[TN-Bird] Shorebird Arrivals / Habitat Rant

March 25, 2007
Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co.
Memphis, TN
Tunica Co. and Arkabutla Lake in MS
 
In a conversation the other day, I bet if I went down to Ensley, I'd find a  
Black-necked Stilt as they are usually here by now. I searched through the 
area  on Saturday and found a single male feeding among a few early arrivals. 
The 
 numbers at the pits usually develop slowly as the fly larva is slow 
developing  to critical mass in the spring where wet fields (which we don't 
have 
around here  at this time;o() are faster in producing more food quickly in  the 
warming muck.
 
My first Solitary Sandpiper for the season along with the male Black-necked  
Stilt were joined in the area by: 1 Golden-Plover, Killdeer (all pacing  
through the dances of love and making scrapes), 3 Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Lesser, 
 28 
Pectoral Sandpipers, 41 Least Sandpipers, a single Long-billed  Dowitcher, 
and 3 Wilson's Snipe. I heard in the distance the lovely call of  an Upland 
Sandpiper. I only heard the one call and searched the fields and  levees the 
rest 
of the day trying to find another but no luck. 
 
Lesser and Greater Scaup still hanging in at TVA while huge numbers of  
Gadwall are passing through the area. Canada, 2 Snow Geese (one with a limp) at 
 
Ensley plus a couple of straggling Greater White-fronted made the goose list.  
Only sixteen species of waterfowl was the total bag for the day.
 
 
Later a trip to Arkabutla mud flats produced, Killdeer, 126 Greater  
Yellowlegs, 84 Lesser, 75 Long-billed Dowitcher and a sprinkling of Least  and 
Pectoral Sandpipers. Gull species were held to Ring-billed, Herring and  
Bonaparte's 
with a few sleek Forster's Terms thrown in for variety.
 
The Tunica Co, fields are plowed and disked, few scattered wet places held  
the expected yellowlegs or snipe but no Golden-Plovers were found.
 
Anyway, 11 species of Wind Birds makes for a great early migration day. 
 
Rant Follows.....................
 
The fields are dry this spring as they have been for the past few  years. 
Wetlands are being plowed that have not been in my life time as a birder,  
Timber 
is being hauled out of areas where previously timber was safe in its  mucky 
wet substrate. I have photographed many areas just to remember what was  there 
and what there is now. These drought years have loosed the hounds of  
destruction. 
 
It is a shame game and fish do not work to produce spring  shorebird habitat 
here in west TN. If these birds can't find food for fat  reserves on their 
northward migration, then egg production will be low and in  some areas fail. 
It 
has always been left to Mother Nature to provide in the  spring but She is now 
demanding we do something on our own.
 
We wonder why the Wind Birds don't return to their previous levels after so  
many years of no hunting pressure and we destroy all their spring migration 
wet  holes and don't provide any during the extended droughts of these times 
here in  the Mississippi Flyway. Look at the numbers of shorebirds presently 
using the  minnow ponds in AR and the great habitat at Bald Knob NWR but 
nothing 
here!! 
 
The shorebird potential here in West TN continues to be just that,  
POTENTIAL. After many years, there is still NO consistently productive habitat  
from 
one year to the next, spring or fall in an AWARD Winning  Program? There is NO 
sequential, correctly managed shorebird  habitat in West TN, but I must commend 
the most consistent effort and  progress that has been made at Chickasaw NWR 
in Lauderdale Co, and TVA's program  to monitor and hopefully facilitate 
better shorebird habitat in the Tennessee  River Valley.
 
Rant Over - Sorry about that..........
 
Good Birding  !!!
Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135




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