2018 Little Big Year Status Update (Oct 5)

Life List: 254 (+28 for 2018)

Mississippi Year List (2018): 195  (see table at bottom of post)

Mississippi County Lists: Lowndes 146; Oktibbeha 147; Noxubee 131

This post is a little random – mostly just birding highlights from the last several months.

This fall, I completed my Ph.D. work, and as an early graduation present, my dad bought me a scope.  I have been bemoaning the fact that I lacked a scope for most of this year, since I started my little big year.  One of my bucket list photos has been to capture a shot of the beautiful Prothonotary Warblers that have been popping around Noxubee NWR all spring and summer.  Before I got my scope, every time I’d see one of those little sunshine birds glowing in the cypress shadows, I’d die a little inside (from wanting to capture that moment on film).  I finally got my chance in August, and even got a cool little video.

I know I’m not up to the standards of the serious nature photographers, but I’m having a great time getting more decent images than I used to be able to manage.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Lowndes County (Aug. 2018)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Aug. 2018)

There was quite a collection of shorebirds at Carson Pond back in August.

In early September, J. Harris clued the Audubon crowd in on some Bank Swallows in Lowndes county.  I got some great looks at this lifer species.

Bank Swallow (Sept. 3, 2018)

M. Schiefer picked up a wonderful bird down at Oktibbeha Co. Lake in mid September.  We initially thought it was a Red-necked Phalarope, but on subsequent examination, it proved to be a juvenile Red Phalarope!  It’s quite a rare bird to see inland in Mississippi.  I made it out the first day she had it, but it stuck around another day and about half of the Mississippi Ornithological Society dropped by to see it on their way back from the Fall meeting in Tishomingo State Park (I missed it due to having to work on dissertation revisions).  You can kind of see the buffy-pinkish wash on the foreneck in my video, distinguishing REPH from the similar RNPH.

Red Phalarope, (Sept. 2018)

Red Phalarope, (Sept. 2018)

In late September, J. Harris and I got to take a drive down the North Levee at Noxubee NWR.  An acquaintance of mine K. Martin had reported some baby Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, and we were trying to pick them up.  We got skunked on the BBWD, but about halfway down the levee, I spotted a huge kettle of about 300 Broad-winged Hawks!  Just a little earlier that day, I’d thought to myself, ‘I hope I can manage to get a BWHA.’   Well, that worked out!

Common Gallinules and Purple Gallinules down at Noxubee in late September.

2018 Year List of wild birds seen alive and unrestrained

TIP JAR

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