[TN-Bird] Hatchie NWR and Memphis Area
- From: "Edward Conrad" <ecc0602@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 05 May 2007 17:52:22 -0600
Haywood County 5/3
I spent some time in Hatchie to look for my target bird: Swainson's =
Warblers. I had heard a few already this spring, but seeing these guys =
was a different matter entirely. I found what looked like some decent =
canebrakes and almost immediately heard a Swainson's and had a total of 3 =
in the immediate area. But again, this bird was tough to see. I tried in =
vain to get glimpses of it while it continually sang defending it's =
territory. The entire time, it was no farther than 10-20 meters but its =
habitat of dense understory made it impossible to see. It sang in front =
of me, to the back, and to either side of me without giving me any looks =
at this shy skulker. Finally, after 15 minutes I was allowed a 4 second =
glimpse from 20 feet away. I guess that's the best look one gets with =
this furtive species. =20
Although I didn't spend too much time at the Hatchie, I was impressed with =
the numbers of American Redstarts and Kentucky Warblers. They were =
everywhere! It was the most of both species I have had so far this =
spring. =20
At Oneal Lake, I saw my 1st Forester's Tern since Nov '06 along Kentucky =
Lake as well as my FOS Little Blue Heron.
Shelby County 5/3 and 5/4
Spent some time at Ensley Bottoms to study shorebirds where I met Jay =
Walko. I spent a couple of hours each day scanning through the flocks =
improving my shorebird ID skills. Although I wasn't able to pull out all =
of the shorebirds Jeff saw the other day, I was pleased to see 15 or so =
White-rumped Sandpipers, 3 Stilt Sandpipers (2 gorgeous birds in breeding =
plumage), and at least 6 Wilson's Phalaropes. The White-rumps were a =
lifer for me so it was awesome to have comparisons with Pectorals, Least, =
Semipalmated, and Western Sandpipers. Unfortunately, I was unable to find =
the single Baird's from the other day so I didn't have the privilege to =
see it side by side with the White-rumped. On 5/3 I undoubtedly saw the =
same 3 Wilson's Phalaropes Jeff had seen (2 females and a male); however =
on 5/4 I couldn't relocate the females but I did see 4 males. Both days I =
was overly impressed with the numbers of peeps, but especially after the =
storm passed through Thursday night. It was the most peeps I had seen in =
my visits to the pits this spring. Least Sandpipers were by far the most =
abundant, but I did find a bunch of Semipalmated Sandpipers (~20-30; =
although the exact number is a mystery since I wasn't actively counting) =
and I picked out at least 5 Western Sandpipers. =20
My other target birds for the Memphis area were Painted Bunting, Mississipp=
i Kite, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. I checked Jeff Wilson's spot for =
the Painted Buntings and found a male and female and walked around the =
singing male so that I could view his colors in their full beauty. I =
found 2 Mississippi Kites at TO Fuller Park and 2 more above De Soto Park =
in Memphis. I struck out with Jeff's Scissor-tailed Flycatchers across =
from the fire station at President's Island although I didn't spend much =
time waiting here since there was so much industrial work/noise occurring. =
=20
Also of note:=20
There was a calling Black-billed Cuckoo in the large oak above my house in =
Madison County on 5/1. The next day I encountered my first Yellow-billed =
Cuckoo and have been seeing them every where since.
Good Birding!
Ed Conrad
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