Southeastern USA - April 2024 - Day 3 - Mississippi to Arkansas

We started the day at 6.30am just north of Columbus, Mississippi, and boy what a good call that was! We had identified this spot only recently - Section Line Road - as a potential site for one of my most-wanted ABA ticks, Swainson's Warbler. It was one of the few places where this hard to see Warbler had been reported in more than single figures in recent days. Why not give it a go, especially as it was less than 15 minutes from our hotel in Columbus? 

What a great spot! We spent two hours working our way slowly down this perhaps two mile long gravel road, consuming Warblers at every point we stopped. We would walk a bit, then one of us would retrieve our crazy car and drive it past the other person and stop again, meeting in the middle. Rinse and repeat. Five Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, American Redstart, four Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, three Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and finally at nearly the end of the road, a Swainson's Warbler in a dense tangle. I think Bradders also had a Chestnut-sided when I was fetching the car. The Swainson's was of course the most boring Warbler there by some distance, top prize probably went to the Magnolia which was a stunning male. There were also tons of Vireos - White-eyed, Yellow-throated, Blue-headed and Red-eyed. Incredible how one small patch of woodland could have such a density of migrants. At one point I imagined I heard a dog bark, but some sixth sense caused me to think of Barred Owl. I played it back just in case and the response was instant, an enormous Owl flew through the trees and on out of sight. It was perhaps the best birding session of the entire trip. 

Our main destination for the day was Noxubee NWR, about an hour away from Warblerville. We arrived just before 10 and started on the boardwalk at Bluff Lake. Of note here were large numbers of Egret on the far side, including an unexpected and out-of-range Tricoloured Heron. Acadian Flycatcher and Great Crested Flycatcher were in the trees above the path. Later on, on the Woodpecker Trail, we found White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Chipping Sparrow and our first Bald Eagle of the trip. At Morgan Hill four species of Swallow cruised over the lake with numerous Chimney Swift, and a flock of 50 White Ibis went over. 

We had to leave by mid-morning, our punishing schedule was taking no prisoners. Places to be, birds to see. We needed to get up to Memphis for mid-afternoon to get as much of a Tennessee list as we could before we crossed into Arkansas in the evening. The obvious spot was the Maxson Water Treatment Lagoons on the southwest side of Memphis. This then allowed a quick exit over the I55 crossing and into Arkansas.

The lagoons were Wader central and saw the list tick on nicely. Whilst we only found one  each of Wilson's Snipe, Wilson's Phalarope and Stilt Sandpiper there were hundreds of Lesser Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitcher, good numbers of Least, Solitary and Pectoral Sandpipers, and Black-necked Stilt. Also large numbers of Blue-winged Teal, a few Shoveler and Canada Geese, and three Sora. I am not sure of the access arrangements here, but it was a Sunday and the gates at front were open so we just drove in through a maintenance area and up onto the lagoons where we left the car on a large bund and proceeded on foot. As we left, there were a number of Wood Duck with young in the water alongside the road on the opposite side from the river, as well as Pied-billed Grebe and a Belted Kingfisher.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Red-winged Blackbird

Our last stop the day was in Arkansas, at Wapanocca NWR. This was gated but open, and it seemed we had until sunset so in we went. Doubtless we only scratched the surface as we drove along large ditches in a swampy woodland habitat, but what we saw we quite liked. Red-headed Woodpecker were everywhere, pairs chasing each other round, as well as Red-bellied Woodpecker and Downy Woodpecker. Wood Duck moved from one area to another, and there were Pied-billed Grebe too. We also saw more Yellow-rumped Warbler and Fish Crow than we had seen anywhere else, and a Swamp Sparrow was pinned down in a tangle near the water. All in all a really good site and one we would have like to have visited early morning. But that wasn't in our schedule and reluctantly we got on the road. I sometimes wonder about a birding trip that has no set agenda, no start and no finish, and where I could just bird wherever the trip took me and for as long as I wanted. How long would it take me to cross the United States I wonder? I might never arrive on the other side. Or if I had a year, a whole year, where would I go? And in what order? A straight line, a big loop, a zig-zag? It's a tempting thought for a future stage of my life. Although perhaps the US is best avoided until 2028 or so...