August 2022 – Memos for Me

Tricolored Heron

August 23, 2022

I saw my first Tricolored Heron at Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge. It looks similar to a Great Blue Heron except it has a white belly, a stripe down the neck, and a yellow section that runs from the beak to around the eyes. According to allaboutbirds.org, the Tricolored Heron is common in southern saltmarshes although its range is along the eastern and southern coastline of the United States.

Two neat facts I found on All About Birds: “Tricolored Herons sometimes follow behind Double-crested Cormorants and Pied-billed Grebes snapping up fish that they stir up.” The oldest one recorded was 17 years and 8 months old.

Tricolored Herons can be found in Arkansas each year but rarely.

Great-tailed Grackle

August 5, 2022

I recently stopped at a Prescott truck stop in southwest Arkansas, and found Great-tailed Grackles. These blackbirds are beautiful with sharp yellow eyes, black bills and legs, and a super long tail. Their feathers are iridescent.

Great-tailed Grackles are not as common in Arkansas, although they can be found year-round in the western part of the state near the border by Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana.

Photos: Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d’Arc WMA

August 4, 2022

I recently visited the Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d’ Arc Wildlife Management Area outside of Hope in Hempstead County. Established as a WMA in the 1950s, my goal was to find a Purple Gallinule.

Similar to the Common Gallinule, this marsh bird is chicken sized. I’ve seen the common Gallinule plenty before, but not the Purple Gallinule. This visit had me seeing plenty as they walked across vegetation on the water. They are typically found in pockets of Arkansas during breeding season.

The visit was enjoyable, and I was happy to get a better photo and look of an Anhinga.

Here’s some other photos of what I saw:

Photos: Bald Knob WMA Revisited

August 1, 2022

The Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge never disappoints. I never know what I am going to find, and the latest visit didn’t disappoint. This visit included four Black Terns (including one molting adult) flying above and sitting in the fields neighboring Coal Chute Road. Black Terns migrate through most of the United States, with some of their breeding range including the very northern part of the nation. Its non breeding range is along the coast of Central America and the top part of South America.

This was my first time to see Black Terns. While they were the only firsts for me today, there were plenty of other birds who were very cooperative in being photographed: