I had a fantastic time birding today with my Ornithology class, led by Dr.
Kannan. We took a trip down to the Ouachita National Forest, specifically
to Upper Buffalo Road in Scott County. The main goal of our outing was to
check out the snake excluders and restrictors used to protect Red-cockaded
Woodpecker nests.
We had an in-depth discussion about the role of prescribed burns in
maintaining the woodpecker’s habitat, and how these controlled fires
benefit many other species and the ecosystem as a whole. While we saw
several nests dripping pinesap, we didn’t spot any RCWs this time.
That said, the trip was far from uneventful! We were thrilled to spot a
Broad-winged Hawk, the first one reported in Arkansas this season to our
knowledge. We also spotted a Bachman’s Sparrow, which was absolutely
amazing to see.
I've linked our full eBird checklist below for anyone interested in seeing
the complete list of species we observed.
