Two Day Trips to Bird

   Berry’s recent retirement and Robert’s flexibility as far as work both allow us to go on birding day trips, if we want. We went on two such day trips since Christmas. One Saturday, we chose to go to Little Rock, Arkansas. Even though it rained all day, we had a great trip. We followed I-40 west all the way to Little Rock. Much of the flat land in the Mississippi watershed was flooded. We drove through Brinkley, Arkansas, and through the Dagmar WMA. We did not see the Ivory Billed Woodpecker (Campephilus Principalis) as had been reported by others several years ago. What we did see was enormous flocks of Snow Geese (Chen Caerulescens) in the rice fields. The Snow Geese in these fields would have darkened the sky. They were beautiful and numerous.

   When we arrived in Little Rock it was time to eat lunch. We found a cute little local resturant called The Faded Rose. Many local Arkansans were there enjoying themselves, so we assumed it would be good. They served a New Orleans Creole type of lunch. We have been to N’awlins many times, and this reproduction of their excellent cuisine was only approximate. About a half a mile from The Faded Rose, there is the Rebsaman Golf Course. The course was deserted when we went by, due to the rain, however the area was teaming with birds and a herd of four White Tailed Deer. We saw several kinds of warblers, including the Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta Varia)), the Yellow Rumped Warbler (Setophaga Coronata), and the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga Cerulea). They were all eating berries from a tree at the entrance to the golf course. we wandered down to the Arkansas River, where we snagged a Ring Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis). We finally drove home on the tiny Highway 70 instead of busy, modern I-40.

   Last week, we went to Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee for another birding day trip. The lake was created in 1812 by the New Madrid Earthquake. Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) spend most winters at the lake. On the way to Reelfoot, we encountered snow and ice about 75 miles north of Memphis in Dyersburg. The agricultural fields were flooded, but this time instead Snow Geese, we saw ducks, gulls, and terns. We spotted an Osprey (Pandion Haliaetus) as well as Northern Shoveler (Anas Clypeata) and Northern Pintail (Anas Acuta) ducks.

   Upon arriving at the Lake, the very first bird we saw was a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus). It was soaring over the lake with its very distinctive white head and white tail. America’s official bird, or something like that.

We ate lunch at Boyette’s Dining Room. The food was neither remarkable nor memorable. The rest of the day was spent driving slowly around the lake and poking in various points to see the ducks. Late in the afternoon, we hiked an excellent nature trail on Grassy Island. There we were treated to three different species of wookpecker, the Red Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), the Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), and the Red Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). Reelfoot was for us a great day of birding.

Robert and Berry

Photos courtesy of wikipedia