Date: 7/9/25 10:03 am From: Brian Carlson <brianrcarlson...> Subject: Re: Common Gallinule, Buffalo Slough, Geridge, Lonoke County
Cindy, I am glad that you were able to find some gallinules. My wife and I drove to Broken Bow, OK on Friday. It was the 1st time we had been there so we thought we would explore the lake and large state park just north of town on Saturday. The problem was that seemingly everyone else in the area was thinking the same thing. It was very crowded with an extremely long line of backed up cars. So we decided to visit Red Slough on Saturday instead. I had been there once before in early May of 2023. We saw lots of birds, including Purple and Common Gallinule. I made a video and the link is below:
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From: The Birds of Arkansas Discussion List <ARBIRD-L...> on behalf of CK Franklin <meshoppen...>
Sent: Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:16 AM
To: <ARBIRD-L...> <ARBIRD-L...>
Subject: Common Gallinule, Buffalo Slough, Geridge, Lonoke County
All,
Gallinules have been on my mind lately. The annual ASCA field trip to Bois D'Arc NWR near Hope, Arkansas in Hempstead County on July 19th for gallinules, alligators, and other wildlife.
These days I ride with two passengers, the hubs, Bill B, & Uncle Arthur. The distance from Little Rock to Hope is at the upper limits of Arthur's tolerance of riding in a car that far. The other known reliable gallinule option are the wetlands at Arkansas Post, also too far. So I began to think about large wetlands nearer to Little Rock where people don't mess around too much during the summer.
When we are out birding, I often chat up the local people I meet with the goal of learning about off the beaten path locales to be explored. Back in the winter of 2022 a guy in England mentioned the ducks at Buffalo Slough. That was catnip that could not be ignored.
Buffalo Slough is between Humnoke & Stuttgart. There are a number of duck hunting operations located along Geridge and Brummett Roads that encircle the slough & its wetlands. Both roads are well maintained because of the ducks & the income they generate. It is a round trip of about 12 miles out & back to Hwy 165. It occurred to me Buffalo Slough was the nearest place that might host a gallinule.
After looking at many egrets and herons, we arrived in the area I identified as the most likely place to see a gallinule. After looking at all the egrets & herons in the distance, we played Common Gallinule calls and began to comb through the lilly pads & rushes looking for ye olde moorhens. Within a few minutes we found our target bird feeding up against some rushes & sedges. We both got good looks at it, and I got a somewhat fuzzy photo of the bird for my eBird checklist.
We were also looking for spoonbills & Tricolored Herons but did not see any.
On the way back we stopped at Charlotte's Eats & Sweets in Keo for sandwiches and a slice of coconut cream pie.
