Posts

I got up early this morning so I could get to Craighead and got there at 7:35. It was cloudy, had been raining, and looked like it would do so again. I ran into Ron Howard, whom I had met once before, and we chatted a bit before continuing our personal quests. I started at the ball field and disk golf courses and then went down to the nature center from which I walked all the major trails. In all, I was there just over 5 hours and walked 14,000 steps according to the pedometer. At the end I had seen or heard 44 species including 6 FOS birds.

* = First of Season

Species seen or heard:

• Cerulean Warbler *
• Blackpoll Warbler *
• Veery *
• Swainson’s Thrush *
• Mourning Warbler *
• American Redstart *
• Canada Goose
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Gray Catbird
• Blue Jay
• Northern Mockingbird
• Brown Thrasher
• Eastern Wood-Pewee
• Mourning Dove
• White-eyed Vireo
• American Crow
• Fish Crow
• American Robin
• European Starling
• Carolina Wren
• Carolina Chickadee
• Tufted Titmouse
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Killdeer
• Red-eyed Vireo
• Black-and-white Warbler
• Baltimore Oriole
• Northern Flicker
• White-throated Sparrow
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Indigo Bunting
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Wood Thrush
• Savannah Sparrow
• Warbling Vireo
• Tennessee Warbler
• Summer Tanager
• Black-throated Green Warbler
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Green Heron
• Nashville Warbler
• Louisiana Waterthrush

160916151621162416271636

I didn’t feel like going far afield when I got up an decided to hit Allsopp and Murray Parks. I did so, running into fellow birders Lynn and Becky at Allsopp. Things were kind of slow at Murray so I left there a little early with a vague idea of going to Terry Dam later to look for Painted Buntings.

When I got home I got an email from ARBird about a Gull-billed Tern spotted near Arkansas City by Dick Baxter. That’s in the southeast corner of the state and about 2 hours away. After thinking about it for a while, I called Dick and got some directions and also realized that he intended to stay there to help birders in the new and temporary birding Mecca. So Angie and I got ready and headed there. We found the site without too much trouble and found Dick and his wife Sarah, Kenny & LaDonna Nichols, and Dennis Braddy there. They had the tern spotted and scoped for us. Unfortunately it was too far away for the camera but the identification was easy in a scope. This was a new bird for Arkansas, from what I hear it has never been reported before. Thank you, Dick.

** = New Life Bird, * = First of Season

Species seen or heard at Allsopp:

• Rock Pigeon
• Mourning Dove
• Carolina Chickadee
• American Robin
• Northern Cardinal
• White-eyed Vireo
• Red-eyed Vireo
• European Starling
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Nashville Warbler
• Brown Thrasher
• Pine Warbler
• Northern Flicker
• Eastern Wood-Pewee
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Black-throated Green Warbler
• Fish Crow
• Hooded Warbler
• Orchard Oriole
• Mississippi Kite
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Carolina Wren
• Tufted Titmouse

Species seen or heard at Murray:

• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• European Starling
• Northern Mockingbird
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Turkey Vulture
• Fish Crow
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Northern Cardinal
• Belted Kingfisher
• Mourning Dove
• Blue Grosbeak
• Eastern Kingbird
• Canada Goose

Species seen or heard at Dick Baxter’s site:

• Gull-billed Tern **
• Black-necked Stilt *
• Willet *
• Semipalmated Sandpiper *
• Least Sandpiper *
• Bobolink *
• Mallard
• Northern Shoveler
• American White Pelican
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Great Egret
• American Coot
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Scarlet Tanager

160215991596

Angie, Sam, and I joined a group of other birders for an AAS Conference at this WMA near Pottsville. We arrived about 7:30, birded the area and then went to nearby Sweeden Island Park. I got FOS Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole.

Species seen or heard at Galla Creek WMA:

• Rose-breasted Grosbeak *
• American Crow
• Barred Owl
• Black-and-white Warbler
• Blue Jay
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Carolina Chickadee
• Common Yellowthroat
• Downy Woodpecker
• Eastern Phoebe
• Fish Crow
• Indigo Bunting
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Northern Flicker
• Northern Parula
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Prothonotary Warbler
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-eyed Vireo
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Tufted Titmouse
• Turkey Vulture
• White-throated Sparrow
• Yellow-breasted Chat
• Yellow-throated Vireo

Species seen or heard at Sweeden Island Park:

• Baltimore Oriole *
• Fish Crow
• Eastern Kingbird
• Turkey Vulture
• Summer Tanager
• White-eyed Vireo
• Northern Flicker
• White-throated Sparrow
• Tufted Titmouse
• Red-bellied Woodpecker