[TN-Bird] Tundra Swan, Sandhill Cranes, Cackling Goose & more (Robertson Co.)
- From: Tony Lance <tonylance@xxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:33:45 -0600
Acting on a tip from Scott Somershoe, this morning I went looking for a swan
and some sandhills spotted by a TWRA officer up here in Robertson Co. I was out
before dawn and found them exactly where they were spotted earlier, in a
flooded field north of Springfield on Hwy 431 at Fred Borthick Rd. (Fred
Borthick Rd. is a dead end that leads to a cemetery and continues a short
distance past a vacant house trailer and on to a tobacco barn. The birds are
visible if you go just past the trailer. I don't know how "public" this road
is, so if you go use good judgment. A scope is helpful). As best I could tell
the swan is a Tundra Swan. There were 18-20 Sandhill Cranes, plus dozens of
Mallards, a couple of Pintails, several Gadwall, and 20-25 Ring-billed Gulls
there too.
After seeing the swan and cranes, I drove over to Turns Rd. where I saw a good
number of Horned Larks and a big flock of about 200 American Pipits. From there
I went to Henry dairy farm and spotted a couple of Lapland Longspurs (my second
sighting of that species this week), several Wilson's Snipe, and more Horned
Larks.
I called Jan Shaw and told her of my good finds and she drove up and joined me.
We went back to check for the Tundra Swan and found it still there, but the
Sandhills were nowhere to be seen. As we were watching the swan, some of the
ducks and all the gulls took flight, spooked by an approaching Bald Eagle. We
watched the big raptor fly in, survey things and then move on. We then turned
our attention to the fields because we kept hearing what we think was the
rattling call of longspurs. We looked at scores of larks but failed to spot any
longspurs.
From there we drove to Hopewell Rd. and noticed a small pond with several dozen
Canada Geese. I jokingly said to Jan we should look at them in case there was a
Cackling Goose, and no sooner had I focused on the birds did I see a little
goose, half the size of all the rest with a tiny little bill. Cackling Goose!
We both laughed at our crazy luck. From we made our way to Henry dairy farm
where a highlight was seeing a Northern Harrier fly low near the pond, scaring
some Wilson's Snipe into flight.
We birded well into the afternoon and had a very memorable day, adding various
sparrows, including lots of White-crowns and Savannah Sparrows, Eurasian
Collared Dove, Red-headed Woodpecker and Eastern Meadowlark. We also saw large
flocks of Grackles, Red-wing Blackbirds and Cowbirds. A notable miss was the
Loggerhead Shrike. We checked four places where I see them occasionally (I had
seen two earlier this week) and struck out completely.
Late update: I got a call from Joe Degraauw around dusk telling me that the
swan was still in the flooded field and that a group of Sandhill Cranes,
possibly the ones that were there this morning, was flying around the area.
Tony Lance
Springfield, TN
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