Date: 12/27/24 8:00 pm From: CK Franklin <meshoppen...> Subject: Cleburne & White counties
The hubs & I picked up the granddaughter this morning & took her to see the Trumpeter Swans on Hiram Road near Pangburn. Our bonus bird was a Spotted Towhee which has been in residence at the smaller pond, aka Secco Lake. The Cackling Goose was not on either pond. It had been seen within the last few days. We had a nice chat with Kenny Nations & Glen Wyatt & his wife.
Thereafter we went on over to Bald Knob NWR. The fields sure look different when scraped clean of vegetation. While there we watched two Bald Eagles working the waterfowl beyond the closed gates. What I wanted the grand to see finally happened. A massive flock of thousands of Snow Geese rose like a fog bank lifting off the ground. A tremendous cacophony of sound filled the air. We watched one of the eagles make a lackadaisical pass some of the geese before landing in a tree line off yonder. The other eagle eventually joined it. Together they watched the geese mill about in the sky, back & forth across the fields, full of honks, squawks, and giggles. As we edged off toward Bald Knob the town, one eagle was still watching geese.
It seems the eagles had provoked the geese to wear them out before the real dinner time chase began.
"They sure are loud," the grand observed.
Monday if the weather forecast holds, we are taking the grand to Boyd Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pine Bluff to see the facility & count the ducks.
