ALABAMA & MISSISSIPPI 
"A daughter of the gods, divinely tall, and most divinely fair." 
— Alfred Lord Tennyson, A Dream affair Women 
Unpredictability is often characteristic of tropical weather systems, which can form suddenly and may unexpectedly change 
both strength and path. Another unknown is what each storm may bring to birders on land, whose dread of the deadly tem- 
pests is only partly tempered by the excitement of possible rarities. Our Region, and the adjacent Florida Panhandle, received 
several large pink surprises early this fall as a consequence of such storms. 
Tropical Storm Fay raked Hispaniola and Cuba beginning IS Aug, then zigzagged up and across Florida, becoming the first 
such storm to strike Florida four times; maximum winds were about 60 knots. After strafing the Florida Panhandle, the sys- 
tem moved into s. Alabama as a tropical depression early in the morning of 24 Aug, to continue in a clockwise hook through 
Mississippi and n. Alabama over the next three days. Soon to follow was the far more powerful Hurricane Gustav, which 
formed near Hispaniola 25 Aug. The early track of this system crossed s. Haiti, then blasted Jamaica on the way to a crossing 
of w. Cuba as a Category 4 hurricane. Gusfov subsequently made a beeline northwestward across the Gulf; landfall was in se. 
Louisiana 1 Sep as a Category 2 hurricane, packing maximum winds of approximately 90 knots. 
Little did anyone expect the stunning and unprecedented appearance of American Flamingos in coastal Mississippi fol- 
lowing these cyclones. The first observation was 24 Aug, of 8 flamingos flying eastward along the shore at Pascagoula, Jack- 
son (PSFjr, PSF et al.), just as Fay was passing to the north; this report was not widely known at the time. It was not until 2 
Sep, just after the landfall of Gustav, when 2 of these arresting birds were discovered on the beach at Long Beach/Pass Chris- 
tian, Harrison (SG, JD et al., ph., vt.). The next day only one bird could be located, and I know of no subsequent reports in Har- 
rison. The trail became cold until 6 Sep, when a single flamingo was spotted about 17 km to the west at Waveland, Hancock 
(Me JD). Examination of photographs and video footage from two post-Gustav sites reveal these to be different individuals 
and both clearly American (rather than Greater or other) Flamingos. Repeatedly seen at Waveland over the next few days, the 
lone bird was sometimes witnessed under barrage by local youths with rocks and even BB guns. Sadly, it was found dead with 
multiple neck fractures 13 Sep, beauty and grace destroyed by ignorance. Pending records committee approval, these occur- 
rences would be the first for Mississippi and our Region. 
Contemporaneously, just to the east, 2 American Flamingos were in the Florida Panhandle, thought to be different from 
the Mississippi birds. So it appears as many as 13 flamingos may have arrived on the n. Gulf Coast during this period. McNair 
and Gore (1998, Florida Fieid Naturalist 26 (2): 40-43) analyzed twentieth-century records of flamingos on the Florida Gulf 
Coast. About half the reports, and the majority with definite identifications as American Flamingo, were associated with the 
passage of tropical cyclones. 
A question that arises with the occurrences this fall is whether one or both storms may have contributed. Fay traversed 
multiple areas in Hispaniola and Cuba with many flamingos. If these birds had been directly carried by the storm, the subse- 
quent erratic wanderings throughout Florida likely would have deposited them somewhere along that track. The 24 Aug re- 
port from Pascagoula, pre-dating Gustav, would implicate Fay, though; probably these wanderers were displaced at the 
source, then deflected northwestward by the prevailing winds over the Gulf. Certainly the number of reports of these highly 
conspicuous birds increased significantly with the later passage of Gustav. That cyclone similarly crossed areas of Hispaniola 
and Cuba with flamingos, and the straight path from Cuba to the n. Gulf Coast would seem favorable for transportation of 
these amazing creatures to our area. I suspect both tropical systems were involved. A nagging question for Alabama birders 
is why, sandwiched between these pink goddesses, they were denied a flamingo of their own! 
Alabama hosted record-high numbers of Franklin's Gulls in autumn 2008. This adult, with a Laughing Gull (front) for 
comparison, was one of at least six Franklin's at Magnolia Springs, Baldwin County 1 1 November 2008. 
Photograph by Greg D. Jackson. 
Roseate Spoonbills continue to be seen in 
impressive numbers in Mississippi, particular- 
ly in the Delta. Delta records 10 Aug-10 Nov 
were from five sites for a total of 150 birds, 
with high counts of 64 spoonbills at Belle- 
wood, Humphreys 18 Aug and 79 birds 23 Aug 
at Dutch Brake, Sunflower (both RH). More 
unusual were singles in Pearl River, MS 17 Aug 
(NB) and at Noxubee 28 Aug QWB); Alaba- 
ma’s lone contribution to the spoonbill tally 
was of 2 birds along the Tallapoosa R. in El- 
more 10 Sep (TRP, FB). Portions of Alabama 
and Mississippi typically receive a large influx 
of Wood Storks in summer and early fall, and 
this year continued that trend. The highest 
count for Mississippi was of 800-:- in 
Humphreys 4 Aug (RH); the 1020+ storks 
counted in Peny and Hale 28 Aug (GDJ) set a 
new Alabama maximum. Rare in n. Alabama, 
single Wood Storks were spotted 18 Aug in 
Shelby (GDJ, ph.) and 22 Aug (DJS, ph.) and 7 
Sep (NC, N.A.B.S.) in separate areas of Colbert. 
RAPTORS THROUGH LARIDS 
Rare Swainson’s Hawks were discovered 22 
Oct in DeSoto, MS (SJD, p.a.) and 28 Oct near 
Magnolia Springs, Baldwin, AL (DP); the lat- 
ter site has become regular in recent years for 
late fall Swainson’s. Always a rare treat in our 
Region, an imm. Golden Eagle was at Grand 
Bay 4 Nov (JNW), Rare in the M.R., a Merlin 
was in Birmingham 3 Nov (GDJ). A Virginia 
Rail was unexpected at this season in Ok- 
tibbeha, MS 23 Oct (TLS). Very late was a Pur- 
ple Gallinule spotted 10 Oct at Noxubee 
(TLS). A conservative count of over 100,000 
American Coots 26 Nov in the Tennessee R. at 
Waterloo, Lauderdale (DJS) nearly doubled 
the previous Alabama maximum. 
Uncommon to rare in n. Mississippi, a 
Black-bellied Plover was in Oktibbeha 4-5 Sep 
(TLS, MHS), and 3 were spotted 19 Oct in 
Yalobusha (GCK, SGK); 4 at Harpersville, 
Shelby 17 Sep (ASC, DC) set a new M.R. high 
count. Rare but regular in fall, up to 6 Amer- 
ican Golden-Plovers tied the autumn M R. 
maximum at the last site 31 Aug-10 Sep (GJH 
et al.). A pair of Killdeer with a downy young 
photographed 10 Nov in Lee, AL (LW) repre- 
sented an extremely late nesting. Inland 
American Avocets are always rare treats. At 
Bellewood, Humphreys, MS, 10 were noted 19 
Aug, and 26 were observed there 25 Sep (both 
RH); this was topped considerably by the 
amazing 314 avocets in the same county 22 
Oct (SJD), an inland maximum for Mississip- 
pi. In Alabama, the only inland avocct report 
was of 12 in Elmore 9 Nov (LEG). A late Soli- 
tary Sandpiper was in Sunflower, MS 25 Oct 
(SJD). Rare inland, a Willet was in s. Lee, AL 
24 Aug (BKF). Two Baird’s Sandpipers, rare in 
VOLUME 63 (2009) • NUMBER 1 
97 
