I spent October 5th and 6th birding the Big Sandy and Duck River Units of
the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, hitting all my favorite spots from
Pace Point to Paris Landing to Tie Landing and everything in between.
I ended with a total of 122 species, which is decent but not what it
could have been. A general lack of shorebirds, and lower than expected
sparrow diversity. (I was hoping for Nelson's or Lecontes, but I guess it's
still a little early).
The best bird of the trip was the immature SABINE'S GULL that I already
reported from the Big Sandy Mudflats just outside the town of Big Sandy.
This was a state first for me, and also for Victor, ( he arrived in time
to see it) and #296 on his state year list.
Other Gulls included an adult LAUGHING GULL at Pace and 10 LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULLS at Paris Landing.
Most unexpected was a group of 10!!! LEAST TERNS seen at dawn passing
Pace Point. I've had up to 2 at a time along the Tennessee River in
October, but never this number. They soon gained altitude and headed South.
A CASPIAN and a COMMON TERN at Paris Landing and 17 FORSTER'S TERNS rounded
off the 9 species of Gulls/Terns for the day.
Also nice, but not unexpected was a PLEGADIS IBIS seen circling with
Pelicans at the Duck River Unit, but the extremely long distance prevented
any chance of identifying beyond that. I get White-faced Ibis here every
Fall between September and November, so I figure that's likely what it was.
Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with it.
Single AMERICAN AVOCETS were seen at the Big Sandy Mudflats and at the
Duck River Unit.
Only one PEREGRINE FALCON was seen, this one circling high at the Duck
River Unit. Only a week ago I had four different ones in a day around
Kentucky Lake.
A YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was my first for the County at the Duck River
Unit.
The 19 warbler species included an OVENBIRD, WORM-EATING, 2
GOLDEN-WINGED, ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, HOODED, 12 BAY-BREASTED,
BLACKBURNIAN, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, and 2 WILSON'S WARBLERS.
A field of Panicum and Foxtail Grasses at the Duck River Unit had no
Ammodramous sparrows, but I flushed one SORA, one MARSH and 5 SEDGE WRENS,
and one BOBOLINK. Maybe the sparrows will arrive with the cold front.
Here is a complete list of species.
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-wingedTeal
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-heron
Plegadis Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sora
American Coot
American Avocet
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Sabines Gull
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Least Tern
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Eurasian Collared-dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-owl
Barred Owl
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated woodpecker
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-Crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Ruben Stoll, Centerville TN
