FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] wetlands an excellent introduction for BBC

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

The Bristol Bird Club's Saturday birdwalk at Cedar Creek Marsh Wetlands in 
Bristol Tennessee was an excellent introduction for our birders.  The proposed 
wetlands park has been a site visited and studied by area birders for more than 
30 years.
Recently the BBC agreed to work in an effort to get the wetlands from a private 
landower and having it donated to the city for a wetlands park.  The owner has 
agreed to review a proposal and indicated a willingness to donated about 8 to 
10 acres to the city.

Larry McDaniel and Wallace Coffey are representing the BBC and working with the 
city and landowner.  They were leaders for the Saturday walk and were joined by 
Kevin Hamed, Wilma Boy, Bill Grigsby and John Moyle.

We were treated to a frosty morning at the wetlands and many common species 
which were enjoyable to watch at close range.  Horses running in an adjancet 
field next to Cedar Creek provided a great outdoors experience.  We walked over 
much of the area, crossing Cedar Creek on a nice footbridge and walking along 
the wetland border on a good trail.

Everyone agreed the wetlands was a very special place and would make an 
excellent park.  Hamed will soon help us by contacting the Tennessee Valley 
Authority to get their services in providing a delination of the wetlands.  
Steve Cross, with the Bristol Tennessee city engineering department, provided a 
detailed aireal photograph with color overlay of property boundaries and 
possible wetlands for our use.  

Bev Brown from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
visited the site at our invitation on 25 Oct.  She said it was an excellent, 
legitimate, wetlands and extended into more than the 7.5 acres we had marked on 
the map.  She recommended we try to get all of the wetlands.  She thinks we 
need a consultant to "deleneate" the exact wetlands so we can act on it quickly 
and make sure that we know up front what comes under "state waters."   

BBC member Wilma Boy was impressed with the area and said she felt it would 
certainly make a nice wetlands park for the city.  She has expressed and 
interest in 
the developments with the property.

In the winter of 1969-1970, Brent Rowell (Steele Creek Park's first ever 
employed naturalist) made 10 bird counts at the wetlands from 15 Nov. through 
17 Jan.  In addition he trapped mammals there.  Dr. Rowell is now on the 
faculty at the University of Kentucky.
In the early 1990's he prepared the first master plan for programs and 
organization of the new Steele Creek Park Nature Center under contract with the 
city.

Among the 30+ bird species found at the Cedar Creek Wetlands 30 years ago 
during Rowell's survey were:

Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Ruffed Grouse
Northern Bobwhite
Killdeer
Common Snipe
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Common Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Goilden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Loggerhead Shrike
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
Pine Siskin
Rufous-sided Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
Field Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow
(neighbor reported Great Blue Heron)

Our birders later went on to the South Holston Weir, South Holston Dam and 
Musick's Campground before concluding with lunch at Shelley's Chicken.

It was intersting to compare some observations with those of the same time and 
date by the Herndon Chapter TOS at Wilbur Lake and other sites in Carter 
County.  We had just one American Wigeon at the weir and just one found by 
LRHTOS.  The population of wigeon at the weir had been much higher in recent 
weeks with well over 20 birds or so.  In addition to loons, grebes, usual gulls 
and such on South Holston Lake we did see the usual 6 Eared Grebe's near 
Musick's Campground.  The Herndon Chapter also found a larger number of 
Buffleheads but the population at the weir is significant and growing fast.

We missed the rest of you.

Let's go birding...

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN










We have called off the Meadowview Marsh destination because
nearly 1,700 cross country runners will descend upon Cattails Golf Course, 
to compete for a gold medal at the 2004 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Youth 
Cross Country National Championship and that doesn't count parents, spectators 
and coaches.   Most all the roads in the immediate area of Meadowview Marsh 
will be closed to traffic during the day.

We will probably be going to the proposed Bristol Tennessee Cedar Creek 
Wetlands to get a good look and some brief birding.

Larry McDaniel, Bill Grigsby, Rack Cross and myself will lead the birding out 
of the ETSU front parking lot.  It will be a very good day with some good 
birders participating. 

The National Weather Service coudn't provide us anything better:  Partly 
cloudy, with a high around 51. Calm wind most of the day !

Due to the changing availability of Meadowview, we will determine our 
destinations before we leave ETSU.  This will be a good birding trip.

We'll look for you on the front row with your binoculars.  Come and enjoy 
birding and put all of the early-seasonal hassel behind you.  Relax and bird.  
What could be better on a great Saturday morning ?

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol




 

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