June 18, 2015Dyer & Lauderdale Counties
Yesterday, I made a loop into southern Dyer County and to a few spots in
Lauderdale County that I hadn't been to in a while. Here are the highlights:
Moss Island WMA, Dyer CountyWood Duck - female with 6 youngMallard - 15 total
with at least 9 young birdsAmerican White Pelican - 10, mostly immaturesSnowy
Egret - 1, Snowies have been hard to find this yearMississippi Kite - 2Least
Tern - 4
Chickasaw NWR, Lauderdale CountyWild Turkey - 32Mississippi Kite - 77 species
of warblers including CeruleanScarlet Tanager - 1
Open Lake, Lauderdale CountyOsprey - 1Mississippi Kite - 11Least Tern - 2
Chisholm Lake, Lauderdale CountyMississippi Kite - 23, most were feeding just
south of the lake in the refuge area.Least Tern - 1Black-billed Cuckoo - 1,
possibly 2. Two cuckoos flew low across the road in front of me. I stopped and
got on the second bird as it landed in a small bush nest to the road and
noticed the black bill and red eye ring. I believe that the first bird may have
been a Black-billed Cuckoo as well but I just didn't get a good enough look at
it. The habitat looks good here so there birds could be nesting. This was just
east of the lake on Chisholm Lake Road.
Always good to visit some area that I haven't been to in years. I need to do
more of that. There are lots of great areas and habitat in Lauderdale County
that goes largely unbirded now that the Ol' Coot is no longer with us. There
are several areas that I did not get to visit that have been good in the past -
Sunk Lake State Natural Area, Bee Lake, Fort Pillow State Park, Lower Hatchie
NWR, Crutcher Lake, Plum Point, Porter's Gap, and Key Corner. I wish I lived
just a little bit closer to this vastly underbirded county!
Good birding,
Mark GreeneTrenton, TN
