FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Upper Douglas eagle nest

[Michael Sledjeski <mtnsylva@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Huff Hollow, Cocke county, 3/2/08, 4:00 PM
Lake elevation: 957 ft.

We put in a canoe at Dutch Bottoms and crossed the lake to a hollow  
where bald eagles have nested for several years.  In the winter of  
2007, heavy equipment had leveled an area about 100 feet from the  
nest, and when we visited the site in mid-March, there were no adults  
or nestlings in or near the nest.  Today, we found droppings beneath  
it, and when I climbed a nearby slope, I could see an adult sitting  
calmly in the nest.  I've posted a photo at http://www.pbase.com/ 
sylvafoto/image/93683423.
There's a dirt road directly beneath the nest, and although  county  
road access is blocked by a gate, ATVs are entering the road from the  
lakeshore.  We saw at least a dozen on the road in the short time  
that we were there, but the nesting eagle seemed unperturbed.  The  
lake level is now rising, and it's likely that the shoreline approach  
will be blocked in a week or two.
We crossed the lake to the Jefferson county side, then walked to the  
lower end of the Taylor Bend inlet.  We expected to get closer views  
of the waterfowl in the inlet, but they  stayed  a good distance away  
from us.  We saw the same species and approximately the same numbers  
of ducks that Don Miller reported earlier in the day.  We also saw 6  
American Pipits, and counted 16 dunlins (photo at  http:// 
www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/93684689/medium).
Michael Sledjeski & Leslie Gibbens
Del Rio TN








 
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