May 25 - Hatchie NWR and the Mississippi Delta

I woke at 5 a.m. to another humid 70º morning.  The 75 Starlings outside my door were singing their full ‘dawn song’.  I ate breakfast and left the motel, aiming toward Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge, where I hoped to find a Swainson’s Warbler.  Swainson’s would be a “Lifer” for me, and there appears to be good habitat there.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology notes that the species preferentially “Breeds in southern forests with thick undergrowth, especially canebrakes and floodplain forests in lowlands.”

Cypress Swamps should count as "lowland forest"?

I arrived at the Refuge a little late in the morning, but thought it was still worth a try.  Driving to Hart Lake, which is an oxbow lake separated from the Hatchie River, I walked along the back roads to the fishing ramps.  I was unsuccessful in finding the Warbler, but enjoyed the morning.

Cardinal Redbird

Leaving the swamps, I stopped at the Refuge Headquarters, which are closed on the weekend.

The lake is not closed to this Green Heron

While scoping the lake, I met a young lady who asked “do you know the birds around here?”  I allowed as I knew some of them.  She was working on a school project for an outdoor education course, and needed to know what birds and animals are found on the lands.

This Just-fledged Bluebird came out to visit

I talked with her a bit, but she didn’t know her birds, so I turned her onto the eBird program, and suggested that she peruse the ‘Explore’ feature for Hatchie NWR, and see which birds are common, which are more rare, what seasons they arrive, and so forth.  She had no idea that such a resource was available, and was appreciative.

I wished her luck on her studies, and drove around O’Neal Lake, which is an impoundment near the HQ.

I scoped the water birds, but it had warmed up pretty well, and I didn't see or hear any of the target warblers.

Canada Goose brood

Leaving the Refuge, I cut south, stopping at Moscow, Tennessee to read the historical sign.

The Southerners seem to have put a lot of time, resources and energy into documenting and making public the battles of the Failed Cause.

One of the Confederate commanders at this site, Major General Stephen D. Lee, survived the putting down of the Rebellion, and became President of the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College - now the Mississippi State University.

Lee made it to Lt. General before the Surrender

He was very active in both the United Confederate Veterans and in the Sons of Confederate Veterans.  General Lee believed a new generation would have to pick up the torch to tell the “true history of the War Between the States.”  Scary . . .

Driving into Mississippi, I checked out a reservoir area, Sardis Lake, buying a “Coke” (this was Mountain Dew…) at the bait shop at Wyatt Crossing.  The water was high and fishing was reportedly not all that good.  I dropped onto the Mississippi and Arkansas flat ground in the Delta country, where the roads were straight as an arrow.  I tried to imagine this country in the 1920s . . . maybe I read too much Faulkner?

And, the roadsides, vegetation, and entire houses were covered by “the vine that ate the South”.

Acres and Acres of Kudzu -

Pueraria sp.

I pulled into the Days Inn in Brinkley, Arkansas, where their sign advertised rooms for $61.  When she ran the card, the bill was for a $79 room plus tax for around $90.  Whatup?  Oh, we’re on “Holiday Rates”…. Uh, huh . . . .  I’d like to sell these nice people a loaf of bread.  $1.39 a loaf, except now that ol’ Orange-Hair put on tariffs, I’ll sell it to you for $2.19.  I was too tired to go shopping around for another room, but probably should have. 

Purple Martin houses are a common sight in the South

Hatchie NWR eBird Checklist is Here

O’Neal Lake eBird Checklist is Here

Sardis Lake eBird Checklist is Here