[TN-Bird] TNWR Duck River Unit, Stilt and Baird's Sandpipers
- From: Scott Somershoe <Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx>
- To: TN-Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2014 01:41:42 +0000
Gray Anderson and I ended up at Duck River Unit, Humphreys Co. today for a few
hours. We were glad it wasn't closed today (ref to Clayton's post)! For early
July, it was excellent birding!
Highlights below, but we had NINE species of shorebird including Stilt
Sandpipers and the TN earliest ever fall Baird's Sandpiper, plus a few Caspian
Terns. No Sedge Wrens yet, but the habitat where we've had them in previous
July/Aug isn't suitable right now (but is better for shorebirds!).
Most shorebirds were on the back side of the Blue Goose wildlife loop. On our
first loop through we had 5 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 drab molting Stilt Sandpiper,
the dowitchers, and the Baird's, but a Cooper's Hawk flushed everything and
most birds didn't come back. We looped back through a couple hours later and
found new birds including 6 Lesser's with 3 much brighter and prettier Stilt
Sandpipers, while the rest of the birds were gone. I'll eventually post some
photos of the Stilts, but frustratingly couldn't get a photo of the Baird's. I
watched it for only about a minute before the Cooper's came over and flushed
everything.
Highlights:
American White Pelican - 15
Great Egret - 300+ (no Little Blues this year)
Killdeer - 300+
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Solitary Sandpiper - 1, maybe 2
Lesser Yellowlegs - 11
Stilt Sandpiper - 4
Baird's Sandpiper - 1 adult
Least Sandpiper - 38+
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1
Short-billed Dowitcher - 2
Caspian Tern - 3
Lots of Swallows over some pools.
Just outside the main refuge entrance in the cattle pasture, with cattle, were
8 Cattle Egret.
Good birding,
Scott Somershoe
State Ornithologist
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
P.O. Box 40747
Nashville, TN 37204
615-781-6653 (office)
615-781-6654 (fax)
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