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I made two excursions yesterday, one to Bald Knob NWR and another to Sheppard Island Park in Pine Bluff chasing the Swallow-tailed Kites so I decided to stay close to home today and just bird Two Rivers Park.  It was a good choice because I got a life bird (Alder Flycatcher) and would have had another if I hadn’t seen the Swallow-tailed Kite the day before.  I did get a much better view of the kite today so no complaints there.  I saw the STKI soaring with a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk and a juvenile Mississippi Kite.

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Species seen or heard:

• Canada Goose
• Northern Bobwhite
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Swallow-tailed Kite
• Mississippi Kite
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Killdeer
• Mourning Dove
• Downy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Alder Flycatcher
• Great Crested Flycatcher
• Eastern Kingbird
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• White-eyed Vireo
• American Crow
• Fish Crow
• Carolina Wren
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Eastern Bluebird
• American Robin
• Northern Mockingbird
• Northern Cardinal
• Indigo Bunting
• Common Grackle
• Orchard Oriole
• House Finch
• House Sparrow

Six members of the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas joined the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society for a field trip to Charlie Craig Fish Hatchery in Centerton today (8/16/2009).  We had a great time and want to thank our hosts.

The hatchery was kind of slow with a single Solitary Sandpiper (is that redundant?), one Least Sandpiper, and about 20 Killdeer as the only shore birds that I saw.  Later, Joe Neal was gracious enough to take us to the nearby community of Vaughn to look for Swainson’s Hawks and Great-tailed Grackles which would be state and/or life birds for several of us.

We soon spotted both.  Since most people will find the Swainson’s Hawks more interesting, I’ll fore go the grackle details but the Swainson’s Hawks make for a good tale.  We spotted the hawk about a mile south of the fish hatchery. We chased it east another half mile until we got to a just started housing development. Once there, we saw not one but two Swainson’s and it was clear that one was a juvenile and the other was frequently returning to one particular tree.  Joe suspected there was a nest there so we moved closer.  There we found two more younglings who didn’t seem to want to leave the nest but eventually they did and soon we had four Swainson’s flying around us.
In addition to the four Swainson’s we had a single very pale Red-tailed Hawk at that location.  To my eye, he looks very much like the picture of the Southwestern race in the big Sibley’s.  Perhaps an expert can look at my picture and say.

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Species seen or heard:

Craig Fish Hatchery:

• Canada Goose
• Mallard
• Blue-winged Teal
• Great Egret
• Turkey Vulture
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Killdeer
• Solitary Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• Eurasian Collared-Dove
• Chimney Swift
• Belted Kingfisher
• Eastern Wood-Pewee
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Blue Jay
• Bank Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Carolina Wren
• Northern Mockingbird
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Common Grackle

Nearby Community of Vaughn

• Swainson’s Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• American Kestrel
• Eastern Phoebe
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Great-tailed Grackle
• House Sparrow

Angie and I made another visit to Treadway Saturday.  The one drained pond is getting dry and unproductive, if they don’t drain anymore (and birds aren’t their business) there may not be much need to go there for a while.

However, I did get a first of year and even first in state Ruddy Turnstone.

Species seen or heard:

• Ruddy Duck
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Little Blue Heron
• Black-bellied Plover
• Semipalmated Plover
• Killdeer
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Western Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Fish Crow
• Purple Martin
• Tree Swallow
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Dickcissel
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Eastern Meadowlark