FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Lower Nolichuckey River (Cocke Co., Hamblen Co., TN)

[Don Miller <raincrow@xxxxxxx>]

July 2, 2005
[posted July 3, 2005]

Nolichuckey River (Cocke County, Hamblen County);
Rankin Wildlife Management Area (Cocke County)

On Saturday, July 2, Leslie Gibbens, Michael Sledjeski, and I canoed the 
Nolichuckey River from Hale Bridge (on the Cocke County/Hamblen County 
line) downstream to the head of Douglas Lake at Rankin Wildlife 
Management Area.  The river distance from our put-in at Hale Bridge to 
our destination at Rankin is approximately 6.0-6.5 miles.  Our 
ever-obliging pal Cole Tipple welcomed us at the end of the trip.

The stretch of river we covered seems never to be surveyed by birders, 
no doubt because it can be adequately accessed only by boat.  Although 
there are a few roads in the area on both sides of the county line, none 
provides a significant view of the river.  As we traveled downstream, 
the three of us wondered if we were the first people ever to take note 
of the birdlife along this part of the Nolichuckey.  My guess is that we 
were not the first but that we were probably the only birders in the 
area in the last ten years at least.

Both sides of the river from Hale Bridge to Douglas Lake contain a 
mixture of farmland and forest, with a few scattered houses.  The Cocke 
County side is more heavily wooded and offers steeper terrain in 
general, with a few small bluffs, but the uplands there are less 
exaggerated than they are along the area known as Chuckey Knobs several 
miles upstream along the Cocke County/Greene County line.  The Hamblen 
County side of the lower Nolichuckey contains a few forested patches but 
is generally bottomland farms with a thin wooded riparian zone.  As the 
river approaches Douglas Lake, it widens into a large floodplain replete 
with black willows, sycamores, and associated vegetation.  Most of this 
floodplain is on the Hamblen side and is part of Rankin Wildlife 
Management Area.  It is similar to the part of Rankin familiar to us all 
and appears to offer excellent possibilities for shorebirds and wading 
birds when water levels are lower.  It definitely bears watching as lake 
drawdown progresses in the fall and as levels rise again in the spring.

Here's a list of our most noteworthy finds during the trip.  The numbers 
include a few tallies for birds observed at Rankin and along back roads 
in both counties near the area we canoed.  (C stands for Cocke County, H 
for Hamblen County.  Since birds move freely back and forth across the 
river, the exact locations mean little.)

Double-crested Cormorant (1 C, 3 H);
Great Blue Heron (7 C, 7 H);
Great Egret (3 H);
Green Heron (8 C, 5 H);
Black-crowned Night-Heron (1 C, 1 H);
Wood Duck (11 C (including 6 young), 16 H (including 13 young));
Osprey (5 C);
Northern Bobwhite (1 C, 2 H);
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (9 C, 2 H);
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (C);
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1 C, 1 H);
Great Crested Flycatcher (C);
Eastern Kingbird (6 C, 9 H);
Purple Martin (15 C);
Tree Swallow (184 C, 5 H);
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (20 C, 18 H);
Cliff Swallow (27 C, 10 H; 4 dozen or more nests at Hale Bridge, mostly 
on the Cocke County side);
Barn Swallow (6 C, 3 H);
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (4 C, 6 H);
Wood Thrush (3 C, 1 H);
White-eyed Vireo (3 C);
Yellow-throated Vireo (C);
Warbling Vireo (2 H);
Red-eyed Vireo (6 C, 6 H);
Prairie Warbler (C);
Black-and-white Warbler (1 C, 1 H);
Prothonotary Warbler (15 C, 12 H);
Common Yellowthroat (6 C, 4 H);
Yellow-breasted Chat (3 C, 1 H);
Blue Grosbeak (2 C, 2 H);
Indigo Bunting (42 C, 22 H);
Chipping Sparrow (7 C, 1 H);
Orchard Oriole (3 C, 3 H).

Thanks again, Leslie and Michael, for helping us to better understand 
our region's birds.

Don Miller
Greeneville, TN







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