Birding the Delta National Forest

We started out this morning in Yazoo City, MS with the gray sky full of ominous clouds. We grabbed coffee and drove deep into the forested wetlands of Delta National Forest. We also enjoyed the hardwood forests of the Sunflower Wildlife Management Area. The Delta National Forest is 60,115 acres in the Yazoo Basin of the Mississippi River. It lies just north of Vicksburg. We found the main road to be crowded with camouphlaged deer hunters with their pick-ups and muddy four-wheelers. The forest was huge and we could easily get away from the mighty hunters and do our birding in relative solitude.

The sky looked threatening all day long, but it did not rain heavily while we were actually birding in the forest. Because of the sprinkles we birded mostly from the car. Berry stared at some branches on her side of the car. She quietly whispered to me the word, "tow-hee" and gestured to her right. There was a delightful white-eyed Eastern Towhee staring back at me.

Some other birds we saw today were :

• Black Vulture
• Common Tern
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Eastern Bluebird
• Tufted Titmouse
• Wood Duck
• Yellow Bellied Sapsucker
• White Eyed Eastern Towhee

After a wonderful morning of birding, we drove to Vicksburg, MS and had a very nice lunch in the downtown area. Robert had Cajun Catfish with Roasted Corn and Berry had the Seafood Lasagna. Yum, yum! Topped that off with Bread Pudding and Ice Cream. As we were leaving the resturant, it stated to rain. Immediately after we got into the car, the bottom dropped out ot the sky with heavy, driving rain. We were quite lucky that we were able to stay dry.

The rain continued for the next several hours as Berry drove across southern Mississippi down to Slidell, Louisianna, where we got a hotel room for the night. We ate dinner at a local resturant and again had very good food. Robert put Cajun hot sauce on his salad. Berry ate Grilled Tuna and Stuffed Mushrooms. Robert dipped his Ribeye into Berry's Spicy Remoulade Sauce.

According to the Weather Channel, there is a 70% chance of rain tomorrow. When it rains and the sky is difficult, birds light on limbs and on the water's surface. In birding, this is called "Fall-Out". We are stoked for a great day of birding tomorrow.

Robert and Berry