Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge

Surprising find: Soras

September 5, 2021

I was taking a photo of a Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs (pictured at the bottom of the above photo) when a Sora casually walked out of the rice and began walking around. I definitely wasn’t expecting that to happen. I was snapping photos when, all of a sudden, a second one appears.

Soras are a secretive marsh bird that can be found throughout the United States at various points in the year, according to AllAboutBirds.org. They can be found in Arkansas during migration season. However, they aren’t expected to be sighted at the moment in Arkansas.

Photos: Birds of Bald Knob’s refuge

April 19, 2020

Bald Eagles1 BKNWR 04182020.JPG — Juvenile Bald Eagles

This weekend, I visited Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge and, OH MY GOSH, it was a FANTASTIC weekend. I recorded a record number of birds in eBird that included some firsts for me. Here are my highlights:

Common Gallinule BKNWR 04182020_edited-1 — Common Gallinule

Yellow-headed Blackbird BKNWR 04182020_edited-1 — Yellow-headed Blackbird

Black-necked Stilt BKNWR 04182020 — Black-necked Stilt

Red-shouldered Hawk2 BKNWR 04182020_edited-1 — Red-shouldered Hawk

Common Yellowthroat BKNWR 04182020 — Common Yellowthroat

Bald Eagles2 BKNWR 04182020_edited-1 — Bald Eagles

Currently loving: Common Yellowthroat

April 11, 2020

Common Yellowthroat3 BKNWR 040420 — Common Yellowthroat

I stumbled across a Common Yellowthroat during a recent trip to Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge. Not going to lie, it took me a good 20-ish minutes to finally spot/identify this little guy. I could see two birds sprinting around in the shrubs across a huge ditch from me, but they were moving too fast for me to see clearly at first. I finally caught the one pictured above just resting in a bush.

This morning trip fielded about 28 different species of birds for me. Some of my highlights are below:

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher1 BKNWR 040420 — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Yellow-rumped Warbler3 BKNWR 040420 — Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher5 BKNWR 040220 — Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and a Red-bellied Woodpecker

Double-Crested Cormorant BKNWR 040420 — Double-crested Cormorant

Eastern Bluebird BKNWR 040420 — Eastern Bluebird

Olive-sided Flycatcher

December 7, 2019

Olive-sided Flycatcher 092819PM BKNWR

So…when I took this photo on Sept. 28 at Bald Knob National Wildlife, I thought it was another species of bird. I recently realized I never went through these photos so I began taking a look. Yep, it’s an Olive-sided Flycatcher.

Below is another photo taken that day of a Great Blue Heron that I just like.

Great Blue Heron 092819PM BKNWR

Photos: A Better View

November 30, 2019

The American Kestrel is such a hard bird to photograph – it takes off any time I get too close. However, this one at Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge showed no fear! Another first for me: this pair of Northern Harriers I found together.

Capturing Merlin

October 29, 2019

While the Say’s Phoebe I photographed the other day caught my attention and excitement immediately, it wasn’t the only bird I saw. The Say’s Phoebe just happened to be the only rare-to-the-area one.

I also saw a Merlin – a first for me.

Rare find: Say’s Phoebe

October 28, 2019

Say's Phoebe 2102719 BKNWR

Yesterday, I made a trip back to my hometown in Northeast Arkansas and, naturally, I couldn’t resist stopping at Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge on my way back to see what birds I could find.

I got lucky. Right off the bat, I found a Say’s Phoebe – which is rare to the area according to eBird.org. The Say’s Phoebe is a medium-sized flycatcher that is typically found in the western part of the United States.

Butterflies & hummingbirds

October 14, 2019

Butterfly 091419 BKNWR.JPG

A few finds from a quick trip through Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 091419 BKNWR.JPG — Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Eastern Wood-Pewee 091419 BKNWR.JPG — Eastern Wood-Pewee

Bald Knob NWR: Recent Finds

September 10, 2019

Pectoral Sandpiper1 BKNWR 090819.jpg — Pectoral Sandpiper

Recently, I found several firsts at Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge: the above Pectoral Sandpiper and the below Least Flycatcher.

Least Flycatcher BKNWR 090819.JPG — Least Flycatcher

However, these weren’t my only finds. See more below. 🙂

American Avocet2 090119 BKNWR — American Avocet

Blue Grosbeak 090119 BKNWR — Blue Grosbeak

Great Blue Heron 090119 BKNWR — Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron2 090119 BKNWR — Great Blue Heron

Colorful view

September 6, 2019

Flower2 (winter vetch) 051119 BKNWR.JPG

The good thing about visiting Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge is that I can usually find something for each member of my party (which typically includes family members). For my aunt, that means flowers. So, you can imagine we were happy to find these flowers this past May.

Flower3 (winter vetch) 051119 BKNWR.JPG

Memos for Me

Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.

Category: Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge