FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Paddle Creek Pond / Musick's Campground

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

A Mute Swan was again at Paddle Creek Pond near the S.F. Holston River in 
Sullivan Co. TN
Tuesday, 13 March.  This continues to support the belief that this bird enjoys 
extended flight.
It is thought to be the same bird photographed a mile away on the South Fork 
Holston, Feb 19,  by 
Richard Kretz and seen at the pond March 6 by Jean and Brookie Potter, Reece 
Jamerson 
and Bryan Stevens. 

The numbers of wild ducks and diversity at Paddle Creek have been declining 
significantly in
the past several days.  I observe a single Canvasback Tuesday and mostly 
Gadwalls and Mallards.

Six Common Loons were at Musick's Campground on South Holston Lake in Sullivan 
Co. on
Tuesday.  It was notable that at least three of them frequently took flight and 
flew long distances
across the lake and then, within 10 minutes, flew again in another direction 
for some distance
before landing.  They repeated this rather restless behavior several times.  Is 
this suggesting 
they are birds stopping over during migration or wintering birds ready to 
leave?  Also had seven
Horned Grebes (one in advancing breeding plumage) and 16 Pied-billed Grebes. 

I didn't get to Middlebrook Lake but it appears, for all apparent purposes, 
that the wintering
Hooded Merganser population pretty much departed for their northern breeding 
grounds by
the end of February.  Some years they leave by the middle of February but 
weather conditions
were probably not favorable and migrant waterfowl were lingering here.  We will 
have Hooded 
stragglers and transients for several weeks.

Middlebrook is pretty much void of any significant waterbirds other than the 
wintering group
of American Coots, a few gulls and Canada Geese. 

Let's go birding......

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN