Ensley Bottoms Memphis Tennessee

Its been awhile since I posted.  I've been experiencing a birding drought for over a month.  I  had a business meeting in Memphis so I took a day before and went birding.  Whenever I take a trip, I review all the current web posting for the area that I plan to visit.  If I find someone who posts often I will typically send them an email.  This time was no different.   I found a birder that posted to the Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas e-bird lists.   He immediately got back to me and gave me several locations to visit.  Thanks to Jeff Wilson aka Ole Coot at http://www.pbase.com/ol_coot/.  

He suggested the City of Memphis waterwater treatment drying fields called Ensley Bottoms.  I have visited Ensley Bottoms on several occasions.  If you've never been to Ensley, its a great place to bird. However, as its dry beds, the smell isn't overwhelmingly pleasant.  The birds don't really care though.  Plenty of bugs for them.  Shore bird numbers, in particular, have been high each time I have visited.  There are usually good numbers of sparrows and an occasional surprise passerine too.  Unfortunately I was about a month early for migration, but I saw 44 species, but no life birds.  Plenty of first of the year birds though.  The wind was steady at between 15 and 25 mph with gusts even higher so the peeps were laying low. 

Its already very dry in Memphis so there were a lot of birds congregating in small pools.     

 Black Necked Stilt

Killdeer

Great bird, but really a hassle to have around if you are skulking to try to get a photo.  They spook before every other bird and then they scare all the other peeps.  Errrrr!  I missed a really good shot of a Wilson's Snipe because of you Mr. Killdeer. 

 Least Sandpiper

There were 100s of small shorebirds feeding together in the drying beds. The least is only slightly smaller then a Western or Semipalmated so I have a difficult time picking the odd ones out. Most of the birds were least.

Western Sandpiper

Lesser Yellowlegs

Long-billed Dowitcher

I've got an itch.

Pectoral Sandpiper

 Solitary Sandpiper

 Stilt Sandpiper

Wilson's Phalarope

Fascinating bird to watch feed.  At first I thought there was something wrong with it.  Caged animals when stressed walk around in circles.  The WP uses this technique to get the bugs to come to the surface.  I watched it walk around in a circle for 1/2.. around and around we go!  I started to get dizzy.  I think it was creating a slight whirlpool.  Hmm interesting! 

So you walk around in circles get dizzy and sick to your stomach, eat (wait the 1/2 before getting back in the water) Yes I'm still afraid my mother will yell at me if I don't wait the 1/2 hour after eating.  I digressed.   Have fun watching!

 

I LOVE GULLS

I recently attended an "All about Gulls" class presented by Wayne Peterson of  Massachusetts Audubon.  The class included an in class session and a field trip to apply what was learned in the classroom.  I find this sort of training experience is the best way for me to learn.  Clearly the benefit was the few tidbits picked up in the class and then the repetition of so many Gulls at Jodfrey Pier in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  Gulltastic!!!!  I have a new appreciation for gulls now.  They are one of the most difficult group of species to ID due to their maturity cycle.  The larger the gull the longer to mature which requires a birder to know each cycle.  Take the Great Black Backed Gull for instance.  It takes 4 years to fully mature.  Sure its easy to know a BBG in adult plumage, but Jeesh the 4 different cycles with spring time plumage and then the molt.  Yikes!   Fortunately smaller gulls have fewer cycles, but they are even a challenge.   Sooo next time you see a gull....pause and give a second look.  You may come to appreciate these nasty scavengers as much as me.  :)

I'm going to post some of my favorite gull photos.  Each a different species.  I'm not going to challenge you with cycle plumage, although I will be posting a few immature birds as well.

 Glaucous Gull-2nd cycle (?)

 Iceland Gull-adult

Unknown Hybrid-Duluth, MN

Black-headed gull (European)

Bonaparte's Gull

Lesser Black backed Gull

Sabine's Gull

Greater Black Backed Gull

(munching on some lobster)

Herring Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Laughing Gull

And there are a lot more so stay tuned!



Phoenix/Tempe Wintering Birds

The second leg of our trip brought us to Phoenix for a few nights.  Temps were cold in the morning, but quickly warmed up.  I watched the Arizona/New Mexico bird list for reports of good sightings.   I also wanted to take my mom to the Phoenix Botanical Garden (PBG) so I hit the Tempe Reservoir at sun up with the intent of spending a few hours before hitting the PBG.  I wasn't disappointed.  I wanted grebe's and I got them (pied-billed, eared, horned, western and potentially Clark's).   The Clark's is still up for debate.  The Sibley's explanation for difference between Western and Clark'sis that the black cap doesn't come below the eye.  Unfortunately the black cap doesn't come below the eye in the juvenile western either.  So another bird challenge for me.  My photos of the Clark's isn't good enough to post so I'll be reviewing other Clark's photos.  If you have a good Clark's photo I'd be interested to see it. 

Eared Grebe

Western Grebe (see the distinct black line below the eye)

Proud Ruddy Duck strutting its junk!

Crazy as a Coot!

After spending just a short period of time at the Tempe Reservoir, we cruised over to PBG to check out the gardens and look for some cool birds.  We weren't disappointed by either.  The gardens were being prepared for a luminary show so they were primping the walkways for a huge tadoo!  Most birds I saw were lifers and fortunately it was Saturday morning so we ran in to a Bird group on their weekly bird walk.  I was fortunate as they pointed out several birds that I would have misidentified.  Take the blue-gray gnatcatcher and the black tailed gnatcatcher.  Winter black tailed sure looks like a BGG to me.  New bird, yay!

Abert's Towhee

Anna's hummingbird

Black tailed gnatcatcher

Cactus Wren

Costa's Hummingbird

Curve-billed Thrasher

Gambrel's Quail (tons of these birds) 

I remember Northern Bobwhites in these numbers

on Cape Cod when I was growing up.  Days gone by. 

Verdin

I was excited to get my first Verdin, but man by the end I was sick of this excited little bird.

Clearly a very abundant species. 

Lesser Goldfinch (female)

I'm all ears!

Rosy cheeked Luv Birds

I had to stand on my head in the brush for this pic hence the angle. 

Great time in Phoenix with some great birders. 

  

Sedona Arizona

My mom turns 80 in January and I thought it would be nice for a mother son trip to a warmer climate.  Fortunately she finds birding tolerable so...birding I did.  Yes it was nice to hang with my mom, but no it wasn't warmer.   Our trip began in Sedona....gods country!  Although my last post mentioned that I needed to live near the ocean, I could live in Sedona for at least a portion of the year.  Amazing beauty, tranquility and birding!!!  Sedona is at 4000+/- elevation so the temp first thing in the morning was below 30.  But the sky was blue and our hotel looked out on amazing scenery. 

Red Rock State Park

I wish I had a wide angle lens.  Might try to post a few pics together to give a sense of the valley.   So cool!  A picture can not tell the full story. 

Anna's Hummingbird

Bewick's Wren

Canyon Towhee  (kind of a drab looking bird..not far off from the Abert's or California)

Cooper's Hawk

Ladderback Woodpecker

Road Runner, the coyote's after you.

Road Runner, if he catches you you're through.

Road Runner, the coyote's after you. Road Runner, if he catches you you're ...

Beep Beep

Not afraid of people clearly....this dude ran between me and a docent at the park while we were discussing birding in the region. 

 

Ruby Crowned Kinglet (luv the red spot on the head)

Verdin

Western Bluebird

The species is still out with friends to ID.  The smaller empids are very difficult.  This bird was small. 

Hammond's or a Cordilleran. Anybody?

Western Meadowlark

From Sedona, we stayed two days in Phoenix and 3 days in Tucson.  Still working on the photos.  100 species and 30 lifers.  Yay!

Alcids on Cape Cod

Had all kinds of plans to get a few projects done this weekend so I had no plans to bird....what a bad idea!  I read the e-bird list for Massachusetts and there were so many great birds I threw out all my plans today and went to the Cape.  It was sooo worth it.  For some reason Razorbills are migrating in huge numbers into the area.  Most of the other alcids were also reported along the coast.   So my first stop was Sacuset Beach in Plymouth.  Sacuset is located at the end of the Cape Cod Canel where it enters Cape Cod Bay.  The current is amazingly quick so diving birds were having a feeding frenzy.  There were 20 common loons, 10 razorbills, a horned grebe and a black guillimont.  There was a report of a Lapland Longspur, but I didn't see it.  Temps were a bit chilly at sun up, but it quickly warmed up.  No wind and blue sky.   I realize my post isn't all alcids, but the alcids stole the show on this trip.

Black Guillemot

Scusett Beach

Horned Grebe,

Scusett Beach

From Plymouth I drove right down to P-town harbor.  I figured I could start there and visit locations on the way back.  Conditions were much different in P-town.  It was overcast with a steady breeze and raw, but the birding was fabulous. 

Common Eider,

MacMillan Wharf,

P-town Cape Cod

Razorbill

MacMillan Wharf,

P-town Cape Cod

Thick-billed Murre,

MacMillan Wharf,

P-town Cape Cod

In addition to the birds photographed I also saw a Brown booby (lifer), 10 harlequins, a long-tailed duck, great cormerants, and a slew of common loons.  I left P-town for Race Point to view the ocean side.  There must of been 5000 red breasted mergansers, but nothing close to shore.  Standard gulls and a few northern gannets were buzzing around.  I spent a bit of time on the beach listening to the waves. 

Sorry to my mid-western friends, but I really could never live away from the ocean.  It is truly amazing. 

I departed P-town for Wellfleet Harbor.  Heard a report of a dovekie hanging out along the dock.  It was low tide when I arrived so the birds were right along the dock.   Tons of Boneparte's Gulls diving for minnows.  I was standing on a boat ramp and up came a Red throated loon.  He didn't care that I was there.  I spent so much time gawking at the loon that I almost didn't see the Dovekie pop up next to me.   

Red-throated loon

Wellfleet Harbor

Dovekie

Wellfleet Harbor

An amazing birding day!