[tn-bird] Pickwick Pickin's / Slim but good!
- From: OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 19:54:11 EST
Feb. 8-9-10, 2002
Pickwick Dam Area and
Savannah Bottoms TN
Slim pickings on gulls but a few real good birds were present. Below the dam
on Friday afternoon I arrived to find Mike Todd looking through the 20 to 30
gulls feeding in the fast water. One bird caught my attention as it had a
different cadence to its wing beat. After watching the distant bird for a few
minutes I realized it was an immature Laughing Gull in immature plumage. We
were able to see the features that put the bird in a much delayed molt to
first winter plumage. Jeff Garner thought he briefly saw the bird Saturday
morning. At last light, hundreds of gulls streamed in from the north up the
river and over the dam to a roost site somewhere in the Yellow Creek Area.
I reasoned that the birds were feeding in the bottoms where the fields had
recently been flooded by high water. The high water mark during this recent
time was only exceeded by the big flood of '73. The following morning, Mark
Greene and I went north from the dam and found the gulls scattered in the
fields and proceeded to scan through them. On our third stop, I came upon a
bird that was the wrong size and color to be either a Ring-billed or Herring
Gull. I decided it was a first winter Lesser Black-backed but we needed
closer looks for confirmation. Sure enough we had a Lesser Black-backed
nailed and many others were able to later relocate the bird and it gave some
of them lifer looks and studies at this easily overlooked plumage of LBB Gull.
Late Saturday we were treated to a great show of Northern Harriers with 12 in
view at one time and then at least 3 Short-eared Owls, one of which flew in
review right past the group and if that was not enough we then enjoyed an
acrobatic and auditory climaxing show of displaying Woodcocks. All credit for
this grand finale going to Siembeck and company.
On Sunday, I traveled to the southeast shoreline and found a few of the
missing duck species I had missed the day before, adding Lesser and Greater
Scaup, Common Goldeneye and Ringed-neck to the Mallard, Gadwall, Ruddy, Wood
Duck, Bufflehead and Canada Goose of the previous day. We had about 15 Common
Loons with an interesting look at one too far away for an ID, plus a
sprinkling of Horned Grebes and Pied-billed Grebes. A few Bonaparte's Gulls
were above and below the dam both days, 2 Forster's Terns were a nice find,
sitting on buoys up river on Sunday. Two adult and a second year Bald Eagle
were seen off and on during the period. Other species of note were Hairy
Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, lots of American Pipits and Horned Larks,
a couple of Lapland Longspurs, Rusty and Brewer's Blackbirds, Common Snipe
and a few Cedar Waxwings.
Last but not least, I watched a distant, very pale gull flying north toward
the dam and I returned to locate a second year Thayer's Gull in among the
Ringed-bill and Herring Gulls below the dam. The bird then flew back over the
dam and rested on the sides of the western most lock before it left again
flying back to the South. This is the first, second year Thayer's I've seen
in TN. Pickwick Dam is the most consistent location for this species for me
in TN.
Good Birding!!!
Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958
=========================================================
Other related posts:
