Arkansas to Mississippi: Dardanelle State Park, Holla Bend NWR, Lake Maumelle March 1 through March 2

After getting my vehicle from Fayetteville, I headed east with an ultimate destination of Crystal River, Florida, where I have friends working on the whooping crane reintroduction project.  There were a few rare birds that I hoped to see along my way, but I ended up missing out on most of them.  It wasn't *quite* migration time yet, about 2 weeks too early, so I mostly saw the same birds I'd been seeing while searching for snipe.

My first stop was Lake Dardanelle, at the Deleware Recreation area.  This is where birders had been seeing glacous and lesser-black backed gulls.  This lake is also well-known for migrants and other rarities during migration times.  However, I didn't see the gulls.  The weather was just a little too gloomy.  Ring-billed gulls and American coots were rafting off-shore, and in the far distance I found common goldeneyes, buffleheads, and lesser scaup.  Yellow-rumped warblers and eastern bluebirds were abundant, and I also saw a brown creeper here. 

On the other side of the lake at Lake Dardanelle State Park, it was more of the same.  Near the lock and dam, I found this northern flicker, that appeared to be injured.  Turns out it was just cold, though, and flew off with no trouble. 

I also found what appears to be a hybird greylagxcanada goose near the dam.  It was interacting quite loudly with 2 canada geese.  There were many gulls, mostly hearing and ring-billed, sitting on the dam, and a scan of the far shore didn't reveal anything more than great-blue herons.

greylag/snow goose hybrid

buffleheads on Lake Dardanelle

Lake Dardanelle

I got a tip from a birder that a few trumpeter swans had been released a few weeks earlier at Holla Bend NWR, which was on my way.  This refuge is absolutely HUGE, and it took up a big chunk of time.  However, I did find at least 8 trumpeters, in addition to some other common waterfowl.  There was also this leucistic red-tailed hawk perched in the area. 

leucistic red-tailed hawk

trumpeter swan at Holla Bend NWR, AR

possum at Holla Bend NWR, AR

I was planning to meet a local birder, Ed Laster at Lake Maumelle by noon, but the trumpeter swan detour set me back a few hours.  Eventually I met up wit Ed on the west side of Lake Maumelle, where all 4 species of loon could be seen at that time (common, red-throated, Pacific, yellow-billed).  However the weather was against us.  The commons were close to shore, but the others were too far out to ID.  Ed showed me a few other access points down the road, all of which I checked numerous times with the remaining daylight, but I struck out on the chance to see all of the loons in one location.  The wind was blowing and it was sprinkling off and on, and I only ended up seeing about 20 common loons at all the access points.  There were also eared grebes and buffleheads close to shore.  I debated staying in town overnight, but only had a few days to make it to Florida where I would be picking up Alex.  Ed gave me directions to the place in town where he found a western tanager that had been around for awhile, but by the time I got there, it was dusk, and I didn't see it.   Hopefully this is a bird I will see many of this summer out west.  There was also a spotted towhee in town, which I ran out of time to see. 

I drove for the rest of the evening and into the night until I got about 60 miles into Mississippi, where I spent the night.  The weather the next day (March 2) wasn't any better than the previous day.   Needless to say I didn't see any new birds, or barely any birds at all.  I had planned to make it to my friend Matt Batina's house in by mid-afternoon.  Matt and I attended undergrad together at Slippery Rock University, and he is now working on his PhD in Paleo-ecology.  We got dinner and went out with some friends, then called it a night.

eastern towhee in MS