Date: 11/20/24 11:49 am From: Edge Wade <1edgewade...> Subject: Re: Scoter trifecta at Brenda Kay Sand Pit, Scott Co
Thanks for a great report, and congrats to two great birders.
Bodacious birding for bodacious birders,
Edge Wade (nursing/enduring a cold)
Columbia,
<1edgewade...>
On Wed, Nov 20, 2024 at 12:48 PM Allen Gathman <agathman...> wrote:
> WARNING: This message has originated from an External Source. This may be
> a phishing expedition that can result in unauthorized access to our IT
> System. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening attachments,
> clicking links, or responding to this email.
>
> This morning I had planned to get a Christmas tree at Yule Log Cabin down
> by Scott City, and as long as I would be down that way, I figured I’d chase
> the Black Scoters that Tim Kavan recently found. So I drove down to the
> Brenda Kay Sand Pit. This sand quarry, near Sand Prairie Conservation
> Area, has quite a deep lake where interesting migrant waterfowl often show
> up.
>
> I pulled off the county road and started scanning the rafts of ducks, and
> pretty soon I spotted one large black one in amongst a lot of Ruddy Ducks.
> It had its head tucked under its wing, and I had to wait a while for it to
> look around. It raised its head, and I was expecting a black head with
> an orange knob at the base of the bill – but instead, I saw a thin white
> eyering, pointed in back, and a bill with an orange tip. The fleck of
> white on the rear of its folded wing sealed the deal – this was a scoter,
> but a White-winged Scoter. I kept scanning for a while, but no Black
> Scoters were visible, so I finished my list and went to get a tree.
>
> On the way, I texted (by voice, don’t worry) my local birding text group
> about my find. Tim Kavan was at Sand Prairie, and said he’d come up and
> have a look. By the time my tree was strapped to the top of the car, he
> had texted that he had all three species of scoters! I told him I was on
> my way, and tree and all, headed back to the quarry. There was Tim, and
> he pointed out the Black Scoters – three males, six females, and with them
> one female Surf Scoter. He’d seen the White-winged Scoter, but it had
> flown off to the other side of the lake. So Tim wound up with all three
> scoter species on one checklist, while I had to settle for the three on two
> lists from the same spot on the same day – either way a pretty good find.
>
>
> Just a caution if anyone is planning to chase them; the quarry owners have
> had a lot of trouble with trespassers recently. If you stop on the side
> of the road, someone will come check on you. They don’t have a problem
> with birders, as long as we stay outside their fence. There’s a berm
> around the lake that makes it hard to see from many spots, but there are
> places where gaps give a decent view. If you have a pickup truck and can
> stand in the bed, it’ll help.
>
>
> -Allen Gathman
>
> Pocahontas, MO
>
> ------------------------------
> *The Missouri Birding Society's Wild Bird Discussion Forum*
> Archives <https://po.missouri.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A0=MOBIRDS-L> / Subscription
> options <https://po.missouri.edu/SCRIPTS/wa.exe/wa?SUBED1=mobirds-l&A=1> > / MBS Website <https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmobirds.org%2F&data=05%7C02%<7CMOBIRDS-L...>%7Cf1b13e03d0554bb693c008dd099c6ecc%7Ce3fefdbef7e9401ba51a355e01b05a89%7C0%7C0%7C638677289666623968%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=eL34pMBPHleDNrdbYPwPzLpuAG65BgUFj1D%2FfcJ2P3Y%3D&reserved=0> / Email the list owners
> <mobirds-l-request...>
>
> ABA Birding Code of Ethics <https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aba.org%2Fabout%2Fethics.html&data=05%7C02%<7CMOBIRDS-L...>%7Cf1b13e03d0554bb693c008dd099c6ecc%7Ce3fefdbef7e9401ba51a355e01b05a89%7C0%7C0%7C638677289666780220%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=HqUEbKPQ%2FkE59aBqpUorWDck2bn2%2B%2Bls3mnJFRbm43s%3D&reserved=0> >
> MBS Spring Meeting: May 2-4, 2025 at Bunker Hill Retreat, Mountain View,
> MO.
>
------------------------------------------------------------
The Missouri Birding Society's Wild Bird Discussion Forum
