Field Trips

Dress appropriately for the trips. Bring your own binoculars and scopes. You may need to bring a sack lunch unless a specific announcement indicates otherwise. In the summer bring plenty of water, sunscreen and bug repellant.

Kestrel by Sharen Carter

Spring 2008 Field Trips

May 10, 2008

International Migratory Bird Day

Allsopp and Murray Parks, Terry Lock & Dam, Little Rock

We will be celebrating International Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, May 10^th with a field trip to Allsopp and Murray Parks, and Terry Lock & Dam. Both parks have great habitat for spring migrants. We will meet at 7:30 a.m. at the lower entrance to Allsopp Park. To get there from west Little Rock, take Cantrell Road to Cedar Hill Road. Turn right at the traffic light, go about 1 block and turn right into the park. We will meet at the far end of the parking lot, closest to the trail. From Allsopp, we will travel to nearby Murray Park.

Afterwards, we will meet for lunch at Whole Hog Cafe, located at 2516 Cantrell Road. For those who wish to continue birding after lunch, we will go on to Terry Lock & Dam. Our target bird there will be Painted Bunting.

All birders are welcome. For more information contact Karen Holliday at karenh@arkleg.state.ar.us

Field Trip Reports

Camp Robinson Special Use Area and Woolly Hollow State Park

April 12, 2008

Our April trip was scheduled for Cook’s Lake and the new Visitors Center at the White River NWR. Due to severe flooding at both sites, plus an significant inundation of buffalo gnats at Cook’s Lake, we changed our destination to a bug-free and higher-ground location. Saturday morning, seventeen birders headed to the Camp Robinson Special Use area to find Bachman’s Sparrows. The day was cool and very windy. Arriving at the site, we could hear several sparrows singing over the noise of the wind. We weren’t able to get the birds to tee up in the wind, except in one instance, giving part of the group a good but quick look.

The group then drove to Woolly Hollow State Park. Jerry Butler met us there and reported seeing a Blue-winged Warbler and an osprey while he waited for us to arrive. Jeff Lawrence, a beginning birder from Greenbrier, was pleased to join us. We walked the first part of the Huckleberry Trail, from the trail head to the campground. It was still windy and birds were scarce, but several critters were out enjoying the sunshine. We spotted skinks, lizards, two garter snakes, plus a multitude of butterflies and lovely spring flowers. The dogwoods were numerous and quite showy. After a picnic lunch, several birders stayed to walk the trail below the dam. We didn’t relocate Jerry’s Blue-winged Warbler but did find a Northern Parula, a life, state, and year bird for several.

Some of the group needed a Louisiana Waterthrush, so we headed back to Camp Robinson to a location where a pair of Waterthrush nest each year. No sign of the birds. The stream in their little ravine has been quite high for a while due to all the rain, which might be one reason the birds weren’t there. We had a total of 34 species for the day.

Karen Holliday

Warren Prairie and Moro Big Pine

March 15, 2008

Our March field trip, originally scheduled for March 8, was postponed due to snowy weather. We rescheduled for March 15 and kept our fingers crossed the Henslow’s Sparrows would still be at Warren Prairie. Henslow’s don’t do well in snow and it was close to time for them to leave the state. Our luck held! The weather was great and 17 enthusiastic birders in rubber knee boots arrived at Warren Prairie to trudge through the wet fields. Bill Holiman gave an excellent overview of the unique characteristics of the Natural Area and an explanation of how the salt slick barrens and prairie mound woodlands were formed. With Bill leading the way, we immediately flushed two very cooperative Henslow’s and spent 15 minutes admiring them and getting stunning, close-up views through Bill’s scope. The sparrows were life birds for many! We spent the rest of the morning spotting an interesting variety of birds scattered throughout the diverse habitat. Before leaving Warren Prairie, we flushed two more Henslow’s!

After a quick stop for an outdoor lunch at the Bulldog Café in Hampton, we headed for the Moro Big Pine Natural Area-WMA. Through excellent habitat management of the loblolly-shortleaf pine flatwoods, Moro Big Pine is now home to at least two dozen Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Our group inspected three accessible RCW’s roost sites, whose trees exhibited the characteristic resin trails. No birds were present as it was early afternoon and they were still out foraging. We stopped to admire a Pygmy Rattlesnake sunning itself in the middle of the road. Keith Newton, who has a cabin on nearby Champaganole Creek, joined us. After showing Keith the roost sites, we followed him to his cabin, which sits on the bayou area of the creek. He gave an interesting account of the diversity of wildlife and flora that he sees around his cabin. We ended the day with 39 species of birds, new birding friends, and a good familiarity of the two areas for future birding trips. –Karen Holliday

Stuttgart Airport

February 9, 2008

Yesterday (Feb 9), Audubon Society of Central AR birded Stuttgart Airport (Important Bird Area). Twenty-six birders gathered together including 3 from Three Rivers Audubon. We saw 25 species. The weather was perfect and the birds cooperated; we saw most of our targets. Once again the SMITH'S LONGSPURS showed how easily they can hide in the grass, even at close range, but we were able to see all the distinguishing field marks on birds in flight. We saw at least 55 Smith's but not a single Lapland; the ag fields might have had too much vegetation, too much henbit for their liking. We didn't have to flush SHORT-EARED OWLS to see them in flight (and be scolded by a Harrier for being up at the wrong hour), though later one person did flush a remarkable 12 birds as he got closer to take photos! A LE CONTE'S SPARROW gave us great looks as it perched in a saltbush, whereas a SEDGE WREN flew among us but never perched up. Despite being rarely reported this season, a few of us lucked on a single SPRAGUE'S PIPIT at the exact spot marked on Dennis's map. http://web.mac.com/dmbraddy/Arkansas_Birder/Hotspots/Entries/2008/2/8_Stuttgart_Municipal_Airport.html Another successful trip! Please join ASCA on March 8 for a trip to Warren Prairie Natural Area, home of the largest wintering population of HENSLOW'S SPARROWS in the state.

Dan Scheiman
Little Rock, AR

HOLLA BEND NWR
JANUARY 19, 2008
Yesterday, 32 birders met at Holla Bend NWR for Audubon Society of Central AR's monthly trip. With so many people we thoroughly covered the area where the Common Ground-Doves had been but did not find them. However our numbers did help us flush many sparrows including several Le Conte's, and later a Short-eared Owl across from the observation tower. Two Trumpeter Swans flew up from the oxbow. Then we headed to Country Loop Rd. where were unable to relocate the Bewick's Wren or a Harris's Sparrow, but we did get excellent looks at a mammal-carrying Sharp-shinned Hawk and two Purple Finches. Then it was off to the Lake Dardanelle Dam where, despite two rounds of back-and-forth between north and south sides, we did not find the Brown Pelican, Laughing Gull, or Rock Wren. Those species had been seen the day before, earlier that day, or in another location so they are still around if anyone else wants to look. It was an exciting, fast-paced day of chasing rarities, several birders got life/state/year birds, and everyone had fun, so I'd call it a success!
If you are interested in chasing these rarities (again) and want a group of birders to bird with, then note that the Disorganized Bird Club will be going to Holla Bend next Saturday, Jan 26. Contact Sally Jo Gibson sjogibson@windstream.net for more information.
Dan Scheiman, Little Rock, AR