[TN-Bird] NW TN shorebirds & etc. 8/19/04
- From: <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 00:15:47 -0500
Reelfoot Lake area
Lake & Obion Co.
8/19/04
A slight let-up in overtime allowed me to get out today for only the 2nd time
over the last 2.5 months. I did get down to Memphis last Saturday to enjoy the
shorebirds of Ensley with Jeff and others from across the State. Recent posts
from the Reelfoot Lake area pointed me in that direction this morning.
Unfortunately, I only birded a little over half of the day before a sudden
migraine cut my day short and started me on a miserable drive home!
Raptors were overhead all day, especially when I was trying to view shorebirds.
Small groups of Mississippi Kites (3-6 birds) were encountered several
locations, and single Broad-winged Hawks were noted a couple of times.
My 1st shorebirding spot was an area that almost always has some water in it
north of Walnut Log, and just south of the State Line. This area isn't far from
drying up, but held a few birds, including some nice juvenile Least Sandpipers.
After last weekend I was wondering what there numbers would wind up being this
year. Out of only 16 Least Sandpipers here, 7 were nice bright juveniles. A
total of 7 shorebird species were seen here, including a juvenile Stilt
Sandpiper.
The "Ibis Hole" (Phillipy area) literally made my mouth water when I got there.
I had expected a good number of birds from Nancy's post of late, but nothing
like what I saw. I only had a few minutes to go through the birds before a
juvenile Peregrine appeared overhead and scattered ALL of the birds, but there
were at least 750 shorebirds here, and I really believe closer to 1000. The
majority were Pectorals, but I told myself that there had to be a Dowitcher or
Phalarope in the mix, and came across both shortly afterwards, single juveniles
each of Short-billed Dowitcher (gorgeous!) and Wilson's Phalarope. Shorebird
numbers as follows: (close estimates on the larger numbers) and juveniles
noted, where distance allowed.
Killdeer 75
Semipalmated Plover 1 adult
Greater Yellowlegs 3 adult
Lesser Yellowlegs 75 (10 juveniles)
Solitary Sandpiper 5
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 50 (3 juveniles, many of these were too distant to age for sure)
Semipalmated Sandpiper 30 (only 4 adults)
Western Sandpiper 2 juveniles
Pectoral Sandpiper 500+ (I got good looks at most of these and only 1 was a
juvenile)
Stilt Sandpiper 10 (3 juveniles)
Short-billed Dowitcher 1 juvenile
Wilson's Phalarope 1 juvenile
When I 1st arrived the birds were spooky due to both a Red-tailed and
Red-shouldered Hawk in the area. When the entire area cleared out en masse I
knew there had to be a Falcon in the area. Sure enough, a young Tundra-type
Peregrine soared over, but didn't actually make a pass at the birds when I was
there. I stayed a few minutes and birds were starting to filter back in, but
when I last saw the Peregrine it was circling northward, so it probably made a
pass at the birds again. I came back about an hour later and there were only a
few Killdeer and a dozen Lesser Yellowlegs here, along with a group of
Blue-winged Teal that sat tight while the Peregrine surveyed the menu.
Black Bayou was uneventful other than the disturbing number of dead Water
Snakes floating in the water. Practically all were Diamondback Water Snakes,
some very impressively large. There were no shorebirds at Black Bayou, as some
fresh water had been pumped in and hasn't receded much yet.
My next stop was the South Unit of Black Bayou, where I once again encountered
a surprising number of birds. A young Cooper's Hawk had birds on edge here when
I arrived. Over 400 birds were using this area, although some of them may have
arrived from the Ibis Hole when the Peregrine cleared it out. Not much variety
here, but finally a handful of juvenile Pectorals as well as 3 juvenile
Wilson's Phalaropes. Most surprisingly, no peeps at all at this location.
Numbers as follows:
Killdeer 50
Lesser Yellowlegs 48 (14 juveniles)
Pectoral Sandpiper 300+ (at least 3 juveniles)
Stilt Sandpiper 16 (2 juveniles)
Wilson's Phalarope 3 juveniles (1 of these was still in almost full juvenile
plumage, with only a couple of gray scaps coming in; most I have seen have
largely replaced the juvenile mantle and scapular feathers with gray basic
feathers, leaving the juvenile coverts and tertials to age them with)
A quick run into Champey's Pocket didn't produce anything except some up-close
and personal looks at a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper working the boat launch
area. From here I went to Tiptonville Bar, and felt a headache starting on the
way over. At Tiptonville Bar I did find a few of the birds I was looking for on
my year list. Several Black Terns were working the area, together with the
ever-present Least Terns. Killdeer were scattered all along the Bar, and a
small group of Least Sandpipers came in for a rest. A distant Ruddy Turnstone
was one of the birds I was hoping for. I had hoped for Sanderling, with no
luck. The other bird that I was hoping for (that Jeff had here not long ago)
was Piping Plover. No luck, UNTIL, a large group of 30-35 Killdeer took off
heading south, and evidently spooked a Piping Plover which was farther up on
the dry sand and unseen until it flushed briefly with the Killdeer.
I had planned on continuing birding my way south, but Tiptonville Bar marked
the end of the days birding, with a total of 15 species of shorebirds.
Good birding!!
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
Carroll Co.
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd
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