[TN-Bird] Seven swans a swimming, um, flying!

Disregard the first post with this title - this one actually makes sense - 
hopefully!
 
December 18, 2006
Gibson County
 
I was driving north today on US Hwy 45W just north of the town of Dyer when I 
saw seven swans flying due south. I turned around and followed them for a few 
miles and they turned and headed due east directly over the town of Dyer 
towards Keely Mill Bottom. I drove around the bottoms for several minutes 
trying to relocate them but never did. I would guess that they were Tundra 
Swans but with all of the Trumpeters that show up over in Arkansas every year 
you never know!
 
I've had a very interesting week bird wise here in Gibson County. I've been 
working out in the rural areas west of Dyer & Rutherford, and around the town 
of Yorkville, in northern Gibson County all this week. This is largely a rural 
agricultural area with lots of soybean, corn, and cotton stubble fields and 
wheat fields. There are also a lot of fields in the CRP program where farmers 
get paid for sowing their fields with native grasses to help control erosion. 
I've had probably around 70 redtails in the area with every color morph and 
type represented with the exception of Harlan's. I've had multiple Krider's, 
dark morph, Western, intermediate (rufous morph), and many, many Eastern. Also 
had that Rough-legged Hawk in the area last week. Also lots of Northern 
Harriers around and I would suspect that some of these fields may have 
Short-eared Owls but I've not had a chance to check them at dusk yet. I had a 
few Loggerhead Shrikes arounf today as well.
 
I've also had a lot of Lapland Longspurs - flocks ranging in size from just a 
few birds mixed with Horned Larks to Lap flocks of over 300 birds. I had a 
field full of Killdeer todat but careful scanning yielded no other shorebird 
species. I've seen some fields that looked like fairly decent LeConte's Sparrow 
habitat but I've not had achance to check them out thoroughly yet.
 
In a small pond just north of Trenton yesterday I had 6 Canvasbacks in a mixed 
group of Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks. They were not there today but 
there was a male Hooded Merganser there.
 
Lots of interesting stuff around - should be intersting to see what we can find 
on the Christmas Bird Count at Reelfoot Lake on Saturday. Hopefully the rain 
will not be a total washout...
 
Good birding,
 
Mark Greene
Trenton, TN



      
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