Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Land Between the Lakes

With just a couple more weeks to go until the arrival of the first spring wildflowers, we have keeping ourselves busy over the last few weeks by doing some winter birding around the region. This past weekend we took a trip out to western Kentucky, namely Land Between the Lakes and Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge, to see some birds that are difficult to find here in central Kentucky. In total for the trip, we saw an astonishing 92 species of birds, several of them lifers for me and a couple lifers for JohnRyan. I added 22 new species to my 2013 list on this trip, bringing my 2013 total to 100 species! My lofty goal for the year is to see 300 species of birds.    

Highlights for the trip were: northern harriers by the dozens, short-eared owls, rough-legged hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, merlin, snow geese, ross's geese, greater-white fronted geese, cackling geese, green-winged teals, northern pintails, least sandpipers, bald eagles, american white pelicans, loggerhead shrikes, northern shrike, american widgeons, bonaparte's gulls, greater AND lesser scaup, canvasback, pine warbler, and brown-headed nuthatches just to name a few.

Here are just a few photos of the trip. I'll do some blog posts in the near future that highlight some of the species and places we visited in more depth and detail. Enjoy!

JohnRyan photographing gulls that were flying around the churning waters below the Kentucky Lake Dam.

A cove on Lake Barkley that was full of common goldeneyes, lesser scaup, greater scaup, herring gulls, ruddy ducks, and buffleheads.

A pair of brown-headed nuthatches perched on a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) branch. This nuthatch species typically inhabits pine forests found much further south than Kentucky, but a small group of brown-headed nuthatches makes their residence in this secretive grove of pines out in western Kentucky.

Brown-headed nuthatch in a loblolly pine grove in western Kentucky.

An uncommon wintering resident, we found this beautiful male pine warbler hanging out in the same grove of pines as the aforementioned brown-headed nuthatches. 

Male pine warbler

Grove of loblolly pines (Pinus taeda) where we found the brown-headed nuthatches, pine warbler,  red-headed woodpeckers, brown creepers, and a nesting pair of bald eagles.

A male yellow-bellied sapsucker hanging out on the side of this tree at Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

A male ruby-crowned kinglet at Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

A shallow marsh at Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge was absolutely loaded with all kinds of waterfowl. There were about a hundred greater-white fronted geese, hundred or so snow geese, dozens of Ross's geese, dozens of northern pintails, northern shovelers, mallards, green-winged teals, and american widgeon. A "gray ghost" male northern harrier and a bald eagle were circling the marsh as well. 

Greater white-fronted geese, snow geese, and Ross's geese in flight.

Greater white-fronted geese, snow geese, and Ross's geese in flight.

Greater white-fronted geese, snow geese, and Ross's geese in flight.

Canada geese, both the blue-morph and white-morphs of the snow goose, and a Ross's goose we found at Spindletop farm near Lexington, Kentucky. We stopped at Spindletop on our way out to western Kentucky.

A Ross's goose stands in front of two blue-morph snow geese at Spindletop farm near Lexington, Kentucky. Note the overall smaller stature of the Ross's goose as compared to the snow geese and the notably smaller bill on the Ross's goose.

Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Loggerhead shrike perched on a telephone wire out near Reelfoot Lake in western Kentucky.  The loggerhead shrike is a predatory songbird and preys upon other birds, snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, and mice. They are declining over much of the eastern range and are considered an endangered species in my home state of Ohio.

Loggerhead shrike perched on a telephone wire out near Reelfoot Lake in western Kentucky.  The loggerhead shrike is a predatory songbird and preys upon other birds, snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, and mice. They are declining over much of the eastern range and are uncommon here in Kentucky and are considered an endangered species in my home state of Ohio.

A small group of least sandpipers foraging along a mudflat at Johnathan Creek, Kentucky Lake. Photo by JohnRyan Polascik.

Panoramic view of the mudflat habitat with the least sandpipers at Johnathan Creek.

A pair of mature bald eagles flies overhead of us near the Mississippi River. Photo by JohnRyan Polascik.

A mature bald eagle passes by along the Mississippi River. Photo by JohnRyan Polascik.

Kentucky Lake Dam at sunset. With the sun setting to the west, the eastern skyline developed this amazing pinkish hue.

Sunset at Johnathan Creek on Kentucky Lake. We had a serendipitous flyover of 5 american white pelicans right at sunset on this bridge, it was a great way to end the trip and it puts me at 100 bird species so far for 2013!

American white pelicans passed overhead at the Johnathan Creek bridge at Kentucky Lake. Photo by JohnRyan Polascik.

Me standing on the bridge over Johnathan Creek right after the flyover of the american white pelicans.

A great blue heron stands along the rocky shoreline at Johnathan Creek on Kentucky Lake at sunset. Photo by JohnRyan Polascik.