Birds of Yazoo NWR

   What : 730 images of 16 different species (2 new species)
   When : Oct 19th & Oct 25th 2008 / 6 hrs of birding
   Where : Yazoo NWR Mississippi

I had a chance to visit the Yazoo NWR while on business assignment in Vicksburg, Mississippi in October of 2008 . The 90 minute ride up north gave me a chance to see the rural south for the first time. Many cotton fields (some of which still had not been picked) and few small towns with fewer cars on the road. When I entered the refuge, I noticed a number of Pied-billed Grebes feeding close to the road. I tried to get close to them only to spur the interest of a huge Alligator!! It got too close for comfort so after a few snaps I got out of there.

I spent a couple of hours in the woods looking for and eventually finding a Piliated Woodpecker. I heard a number of Barred Owls but could not locate any of them. There were a number of other interesting critters in the forests including some huge spiders and a prehistoric looking Armadillo. I also noticed a plant with beautifully colored seeds.

Deer lake is one of the main lakes of the refuge and it was home to more than a dozen pairs of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Not sure how late they mate but I took a few pictures of a hen with its brood that could not have been more than a couple of weeks old. American Coot, Common Moorhen, Purple Gallinule as well as a Marsh Wren showed well enough to be photoed.

One of the highlights at the refuge was the sheer number of blackbirds. There must have been close to 100,000 mostly Red-winged Blackbirds and some Brown-headed Cowbird and they made an incredible sound when they took to the air. They did that quite often as there were a number of raptors flying around. One of them was a Merlin and it made a kill in flight and was able to carry its prey with some difficulty to a near by tree for dinner.

New Species

Other Species