Whites Creek Lake in Eupora is home to a variety of waterfowl at different times throughout the year.
Resident Dan Burchfield has identified these ducks and pelicans at the lake from matching photos he has taken with images found in “The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds Eastern Region”:
• Northern pintail — male
• Canvasback — male and female
• Lesser scaup — male and female
• Red-breasted merganser — male
• Eurasian wigeon — male and female
• American white pelican — male and female
Other water birds, ducks and fish-eating birds observed at the lake are bald eagles, Mississippi kites, Canada goose, giant Canada goose, snow goose, American black duck, wood duck, mallard duck, green-winged teal duck, American coot, double-crested cormorants, anhingas, great egret, Louisiana heron, ring-billed gull, the herring gull and ospreys.
The ospreys have not been seen in years, but were common visitors in the first five years of the lake’s existence. Ospreys are rare to the area, but Burchfield noted their range and numbers have been increasing since the decrease of the pesticide DDT.
Additionally, according to Burchfield, two residents of Whites Creek Lake have stated that a pair of tundra swans once visited the lake.
Many of these birds are migratory with twice-a-year stopovers at Whites Creek Lake. This list is by no means complete or confirmed by professional ornithologists.
Burchfield said it is his hope that trained and experienced birdwatchers in and around Mississippi State University can begin using Whites Creek Lake as an observation point.
