Nov. 1, 2009 MS RV-TVA Lake Ensley - Robco Lake Shelby Co. TN Arkabutla Lake Tunica-DeSoto-Tate Co. MS The Mississippi River is on a steady rise that might take it to near flood stage this week. It was choked with foam and debris plus 21 American White Pelicans hugging the far bank holding in the willow trees. Two strings of DC Cormorants going south and high flying raptors following suit. Looking into a clear blue sky can be almost painful but the raptors were there: 9 Red-tails, 3 Red-shouldered, 2 Kestrels, a Harrier and an adult Bald Eagle were seen, appearing as distant specks, slowly IDing themselves and passing south. At TVA Lake, I did not find the Eared Grebes that were last seen Friday but 3 Greater Scaup ( 2 females and a first year male) were first of season for me. Also present were Pied-bills, DC Cormorants, Coots and good numbers of Gadwall. The high parade of raptors continued with 5 Red-tails, a single adult Broad-wing, 2 Kestrels, 3 Harrier and a low flying immature, resident Bald Eagle. At the "Pits" slightly lower numbers of Least with only 1 Dunlin that I could find, left over from the 9 earlier in the week. A single flyover Greater Yellowlegs added to the Killdeer made for only a 4 species Wind Bird list. Mixed in with the Horned Larks, I found 9 Pipits for my first of season. Robco Lake had added a few more duck species with a Bufflehead, 3 Ring-neck and a male Hooded Merganser joining the 13 Lesser Scaup and 200 plus Ruddy Ducks. The Great Egrets were down to 28 birds and a flock of 180 feeding DC Cormorants completed the growing wintering list. In Tunica Co, MS, a few shorebirds were scattered in the wet fields, 18 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Stilt Sandpipers, 3 Long-billed Dowitchers, 2 Dunlin, a few scattered Least, plus lots of Killdeer. No gull concentration yet. At Arkabutla Lake, the numbers of Forster's Terns down from last week's high of 492, now only 392 counted on Sunday but FRANKLIN'S GULLS numbers were up to 57+ birds; many coming and going from a flock out from the Dam in DeSoto Co. Only 1 Herring Gull and a few dozen Ring-billed Gulls were joined by 6 Bonaparte's. Thousands of White Pelicans contrasted with equal numbers of DC Cormorants. Also present were lines of Scaup and Gadwall with a male and 3 hen Buffleheads in the mix. Good Birding !!! Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA 6300 Memphis-Arlington Road Bartlett, TN 38135 http://www.pbase.com/ol_coot/ What is this feathered thing that lifts my heart to the heavens. =================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 //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________