Missbirders,
We're working up a recap of the Big Day on this past Monday, but in the
meantime here's a report from my usual haunts this morning. Rowan Oak was
pretty slow and there was a film crew on the north lawn, so I headed out to
Sardis. The lake is still 10-15 ft lower than normal which makes for a
beautifully lush grassland (a mix of graminoids) out on the flat lake bed
(photo: https://flic.kr/p/TZWG2s).
I wandered out across the lake bed to see what might flush from the grass
and to have a closer look at the vegetation. Along the margins of Hurricane
Creek I found a small flock of shorebirds in the grass including 33 LESSER
YELLOWLEGS, 1 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 14 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and a gorgeous
female WILSON'S PHALAROPE which was also a county bird for me. I was able
to get quite close to this small flock to watch it forage. Some photos of
the phalarope are here: https://flic.kr/p/TDSGbm. I also got some
slow-motion video of the phalarope foraging in the shallow water:
https://flic.kr/p/TDTwsm. I was struck by how plover-like the foraging
behavior looked.
I also checked the Sardis Waterfowl Refuge which was abuzz with grassland
breeding birds including Field Sparrow, Prairie Warbler, Orchard Oriole,
Yellow-breasted Chat, and Common Yellowthroat, but I only turned up one
migrant, a nice LINCOLN'S SPARROW along the entrance road. Photo:
https://flic.kr/p/TZUA5b.
There's a strong rain coming this evening. I'm hopeful for good bird
conditions in the morning.
Good birding,
JR
