March 24th, 2016
I did a little Hardin County birding today, including Walker Branch,
Savannah Bottoms, Pickwick Lake and Dam, Bruton Branch, and Coffee Landing
Road.
At the Walker Branch State Natural area I had a pair of Cooper's Hawks
doing the Kek-Kek-Kek calls repeatedly, and also recorded them doing a
different call at the nest that I hadn't heard before. (It reminded me of a
Barred Forest-falcon.)
An intermediate morph, immature Calurus redtail in the bottoms was a
treat, and also new for me. It took a little time to work out the ID.
No Western Meadowlarks were found, but numerous Vesper Sparrows were seen
through out the river bottoms.
At the dam there were over a hundred Gulls still hanging around, but only
the 3 common species.
Fish Crows were calling all around, I counted 7 at the dam, 7 in the
village below the dam campgrounds, and a pair doing courtship rituals on a
steel tower above the dam. This is a total of at least 16 birds, a new
Hardin County high count for me.
From the dam area looking up the lake, I had two EARED GREBES briefly
seen along with a few Horned, Pied-billed and scattered Common Loons, but
rain showers interrupted my viewing, and when it quit, the Grebes had moved
around a bend to the left.
Coffee Landing Road had quite a few Shovelers and Teal, and seven species
of shorebirds, the only ones for the day.
Greater Yellowlegs 85
Lesser Yellowlegs 32
Pectoral Sandpiper 44
Least Sandpiper 15
Long-billed Dowitcher 1(, hanging with Greater Yellowlegs.)
Wilson's Snipe 115
Good birding! Ruben Stoll, Centerville TN.
