[TN-Bird] Weekend Birding - Memphis
- From: OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:19:39 EDT
August 26-27, 2006
River Front-Ensley Bottoms-Mud Lake
Shelby Co. TN
Star Landing, DeSoto Co. MS
Again, Mississippi Kites were seen at every turn with Black Terns running a
close second. On Saturday, I had 36 Black Terns on the River at Mud Island, 17
on McKellar Lake in Ensley while on Sunday their numbers had increased to 64
on the MS RV, 7 at the Pits, 17 at Mud Lake and 210+ at Star Landing on the
MS RV in Desoto Co, MS. They are replacing the revetment mats in the bend at
Star Landing, quite an operation with barges and equipment swarming with over
200 workers. Evidently they are stirring up something as the Black Terns
were swarming just down river and perching on the sandbars.
From Mud Island I picked up 3 Buff-breasted Sandpipers strolling in the new
growth on the sandbars along with Black-necked Stilts, Lesser Yellowlegs,
Pectoral, Least, Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers. There were excellent numbers
of shorebirds at the pits with birds spread out on all the areas but the back
left pit had the best mix. I finally located a single immature Western
Sandpiper in stunningly beautiful plumage but Westerns have been hard to find
the
past month and this was my first immature. The population where our birds come
from must have had a poor breeding season.
Lesser Yellowlegs' numbers have risen over the past week with 41 counted
Sunday morning and most were immature birds. Immature Least Sandpipers almost
out numbered the adults. One group of 19 Least Sandpipers that landed close to
my truck on Sunday were all flaming youngsters! The immature Semipalmated
Sandpipers did indeed outnumber the adult birds which have trickled away the
past two weeks.
No luck on Upland Sandpipers but I spent too much time on the river and got
there after 8 AM, too late for any calling birds. A single immature
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron lurked in the weeds on the edge of one pit, I hope
it stays
out of the muck unlike the unlucky bird last year that met its fate in the
mire.
Only 12 species of Wind Birds, species diversity still down for the season?
Not being able to check the birds during the week may be part of the reason
for this but over all it has been a strange, herky-jerky migration. Drought,
low breeding success for some species, route changes??
Good Birding !!!
Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN 38135
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