[TN-Bird] Shorebirds (Baird's Sandpiper) & etc. NW TN; 3/26/05

3/26/05
Reelfoot Lake & Mississippi River Levee area
Obion,Lake,Dyer, and Lauderdale Co.

Don Manning and I spent most of the day Saturday in NW TN, looking for the 
oncoming rush of migration. Contrary to the weather forecasts, it was a very 
nice, if very windy day. We had actually hoped for at least some bad 
weather, which usually make for good birding, but saw none.

We began on Walnut Log, which was pretty quiet. The only obvious returning 
migrant was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, as we didn't see a warbler all day, not 
even a Yellow-rumped. Always nice to hear both Winter Wrens and Hermit 
Thrushes singing though. We had hoped for Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, which 
are around by now, but didn't see any. We did have some excitement before 
leaving the Log though. On our way out, we noticed a Barred Owl that was 
obviously in some sort of trouble. It had gotten tangled up in some 
monofilament fishing line, and though it could still somewhat fly, it 
couldn't get away from the tree that the line was tangled in. We would up 
wading out to the bird, and eventually got the line free from the tree, at 
which point we were going to try and figure out how to capture the owl, 
hopefully without getting eaten alive. The Owl let us walk right up to it, 
and never once snapped or acted aggressively as Don cut the line that had 
bound both its wings and talons. After freeing it, it hopped up on a stump 
where it preened briefly before flying away. This bird really acted like it 
knew we meant it no harm, and had come to help it. Makes you wonder.

After leaving Walnut Log, we began looking primarily for shorebirds. We 
birded around the top end of the Lake, eventually making our way down to the 
south end of the Great River Rd. Pectoral Sandpipers, both Yellowlegs, and 
Wilson's Snipes, along with Killdeer, were seen in practically every 
suitable spot. Pec's were around in good numbers, usually in flocks of 
25-50, with easily over 500 seen on the day. Lesser Yellowlegs were equally 
common, with at least 100 Greaters on the day as well. Lots of shorebirds 
coming through, and the variety should soon start picking up. Our only other 
species were Least, a group of 7 seen off the Great River Rd being the only 
ones, and a single Baird's foraging with Pec's, also off the Great River Rd 
in Dyer Co. We scanned many a field, but didn't see any American 
Golden-Plovers, the bird I really wanted on the day. No doubt we drove by 
some, somewhere.

Swallows were numerous, with Tree, N. Rough-winged, and Barn each seen 
several times, along with Purple Martin. Puddle duck numbers are still high, 
with both Teal and Northern Shovelers being especially numerous. Great 
Egrets are here in force now, and we also had a Snowy (Fulton Co., KY) and 2 
Little Blues at Black Bayou, both a little on the early end. Vesper Sparrows 
were seen numerous times, as they work their way back north now.

There are still some gulls working the fields around Reelfoot, including 
around Van Works Rd (the location of the Iceland, Thayer's, etc.) but all 
appeared to be Ring-billed and a few Bonies, as we didn't see any 
Herring-types in the area. The wind was howling in the area, but we also 
didn't get any Western Meadowlarks on the day. Rusty, and a few Brewer's, 
were seen working various locations on the day as well.

I have posted some shots from our Barred Owl rescue operation, if anyone 
would care to see. These are in my Barred Owl gallery at: 
http://www.pbase.com/mctodd/owls_nightjars_hummingbirds , the last 3 photos 
in the Barred Owl gallery are from yesterday.

Good Birding!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
Carroll Co.
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd



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