Ken Blankenship and I birded Lake Walter F. George, Elmodel WMA and both sides of Lake Seminole over the last two days (11/23-24). As Mark McShane reported, we had the pleasure of birding with Mark, Max, Patty, and Kathy at WFG, before we headed for points further south.

Elmodel WMA (Miller/Seminole counties) is a beautiful piece of land with lots of weedy thickets. Sparrows were abundant

-Savannah sparrow - 100+ -Vesper Sparrow - 11 -Field Sparrow - 1 -Swamp Sparrow - 8 -Song Sparrow - 10 -White-throated sparrow - 6 -White-crowned sparrow - 6 -Eastern towhee - 5

While driving down Highway 39 through Seminole County, we encountered a truly remarkable spectacle. The agricultural fields and the skies above them, on both sides of the highway, were absolutely blanketed with RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS. Employing no hyperbole here - the swirling throngs covered dozens of acres. Admittedly, an attempt to estimate the number was folly, but there had to be multiple millions. We stood on our cars watching the frenzied mob for more than half an hour, awe-struck. When one of the many fields of birds ascended en masse, the visual effect of tens of thousands of red epaulets against a dark sky was dizzying. I have honestly never seen anything like it. We tried to scour the flocks for any sign of yellow-headed blackbirds, but without success.

Lake Seminole was most productive on the south side, nearest the dam. Large rafts of CANVASBACK were the highlight:

-Common loon - 2 -Pie-billed grebe - 45 -Snow goose - 4 (these were distant birds, likely in Alabama waters) -Canvasback - 510 (a great raft - actively foraging just east of Woodruff Dam) -Scaup sp. - 110 (no GRSC were singled out, but some could have been present) -Ring-neck duck - 60 -Ruddy duck - 24 -Bufflehead -16 -American wigeon - 1 -Gadwall - 2

-Bald Eagle - 4 -Osprey - 8 -Anhinga - 3 -Spotted Sandpiper - 2 -Least Sandpiper - 2 -Forster's tern - 5 (below the dam's spillway, in Florida) -RIng-billed gull - many -Little blue heron - 2 -Black-crowned night heron - 3

- Horned lark (a fly-over flock along Rhodes Ferry Road) - Tree swallow - 100+ (at the terminus of Hwy 310) - Ruby-crowned kinglet - 12 - Golden-crowned kinglet - 3 - Blue-headed vireo - 1 - Orange-crowned warbler - 2 - Yellow-rumped warbler - many - Yellow-throated warbler - 1 - Pine warbler - 12 - Palm warbler - 25 (included 3 eastern race) - Black and white warbler - 3 - Common yellowthroat - 3 - Boat-tailed grackle - 3 (at terminus of Hwy 310)

The woodlands, just east of of the dam at the Booster Circle parking/picnic area, had fantastic passerine flocks. Most of the above songbirds were all together and very active in the trees around the parking area.

94 species total for the trip. . .

Nathan Farnau East Atlanta (DeKalb Couunty)

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