[TN-Bird] Seven species of Terns plus Parasitic Jaeger

July 11-12, 2005
Bruton Branch and Dry Creek Road
Pickwick Lake, Hardin Co. TN
 
After checking the Mississippi River and the pits here at Memphis on  Monday, 
I returned home and watched the break up of Dennis on Nexrad. Pickwick  just 
to the north east of the weak eye  looked like the best bet so off I  went 
through the rain. I arrived a little after noon and surveyed the lake  and the 
river but could see absolutely nothing.  After searching for an  hour I decided 
to go south to Bruton Branch and sat in the rain for another 45  minutes 
seeing nothing. I did have 3 Brown-headed Nuthatches before I left in  the far 
north end of the camp ground below the dam (really the west end as the  world 
is 
turned around down there) so the trip was not a complete bust if  nothing 
showed.
 
On a scan from the Bruton Branch boat ramp, I picked up 3 Common Terns  
sailing around a buoy trying to land as it bucked like a bronco in the waves.  
Suddenly a black and white bird breezed through my field of view and history  
(thanks Wallace) was about to be made. I lost the black and white bird going  
north toward the dam so I headed to the north of the camp ground to look toward 
 
the bridge. The best area was from this vantage point between the docking  
caissons and Bruton Branch. In short time I had 3 SOOTY TERNS and another 2  
flying about in front of me so I got on the phone with Mike Todd and Hap  
Chambers 
to let people know the birds had arrived.
 
After Mike arrived we had 9 Sooty Terns fly by with another 5 in another  
group and 2 that showed up on the west side of the river. Since we only had 14  
in view at one time we will use that as the top confirmed number but we both  
believe there were more. We talked about the possibilities and soon a bird came 
 in from high above us that had a different Gizz. I decided it was a jaeger  
as it dropped down and soon it put all doubt to rest as it proceeded to scare  
the beegibees out of a couple of small terns, diving and chasing them. The  
details noted gave us an adult PARASITIC JAEGER as the villain.  

Before Mike had arrived I had 2 birds fly through that were too far away in  
the mist to ID but both puzzled me, one being a large white tern that did not  
fly right for a Caspian and a smaller darker bird with the flight like a 
Common  Tern more up and down of bouncy than the Sooty Terns. The second 
mystery 
bird  was soon discovered as I got Mike on the small bird in with some Common 
Terns. I  had an idea that it was a BRIDLED TERN and that was confirmed when we 
had it fly  for some distance right beside a Sooty. All details were recorded 
as the bird  turned and danced in front of us and drawings were made because 
the wind and  rain made it impossible to follow the bird with a camera. One 
down and another  to go.
 
I decided to stay over and was joined that evening by Joe Guinn and the  
following morning by Mike and Don Manning. Right off the bat at the dam we had 
3  
Sooty Terns but most went south and we returned to Bruton Branch to record at  
least 5 Sooty and as we were leaving ran into Damien and exchanged info as we 
 watched one Sooty put on a show for us right off shore.
 
We traveled a convoluted trail south to Dry Creek Road, this due to someone  
knocking down and carting off all of the road signs. You have to go down into  
Alabama and back into TN to get there. At first we had nada as were trying  
to get the Sooty Terns for out MS and AL lists. At the north end of Dry Creek  
Road in TN, I picked up a large white bird heading down river that had a  very 
different cadence to the wing beat and it was heading straight toward  us 
with Common and Forester's Terns flying in and out of view. I got everyone on  
the bird, We had had a Caspian flying around that morning but on this bird I  
could finally see a white forehead! In the bright morning sun we had a  classic 
ROYAL TERN fly right by us. Field notes were made along with a drawing.  
Number two mystery solved, I believe this was the same bird I saw heading north 
 
the previous day. We also had a Black Tern at this location for number SEVEN 
for 
 the Dennis Event. Another large all dark bird was seen earlier by me but 
that  one will remain a mystery.
 
We had Sooty Terns in view when Nancy Moore arrived later at Bruton Branch  
and until everyone decided to leave.  I went down to Yellow Creek and  found a 
single Sooty near Goat Island at 5:45 PM, for my MS  list.
 
 
 
 
Good  Birding!!!

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

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