Date: 4/19/24 3:02 pm From: Ian MacGregor <00000489141846bd-dmarc-request...> Subject: A (small) Horde of Hirundinidae, a handful of Yellow-headeds. and a parcel of peeps and pipits
This morning at Charlie Craig was cold and breezy, but productive. I didn't find any thing new at the western side, but I started around, I saw many swallows in the air, Purple Martin, Barn, Trees, Northern Roughing's, my FOS Cliff Swallows. Every once in a while I thought I would see a bank, but I was having problem with binoculars blacking out. I finally found one in which the breast band could be seen as well as the lighter wings. But I have to admit many of the birds I first thought were candidates for Bank, turned out to be Trees.
The swallows were into the sun, and as I worked to get east of them, I flushed five male Yellow-headed Blackbirds. They landed behind a tractor, they were on the ground, but the sun was too bright to get a picture. I decided to work my way around the pond at get them as I headed back to the west. My progress was delayed by a mixed flock of peeps and pipits feeding on insects in the gravel. There were two Bairds, two Leasts, four semipalmated Sandpipers and four American Pipits. The Sandpipers could not have been more co-operative. I thought, I had a semipalmated yesterday, because it looked a little smaller than the Baird's, and Jim Landrum had seen one that morning, but I fear I had gotten litter ahead of myself that day. These birds would have been perfect for a peep identification call. There fine bill of the leasts, the short straight bills of the semipalmated, shorter than the least but thicker. The semi's also looked very white on their undersides. This was the best look at semi's I've ever had.
My mind wandered back to the swallows, and I questioned whether I had actually seen a Bank. When ahead of me were a bunch of swallows on the ground. Individuals started taking off. During take off, their narrow wings were very apparent, and even thought I could not see their backs, the sandy brown wings were far too light for a Rough-winged, the white extending onto the sides of their heads from their throats were all very visible. The breast bands were the last things noted, and may be the hardest of the field arks to see, kind of like the golden slippers on a Snowy Egret.
By this time the Yellow-headed's and flown, but as I walked back to the car, I found them again. I even got some pictures, but I'm having trouble downloading them.
The Yellow-headed Blackbirds were my first for Arkansas, the Bank Swallows were my first for Benton County, and those plus Chimney Swift, the Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Cliff Swallows were all FOS's.
