Decatur, Alabama
November 8, 2014
Seven NTOS members ventured to the refuge in Decatur, Alabama for our November field trip. We were met at the Visitor’s Center by Refuge Project Manager and longtime friend Dwight Cooley. It was a beautiful sunny morning and no sooner did we step out of our cars when the delightful song of Sandhill Cranes filled the air and treated us to great looks as they flew directly overhead. Our first stop was the observation tower at the Visitor’s Center. Highlights there included PINE WARBLER, SANDHILL CRANES, WOOD DUCKS, GADWALLS and AMERICAN WIGEON. Then it was onto Beaver Dam. Highlights here were HORNED LARKS, NORTHERN HARRIER, and a VESPERS SPARROW. Limestone Bay was our next stop where we were treated to GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 700+ WHITE PELICANS, LEAST and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS and a REDHEADED WOODPECKER. From there we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Greenbrier Barbacue…the hush puppies were plentiful and oh so yummy. After lunch we went to the opposite side of Limestone Bay where we found about 250 SNOW GEESE and about 4 ROSS’S GEESE among the group. Onward to White Springs Dike next where highlights included NORTHERN SHOVELER, GREAT EGRETS, a GREAT HORNED OWL, AMERICAN PIPITS and another 400 WHITE PELICANS. We ended our day back at the Visitor’s Center where we were treated to fantastic views of 3 adult WHOOPING CRANES right outside the observation tower. A wonderful ending to a great day. All tolled we had 69 species. The complete list can be viewed below.
Many thanks to go out to Dwight for a delightful bird filled day.
Complete trip list:
| Snow Goose Ross’ Goose Canada Goose Wood Duck Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorants Great Blue Heron Great Egrets Turkey Vulture Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel American Coot Sandhill Cranes Whooping Cranes Killdeer Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Ring-billed Gull Mourning Dove Rock Pigeon Great Horned Owl Belted Kingfisher Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe Blue Jay American Crow Horned Larks Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush American Robin Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher American Pipet Cedar Waxwings Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow |
Cyndi Routledge
