The Bachman’s Sparrow caught our attention when it uttered its delightful song. We saw a pair after a brief playback.  Ciera is also a beginner photographer.  Note her impressive photo of a Red-headed Woodpecker.  Our thanks to Sandy Berger who chauffeured us there and inspired these young minds with her passion and knowledge.Â
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On Thursday, April 10, 2025, 11:12 PM, Ciera Grijalva <cgrijalva2004...> wrote:
April 10, 2025
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.Â
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.
