[TN-Bird] Lauderdale Waterfowl Refuge and Reelfoot Area

Nov. 15, 2008
Lauderdale Waterfowl Refuge
Lauderdale co.
Reelfoot Lake Area
Lake-Obion Co, TN
 
 
Lauderdale Refuge is choked full of ducks and geese with 18 species of  
waterfowl recorded Saturday AM. The highest totals were the expected Mallard,  
Shoveler, Gadwall but good numbers of Pintail, Widgeon,Green-winged Teal,  
Ring-necked and Hooded Mergs. Scattered in the open water was a single  Black 
Duck, a 
few Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Woodies and  Ruddy Ducks. 
 
In the goose line were 250 Greater White-fronted, 30 Snows and Blues with 2  
Ross's. In attendance were 8 various Red-tails, including a dark morph 
Harlan's,  plus eastern and western varieties. An adult Bald Eagle spent most 
of the 
time  soaring up high while and an immature tried to hide in the distant tree 
line. As  soon as the season opens the Eagle numbers will really soar. Adult 
male and  female Harriers along with a single immature, kept the Green-winged 
Teal on  their toes. Toss in a huge number of American and Fish Crows plus a 
few hundred  Coots and that pretty much was the mix.
 
I had decided to just work Lauderdale Co. but what the heck, Reelfoot was  
just up the road and gas down to $1.76 a gal, why not. At Ridgley, I  ran into 
a 
heck of a sleet storm that covered the road with ice but quickly ran  out of 
that before reaching Reelfoot Lake. Lots of Bonaparte's dominated the  lake 
feeding in all areas, far fewer Ring-billed and only 2 Herring, 1  adult and 1 
first year. Just 1 Forster's Tern was found in among the dancing  Bonaparte's. 
At dusk, lots of gulls came into the roost on the west end of the  lake but 
distance, heat waves and low light all worked against my hopes for an  unusual 
gull.
 
Two Common Loons and only 4 Horned Grebes were scoped out from the expected  
ducks on the lake.
About 100 Pelicans perched out on the west end but another 350 sailed down  
the river at Tiptonville Landing and late in the afternoon, 650+ sailed out of  
the Samburg area and headed to Lake Isom.
 
The wind was a killer on the lake, keeping the large numbers of DC  
Cormorants sitting on stumps now exposed by the low water. Very little water in 
 the 
fields but the Smith's Longspur Field looks like it will be worth trying  this 
year. In the Rice fields north of Black Bayou, a Peregrine put everything  in 
the air and that included my only Lapland Longspurs for the day, about  300. 
Two Tree Swallows were feeding behind a tree line at Phillippy.
 
A nice gray day to scout out winter habitat but except for nice numbers,  
nothing exciting.  
Good Birding  !!!

Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6300 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135
http://www.pbase.com/ol_coot/
What is this feathered thing that  lifts my heart to the heavens.

**************Get the Moviefone Toolbar. Showtimes, theaters, movie news & 
more!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212774565x1200812037/aol?redir=htt
p://toolbar.aol.com/moviefone/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000001)


=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen.  The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
      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.
______________________________________________________________
  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                ------------------------------
                Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
                         Cleveland, OH
                -------------------------------
               Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
                          Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
         
          Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
              web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                          ARCHIVES
 TN-Bird Net Archives at http://www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/

                       MAP RESOURCES
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com

_____________________________________________________________

Other related posts: