[TN-Bird] Shorebirds, Truly Wind Birds this Weekend

From: OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx
To: missbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, ARBIRD-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 07:20:24 EST
March 11-12, 2006
TN-MS-AR
 
They are back!!!
 
The wind blew with a vengeance Saturday morning, the flat fields in  
Crittenden Co, AR offered no resistance. These fields have been so dry this  
winter, 
that most have already been rolled and disked. Taking advantage of  the south 
wind that was up and running all weekend, were the true Wind Birds,  Golden 
Plovers, on time, sleek and speed ready. I had thought I had seen two  last 
weekend but they sped straight away never turning but Saturday I had 4  flights 
with 12 to 45 birds come into small wet areas, turning into the  wind and 
making 
nervous runs going far with the wind, then coming in, almost  landing before 
making another long run before finally settling like gun shy  ducks. There were 
larger flocks of Pectoral Sandpipers flying closer to the  ground making 
similar passes, looking like swarms of insects being blown  randomly by the 
relentless wind. I found a few hundred Pectorals, a couple of  dozen Least 
Sandpipers, 5 Dunlin, and 7 Baird's Sandpipers in the wet hole that  held a 
record 
number of Baird's for weeks last spring. Also making  themselves know with 
strident cries were 4 Greater Yellowlegs and 7 Lesser  Yellowlegs. Some 
killdeer are 
already on scrapes while others are still going  through the ritual stop and 
go tango of love.
 
At Eagle Lake, in Shelby Co, TN, on Saturday afternoon, there were only 2  
Greater Yellowlegs and one wandering Wilson's Snipe looking for its mud sucking 
 
kin.
 
Sunday, I was joined by Pat Valentik, passing through from AR, birding his  
way to the east coast. We traveled back to the AR fields and pretty much had 
the  same species. They were also just passing through but on a different  
compass heading, north to the tundra. The now more numerous Golden Plovers were 
 
spending little time on the ground and there were fewer of the small stuff.  
Ducks were mucking around in all the small flooded areas and we tallied my 
first  
of season Blue-winged Teal, along with Mallard, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal,  
Shoveler, Pintail and Wigeon.
 
Down in Tunica Co, MS, we found more and more Golden Plovers, totaling  
several hundred through the day; one flight numbering over 150, these were  
staying 
longer and some were feeding. It seems, Saturday was the big traveling  day 
and Sunday, the day to stoke the furnaces. We found many more Pectoral  
Sandpipers than were seen on Saturday plus Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and a  
sprinkling of Least and Wilson's Snipe but the best early birds were a small  
flight of four Stilt Sandpipers.
 
Total Wind Bird species for the weekend, only Ten, but think what's  coming!!
 
Good Birding  !!!
Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135


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[TN-Bird] Shorebirds, Truly Wind Birds this Weekend

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