(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Daily Bucket - Saturday snow on Sardis Lake, Mississippi [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-01-13
Here is a little perspective to the Sardis Lake area I visit and take photos. Below is a satellite image of the dam with some markers embedded. I will explain each marker and the observations made as this diary continues. The blue lines indicate paved roads.
overhead look at the Dam, lower and main lake
The title photo was taken from point #1. There was as much as 6 inches of snow on any uncovered surface during my Saturday visit but very little ice on the water. This will be a photo heavy diary from all the points highlighted in yellow. First, I like to give few facts about the dam and lake.
Sardis Dam is an earthen berm 15,300 feet (over 3 miles) in length with an average height of 97 feet and 400 foot base width. Completed in October 1940, the lake has an estimated liquid containment of 10,500 acres in the winter and 58,500 acres during average Summer pool height. The lower lake is a 400 acre birding paradise (and why I am attracted there).
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream,visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on follow.
To the right of circled point #1 is an ( A ) marking the spillway parking lot. That is where I’ll begin my observation photos (a habitual choice).
Over 2 dozen Great Egrets line a finger of brush
The complaining croaks of Egrets stirring made sense in the frigid morning air. I’d bellow my displeasure if I stood in the cold water.
Great Egrets welcoming the Sun’s warmth
A few Hooded Mergansers swam between me and the Egrets. The drakes seemed quite animated and aroused while the females focused on the task of finding breakfast.
Hooded Merganser drakes comparing poses
a busy hen ignores the strutting “dude”
Gulls and Terns filled the air around the spillway (main discharge). A third year Herring gull caught a small fish while I was focused on the action.
choppy water and large rip-rap make fishing hard
The fanciful flights of the spillway hunters was contradicted by the amount of Cormorants and Gulls huddled together along the lower lake beach. The Sun was waking them as the warmth increased.
100+ Double-crested Cormorants relax as Ring-billed Gulls patrol the area
A Forster’s Tern decided to sleep in late.
Forster’s Tern continues to snooze
I continued the morning (as I did in my recent Dawn Chorus) by moving to point # 1 and took shots from there. Starlings swept up and down the road bed as the snow melted.
Female Starling scanning the snowy edge
White-throated Sparrow watched from above the Starling’s parade.
Calls came from the surrounding vegetation but few birds emerged. That is when I discovered the reason to stay hidden. A pair of Red-shouldered hawks had landed in a Sweet Gum tree. Here is the scene.
a cause for alarm
Hawk closest to the squirrel
a frightened squirrel blending into the tree
The squirrel survived (undetected) and the hawk couple flew off to hunt another area. That was my cue to check area # 2 to see if there was a repeat of the mass of birds in my Dawn Chorus.
The Corp of Engineers office and emergency spillway are located on the northern end of the dam. I park at the small lot ( marked by the B left of the circled #2). There were only a few things visible because of the light but relentless wind, that also cut through my thick layers of clothes. Here is what I did see.
White tail deer braving the cold to forage along the far bank
Killdeer puffed up to fight the chilly wind
A Ring-billed Gull waiting for the Sun
Red-breasted Mergansers fishing the channel
The Red-breasted Mergansers surprised me because they were still sporting breeding plumage. They usually don’t hang around long and this was the first glimpse I’d had of their fine attire. I was lucky enough to see a male perform a classic courtship display.
The beginning of a courtship display by a Red-breasted Merganser
The cold won the battle of wills and I retreated to point # 3 (shown on my map). That is where all the birds had chosen as refuge from the previous night’s winterizing. I’ll show the short 34 second video of how contained the large flock of Pelicans and Gulls were in the protective cove at Engineer’s Point.
Hooded Mergansers had also found the cove a quaint spot to forage while out of the harsh span of the open lake.
raft of Hooded Merganser
I’ll end this report with a couple of “hoodies” staying low while greeting the morning.
I hope this long look at the Sardis Lake attractions entice you to appreciate your own places of pleasure, leisure or adventure. The world is full of interesting items that need discovery.
I hope you’ll share any recent observations you’ve made in your own favorite area.
I’ll be at work until after noon. I’ll return to respond to all the comments later. Thank you all for stopping by.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/1/13/2296451/-Daily-Bucket-Saturday-snow-on-Sardis-Lake-Mississippi
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
