FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] probable Osprey nest S.H. Lake (VA)

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday (10/28) I observed a probable Osprey nest on South Holston Lake in 
Washington Co. This is the first significant evidence that the species may 
begin nesting in Southwest Virginia.
The nest structure is in the top fork of a dead tree, towering above the canopy 
of national forest trees along the east shoreline just upstream from the 
Tennessee stateline.  The bulk alone suggest that this is most likely an 
Osprey.   Eagles usually nest under the canopy, down from the top of the tree.  
The nest I observed appears to have been only about half or more complete and 
probably not used.  Unless, of course, it is the partial remains from an nest 
built two or three years ago.

It is almost identical to the site location of a very large nest several of us 
observed earlier this year when we found it just upstream from U.S. 421 bridge 
along South Holston Lake in Sullivan Co., TN.

Otherwise,  3 Eared Grebes were in the Painter Creek Embayment along with 3 
Pied-billed Grebes.  

On islands in the vicinity of Cliff Island not far from Holston Dam,  there 
were Ring-billed Gull 30,  Herring Gull 7 and Double-crested Cormorant 2.  The 
gull population has been slowly increasing.  Hundreds of Canada Geese are 
frequenting the mouth of Spring Creek.

A total of 78 Killdeer were seen in the Painter Creek and Spring Creek 
embayments.

Let's go birding....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN


*************************************************
       BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST
Bristol Birds Net Photo Gallery located at:
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jwcoffeyy/album?.dir=/efd5

This is a regional birding list sponsored by the
Bristol Bird Club to facilitate communications 
between birders and bird clubs of Southwest Virginia
and Northeast Tennessee.  
--------------------------------------------------
You are subscribed to Bristol-Birds.
To post to this mailing list, simply send an email
to: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe, send
an email to bristol-birds-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
the one word 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
--------------------------------------------------
       Wallace Coffey, Moderator
         wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
           (423)764-****