Date: 12/27/20 1:20 pm From: Mitchell Pruitt <mitchellpruitt24...> Subject: Birding Near Jonesboro (Blackbirds and Shorebirds)
I spent some time birding along Hwy 230 north of Jonesboro this morning. I didn’t get far, as most of my time was spent watching a HUGE flock of well over 1 million blackbirds. Probably 95% of the flock consisted of Red-winged Blackbirds, with the rest being mostly Common Grackles and a few heaping handfuls of Brown-headed Cowbirds. It was a nice time spent in the company of so many birds. Incredible mass take-offs occurred when a Bald Eagle, male Northern Harrier, and Red-tailed Hawk flew by at different times. The Red-tailed Hawk was nearly a constant presence, which the blackbirds nervously tolerated. Though several screams and stoops from the hawk caused them to lift into the air.
Other notables were a field full of shorebirds. Among mostly Killdeer, 10 Wilson’s Snipe, 4 Dunlin, and 3 Least Sandpiper enjoyed a cold, windy mudflat at 35.9115402, -90.8809638.
Good birding,
Mitchell Pruitt
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