4/27/06 Reelfoot Lake area Obion & Lake Co. Don Manning and I had a very productive day birding the Reelfoot Lake area today. We had a total of 135 species, with only a paltry 8 of these being shorebirds. Shorebird habitat continues to be in VERY short supply. Passerine diversity was very good though, with many 1st of season (FOS) birds. Some of the general highlights were 22 species of warblers, all of TN's regular Thrush species, and 10 species of sparrows. Species highlights included a late LeConte's Sparrow that fluttered up out of the vetch at Black Bayou, 10 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons between Walnut Log and Black Bayou, good looks (for a change) at a Cerulean Warbler on Walnut Log, several Grasshopper and Lincoln's Sparrows, and the 1st Bobolinks of the spring off old Highway 79. We started the day in the woods, at Walnut Log. The Log was kind to us, giving us 19 of our 22 warbler species, with a couple I hadn't really expected yet, and several easy misses. Warblers found in this area were: Tennessee Nashville Northern Parula Chestnut-sided Warbler Cape May Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler (literally everywhere today) Yellow-throated Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Cerulean Warbler (very territorial male, same location as one last spring; about 3/4 of the way down Walnut Log) American Redstart Prothonotary Warbler Swainson's Warbler (3 singing birds, I haven't had this many in this location before) Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Kentucky Warbler Common Yellowthroat Yellow-breasted Chat We would add Blue-winged, and several Yellow and Palm Warblers later in the day. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were scattered around all over Walnut Log, not that I'm complaining. Vireos were numerous, with Philadelphia joining the expected Yellow-throated, Red-eyed, White-eyed, and Warbling. We didn't have luck with the Bell's later, though it was mid-day when we were at Black Bayou. We had Wood, Swainson's, Gray-cheeked, and Veery on Walnut Log, with a Hermit this afternoon on Highway 79, for a Thrush sweep. Bank Swallows migrating high overhead at the end of Walnut Log were the only ones of the day, leaving Cliff Swallow as our only swallow not seen. Some misses were surprising, especially Rose-breasted Grosbeak, which I've been seeing several of. From Walnut Log we worked around the top end of the Lake, checking for pretty-much nonexistent shorebird habitat as we wound our way over to Black Bayou. We didn't find any good shorebird spots on the day, and wound up with only 8 species, missing several birds I had hoped to see, those seen were: Semipalmated Plover (10 in two groups), Killdeer, good numbers of both Yellowlegs and Solitary, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, and Wilson's Snipe. We walked the levee out at Black Bayou, hoping for the Bell's Vireo, but with no luck. It was good to see that Nancy had it today, as it should be in by now. Definitely the highlight at Black Bayou was a gorgeous LeConte's Sparrow that fluttered a few feet in the vetch, then perched up for few seconds for my enjoyment. I was expecting the Lincoln's we saw in the vetch, but not the LeConte's. A Marsh Wren was also nice. Dickcissels are in, but not in big numbers yet. A Sora running around in the same location Nancy had one was also entertaining. The south unit of Black Bayou, the Handicapped Hunting Area, had some good habitat for Yellowlegs and Solitaries, etc. but we didn't find any good flats all day. A look at the south end of the Lake produced a few birds. Several spiffy Bonaparte's Gulls in near full-breeding plumage were nice, as were Caspian Terns and a couple of White Pelicans. We didn't see any smaller terns all day. The only ducks on the Lake were Ruddy and Scaup. We drove south along the levee a ways into Dyer Co, but found nothing of interest (like water). Eventually we came to Highway 79, and drove it to the end. Highlights along 79 were several Grasshopper Sparrows, including crippling looks at one. A little bit of a surprise was a small flock of male Bobolinks bubbling up a storm in the same field as the Grasshopper Sparrows; not exactly prime Bobolink habitat. Otherwise Highway 79 was a vision of orange and chestnut, with Baltimore and Orchard Orioles constant companions. A great day to be out, we just need a good long rain in the worst way! Good Birding!! Mike Todd McKenzie, TN Carroll Co. birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx www.pbase.com/mctodd =================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/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________