[TN-Bird] Memphis Scoters / Tunica MS

DEC 16, 2007
Mississippi Rv.
TVA Lake, Coro Lake
Robco Lake-  Shelby Co. TN
Tunica Co. MS
The Mississippi River ate Dacus Bar  overnight but I located one Peregrine  
perched under the bridge and the  second bird on a window ledge on the top 
floor  
of the 100 North Main  building, so it looks like they are here to spend the  
winter. Among  the Ring-billed Gulls, I found a single first winter Herring 
Gull  and  6 Bonaparte's. The single male Goldeneye still hangs out in the 
eddy  
behind  the dikes along with the Horned Grebe, 3 Mallards, 6 Gadwall, 4  
Buffleheads and  3 Pied-billed Grebe. On the way down, I stopped and  scoped 
8 Brewer's 
BB at  DeWitt Spain Airport and later photographed a  pair at Ensley. I had a 
flock of  200+ Snow Geese with 7 Greater  White-fronted playing wing men.

An adult Bald Eagle was a flyover on  River Port Road. At TVA, I met Sonny  
Gray and we scoped out the Black  Scoter, but dipped on the Surfs, later one  
appeared on my second trip.  The birds were just coming in from feeding on  
McKellar Lake, so  numbers were low in the AM. Canvasback numbers had soared 
to  27 
and  Redheads up slightly to 21 with 86 Greater Scaup the final count on the  
 
afternoon visit. Sonny and I enjoyed another large flock of Snows  (140+)  
flashing in the sun overhead that had a least 3 Ross's in the  mix. We later 
had  
even more Snow and Ross's (300) over Robco  Lake.

Sonny and I hustled down to Coro Lake and got good looks at the  immature  
female White-winged Scoter, so it ended for me being another  rare 3 scoter 
day.  
Tunica Co, was our next stop and it was productive  as usual although the 
monster  bunch of gulls were too far out in the  field to produce anything 
unusual  
with the heat waves but this is one  huge collection of gulls. I can't wait  
till the weather really pushes  some more species down.

We located 2 Rough-legged Hawks and one put on a  heck of a show, kiting in  
the bright sun along with 8 Red-tails doing  the same over that one area. One 
 
group of 15 Sandhill Cranes was  moving around the area, gurgling their  
marvelous calls the whole time.  We finally positioned ourselves with the sun 
to  our 
backs and spent  time with a flock of Lapland Longspurs which put on a show.  
Some males  had already worn into their fine rich collars. Pipits and Horned  
Larks  were found just about everywhere. While at that location, we had close 
  
looks and later a short song from two Western Meadowlarks and to top that  
off, a 
great show from a Short Eared Owl that decided it was too pretty of a  day  
to snooze, so it floated by with that moth like flight, giving us  a once  
over.

White geese and gulls made for a winter landscape and  Harriers floated at  
every turn. Sonny left to scope through the geese,  I returned to the gulls,  
still getting only 3 species and then back by  Ensley. 
A fine day in the field.............  

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.





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