We recently discovered 19 Forster’s Terns at Boyd Point Water Treatment Plant during a recent birding field trip with a local Audubon society. Forster’s Terns are found in Arkansas during the migration season, and are medium-sized terns with a longer tail and, in nonbreeding plumage, a black eye patch (which we saw during this sighting). The terns were mixed in with Bonaparte’s Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls.
This winter, my “goal bird” was the American Wigeon. It was the bird I wanted to see. It took me until the end of winter to meet that goal – and even then I didn’t realize what I had actually seen until I got home and reviewed my photos.
The American Wigeon is a pretty duck. The male has brown-gray head with a bright green stripe behind the eye and white cap. It has a short, pale bill. I’ve zoomed in close to the male below for a better (if blurry) view. While I saw reports of them across Arkansas (they winter in the state), I saw my first two American Wigeons at Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge. They were mixed in with Gadwalls, American Coots, Blue-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers.
This winter, I began visiting the Atkins Bottoms area in Pope County. My goal was to find Tundra Swans. While I haven’t found a Tundra, I did come across a Western Meadowlark during a recent trip. I’m more used to the Eastern Meadowlark, which have darker head stripes. It helped that the Western Meadowlarks were very vocal, making identification easier. Recent trips have been filled with birds, including Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs and even a Merlin. I especially excited to see Lapland Longspurs – a first for me.
I visited the Stuttgart Municipal Airport recently with a group of birders with the hope of finding Short-eared Owls, Smith’s Longspurs, Lapland Longspurs and possibly even a Barn Owl. While we missed the Lapland Longspurs, we did get lucky on the bird front. Our checklist for the day included four Short-eared Owls, a juvenile Bald Eagle and 77 Smith’s Longspurs.
It actually turned out to be a great birding weekend. I traveled to Wynne to visit family and returned to Little Rock via Hwy. 64 through Bald Knob. The route had me stumbling across a birds such as the below Black Vulture, Fox Sparrow, Hooded Mergansers and Mallards. I even spotted a tree that had a hole that eerily looked like a face. What do you think – do you see the face?
Here’s a visual of the birds I saw:
The Belted Kingfisher was one of my aunt’s favorite birds. She always got excited when we spotted one and I now think of her every time I see one. On January 1, I passed this cooperative kingfisher sitting on a powerline almost eye level next to the bridge I was crossing. This time, I was the one who got excited to see it.
Belted Kingfishers can be found year-round in Arkansas. I typically find them close to water, whether that be a lake, a big ditch or even a swampy area with lots of big ditches nearby.
I spent New Year’s Day participating in the Christmas Bird Count for Lake Dardanelle. It was my first time scouting my particular section, but it was fun, albeit foggy. My most exciting find: A Lesser Black-backed Gull. It was the only one spotted during the count, although the gull has been seen in the area for the past few days.
This particular gull is a first winter with its checkered brown and white body and black bill. AllAboutBirds.org reports that the Lesser Black-backed Gull is common in Eurasia and was once a great rarity in North America; however, it is now becoming relatively common as a winter guest along the eastern coastline even though nesting here has yet to be confirmed. Its range map includes Arkansas in its nonbreeding (scarce) zone. According to eBird, we’ve had a sighting every year since 2016 in the state.
Yesterday, a Short-billed Gull (previously called a Mew Gull until 2021) was spotted at Lake Dardanelle. It’s the small-ish gull standing alone near the middle of the photo with a slightly darker gray back, round head, yellow bill and dark eye.
This gull had birders in a tizzy today – the gull is typically found along the western coastline of the USA, and I’m told these gull rarely travel to the rest of the nation. I arrived at 10:30 a.m. to a flock of people with scopes looking for this sole gull in over 5,000 Ring-billed gulls (the other gulls in the photo). If you are thinking yikes – you said it. It was mind-numbing and basically impossible for me. Luckily, the original spotter was kind enough to spend most of the afternoon with me searching for it. He and his wife were actually the ones who spotted it for me.
I traveled to Siloam Springs yesterday to find Common Mergansers that were reported on the Siloam Springs City Lake Park. The rare birds were spotted by the boat launch days before, and birders had reported them still being there each day. I quickly spotted them in the distance upon arrival but lost them when I drove around the lake to get a better look.
So, I decided to check out the rest of the city park. They have a pretty cool duck blind set up so people can quietly enter and watch the water birds. It was definitely worth the stop – I saw plenty of ducks, cormorants, sparrows, pied-billed grebes and the Common Mergansers. The Common Mergansers actually flew in and landed right in front of the blind, providing me a perfect look at them even without my camera.
The nonbreeding range for the Common Merganser just dips into the North-Northwest area of Arkansas, although we don’t see them often. eBird reports 356 observations of the species, although I suspect many of those are recent with this sighting. They’ve been spotted within the state from October to May.
I used to visit Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge each year when I visited my aunt living in Marion. I loved visiting the refuge; however, those visits slowly stopped after my aunt moved, first, to Jonesboro, then to Little Rock to live with me.
On Saturday, I was in the area so I made a pit stop. It was a good visit. Here are some highlights:
The Barn owl has always been one of the top birds that I wanted to see in Arkansas. I finally got the chance yesterday. A birder was gracious enough to take me out to the barn where this pair roosts and nests. They have actually called this barn home for years.
My Dad said a pair of Barn Owls used to nest in a family barn when he was growing up, and he and his siblings used to talk about going to the barn to see the pair and their young. I think hearing those stories is one of the reasons I always wanted to see one myself.
Barn Owls are native to the United States and can be found across the nation. However, it is not common to see one. They hunt at night and sleep during the day. Plus, in some parts of the nation, their numbers are declining due to habitat loss. They require large areas of open land to hunt in – whether it is marsh, grasslands or mixed agricultural fields, according to AllAboutBirds.org. They nest and roost in quiet cavities such as in tress or man-made structures like this barn.
According to AllAboutBirds.org, the Northern American Barn Owl is the largest of the 46 difference races of the Barn Owl found worldwide. The North American Barn Owl weighs more than twice as much as the smallest race from the Galápagos Islands. In the photos, the darker, larger owl is the female. The females tend to be more reddish with more spots on its chest.
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
We preserve, conserve, and study the native plants of Arkansas
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Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Think left & think right & think low & think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!" -Dr. Seuss
I previously worked as a news and sports photographer. Recently I have been enjoying wildlife photography. My approach toward bird photos is similar to sports photography. I attempt to capture mostly action and hopefully a unique perspective.
Urbanites in the woods, doing all our own stunts.
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Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
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