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Sam & I joined ASCA for a morning at Cook’s Landing next to the Arkansas River in West NLR.  We started at 8:30, walked along parts the Isabella Jo, Pfeifer Loop, Northshore, and River Trails covering about four miles in four hours.  The weather was nice with temperatures in the 50s and more Sun than not.  Rain was in the forecast but that was hours away.  ASCA had good turnout, maybe 30 people at the start.  We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary bt I did get first of year Purple Martins and Tree Swallow.

Species seen or heard:

• Canada Goose
• Mallard
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Blue Jay
• Carolina Chickadee
• Carolina Wren
• Northern Mockingbird
• Fish Crow
• European Starling
• American Crow
• Ring-billed Gull
• American Robin
• Bonaparte’s Gull
• Tufted Titmouse
• Common Grackle
• American Goldfinch
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Northern Cardinal
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Wood Duck
• Downy Woodpecker
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Great Blue Heron
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Eastern Bluebird
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Belted Kingfisher
• Turkey Vulture
• Black Vulture
• Killdeer
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Bald Eagle
• House Sparrow
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Rock Pigeon
• Purple Martin
• Bufflehead
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Song Sparrow
• American Kestrel
• Tree Swallow

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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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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