Glenn Criswell had a Eurasian Wigeon April 6, 1998 in Black Bayou WMA at Reelfoot Lake, Tn. I went with him to see it. Hopefully this sighting was recorded. Nancy Moore Reelfoot Lake, Tn From: Michael Todd Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 10:04 AM To: robert_p_ford@xxxxxxx ; tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Eurasion Wigeon present Eurasian Wigeon occurrence patterns are quite interesting. Back in the mid-80's, a male Eurasian wintered at Cross Creeks for 5 or 6 years in a row (I don't believe it is known whether same bird or not). The last few years have definitely shown an uptick in reports of this bird, with the birds that Bill mentioned and at least one I can think of in Memphis Jeff had and at least one I can remember posted from NE TN. Prior to these, I think it goes all the way back to 2002 when I had one at Britton Ford. Jeff and I also found what I believe was the first documented one for AR back in Oct of 2011, just a few miles west of the Mississippi. But, just north of us they remain extremely rare birds in KY, with practically no modern records, and I don't think any of the top KY listers have one in KY. Interesting discussion, and definitely a treat for us to be having this species with any regularity. Mike Todd McKenzie, TN birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx www.pbase.com/mctodd -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Robert Ford <robert_p_ford@xxxxxxx> To: birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, December 1, 2013 8:34 AM Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Eurasion Wigeon present Hey Bill - FYI, 20 plus years ago Eurasian wigeon showed up every couple of years at Wheeler NWR in north Alabama on Tennessee River. Maybe another question is "is there a fairly consistent pattern of them showing up on TN River between Huntsville and Paris every couple of years?" . . . And as Mike says, if we can find them. Bob Ford Haywood County, TN From: Michael Todd [mailto:birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Saturday, November 30, 2013 09:35 PM To: Tn bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Eurasion Wigeon present Bill, I didn't see the Savannah bottoms bird, and don't remember if there were any photos of it. I think the Busseltown and Britton Ford birds are different though, on plumage. I was a bit distant today, but the bird Terry and David found looked to be a classic Eurasian, with a solid rufous head; the Busseltown bird Ruben found had an obvious creamy paler area on the cheek below the eye, that was visible at a distance. Your scenario does make sense with the scarcity of this species in the mid-south, but I guess as with most of these rarities, probably more of them around than we realize. Good Birding!! Mike Todd McKenzie, TN birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx www.pbase.com/mctodd From: Bill Pulliam <littlezz@xxxxxxxxx> To: Tn bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, November 30, 2013 4:31 PM Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Eurasion Wigeon present This makes three of the last four winters with an adult male Eurasian Wigeon spotted somewhere along the Tennessee River/Kentucky Lake corridor between Britton Ford and Savannah Bottoms. Makes one wonder if they have possibly all been the same bird? Bill Pulliam Hohenwald TN On Nov 30, 2013, at 1:04 PM, Michael Todd wrote: 11/30/2013 Britton Ford, Henry Co When I arrived about 10 AM, David Kirschke and the Routledges were already there, with the bird in and out of view with the large group of Wigeon present. They would walk around the point to the north, then fly out in mass a hundred yards or so, only to steadily walk back out of view. This went on several times, before the drake Eurasian finally decided to take a long nap, on the point buried in amongst the various other ducks. Most of the this time, it was effectively invisible due to being behind so many other birds. Ruben Stoll arrived in time to see it, and Bill Lisowski of KY (finder of the recent Say's Phoebe at Reelfoot), arrived just a couple of minutes after the whole group flew to the south end of the bay here, which is largely hidden from view. You have to move around a lot to try to see into this area, and we hadn't relocated the bird when I left about 11:30. It is still in the area though. Also 3 Cackling Geese flew by trailing a group of White-fronts. Otherwise, just the expected birds of the area, with a few Forster's Terns a nice addition. I didn't check any of the other areas here, though others were. I've placed 2 distant shots of the Eurasian Wigeon in a gallery here: http://www.pbase.com/mctodd/gallery/winter_201314 Hopefully others will get some better shots of this very sharp bird, showing no signs of hybridization.