We joined friends Randy Robinson and Roger Massey yesterday for a full day of birding along the southern section of the Mississippi Levee (aka The Great River Road) from Desha County to Chicot County. This has become an annual event for many birders, and we were so lucky to have amazingly kind temperatures. We started at the nearby fish farm where we saw hundreds of egrets and a few dozen dark ibis. Most appeared to be WHITE-FACED IBIS but at least one had the distinctive thin blue-gray line above/below the eye, identifying it as a GLOSSY IBIS. (This is a private fish farm with restricted access, and they've been very busy with the operation and haven't had sufficient time to host a formal tour this year. But since Michael and I know our way around, we were cleared to make a stop.) From there, we drove the levee from the Paper Company to Arkansas City where we had lunch. Along this section, we noticed a large group of egrets and herons plus many cormorants, several of which were NEOTROPIC. When we stopped, Roger noticed some larger white and dark birds crouched under the trees. WOOD STORKS! Further scoping revealed a handful of ROSEATE SPOONBILLS. These two iconic birds are favorites to find anytime and anywhere. And then Roger noticed an immature Night-heron, hidden low in the distant trees and facing away. We had lots of debate as to specific species but we couldn't decide in the moment, so Michael took some photos and the debate continues.Not much at McCallie so we stopped at the state park at Arkansas City. The Delta Heritage Trail State Park (Southern End) is now somewhat operational with a friendly and helpful Park Superintent on board and eager to start offering events. Info here: https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/trails/delta-heritage-trail-south-end-arkansas-city-rohwerAfter lunch, Roger headed home and we headed to Chicot County where our primary focus was Grand Lake. First we drove to the top of the levee at Cariola Rd to look for surprises -- and we found them! Dozens of WHITE-FACED and WHITE IBIS, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS, and a bonus Night-heron. This one brought limited debate and once we got close enough and the right angle, we could tell it was a juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. Our last stop was Grand Lake where we found several more NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS at both ends of the lake, WHITE-WINGED DOVES (near intersection of AR 209 and Grand Lake Loop/Hwy 8 Spur), and a bonus bird -- a TRICOLORED HERON at the south end of the lake, feeding in the weeds.It was a long, eventful day and I drove home with Michael taking a well-deserved break. Patty McLean and Michael Linz The Roadrunners
