[TN-Bird] Re: Reelfoot Area

In a message dated 5/24/2004 1:43:30 PM Central Standard Time, 
jay.desgrosellier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Both Chris and I noted that the numbers of herons and egrets present in
the area appear larger than those found in previous springs, especially
CATTLE EGRETS, SNOWY EGRETS and LITTLE BLUE HERONS. Cattle Egrets in 
particular were everywhere. We estimated their numbers at 300+ on the
day.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The smaller egrets and herons are recuperating from the devastation of the 
drought years, when they failed to get back this far north and breed due to 
lack 
of feeding areas between the coast and Reelfoot during the normal spring 
migration. Few even showed up in those years in the summer and fall during the 
expected post breeding dispersal. Although we were hard hit in TN there was an 
even dryer belt below us with no standing water or wet fields in the vast delta 
area. The numbers of Snowy and Little Blue are still less than half the 
numbers counted in the years prior to the drought but rebuilding year by year 
with 
this year considerably better than last. 

Even then the numbers seem large but we lost extensive habitat when so much 
land was drained and cleared during the dry years, in reality we are seeing 
fewer birds still but in concentration due to less habitat.

The Cattle Egret numbers are much the same as previous years from what I've 
been counting trading in and out of the rookeries. They use to use the 
rookeries and roosts on the River but fed away from the delta and mostly in the 
hills 
with the cattle to the east. This year they are feeding in the fields in the 
delta. A phenomena that we have talked about but not figured out why yet. There 
must be a lot of insects this year and we did walk up a lot of large 
grasshoppers Saturday, in fact one flew up and hit me in the head and liked to 
have 
knocked me down;o) 

Except when the Cattle Egrets were going out or returning in the evening, we 
would search hard for a one during the day but not this year. I have counted 
well over 1000 in various fields recently. On some of the roost counts that I 
did a few years back, you could see 7-10,000 returning in an evening. There are 
4 rookeries along the river that I have tracked down recently and I hope to 
get close enough to record what numbers and surprises they might hold.


Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL'COOT / TLBA
Bartlett, TN


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