[TN-Bird] Moss Island birding

From: "Scott Somershoe" <Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx>
To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:33:21 -0600
I spent the better part of the day wandering around Moss Island WMA (Dyer Co) 
looking for Rusty Blackbirds for the RUBL Blitz.  I found 4 groups of rusties, 
but all in small numbers (3 to 47).  Anyway, I had a variety of interesting 
sightings, which certainly made the really cold weather much more fun.


Rhodes Lake froze solid overnight.  There were a bunch of shovelers, 
green-winged teal, mallards, and gadwall on the lake on Wed, but nothing this 
morning but a pair of otter playing on the ice.  A large number of American 
Crows (hundreds, if not thousands) were all over the place and seemed to be 
just ahead of my travels all day long.  


Small groups of Snow Geese were flying south again today.  Total was about 5000 
with 15 Ross's Geese mixed in. Yesterday I had a couple hundred pintail flying 
south, as well as one thousand snow geese.


While sitting in a clearing eating lunch, I had a flock of birds streaming by 
just below canopy level.  I just assumed they were robins as they have been 
common the last couple days.  I immediately realized they weren't robins and it 
took a few seconds to figure out what they were.  It was a flock of 
White-throated Sparrows.  They streamed by just below canopy level for a couple 
minutes.  I had at least 120 in this flock (probably 150+).  They didn't go too 
far from where I was sitting and they started feeding on the ground.  I managed 
to sneak up on them and I picked out a Swamp Sparrow, a couple Fox Sparrows, 
and a downy woodpeckers foraging on the ground.  Certainly the largest single 
group of white-throats I've ever seen.  Seeing them flying high up in the trees 
was really interesting.  


I found remains (flight feathers) of 3 great blue herons, which were plucked by 
some large predator.  I often find dead adult herons in rookeries, but not 
often do I find a dead great blue (or remains) at other times of the year.  I'm 
guess the predator is either a Great Horned Owl or Bald Eagle.


On my way north up the Great River Rd just after sunset (while thawing out), I 
did a double-take on a borrow pit opposite the north end of Moss Island (which 
is a couple miles north of the main entrance).  The pit was covered in Great 
Blue Herons.  I did a 180 to get a better look and unfortunately they all flew, 
which did make counting easier.  I counted 83 great blue herons, with a Great 
Horned Owl perched out in the open not far away.  This was probably the only 
shallow, unfrozen water in the area.  All the birds were in an area about 0.5 
acre.


I made a quick trip through the Thorny Cypress Unit (TWRA property on Hwy 104 
just east of Ernest Rice WMA) and had a Short-eared owl fly across the road 
just before dark.  


Great birding!
Scott Somershoe  




State Ornithologist
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
P.O. Box 40747
Nashville, TN 37204
615-781-6653 (o)
615-781-6654 (fax)

www.tnwatchablewildlife.org
www.pbase.com/shoeman
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[TN-Bird] Moss Island birding

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