[TN-Bird] White-winged Scoter in Gibson County
- From: Mark Greene <greenesnake@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2014 07:31:36 -0800 (PST)
January 6, 2013
Gibson County Lake, east of Trenton
Gibson County
I swung by Gibson County Lake, east of Trenton, yesterday to see if the frigid
temps had brought anything new. I immediately noticed lots of Canada Geese
around the shoreline and ended up with around 2000. I also had 2 Cackling Geese
with the Canadas in one of the coves.
There were also quite a few ducks around - a group of dabblers that included
Mallard, N. Pintail, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, and a single Am. Black Duck
and a group of divers that included Red-breasted Merganser (2), Common
Goldeneye (8), Hooded Merganser (4), Ring-necked Duck (12), and Lesser Scaup
(4). Oddly, there were no loons or grebes on the lake. While scanning the
flocks from the levee on the west side of the lake, I saw a distant bird on the
water that looked to be fairly large but I couldn't make it out due to the
distance and heat shimmer coming from the water. I figured it was a loon so I
drove around to the boat ramp on the east side of the lake. I took a while to
finally relocate the bird but when I did I was pleasantly surprised to see that
it was a female White-winged Scoter. After I watched for several minutes, she
got up a flew west, back towards the levee, and I lost her in the heat shimmer.
I drove back around to the other side of
the lake and could not relocate her. This is the first Gibson County record
for this species that I am aware of. While scoping the lake from Martin
Alexander Road, I clearly heard a Greater Yellowlegs calling but I was never
able to locate the bird. There were several Killdeer in the area.
At home, at the feeders, we also had a couple of Fox Sparrows amongst the
hordes of White-throated Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, N.
Cardinals, Am. Golfinches, and House Finches. The Carolina Wren ahs been
spending more time at the suet feeder than normal and is taking turns with the
chickadees, titmice, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
Good birding,
Mark Greene
Trenton, TN
Gibson County
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