FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Red-breasteds numerous in Shady Valley !

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Area Birders: 

It looks like a record year for the Red-breasted Nuthatch on
the Shady Valley Christmas Bird Count.  Yesterday, our party
alone had 18 birds.  I think the count record for all parties was 
two years ago with about 37.

With the exception of two 
birds coming to Dot & Charles 
Scott's feeders near Orchard 
Bog, the rest came from 
birders hiking higher elevation 
roads and backwoods treks 
through old growth White Pine 
forest lands.

Roy Knispel, Charlie Parker and 
John Moyle covered 1.3 miles down grade from 3,600 feet elevation 
along Cross Mountain Rd. to TN Rt 91 at the Appalachian Trail.

Chris O'Bryan and Charlie Parker walked 700 yards along Arnold Branch
from Woods Lane through the edge of old growth and along the sunlit
conifer-clad forest edge with pasture borders, out to the Barry Place 
on Orchard Rd.

Roy Knispel, Charlie Parker, John Moyle, Chris O'Bryan and Wallace Coffey 
birded the abandoned Bonham Orchard lands along Shady Mountain Lane on the
falling slopes of Holston Mountain.   All but Coffey hiked more than one-half 
mile
from near Buck Ridge along Shady Mountain Lane at 3,600 ft. down to
the upper reaches of Orchard Rd.

Moyle, Parker and Knispel birded nearly a quarter mile through the old growth
White Pine, Northern Hemlock forest owned by Haynes Wright along Sluder Rd.

No doubt the backwoods searching of old growth paid good dividends in finding
Red-breasteds, 15 Pine Siskins, two Brown Creepers and 6 Fox Sparrows 
along with many expected forest species.  Not the least of which was a 
Great Horned Owl.

Let's go birding........

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN