As
expected, some birds that are abundant breeders in the area were very quiet and
stealthy. An example of this was PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS which are very abundant
breeders, but which proved at least a little difficult to find. All of the
expected woodpeckers were found with good numbers of PILEATED WOODPECKERS noted.
After Walnut Log it was off to the hills surrounding the eastern edge of the
lake. On past big days this area has been good for particular species and it
did not disappoint. Once again this was the only area in which we found BLUE
GROSBEAK, BROWN THRASHER, BROAD-WINGED HAWK and CEDAR WAXWING. It also produced
a bonus bird when a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH called from a ravine. This bird may
have been a migrant as they are not usually noted here during the breeding
season.
Black Bayou produced little of interest with the exception of at least one
CATTLE EGRET in amongst several LITTLE BLUE HERONS. As we were leaving Black
Bayou Chris showed that his eyes are as sharp as ever when he spotted a lone
CLIFF SWALLOW in with a large number of PURPLE MARTINS and NORTHERN
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS.
The south end of Reelfoot Lake produced only OSPREY, LEAST TERN and RING-BILLED
GULL and so we were off toward the south. A quick stop at the scissor-tailed
flycatcher spot found nothing but an AMERICAN KESTREL, and we were thwarted in
our attempt to find eurasian collared doves. However, Everett Lake gave us hope
when we found 100+ AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS in two large groups on the water.
Whites Lake NWR yielded large numbers of GREAT and SNOWY EGRETS, but no white
ibis as was found earlier in the week. However, a stop at the observation tower
hit paydirt when we stumbled across a single immature WOOD STORK. Also found
here were our only SPOTTED SANDPIPER and SONG SPARROW for the day.
After Whites Lake, we were off for Memphis at about 3pm. The long respite in
the air-conditioned car was much needed after baking in the oppressive heat. We
prayed for clouds, but they never came and the sun continued to beat down upon
us. We stood at 98 species and figured that we still had a chance, although it
was a long shot. We would need a few things to go our way.
As we arrived in Memphis around 4:30 pm we first stopped at Eagle Lake to look
for the anhinga reported here last week. Although no anhinga was found we did
see a single BLUE-WINGED TEAL and were really surprised when a KING RAIL called
a couple of times.
We arrived at Ensley Bottoms around 5 pm with high hopes. Immediately we added
CANADA GOOSE and GREATER YELLOWLEGS at TVA lake. A EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE was a
nice find on a utility pole around the power plant. Past the power plant we
stumbled across two COMMON NIGHTHAWKS. One sat on a fencepost and the other on
a powerline. What an odd sight! PAINTED BUNTING did not disappoint at his usual
haunt and WESTERN KINGBIRDS were found as we headed toward the pits. We were
very happy to find a good showing of shorebirds on the pits, including large
numbers of BLACK-NECKED STILTS and PECTORAL and LEAST SANDPIPERS. In lesser
numbers were several SEMIPALMATED and WESTERN SANDPIPERS, LESSER YELLOWLEGS,
STILT SANDPIPER and SOLITARY SANDPIPER. A single SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and two
DOWITCHER SP. were also noted. But the real winner of the shorebird show was a
single REEVE found earlier in the day by Jeff Wilson.
We had done well, but with only an hour of daylight left we stood at 114
species. Just two short of the record! A quick look at our misses showed that
we still had not found a Red-eyed Vireo. This problem had to be remedied
immediately! We spent the next 20 minutes in T.O. Fuller State Park looking for
the vireo, but with no luck. Arriving back at the pits we searched desperately
through the shorebirds for the two more species we needed, but it was in vain
as the light set on our day.
We did not go quietly however, as we plotted a stop on our way back to
Nashville to try for Chucks and Whips. Around 11:30 pm we drove around the
Cheatham WMA where both of these species are known to breed. However, our
efforts proved to be simply madness as we ran out of time without even finding
a Whip-poor-will which, as we noted in June, are very common in this area. The
day ended with us still at 114 species. We can only contemplate our many misses
such as Red-eyed Vireo, Tree Swallow, Baltimore Oriole, Bald Eagle, Anhinga,
White Ibis, Ring-necked Duck, Black-crowned Night-Heron, etc. and plan for next
month. Ain't big days grand!
Good Birding,
Jay Desgrosellier
Nashville, TN
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958
=========================================================
Other related posts:
- » [tn-bird] July Big Day (very late)
