Rare birds along Nonconnah Creek

Over the last several months there have been a number of rare bird that have shown up in the Nonconnah Creek Watershed. At the end of October there were a couple flycatchers that are typically found quite a bit further west of here (an Ash-throated flycatcher and a Vermillion flycatcher) showed up by Halle Stadium. The Ash-throated stuck around for a few days and the Vermillion stayed for six days. The same day that the first vermillion vanished a second vermillion was found at Medal of Honor Park, that bird stuck around for a few days. Fast forward to January and a Harris’s Sparrow (another species typically found further west) made an appearance at the University of Memphis. At the end of January with the winter storm and cold weather a bunch of American Tree Sparrows made their way into the Mid-South. They have been observed both at Halle Stadium and the Lenox Park area and could likely be found at a number of other locations in the watershed if people were to look. A couple other species that showed up in the watershed with the cold, though not rare are rather uncommon: a Northern Pintail was seen at the lake just north of Powder Mill Rd and a couple more ware spotted on Arbor Lake just East of Ross Rd additionally an American Widgeon was recently seen at the Greenbelt Park on Forest Hill Irene. As we move into the spring it will be interesting to see what other species show up.

American Tree Sparrow seen at the Lenox Park area

Northern Pintail seen at the Lake just north of Powder Mill Rd