Field
Trip Reports
Central Ozark Highlands
June 20, 2009
Leif Anderson graciously guided 16 other birders along various roads off
Scenic Highway 7 in Ozark National Forest. We found most of our target
breeding warblers. Along Sulphur Rd. near Pelsor, we scored 5 CERULEAN
WARBLERS, 4 Ovenbirds, 4 Hooded Warblers, and 2 Kentucky Warblers. Along
Page Hollow Rd. we added another Cerulean plus a cooperative Yellow-throated
Warbler and an uncooperative Black-throated Green Warbler. Two Prairie
Warblers were another easy get on Granny Gap Rd. Worm-eating Warblers kept
quiet. We encountered 38 species in all. Thanks, Leif, for contributing to
yet another successful ASCA outing!
Species Observed:
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Turkey Vulture |
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Carolina Chickadee |
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Hooded Warbler |
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Red-shouldered Hawk |
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Tufted Titmouse |
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Yellow-breasted Chat |
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Broad-winged Hawk |
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White-breasted Nuthatch |
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Summer Tanager |
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Red-tailed Hawk |
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Carolina Wren |
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Eastern Towhee |
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Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
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Chipping Sparrow |
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Chimney Swift |
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Black-throated Green Warbler |
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Northern Cardinal |
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
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Yellow-throated Warbler |
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Blue Grosbeak |
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Red-headed Woodpecker |
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Pine Warbler |
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Indigo Bunting |
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Downy Woodpecker |
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Prairie Warbler |
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Brown-headed Cowbird |
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Pileated Woodpecker |
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Cerulean Warbler |
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American Goldfinch |
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Acadian Flycatcher |
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Black-and-white Warbler |
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White-eyed Vireo |
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Ovenbird |
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Yellow-throated Vireo |
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Kentucky Warbler |
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Red-eyed Vireo |
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Common Yellowthroat |
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Dan Scheiman
May 9, 2009
Allsopp and Murray Parks
Twenty-one birders arrived at Allsopp Park to count Pulaski County birds for
Spring Migration Count. Allsopp was pretty quiet. A singing male
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, two male CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS, a male American
Restart, a Black-throated Green Warbler, and a Kentucky Warbler were the
only parulids of note. Both White-eyed and Red-eyed Vireos gave us
excellent looks. We watched a Mississippi Kite deposit a stick in the top
of a tree.
About half of us moved to the Big Dam Bridge and Murray Park. Swallows and
orioles were plentiful. A few hundred CLIFF SWALLOWS were nesting on the
bridge. Along the trail to the west of the bridge we picked up 2 MAGNOLIA
WARBLERS, a male American Redstart, and a Yellow-breasted Chat. In Murray
Park we heard but never saw a male YELLOW WARBLER, saw but never heard an
immature male PAINTED BUNTING, and saw and heard a WILLOW FLYCATCHER!
We detected 67 species. Many participants saw lifers and all had a great
time.
Dan Scheiman
April 4, 2009
Bell Slough WMA and Camp Robinson Special
Use Area
Mayflower, AR
Spring Fever was evident as 29 birders enthusiastically enjoyed warm
camaraderie and a gorgeous, sunny morning birding east of Conway. Our first
stop was the Camp Robinson Special Use Area. Spring migrants are beginning
to arrive. Yellow-throated Vireo, Black-and-white Warblers, and the always
busy Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were spotted. A pair of LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES
gave several people a life or state bird. A Fish Crow flew over and obliging
did his "uh-uh" call. A phenomenally accommodating BACHMAN’S SPARROW perched
high in a tree a stone’s throw from the road. As it sang and preened,
everyone got multiple looks through scope and binoculars. Several stood
under the tree snapping close-up photos of the cooperative celebrity, a life
and state bird for many! We totaled 33 species for the area.
Our next stop was the dam at Lake Conway. An adult BALD EAGLE, then an
OSPREY treated us to flyovers. Ruddy Ducks, including a male with his
brilliant blue bill and cocked tail, were a new species for our novice
birders. Tree Swallows swooped over the lake. A pair of Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers flew in and out of their tiny, lichen-covered nest. Our FOS
SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER sat on an overhead wire. A FOS Green Heron skulked
around the edge of the boat ramp, for a final count of 17 species at the
dam.
We then crossed over the spillway and into the north entrance of Bell
Slough. Our walking distance was limited by high water from recent rains.
However, we did see 14 species in the short time we were there. NORTHERN
PARULAS were heard and seen in several spots. A BROWN THRASHER, perched high
in a tree, did his imitation of a Mockingbird with multiple calls, chirps,
and snippets of songs. We were fascinated by a White-eyed Vireo, watching as
he sang, bill wide open, getting glimpses of the inside of its mouth which
was totally black! It was a striking contrast to his fresh breeding plumage.
An immature BALD EAGLE did a quick fly-by. Be sure to keep this entrance of
Bell Slough on your birding hot spot list as an excellent site for spring
migrants.
Karen Holliday
Karen Holliday
March 14, 2009
Pine Bluff and Cane Creek State Park
Birds were the bright spots on a dreary, cold, and damp day in which
fourteen birders met at the Delta Rivers Nature Center in Pine
Bluff. Director Rusty Scarborough showed off the center's captive
Golden Eagle, and Three Rivers Audubon member Marde Clardy
interpreted for us as we walked the trails. After completing the
loop we headed to the Boyd Point Wastewater Treatment Facility where
we all had fabulous looks at three cooperative EARED GREBES among the
1500 Ruddy Ducks and 3000 Northern Shovelers. Then it was back over
to Lake Saracen where highlights were three American White Pelicans,
45 Purple Martins, and two NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS. After a
brief stop at the Bayou Bartholomew Trail head (to show everyone
where it is) we drove south to Cane Creek State Park to spy on two
eagle nests. Both pairs where at their respective nests along with a
single young in one nest and two young in the other nest. Fifteen
TREE SWALLOWS over the lake were another reminder that spring is
around the corner. We saw 60 species that day.
Dan Scheiman
Two Rivers
Park and Lake Maumelle
February
14, 2009
Twenty-one birders gathered at
Two Rivers Park for a Love-Bird Walk as a way to celebrate our love for
birds on Valentine's Day and participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Three birders had never attended our field trips before; we hope they
enjoyed the experience and join us again and again. We saw 53 species for
the day. At least two immature Bald Eagles soared overhead. A few lucky
birders had great looks at a HENSLOW'S SPARROW in a broomsedge field (a
first for the park), and everyone examined a treed LE CONTE'S
SPARROW. A GRAY CATBIRD is a notable find in winter. Reliable at the park
were at least two VIRGINIA RAILS along the main trail. By 11:00 we were on
Lake Maumelle. Heat shimmers were completely absent, providing superb
viewing across the lake. Unfortunately only one Common Loon was evident
from one of the three access points we visited. A single GREATER SCAUP was
the only other notable sighting.
--Dan
Scheiman
January 31, 2009
Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Dardanelle
Twenty-five central Arkansas birders spent a beautiful, fun-filled dayin
the field. Starting on Lake Dardanelle, we saw an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULL from the Nichols' property (aka Kiddie Pool Point), and had close-up
looks at the second cycle THAYER'S GULL at Delaware Recreation Area.
At Holla Bend NWR it wasn't long before an immature GOLDEN EAGLE soared
past us near the observation tower, giving scopable looks for some. While
watching the eagle two TUNDRA SWANS and two unbanded TRUMPETER SWANS flew
right by, making for easy size comparisons. Elsewhere in the refuge 7
green-banded Trumpeter Swans rested in a field. They were far away and had
their heads down, making it impossible to read neck band numbers. We didn't
see any American Tree Sparrows, but a MERLIN was an unexpected treat for
those of us who spied it before it zoomed off. Although we had plenty of
people to form a long line, we did not flush Short-eared Owls from the field
across from the observation tower.
January 17, 2009
Stuttgart Airport
Ten intrepid birders, including two from Alabama, braved the cold and
winds of eastern Arkansas to bird Stuttgart Airport (Important Bird Area) on
a trip organized by Audubon Society of Central Arkansas. We saw our primary
target species - SMITH'S LONGSPUR. We flushed them many times but no more
than six at a time, and never got a good look at them on the ground.
After most of the group headed to Roth Prairie Natural Area for
Short-eared Owls, the four of us who stayed in hopes of getting better looks
at longspurs flushed THREE SPRAGUE'S PIPITS from the grass patches between
the apron and north-south runway. We even had one in the scope.
Following that, Samantha Holschbach and I drove the county roads
enclosing the airport and found LAPLAND LONGSPURS mixed with Horned Larks.
Finally, we birded Pine City Natural Area. We arrived at 3 and in no time
watched a family of three RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS foraging a bit south of
their cavity cluster. With that goal obtained so early, we had time to
wander around the area. It was an enjoyable and fairly birdy hike but we
didn't see anything else of note.
Dan Scheiman
Little Rock, AR
Dan Scheiman
Little Rock, AR
