[TN-Bird] Duck River Unit - Baird's Sandpiper, Sedge Wren nest, Empids galore, Tricolored Heron.....

From: Scott Somershoe <Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx>
To: TN-Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2012 02:07:04 +0000
Chris Sloan, Ed Schneider and I birded Duck River Unit of Tennessee NWR, 
Humphrey's Co. today, 26 Aug 12.

Plenty of highlights:
1 immature Tricolored Heron lingered in Pool 1, seen from pump house levee 
about a mile from the parking area

1 Loggerhead Shrike in Pool 1 about a mile from the pump house along the levee. 
 That was an interesting find.

Pool 11 had the majority of shorebirds with highlights:
4 Baird's Sandpipers
6 Stilt Sandpipers
1 Short-billed Dowitcher

We had several groups of Traill's Flycatchers along the levee from the pump 
house and in the willow thickets and scrubby areas on the Blue Goose drive.  In 
the end we tallied three calling Alder Flycatchers, two calling Willow 
Flycatchers, and at least 5 other birds were seen only and left as Traill's.  
We had one location with calling Willow and Alder's.

We had 4 Black-and-white Warblers and at least 12 Yellow Warblers in the willow 
thickets along the levee from the pump house and on Blue Goose loop.

Getting late were 4 Louisiana Waterthrush - all heard, 2 seen well.  All in 
willows along the levees, one was in the same location where we had a bird last 
week.

After it was plenty hot and muggy, Chris and I walked through the grassy area 
where the Sedge Wrens have been singing in Pool 3.  I fairly quickly found one 
nest with no eggs and a pair of very upset Sedge Wrens!  Although we didn't 
find a nest with eggs (in the 35 min we walked around), there is pretty good 
evidence that they are at least trying to nest out there.

Great birding!
Scott Somershoe

Full list from the day:

Canada Goose  150
Mallard  1
Blue-winged Teal  15
Pied-billed Grebe  2
Double-crested Cormorant  275
American White Pelican  11
Great Blue Heron  25
Great Egret  60
Snowy Egret  15
Little Blue Heron  35
Tricolored Heron  1
Green Heron  3
Turkey Vulture (Northern)  8
Osprey  4
Bald Eagle  1
Red-shouldered Hawk (Eastern)  2
Sora  1     heard only
Semipalmated Plover  4
Killdeer  100
Spotted Sandpiper  2
Solitary Sandpiper (Eastern)  3
Lesser Yellowlegs  5
Semipalmated Sandpiper  4
Western Sandpiper  2
Least Sandpiper  25
Baird's Sandpiper  4
Pectoral Sandpiper  4
Stilt Sandpiper  6
Short-billed Dowitcher  1
Wilson's Snipe  1
Ring-billed Gull  6
Caspian Tern  55
Black Tern (American)  10
Mourning Dove  3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  3
Belted Kingfisher  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Pileated Woodpecker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Alder Flycatcher  3
Willow Flycatcher (Eastern)  2
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher)  5
Eastern Phoebe  1
Loggerhead Shrike  1
White-eyed Vireo  3
American Crow  100
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern)  150
Tree Swallow  10
Bank Swallow  15
Barn Swallow  X
Carolina Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Sedge Wren (Northern)  14
Carolina Wren  4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Eastern)  9
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  X
Louisiana Waterthrush  4
Black-and-white Warbler  4
Prothonotary Warbler  6
Yellow Warbler (Northern)  12
Summer Tanager (Eastern)  1
Northern Cardinal  2
Blue Grosbeak  3
Indigo Bunting  65
Red-winged Blackbird  2
American Goldfinch  2


State Ornithologist
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
P.O. Box 40747
Nashville, TN 37204
615-781-6653 (office)
615-781-6654 (fax)
[TN-Bird] Duck River Unit - Baird's Sandpiper, Sedge Wren nest, Empids galore, Tricolored Heron.....

Other related posts:
