[TN-Bird] Mottled Ducks & etc. 9/29/05 (long)
- From: <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 22:05:16 -0500
9/29/05
KY Lake area of Henry Co.
Being my last chance to check on the Mottled Ducks for several days, as I
have to work through the weekend, I met Mike O'Malley at Paris Landing this
morning for a quick look around. I was both hoping the cold front had pushed
more migrants through (it had) and that it hadn't pushed the Mottled's out
(it took a while to find them, but they're still here).
We began the day at Gray's Landing, with a nice migration going on. Warblers
and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were widespread, and I ended the day with 13
warbler species, by far my best of the season. At Gray's Landing there was
also a constant movement of Blue Jays and Flickers overhead.
From Gray's, we went directly to the Eagle Creek flats. The ducks were all
on the far side of the bay, and I never was able to locate the Mottled's in
the 1st 30-45 minutes we were there. The group of Mallards they often hang
around with has been bolstered by a few more, including the 1st male that
I've seen that has come back into full color, but no sign of the Mottled
Ducks. I had been hoping the something would come in and stir the ducks up a
little, and finally the large group of ducks got up and wheeled around the
area a couple of times, and I was able to pick out the two Mottled's in
flight. I don't know where they had been hiding, but was sure glad to see
them. The Mottled's and the group of Mallards settled in on the water close
enough that we could get good looks at the birds, so Mike got a nice TN
bird. I was back two more times later in the day, and had the Mottled's on
the far side of the flats both times. I initially thought the Snowy Egret
and Little Blue's that had been present lately had moved out of Eagle Creek,
as this morning the smaller birds weren't present among the Great Egrets and
Great Blues. This afternoon though, the Snowy and several Little Blues were
back in their usual spots. It is getting about time for Snowies to pull out.
Otherwise at Eagle Creek it was pretty show, although a couple of
1st-winter Franklin's Gulls among the Ring-bills and Caspian and Forster's
Terns were nice, being lifers for Mike and my 1st birds of the season. We
would later get better looks at an adult Franklin's on the island at Paris
Landing, and I also had one in the gulls on the Big Sandy flats, so they are
finally getting here. There were no shorebirds other than Killdeer this
morning, though a single Lesser Yellowlegs did come in later in the day. My
ONLY shorebirds other than Killdeer were the Lesser Legs at Eagle Creek, a
Spotted at Britton Ford, and a single Semi Plover on the Big Sandy Flats.
After finally getting the Mottled Ducks, we went back to scan the birds at
Paris Landing. The island at Paris Landing had 5 species of gulls present;
many Ring-bills and Herring (including my 1st juv. Herring of the season),
the adult Lesser Black-back, at least 3 Laughing and the single Franklin's.
Several Forster's Terns were there also, but we didn't see any of the
Commons or Blacks that were there last week. Birds were so thick on the
island, with many not visible on the back side of the island, so there is no
telling what else could be there, smaller birds like Sterna Terns are often
hard to pick up.
After Mike left, I made a pass through Britton Ford (nothing) and met up
with Barry Hart briefly at Eagle Creek. The Mottled's were resting on the
far flats at this time, though one of the Franklin's put on a nice show for
us.
I finished the day up at Manor Rd, scanning the Big Sandy flats. They are
really dropping the lake now, I could tell the difference at Eagle Creek
between stops today. The flats at Big Sandy were pretty barren, other than
the Franklin's and two Laughing Gulls among the loafing gulls in the
distance. I got into a nice warbler flock here though, which put me to 13
species, totals for the day are as follows:
8 Tennessee
1 Nashville
5 N. Parula
3 Magnolia
5 Yellow-rumped (1st of season)
12 Black-throated Green
1 Yellow-throated (latish)
2 Pine
1 Palm
1 Black-and-white
2 American Redstart
1 Worm-eating (late)
2 Common Yellowthroat
Other songbirds noted were numerous House Wrens, and a couple of Blue
Grosbeaks amongst the numerous Indigo's. Chipping Sparrows seem to be
flocked up everywhere. The only Flycatchers on the day were Phoebe and
Pewee.
Good Birding, and hope everyone has a good time at the upcoming meeting!
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd
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