August 7th, 2019
I got most of this past week off from work with the only responsibility
being baby-sitting Flynn. The obvious choice was to take the dog and go
birding.
I spent Wednesday and Thursday (July 31st/August1st) along the Tennessee
River from the Duck River Unit through the Big Sandy Unit TNWR without
seeing anything unexpected. A PEREGRINE FALCON at the Paris Landing Bridge
was the best bird. Water levels were still high enough to cover all the
mudflats on the main lake and all the interior pools at the DRU were being
raised again so very few shorebirds. A single drake RUDDY DUCK continues in
pool 1. Hopefully KY Lake levels will soon be getting more interesting.
August 2nd/3rd Shelby County, Mud Island and the North Treatment Plant to
the Pits. At the North Treatment Plant everything was flooded out and there
were no shorebirds except Killdeers and Least. A sandbar has appeared now
out in the Mississippi River (visible from there) was covered with Least
Terns and nothing else.
The highlight at Mud Island was a surprise WHITE-WINGED DOVE that flew
over coming from the Wolf River and crossing over the Mississippi River and
on into Arkansas. I didn’t see it again and don’t have any idea where it
may be hanging out.
At the pits there is bit of decent shorebird habitat around, but it looks
like TVA Lake is history. I don’t think I had more than 500 shorebirds
total in all the pits combined, and only 8 common species. Highlights were
a female PAINTED BUNTING on the South side of the pits and three WESTERN
KINGBIRDS in the industrial area nearby.
August 3rd/4th, Lauderdale, Dyer and Lake Counties, I drove out into the
Highway 88 Bottoms on a small muddy field access on Saturday afternoon and
found a bit of mudflats around some Duck blinds and around 100 shorebirds
of 9 species with a really good looking RUDDY TURNSTONE the best bird.
Not far away on the Dyer/Lauderdale line there was a puddle with over 500
waders and more shorebirds including a nice count of 95 BLACK-NECKED STILTS
(just a small part of the totals for the week) 34 STILT SANDPIPERS, two
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a WILSON’S PHALAROPE and a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.
A bit further North in Lake County, Mud Lake had some great habitat with
several hundred shorebirds, mostly Pectoral, Least and Semipalmated
Sandpipers as usual but I found four WESTERN SANDPIPERS here which were the
only ones all week.
On Sunday morning I crossed over the State line into Hickman Bottoms to
check what Clay Bliznick was getting in their recently exposed mudflats
over that way but learned that Clay had jumped ship and headed for Illinois
after a Little Stint. Things were boring on the KY side of the line anyways
with only 8 species of shorebirds. (Best being good numbers of BNST)
I spent the rest of the morning glassing sandbars out from Tiptonville
and Fritz Landings in Lake County. Everything was covered up in Least
Terns, some even appearing to be attempting to nest again (very late) I
have no idea whether this could be successfull or not. I did see a few
juvenile birds around so maybe the season wasn’t a total bust. Other Terns
on the sandbars were a few scattered CASPIAN TERNS, half a dozen FORSTER’S
TERNS and an alternate plumaged COMMON TERN at Fritz Landing.
Also in Lake County I had a LARK SPARROW flush up from the side of the
and perch in a nearby tree. I hadn’t seen one in a while.
Meanwhile I got word that the Little Stint was hanging on in Illinois so
I made one last stop at the Ruddy Turnstone spot (bird still present)
before heading home to get my car and meet Daniel Redwine for the overnight
six hour drive. This was a great bird in very bright orange plumage and was
a lifer for both of us. If it does decide to stop in West TN on it’s way
South now we’ll be ready for it.
Monday afternoon August 5th we got back to West Tennessee, but all the
shorebird spots that I had found were now mostly dried up and nothing
exciting around anymore.
Daniel started looking at google maps and took us to a spot on Brushy
Ridge Rd. in Lauderdale County where we found mudflats and shorebirds
again, as well as hundreds of Pelicans and waders. We had 14 species of
shorebirds here with highlights being two BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 4 STILT
SANDPIPERS, 55 BLACK-NECKED STILTS and an UPLAND SANDPIPER at dusk. Also
four BLACK TERNS here with the nearly 50 Least Terns feeding over the
water. And four YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS very vocal and active in the
area.
I had a total of 135 species this week with 17 of those being shorebirds
(not counting the three additional species in Illinois) All my
