FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Some late notes

[Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx]

Greetings from the Charlotte Park area of West Nashville just a few blocks 
east of the old Cleece's Ferry landing & boat ramp on the Cumberland River.

I'm sorry to post so late, but I simply could not do this any sooner. I 
"fell" into bed upon my return Sunday night and had a totally full day 
yesterday 
which sent me to bed early again last night.

On Sunday, I awakened to the calls of flickers with one in my back yard on an 
electrical transformer calling to one about a block and a half away in a 
neighbor's yard.  They soon got together, and I think they MAY have chosen the 
transformer as their "home."  Unfortunately, the last pair of flickers that 
nested there were charbroiled when lightning hit that transformer knocking out 
the 
lights in the neighborhood for several hours.  Many other "yard birds" were 
singing away and "courting" in preparation for nest building and breeding.  
They 
have really been storing up the food supposedly to get their bodies ready for 
the extra work they'll need to raise their young after their long winter's 
"rest."  Peanut butter, apples, oranges, bananas, jelly, yellow cake and all 
kinds of bird seed--just about anything goes when it comes to filling their 
hungry tummies!

After the fog lifted, I took off for Pace Point in hopes of finding the 
Pacific & red-throated loons along with the immature yellow-billed.  When I 
arrived 
at Rocky Point, Jeff Wilson had already seen & photographed all the birds, 
and the only one available at the time was the immature yellow-billed outside 
my 
binocular range which I appreciated seeing through Jeff's scope.  At the 
time, I really didn't remember having ever seen the red-throated and was really 
looking for it.  It turns out that I do have records on it and the Pacific from 
over 30 years ago when I was doing a lot of bird watching.  I do wish I could 
have found them, as I really would like to have seen them again.  I checked 
out Pace Point, then returned to Rocky Point.  At that time, the immature 
yellow 
bill had come in close enough for me to get a nice study of it with my 
binoculars.  After about ten minutes observing the bird, it swam back out to 
the 
middle of the water and out of my range.  Back at Pace Point, a loon came up 
very 
close to shore, and Mrs. Wilbur from Clarksville & I both recognized it as a 
loon, but it took a dive never to return for us again.  It DID appear to be a 
smaller loon, but I would not hazard a guess as to its identification as it 
was never up long enough to define any field marks.

On the way over, I had a couple of martin houses with purple martins just 
south of Big Sandy on 69A.  On the way back, I had 5 turkeys feeding close to 
the 
highway near some standing water about half way between Big Sandy & Camden on 
69A.  They were close enough for me to take pictures, and the male was really 
beginning to color-up into full bloom!

On I-40, vultures were in vogue with numerous small (8-15 birds) kettles of 
both BV's & TV's as well as many lone birds almost constantly in view from just 
west of Dickson to the Tennessee River.  This went for my whole trip on my 
way over AND on my way back.  

About a half-mile west of the widening for I-840 in Dickson County, I saw a 
nice adult broad winged hawk perched in a tree right at the edge of the 
highway's right-of-way.  I pulled over to get a really good study of it because 
I 
wasn't sure they were supposed to be here right now.  It was a classic light 
adult that looked just like it was perched there to pose for Sibley!

Just in case anyone is interested, I had a brilliant male sapsucker up 
through Friday, March 5, but I haven't seen it since.  My mouse population has 
dwindled drastically to the point that my owls and sparrow hawk seem to have 
gone 
to better spots to hunt.  I saw the sparrow hawk two blocks away yesterday 
where it was sitting above another feeder.  Of course, they have had "help" in 
mouse catching from a neighborhood cat or two.

This morning, my hungry birds are all at it again, and I need to rush out to 
add more food to the "Smorg-a-bird" that they seem to enjoy so much.

Dee Thompson
Nashville, TN

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