[TN-Bird] Major Movement on Mississippi River

Oct. 28-29, 2006
River Front and Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co. TN
 
I had just a short time to bird Saturday but managed to check  both the river 
and Ensley. The river is just topping out about a 16 foot rise  and there 
were pods of Coot, Ruddy, Wood, Ring-necked, Scaup and Gadwall  floating 
downstream or holding behind some of the dikes. An Osprey hung in the  wind 
over the 
trees on the far side of Dacus Bar. Strings of DC Cormorants were  constantly 
winding there way south.
 
At Ensley, the numbers had finally turned with Killdeer finally  outnumbering 
the Least Sandpipers, a single Dunlin and Pectoral were seen  and the only 
Yellowlegs found were 5 Greater in Horn Lake slough. Kestrels,  Cooper's, 
Red-tailed Hawks plus a single Harrier made up the raptor  list.
 
On Sunday about 4 hours sitting on the river and scanning produced about  the 
same stuff as Saturday until 10:30 when someone pulled the plug up north and  
the counting began. Two groups of Franklin's Gulls, one floating by and 
another  swirling in circles while traveling south totaled 131 individuals with 
3 
first  year Laughing Gulls in the floating group. A few Ring-billed Gulls and 1 
adult  Herring Gull passed Mud Island. 
 
Four flights of A. White Pelicans held 478 birds with one immature Blue  
Goose that stayed with one group in sight, soaring and kettling for over 15  
minutes. Thirteen skeins of DC Cormorants totaled 466 while Scaup and  
Ring-necked 
Duck flights went over 1,000 birds. Smaller flights of Snow Geese,  Gadwall 
and Mallards trickled through and one flight of Shovelers totaled 28,  mostly 
all male birds. Two Horned Grebes were nice to see, skimming over the  water in 
full south bound mode, while a dozen Pied-billed held up in slack water  
behind a dike. Large pods of Ruddy Ducks were seen all up and down Loosahatchie 
 
bar and totaled approximately 90 birds.
 
Osprey, 2 adult Bald Eagles, 9 Red-tailed Hawks and a single female Harrier  
sailed over and 40-50 Tree Swallows were swiftly heading down river in small  
loose groups through the whole period.
 
The surprise, of the day, was a group of 13 migrating Meadowlarks flying  
down the river, a species I've never seen before actually in migration. I 
picked  
them up north of Loosahatchie Bar and watched them go under the bridge, I'd 
call  the whole group Western because of overall pale coloration and wing beat. 
I've  also never seen any of that species fly that far, anytime, anywhere!  
Good Birding  !!!

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



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