Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Memos for Me

Birding at Bell Slough WMA

July 4, 2020

Kentucky Warbler1 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Kentucky Warbler

A few weeks back – okay April, I’m just now getting to these photos – I visited Bell Slough Wildlife Management Area near Mayflower. It was my first time there, and I took the Kenny Vernon Nature Trail. It’s a 2.25 mile trail, and includes a variety of habitats such as flood fields, an area with a shale surface, and woods as well as elevation changes.

There is a boardwalk at the start of the trail, which was actually flooded so I went back to town and bought rain boots to go through the water in. But, it was worth it – the day was beautiful and there were tons of birds singing. Prothonotary Warblers were actually all over this section of the trail.

My most exciting find was a Kentucky Warbler (a first for me!!) that allowed me to get a really good look. Below are a few of my other finds:

Black-and-white Warbler 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Black-and-white Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler3 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Prothonotary Warbler

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher2 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Northern Parula 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Northern Parula

Ruby-throated Hummingbird2 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Hairy Woodpecker1 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Hairy Woodpecker

Summer Tanager1 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Summer Tanager

Swainson's Thrush 04252020 Bell Slough Wildlife Area — Swainson’s Thrush

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

Walk it off

April 9, 2020

Pine Warbler3 032120 Bufflehead Bay — Pine Warbler

Recently, we took a walk at Bufflehead Bay near the Jolly Roger’s Marina to get out, enjoy the good weather and see what birds we could find. There were TONS of common loons as well as other little birds like the above Pine Warbler.

Just a note: We did practice social distancing. 🙂

Common Loon (male)

Common Loon (female)

American Crow

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Carolina Chickadee

Season of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers

April 6, 2020

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on nest Bufflehead Bay 04052020 — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

During yesterday’s walk at Bufflehead Bay just west of Little Rock, I discovered a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on a nest. I’m pretty excited since the nest overlooks the main trail. I seem to be spotting a lot of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers this season. Thank goodness they are so darn cute. Another cool sighting: an Easter Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on nest2 Bufflehead Bay 04052020 — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher4 Bufflehead Bay 04052020 — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Bufflehead Bay 04052020 — Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Bald Knob NWR

June 25, 2018

American Golden-Plover.042118.BKNWR — American Golden-Plover

I love Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge. It’s halfway between my house and the Jonesboro/Wynne area so it’s an AWESOME place for me to take a break from interstate driving and have some fun. There’s different birds to see year-round, and I’ve gotten pretty lucky in the past several weeks. I’ve visited a lot more these past few months — especially since I finally purchased a 600mm lens.

The refuge is best known for migrating waterfowl, and I can usually find shorebirds there year-round. So far, my best finds have been an out-of-season American Golden-Plover, a White-faced Ibis and a Yellow-headed blackbird.

blue-gray gnatcatcher.042118.BKNWR — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

american golden plover.061018.BKNWR — American Golden-Plover

yellow-headed blackbird.042118.BKNWR — Yellow-headed Blackbird

Northern Rough-winged Swallow.062418.BKNWR — Northern Rough-winged swallow

Yellow-breasted Chat.062418.BKNWR — Yellow-breasted Chat

eastern towhee.042118.BKNWR — Eastern Towhee

swamp sparrow.042118.BKNWR — Swamp Sparrow

white-faced ibis.042118.BKNWR — White-faced Ibis

great blue heron.062418.bknwr — Great Blue Heron

New Finds: Northern Bobwhite, more

July 12, 2017

Northern Bobwhite1 071017 Greenbrier.JPG — Northern Bobwhite

During a recent drive back from Greenbrier, I stumbled across a Northern Bobwhite just hanging out on a fence. It was a pleasant surprise, especially since I had just spotted my first Black Vulture as well! Below are photos of the Black Vulture and other birds I found. 🙂

black vulture 071017 Greenbrier.JPG — Black Vulture

Indigo Bunting 071017 Greenbrier.JPG — Indigo Bunting

Least Sandpiper 071017 Greenbrier.JPG — Least Sandpiper

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 071017 Greenbrier.JPG — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (male)

Memos for Me

Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.

Tag: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher