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I joined ASCA members for a pre-Hurricane Ike run to Millwood Lake in anticipation of exotic birds. It was warm and cloudy with spits of rain. Unfortunately, the exotic gulf birds were mostly a no show but we did see a swarm of hummingbirds at a feeder which included one female Rufous Hummingbird. We arrived at Beard’s Bluff at about 9:30, visited Saratoga Landing as well, and left at around 2:30.

Species seen or heard:
• Blue Jay
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Carolina Chickadee
• White-eyed Vireo
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Turkey Vulture
• Bald Eagle
• American White Pelican
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Great Egret
• Eastern Wood-pewee
• American Crow
• Anhinga
• Carolina Wren
• Forster’s Tern
• Canada Goose
• Black Tern
• Osprey
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Belted Kingfisher

Samantha and I went to Lake Dardenelle this morning in hopes of Sooty Terns and other recent arrivals. We stopped at the dam on the south of the river and then went to the Delaware Recreation area. We did not see any Sooty Terns but did see our first Black Terns, Ring-billed Gulls, and Black Vultures of the season.

Species seen or heard:
• Black Vulture
• Black Tern
• Turkey Vulture
• Killdeer
• Great Blue Heron
• Ring-billed Gull
• Fish Crow
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Northern Cardinal
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Osprey
• Carolina Chickadee
• Carolina Wren
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Mourning Dove
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

I decided to make my first trip to the lake after hearing about gulf bird like the Magnificent Frigatebird and Sooty Terns being spotted there after Hurricane Gustav. The first would be a state bird for me and the other a lifer. I left Little Rock at 5:45 and arrived at Saratoga Landing at about 7:45. I almost immediately saw the frigatebird and soon after saw the reported Laughing Gull as well. I then went to Beard’s Bluff where there is a birding platform built just for us. Then to the Millwood State Park and finally to Okay Levee where I walked to the end of the levee and back which was about a 4 mile round trip. Now that I look at the Okay peninsula in Google Earth, it looks like it is crisscrossed with trails that might be fruitful. I’ll have to find out. While on Okay Levee I saw a small plover, 3 to be exact, mixed with some Killdeers that looked like Semipalmated Plovers when they flew but had no dark band across the chest. Same size as the SP. Not sure what it was.

I’ve broken my day list into the areas.
Species seen or heard:
Saratoga Landing:
• Great Egret
• Herring Gull (with a fish too large to swallow)
• Laughing Gull
• Magnificent Frigatebird
• Great Blue Heron
• Northern Mockingbird
• Turkey Vulture
• Snowy Egret
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Canada Goose

Beard’s Bluff
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Eastern Wood-Pewee
• Bank Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• Northern Cardinal
• Carolina Wren
• Carolina Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Turkey Vulture
• Pine Warbler

Millwood State Park
• Canada Goose
• Turkey Vulture
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Great Egret
• Carolina Chickadee
• Northern Mockingbird
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Okay Levee
• Turkey Vulture
• Anhinga
• Carolina Wren
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• Little Blue Heron
• Carolina Chickadee
• Carolina Wren
• American White Pelican
• Red-eyed Vireo
• Northern Mockingbird
• Least Sandpiper
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Belted Kingfisher
• Killdeer
• Caspian Tern
• Bald Eagle (with big fish)
• Cliff Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Solitary Sandpiper
• American Crow
• Canada Goose
• Northern Cardinal
• Mourning Dove