Posts - Page 151 of 212 - JamesDixon.us

March 7, 2010

Weekend Birding 3/5/2010 to 3/7/2010

I had Friday off so I started at Two Rivers Park doing something unusual for me, the main paved trail all the way to the tip and back. It’s a round trip of three miles. I didn’t see anything unusual but did pick up Wood Duck, American White Pelican, six species of sparrow (none rare), plus 27 other species of bird.

On Saturday, Karen Holliday and I went to Lake Dardanelle and returned by way of Lake Maumelle. At Lake Dardanelle, we saw about 150 Ruddy Ducks, one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, one Herring Gull, two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 12 Cedar Waxwings, and one two week early Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Plus plenty of more common birds. At Lake Maumelle, we saw 13 Common Loons, a few Horned Grebes, and the Pacific Loon that has been seen there for several weeks.

Sunday, Karen, Sam and I birded Cook’s Landing. We walked parts of the Isabella Jo, Pfeiffer Loop, Northshore, and River Trails and saw a total of 39 species including one Mute Swan on the river. We also saw a single Ring-necked Duck in the backwater, a species I had never seen there.

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February 21, 2010

Lake Dardanelle and Holla Bend NWR 2/19/2010

I went to Delaware Recreation Area in the hopes of spotting one of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls that has been seen there for the last few weeks. I also had the idea of spotting a Tufted Duck. I knew there was little chance of that but Lake Dardanelle is where they’ve been seen in February in recent years. I arrived at 8:30 and saw the usual American Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, etc. Scoping the surface I also came across at least two Herring Gull before finally spotting a 1^st winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. Yay! Year bird.

I then drove over to Holla Bend and drove the auto trail. Birds were a little slow there this day but I saw a lot of Red-tailed Hawk and one Bald Eagle. I also saw two Armadillo although the last time I was here I saw about six. The four Trumpeter Swan that I saw are considered notable but I usually see some I didn’t think much of it. Two had neck bands but two did not.

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February 14, 2010

Audubon Arkansas Nature Center and Lake Maumelle 2/13/2010

ASCA had a field trip and Audubon Arkansas had a “Go Wild in your Backyard” event where ASCA was cohosting a free bird walk. So Sam and I went east to Audubon Arkansas to help Dan, as if he needed any, and represent ASCA and then sped west to join ASCA at Lake Maumelle. Later we went to a CAAS meeting so by then end of the day, we were ready for home.

The AANC event seemed well received with about thirty people attending with Sandra Morris from CAAS and Debbie Haynes whose home we visited last winter when she had an Anna’s Hummingbird. We walked back behind the AANC and saw a variety of birds, nothing exotic but still enjoyable.

We met up with ASCA at the Jolly Roger Marina before going to Loon Point, the Hundley Road Causeway, Vista Point, and the recently dubbed Old Chimney Trail off of Highway 113. We were hoping for a glimpse of the Yellow-billed Loon but he was a no show. I hope he’s still around. As far as I know he has not been seen since Sam and I saw him on Wednesday following in the footsteps of several other birders. We did get good looks at a Pacific Loon and a Red-throated Loon though so that was good.

Since the loon was last seen opposite the Hundley Road Causeway on the far side of the lake I had the idea of going down an old abandoned road I had discovered from Google Earth. I didn’t know it because I had not walked the entire length before but that road leads up to a local minor landmark, The Old Chimney hence the new name we gave it. The trail does lead right up to the water so we had good views and could see both Vista Point and the Hundley Road Causeway from there and a large bay. We had good views of the Pacific Loon from there plus other more common waterfowl.

After a couple hours rest, Sam and went to a meeting of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society. It was packed considering the clouds and snow on the ground. Bill Engberg gave us a presentation of the building of his 24 inch telescope. Once completed, as far as we know, it will be in a tie for the largest telescope in the state.

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