FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Elizabethton yellowcrowns cont.

[dnldhlt@xxxxxxx]

SUN 02 APR 2006
Elizabethton, Carter County, TN
D. Holt
 
     A visit Sunday to the Yellow-crowned Night Heron colony behind the sewage 
treatment plant at Sycamore Drive was productive.  There were four pairs of 
birds in various stages of nest-building, plus an extra individual bird hanging 
out near one of the pairs, for a total of nine (9) Yellow-crowns observed then 
at that site.  Also seen there were one Red-shouldered Hawk and one Cooper's 
Hawk.  This colony is located around the point at 36.3550 degrees North and 
82.2430 degrees West.
     The Sycamore Drive site is difficult to access for casual birding, 
requiring crossing two fences and walking down an unmaintained trail in a 
floodplain, with cobblestones, trash, puddles, and vegetation to contend with.  
A much easier way to view these yellowcrowns is to watch them when they come to 
feed in the shoals.  They can then be easily viewed from across the river on 
the greenbelt trail that begins at the old waterworks behind the old Bemberg 
plant.  Walking the paved greenbelt trail downriver will bring you to a bench 
at a small memorial that overlooks the shoals.
 
     A new site that offers an easy view of a yellowcrown on the nest is at 
Race Dr. in Elizabethton.  Sunday morning I also visited this site and 
confirmed that the nest(s) I discovered there last winter really are 
Yellow-crowned Night Heron nests.  There was one adult bird on one of the 
nests, and I could see it without leaving my car, and you can too, until the 
trees leaf out.
     Just turn south off of Broad Street at McDonalds onto the old Bluff City 
Hwy.  When the Road makes a sharp left curve, turn right (actually its more 
like go straight) onto Race Drive.  After a sharp right curve that brings Race 
Dr. parallel the river, look for the footbridge at the start of the Millrace 
Trail on your left.  This spot is at about 36.3560 degrees North, 82.2200 
degrees West.  Parallel park carefully in the grass on the left side of the 
road before the footbridge, and look to your left into the woods.  The bird I 
saw was nesting in a Sycamore Tree a little above eye level.  To its right was 
an empty nest in a black walnut tree.  Look for it, it may have a bird in it 
soon also.  These birds that nest here often feed in the river nearby, and then 
can sometimes be seen from the Moose Lodge on Lover's Lane across the river.
 
     Another site I have been monitoring and where I found a probable 
yellowcrown nest last winter is crossriver from the Carter Mansion State 
Historic Area.  I was recently informed by Rick Knight that this site is 
locally known as Hunter Swamp, not to be confused with Hunter Bog which is near 
Unaka High School and is famous for being the location of several species of 
rare plants.  Hunter Swamp was the location of the first Yellow-crowned Night 
Heron nest found in the area some twenty-five or so years ago by Glen Eller.  
This property has recently been acquired by the state of Tennessee and is now, 
I believe, part of the Carter Mansion State Historic Area.  This should be very 
helpful, as the site has recently been degraded by illegal trash dumping and 
offroad vehicle joyriding damage.  Hopefully the state can help protect this 
treasure, and as a starter they have already posted signs.  I hope soon to 
report the discovery of active yellowcrown nesting here, and encourage ou
 r local birders to help me keep an eye on the site.
     The location is around 36.3555 degrees North and 82.2060 degrees West.  
From Elizabethton take Hwy 19 E north across the Watauga River, taking the 
first Exit on the right (towards Stoney Creek), then turn right at the first 
road on the right, Old Stoney Creek Rd.  It deadends at a big turnaround where 
you can park.  On the side of the woods closest to Hwy 19E there is a dirt road 
into the area.  Halfway down it is a level path into the woods on your left 
into a big open area where dirt bikes have churned up the mud in big circles.  
Overlooking this area in plain view in a sycamore tree is the nest I found last 
winter.
 
Don Holt
Johnson City, TN