[TN-Bird] Weekend Birding - Memphis

August 26-27, 2006
River Front-Ensley Bottoms-Mud Lake
Shelby Co. TN
Star Landing, DeSoto Co. MS
 
Again, Mississippi Kites were seen at every turn with Black Terns running a  
close second. On Saturday, I had 36 Black Terns on the River at Mud Island, 17 
 on McKellar Lake in Ensley while on Sunday their numbers had increased to 64 
on  the MS RV, 7 at the Pits, 17 at Mud Lake and 210+ at Star Landing on the 
MS RV  in Desoto Co, MS. They are replacing the revetment mats in the bend at 
Star  Landing, quite an operation with barges and equipment swarming with over 
200  workers. Evidently they are stirring up something as the Black Terns 
were  swarming just down river and perching on the sandbars.
 
From Mud Island I picked up 3 Buff-breasted Sandpipers strolling in the new  
growth on the sandbars along with Black-necked Stilts, Lesser Yellowlegs,  
Pectoral, Least, Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers. There were excellent numbers  
of shorebirds at the pits with birds spread out on all the areas but the back  
left pit had the best mix. I finally located a single immature Western 
Sandpiper  in stunningly beautiful plumage but Westerns have been hard to find 
the 
past  month and this was my first immature. The population where our birds come 
 
from must have had a poor breeding season.
 
Lesser Yellowlegs' numbers have risen over the past week with 41 counted  
Sunday morning and most were immature birds. Immature Least  Sandpipers almost 
out numbered the adults. One group of 19 Least Sandpipers  that landed close to 
my truck on Sunday were all flaming youngsters! The  immature Semipalmated 
Sandpipers did indeed outnumber the adult birds which have  trickled away the 
past two weeks. 
 
No luck on Upland Sandpipers but I spent too much time on the river  and got 
there after 8 AM, too late for any calling birds. A single  immature 
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron lurked in the weeds on the edge of one  pit, I hope 
it stays 
out of the muck unlike the unlucky bird last year that met  its fate in the 
mire.
 
Only 12 species of Wind Birds, species diversity still down for the  season? 
Not being able to check the birds during the week may be part of  the reason 
for this but over all it has been a strange, herky-jerky migration.  Drought, 
low breeding success for some species, route changes??
 
Good Birding  !!!
Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135


=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen.  The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
      To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
                    tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________ 
                To unsubscribe, send email to:
                 tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
            with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                ------------------------------
                Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
                         Cleveland, OH
                -------------------------------
               Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
                          Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
         
          Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
              web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                          ARCHIVES
 TN-Bird Net Archives at http://www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/

                  EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com

_____________________________________________________________

Other related posts: