FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Sandhill Crane, Barn Swallow, etc. (Greene Co., TN)

[Don Miller <raincrow@xxxxxxx>]

13 March 2004
Greene County, TN

Alice Loftin and I checked several sites in western Greene County this
afternoon while also managing to visit a favorite haunt near Tusculum in
the eastern part of the county in the evening.  Several areas we checked
were bird-dead, or nearly so, but Sapp Road in the western end was alive
with swallows and ducks, as is often the case in spring.  A few minutes'
effort produced the following on Sapp Road:

Wood Duck,
Green-winged Teal (2),
Blue-winged Teal (8),
Northern Shoveler,
American Wigeon,
Hooded Merganser (2),
Sharp-shinned Hawk,
Cooper's Hawk,
Tree Swallow (25),
Barn Swallow (spring first),
Rusty Blackbird (3--at least one singing, and two appearing to engage in
courtship behavior, "strutting" on the branch of a tree).

In the abstract, these observations don't appear particularly
impressive, but considering the context of the sightings--the scarcity
of waterfowl habitat in Greene County, the time of year, the short
period of time that we had to spend in the area--they are noteworthy.

The area in which we found the birds was on the western end of Sapp
Road, about 0.2 mile from Murray Bridge Road.  This part of the road is
Lick Creek bottomland just barely higher than the creek itself.  It
floods regularly in spring and often seems to be a micro-hotspot for the
county.  I highly recommend it (and similar nearby areas) to any birders
who happen to be passing through or who are planning a swing through
this part of Greene County.  It is also often a gathering spot for
shorebirds and swallows in the fall.  Sapp Road has the added advantage
of being remote and nearly traffic-free.

Working our way back toward Greeneville, we found 11 Wilson's Snipe on
Jim Kirk Road behind Wal-Mart Distribution Center, along with 75
American Pipits.

The day ended with a fine bonus as we were walking near the intersection
of Brown's Bridge Road and Holly Creek Road near Tusculum: a Sandhill
Crane flying silently toward the Nolichuckey River.  This species is
rare in Greene County, with most sightings having been reported in
fall.  Today's bird was the first I have recorded here in spring in over
10 years of birding.

Don Miller
Greeneville, TN

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