Common Yellowthroat – Memos for Me

Photos: Migration Season

May 9, 2023

I’ve been heavily birding the past few weekends to take advantage of the birds passing through Arkansas. And I’ve gotten lucky with my sightings so far. This past weekend, a Lark Bunting was spotted in Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge. Luckily, I was able to head that way about an hour or two after it was first reported. Boy, am I glad I headed that way. I went back the next morning and the bird could not be refound.

Lark Buntings are not common for Arkansas, but more to the mid-west of us. Think Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and moving up from there to parts of North Dakota, Montana, and Canada during the breeding season. Nonbreeding season is spent in Central Arkansas and parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Here are a few other birds – and animals – I was excited to find:

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:

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

Photos: Ever Enough Birds?

January 28, 2020

Black and White Warbler 050616 Jonesboro.JPG — Black and White Warbler

Earlier today, friends asked me at separate times about what birds I’ve seen lately and what pictures I’ve taken lately because they haven’t seen me post anything on social media. Well…I had to say none lately, which is depressing. So, here’s a few I’ve found over the past few years.