Big Day (Bird Race)

06 May 1999

by Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr.

Big Day Statistics:

• 168 species
• 235 miles by car, 1 by foot; 0400 to 2130 hours
• Visiting: Land Between the Lakes, Lyon/Trigg Cos., Barkley Lake and Dam, Lyon/Livingston Cos., Kentucky Lake and Dam, Marshall/Livingston Cos., and western Fulton Co.
• Species of Note: Pacific Loon (Vagrant), Green Heron (Missed), Bald Eagle (Missed), Hairy Woodpecker (Missed), Song Sparrow (Missed) White-crowned Sparrow (Missed).

“A few bad passerine misses resulted in us falling short of the KY record by three species.  The only unexpected bird was the Pacific Loon, which we stopped and took time to photograph.  A taped call of Eastern Screech-Owl was used to draw in passerines during the day and solicit a reply before dawn.”

SPECIES LIST:

Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Osprey
Mississippi Kite
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk (hd)
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey
Northern Bobwhite (hd)
Sora (hd)
American Coot
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock (hd)
Wilson’s Phalarope
Bonaparte’s Gull
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster’s Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl (hd)
Great Horned Owl (hd)
Barred Owl (hd)
Common Nighthawk
Chuck-will’s-widow (hd)
Whip-poor-will (hd)
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Sedge Wren (hd)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson’s Thrush
Wood Thrush (hd)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler (hd)
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler (hd)
Ovenbird (hd)
Northern Waterthrush (hd)
Louisiana Waterthrush (hd)
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler (hd)
Wilson’s Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow (hd)
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow (hd)
Henslow’s Sparrow (hd)
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (hd)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow.

Brainard.Palmer-Ball@mail.state.ky.us