[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Toe & Trey on 17:12:34 08/11/12
Trey and I went hit the sod farms again figuring the more you go, the better your chances of finding a good bird. We started at King's Ranch on US-27 as usual, finding 2 Upland Sandpipers and lots of Pectorals. From there we headed a little north and crossed to the west side of 27, just before 827A, to a field that was pretty good last week. We added a few shorebird species, including 2 Avocets which we missed last week. The fields on the east side of 27 in this area were fairly dry and only had more Pectorals. Our next stop was Brown's Farm Rd where we found the field that was very productive last week completely dry today. A little farther down there was a great looking field behind a pump unit, but there was no way to get in and all we could do was scope it at great distance and wonder what good birds might be in there. In the nearest cells we could see hundreds of Stilt Sandpipers, Yellowlegs, Dowitchers and many others. Upon leaving Brown's Farm Rd. and getting back on 880, we stopped at Six Mile Bend and found 15 Upland and a single Buff-breasted Sandpiper.
We then headed to Gladeview Rd and found the fields 1-2 miles down much dryer than last week, but there were enough puddles to still hold hundreds of shorebirds. We thought this would be our last stop, but we did some more scouting and found a field with great potential 4.8 miles down Sem Chi Rice road (a little east of Gladeview). This field had a little too much water, so shorebird numbers were low, but it may be worth checking in the coming days.
On our way back on 880, between Sem Chi and Gladeview, we drove into a private field with an operations office and asked if hey would mind if we looked for birds in the flooded field nearby. The first person said OK, so we drove down the side of the field to get a good vantage point. Before we even set up another person drove up to tell us in a nice way that because of insurance issues, we couldn't be in there. We drove back out leaving thousands upon thousands of shorebirds unchecked. This field had the highest concentration of birds we saw today.
Just then Bryant Roberts called to say he found a Wilson's Phalarope on another field further down Brown's Farm Road. To get there, we drove at least 10 miles on Brown's Farm Road past the radio tower and turned right immediately past a pump station (square white building), then past an abondoned barn building to a nice field on the left side. We checked the area and found 3 Wilson's Phalaropes close together, plus more of the usual stuff.
We managed 20 shorebird species, despite not being able to check the two best fields we found. Who knows what was in there. Still, this was worthy of a serious libation, a Stone Russian Imperial Stout.
The day's list:
BBPL
SEPL
KILL
BNST
AMAV
GRYE
LEYE
SOSA
SPSA
UPSA
RUTU
SESA
WESA
LESA
PESA
STSA
BBSA
SBDO
LBDO
WIPH
We also saw a flock of GDSW on a wire which Trey was keen to spot and great distance. Good spot!
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]