10/03/04 Big Sandy Unit, TNWR (Pace Point) Henry Co A morning trip to Pace Point produced several 1st of season birds, but nothing extremely exciting. The Point itself was devoid of birds when I got there, but shortly later the gulls began to arrive, though nothing but Ring-bills before I left. The Point is now almost completely out of the water, and no doubt will be more productive soon. The waters around the Point were teeming with Cormorants, but only Gadwall, Mallard, and a Ring-necked as far as ducks go. Surprisingly, a lone Coot was also working off of the Point. No loons have snuck in, and not a Horned Grebe yet, though a few Pied-billeds are in the area now. Yellow-rumped Warblers arrived on the scene today, and was the most plentiful warbler right off the bat. Oddly, I also had my 1st Palms of the fall, and they also outnumbered Magnolia which of late has been the most numerous warbler on a daily basis. My 1st Orange-crowned of the fall (and the year) was also seen today, but only a single bird. Other warblers were TN (several), Black-throated Green, Pine, and Common Yellowthroat (several). Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were once again prevalent, with a group of 15 feeding near the roadside in one location. The field below the maintenance shed was productive, and the back area near the levee looks good for sparrows, though unfortunately it is not wet at all. I didn't get a Sharp-tailed Sparrow, but did get my 1st of the fall Swamp and Lincoln's Sparrows, along with several each of Sedge and Marsh Wrens, with House Wren in the thickets around the edge of the field. Also in this field a lone Bobolink flushed up a couple of times, before "plinking" off out of sight. This was my 1st Bobolink of the year, after missing most of the spring migration this year. A quick stop into Lick Creek produced lots of fresh flats, but only a few Ring-billed Gulls and Killdeer. The Dunlin and Snipe will see it soon I'm sure. I didn't visit any of the places I went yesterday. Raptors were scarce, with my only high-fliers being a Red-shoulder and Cooper's. Good birding!! Mike Todd McKenzie, TN Carroll Co. birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx www.pbase.com/mctodd =================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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================