[TN-Bird] Common Redpoll in Obion County

From: Mark Greene <greenesnake@xxxxxxxxx>
To: tn bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:12:02 -0800 (PST)
January 17, 2013
Beaver Arm Road
Obion County
 
I was working on Beaver Arm Road in the extreme southwest corner of Obion 
County this afternoon when I encountered a very large flock of finches feeding 
on the ground beside the road. I stopped and got my binoculars out and starting 
scanning through the flock. The flock contained over 75 birds, most of which 
were House Finches. I did see a few American Goldfinches in the flock and at 
least 2 Purple Finches. Several times while viewing the flock, a vehicle would 
approach and flush the birds into nearby trees. They would then settle back 
down to the ground and continue feeding. After a few minutes another flock of 
50-60 birds flew in from some nearby trees and settled near the first flock. 
This flock contained mostly Purple Finches, a few American Goldfinches, and 
several Pine Siskins. After scanning through this flock for a few minutes I 
came upon a male Common Redpoll. It was a small, stocky finch, smaller than the 
House Finches & Purple Finches
 around it; also had a smaller bill that was yellowish in color. There was a 
small, black patch on the face at the base of the bill. It had a red cap and a 
rosy wash on the breast. The sides of the breast and sides were heavily 
streaked. A car came by and flushed all the birds and after a few minutes they 
all settled back down. I located the Redpoll again. This time further away. 
After about 2-3 minutes a tractoe came down the road and flushed everything. 
Half the flock went into a yard on the west side of the road and the other half 
flew towards the treeline to the east. Beaver Arm Road in in the extreme 
southwest corner of Obion County. It connects Hwy. 78 and South Bluff Road. The 
address nearest where I saw the bird was 8606 Beaver Arm Road. I did not see 
any feeders in the area but the birds were feeding along the edge of the road 
and drinking and bathing in puddles along the sides of the road. This was my 
first Common Redpoll for Tennessee!
 
Lake County
 
There are flooded fields everywhere and gulls everywhere. I wish I would have 
had more time to scan the fields for gulls. There were also large groups of 
blackbirds in several of the fields and I saw Brewer's Blackbirds in 2 
different locations.
 
Dyer County
 
On Hwy 412, just east of Dyersburg, and just north of the jct. with Hwy 104 I 
had a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk hovering over the median. I slowed down as 
I passed under the bird and easily saw the black belly band and the dark 
axillaries. On Hwy 78, just north of Bogota, a Merlin flew across the highway 
in front of me and soared around over an open field for a couple of minutes on 
the west side of the highway before continuing west.
 
Gibson County
 
On a farm pond, just east of the Dyer County line on Hwy 104, there were 18 
Canvasbacks, 6 Redheads, 4 Lesser Scaup, a Ring-necked Duck, and an American 
Coot.
 
Good birding!
 
Mark Greene
Trenton, TN
Gibson County
 
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[TN-Bird] Common Redpoll in Obion County

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