FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Elizabethton Fall Bird Count

["Rick Knight" <RKnight@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Elizabethton Fall Bird Count was held on 27 Sep. by members & friends of 
the Lee and Lois Herndon Chapter of TOS.  The coverage area consisted of Carter 
County and parts of adjacent Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi & Washington counties.   
21 observers in 6 parties spent 69 party-hours in the field, plus 4.5 hours 
owling.  The weather was good until a cold front passed through in the late 
afternoon.  Temperatures were 52-80 degrees.  The sky was partly cloudy until 
the front arrived, then light rain began, with clouds persisting until dusk.  
Winds were westerly at 5-15 mph, but gusty with the frontal passage.
132 species were found (plus Empidonax sp.).  This compares to an average of 
123 species over the last 20 years.  The all-time high on this count was 137 
species in 1993.  A total of 6710 individuals were counted.

Highlights include (in taxonomic order):  Horned Grebe - 2 (record early), 
Eared Grebe - 3 (at their now-regular site on South Holston Lake), both 
night-herons, Bald Eagle - 1, Peregrine Falcon - 1, Virginia Rail - 1, Sora - 
2, six species of shorebirds (besides Killdeer), LAUGHING GULL - 9 (at South 
Holston Lake, about 14th record & largest number in 5-county area of Northeast 
Tenn.), Barn Owl - 2 (at regular site at the V.A. in Johnson City), Com. 
Nighthawk - 6, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1, Acadian Flycatcher - 1, 
Philadelphia Vireo - 1, Com. Raven - 13 (by 4 parties), Marsh Wren - 2 (in 
Shady Valley), 22 species of warblers (including a Golden-winged, 2 Nashville, 
102 Tenn., a Yellow, & 3 Canada), Swamp Sparrow - 1, Blue Grosbeak - 13, 
Bobolink - 1, Red Crossbill - 2, Pine Siskin - 2.

Participants were:  Fred Alsop, Rob Biller, Wallace Coffey, Rack Cross, Tess 
Cumbie, Gilbert Derouen, Glen Eller, Don Holt, Rick Knight (compiler), H.P. 
Langridge, Tom Laughlin, Larry McDaniel, Tom McNeil, Charles Moore, Dexter & 
Linda Newman, Mike Poe, Bryan Stevens, Allan Trently, Gary Wallace, and Frank 
Ward.

The full list will appear in the chapter newsletter (The Kestrel) & a future 
compilation of fall counts in THE MIGRANT.

###################
Rick Knight
Johnson City, TN
rknight@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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