7/28/2017
Reelfoot to Memphis Run
I have had some interest in the Reelfoot to Memphis Run that I have put
together the last two years. What is this you ask?
This is an all day birding event starting at 7 am in the morning in
Tiptonville, TN that I originally set up using the Tennessee Birding Facebook
Page and expanded to TN-Bird the second year. It was originally an experiment
to see how facebook users of said page would respond. We spend the morning
searching Reelfoot Lake, and spots along the Mississippi River and potholes in
Lake County for Terns, and shorebirds, passerines, and waders, etc. After a
morning of birding we head into Arkansas an make the drive to Memphis where we
spend the afternoon scouring the Pits for whatever birds we can find. If your
up to a long day of Mississippi flyway birding, this is the trip for you. There
is minimal walking from parking lots out to boardwalk observations decks at
Reelfoot Lake, and walking a short distance from your vehicle to set up scopes
for views of the Mississippi River. There are a few steep ramps we walk down
for better views of the River. Island 13 is always questionable. The first year
the road was not passable. Last year we left a few cars and drove SUV’s and
Trucks to a large pond that had shorebirds and waders.
There are not many restroom stops on this event. There are restrooms where we
meet and we usually stop in Arkansas for drinks and a short break. Its usually
hot and humid, and it can be buggy. We may experience rain.
There is no fee for this trip, no sponsors, no club dues. This is just a group
of birders voluntarily getting together to bird. There are no tee-shirts or
other such stuff. Just good fellowship and good memories afterwards. All you
need is a good vehicle, a full tank of gas, your binoculars, scopes(if you have
them), field guides, birding apps, cameras, water, drinks, food, snacks, and a
desire to bird the Mississippi flyway during Migration. We are always happy to
share our scopes with those that do not have them and our trip leaders and
others are always happy to help with identification and pointers for
identification on the birds we see. So come and enjoy a great long day no
matter what your birding experience level. We had over 30 people last year.
We do not provide information on hotels. I usually drive over from Rutherford
Co and back to Rutherford County in the same day. But, I’m a nut and don’t mind
all that driving. It’s up to you to be at the gas station at the South east
corner of Carl Perkins Pkwy and Church St by 7am sharp ready to go on Saturday
morning in Tiptonville, TN. If you are interested drop me a message here with
your email address and I will keep a list and send out whether we will have the
event or not based on responses. I will also email better instructions for the
meet up place in Tiptonville, TN. If you Facebook I will also be posting on
the Tennessee Birding facebook page and there is a page for this event with a
terrible name (Reelfoot to Memphis Labor Day Weekend Birding Adventure) which
you can find and like on facebook. It has a picture of the originally group and
photos of last years group and some of our stops along the Mississippi river.
Reply here if you are interest or have any questions.
Great Birding
Stephen Zipperer
Rutherford Co.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
