[TN-Bird] NW TN birding
- From: "Mark Greene" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "greenesnake@xxxxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: TN-Birds Bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2014 07:21:30 -0700
August 1, 2014
Lake County
Sorry that I'm just getting around to posting this but I did some birding in
and around Lake County on Friday, August 1 and had a few goodies.
Tiptonville Landing & Bar - there were thousands of swallows on the wires
consisting of 6 species - Purple Martin (only 2), N. Rough-winged, Bank (most
numerous), Cliff, Barn, and Tree. There were lots of Least Terns flying around
over the MS River and sitting out on the sandbar, I estimated about 50 birds
total. I saw a larger, darker bird sitting with some of the Least Terns in the
shallow water at the edge of the sandbar so I put my scope on the bird and it
was a young Laughing Gull. The first goody for the day! I continues scanning
the bar for any possible shorebirds and saw only a handful of Killdeer. On the
north end of the sandbar, sitting on a piece of driftwood was a Peregrine
Falcon. Maybe that explained the absence of more shorebirds on the bar!
I continued south down the levee and didn't have much other than the numerous
Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks, and Dickcissels. The north end of the Flowers
Sheep Ridge Road (the road to Island 13) loop is closed after it washed out in
the flood of 2009. I went down to the south end of the loop and there was a
road closed sign but it was pulled over to the side of the road. I started west
on this road and it was not washed out like the other one was. It has not been
maintained much since the flood and soon turned from gravel into an extremely
dusty dirt road. I drove out a long way and drove around the gorge that has
washed away the previously mentioned north end of the loop. When I got to
within maybe 1/2 mile of where the road used to turn off and go out to Island
13, there were farmers working and there was farm equipment blocking the road
and I could go no further so I did a u-turn and went back to the levee. I know
that Ruben Stoll and a few others
have made it out to Island 13 recently so even though its more difficult than
it used to be, it is still possible to get out there. I would only go when its
dry though as these roads were be a muddy mess in wet conditions. A high
clearance vehicle (pickup or SUV) or an ATV is also recommended as the road is
not good at all. I probably wouldn't chance it in a low profile car.
At the jct. of Hwy 79W & the Great River Road, I saw a flock of shorebirds drop
in behind the trees so I stopped. It used to be easy to view the birds here but
now the trees have grown up and it is very difficult to see into the area. I
maneuvered until I could see through a small opening in the trees and I saw
some shorebirds and put my scope up. There were lots of Killdeer (50+), with a
few Pectoral Sandpipers (27), Least Sandpipers (50+), and Semipalmated
Sandpipers (12). While scoping the flock, a pale shorebird ran through the
foreground of my scope view. My first thought was Sanderling and sure enough
when I refocused and followed the bird it was a lone Sanderling. Just as I was
getting ready to leave when I heard a distinctive piping call. I started
searching the area and pulled up a little to get a different angle though the
trees and finally found it - a pale Piping Plover! This was a nice treat as it
had been a few years since I had seen one
of these little jewels.
I continued south to White Lake Refuge and was disappointed as there was
practically no shorebird habitat. There was a little water and I found a few
waders - 8 immature and one adult Little Blue Heron, along with several Great
Egrets and Great Blue Herons. There were lots of Mississippi Kites in the air
and I counted 34 in the air at once.
On my way back, I made a quick stop near the Forked Deer River on Hwy 104 at
the Macedonia Bottoms heronry in western Gibson County and there was one
Double-crested Cormorant and one Anhinga sitting it the top of a snag. There
were still a few Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons around as well as a single
Green Heron. Two Mississippi Kites and a couple of Fish Crows also made the
tally here.
The Green Herons nesting in my yard have left the nest but continue in the
Sugar Maple tree in the yard. The adults are flying in and out, continuing to
feed the youngsters. The young birds are amazingly hard to spot in the thick
foliage.
Good birding!
Mark Greene
Trenton, TN
Gibson County
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