[TN-Bird] Big Sandy/Pace Point area 11/01/02

From: Mikectodd@xxxxxx
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 19:08:07 EST
11/01/02
Big Sandy area
Big Sandy Unit of TNWR/Pace Point
Benton/Henry Co.  

With a few hours to kill this morning before my new central unit is installed 
(what's next?) I decided to run up to Big Sandy and see what the cold weather 
had brought us. Viewing conditions were terrible today, between the wind 
coming off the river, whitecaps, and excessive distortion. Birds that would 
usually have been easily seen were just blobs in the scope this morning.

That said, diving ducks are present in much better numbers than the last time 
I was in the area. The bay behind the maintenance sheds on the refuge at Big 
Sandy finally is starting to hold divers. Later this year it will fill-up 
with ducks, but there is still plenty of room. There were over 100 Hooded 
Mergansers in the area, and an equal size raft of Ring-necks. The flats at 
the back of this bay also held 2 Greater Yellowlegs. Buffleheads are here in 
numbers now, with many in the big Ruddy Duck raft just off of Pace Point. No 
Scoters for me today, and of the 50 or so Loons I saw, all had to go down as 
Common. Horned Grebe numbers are also up, with 2 or 3 scattered all over the 
place. 

The back of the bay at Lick Creek was productive again for shorebirds. There 
were 8 Wilson's Snipe, 26 Dunlin, and 4 Pectoral Sandpipers among the horde 
of Killdeer. The water is up some, and a lot of the flats that have been 
exposed at the mouth of the Big Sandy are gone. There was still enough flat 
however for 220+ Dunlin to ply their trade. Kept looking for a Least but 
never could work one out. Also at the mouth of the Big Sandy were 2 American 
White Pelicans, and dozens of Forster's Terns working among the Ring-billed 
and Bonies. I saw several Herring Gulls today, but none that looked too 
interesting (should have worded that differently, they all look 
interesting!). There were a dozen Great Egrets still in this area also. 

Always nice to see, I got a brief (as usual) look at a male Merlin just west 
of Big Sandy. He knew when to drop out of the tree just as I got my binocs 
focused on him. I didn't spend much time looking, but the only holdover 
songbirds I had for November were a lot of Chipping Sparrows, and 2 Indigo 
Buntings. It seemed like every appropriate thicket had White-crowned Sparrows 
popping up out of it. Still waiting for my 1st Fox Sparrow of the season 
though.

Good birding to all at the meeting!!!!!!!!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
Carroll Co
mikectodd@xxxxxx
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[TN-Bird] Big Sandy/Pace Point area 11/01/02

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