FreeLists / tn-bird / [tn-bird] Re: Roseate Spoonbill (Greene Co., TN)

["Todd, Michael C." <michael.c.todd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Great find!!! Hopefully this bird will hang around a little while and give
better viewing opportunities than Jeff's Memphis Spoonbills from a couple of
months ago. The Mud Lake Spoonbills were the proverbial needle in a haystack
to locate during the brief time they were seen.

Good birding!!!!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
Carroll Co.
mikectodd@xxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Miller [mailto:raincrow@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, October 07, 2002 8:28 PM
To: TN-Bird
Subject: [tn-bird] Roseate Spoonbill (Greene Co., TN)



A first-fall Roseate Spoonbill was observed today at Kinser Park in
Greene County.

The bird was found by Don Miller at 3:00 p.m. as it fed in shallow water
bordering the golf course that adjoins the park.  Alice Loftin observed
the bird immediately thereafter.  Various members of the Greeneville
Chapter of T.O.S. were then contacted, as was the photography department
of The Greeneville Sun, the local newspaper.  One member of Greeneville
T.O.S. also phoned Rick Knight of the Herndon Chapter in Johnson City.
About ten minutes later, Miller and Steve Dearstone, Kinser Park
Manager, saw the bird fly from the golf course to an area near the boat
ramp.

Miller observed the bird at this location for the next half hour or so
until others arrived.  Clearly evident were the field characters
identifying it as a first-fall bird: dull yellowish to straw-colored
bill; fully feathered white head; white neck and back; pale pink wings
and underparts.

Other birders began arriving at about 4:00 p.m., and photographer Phil
Gentry from The Sun joined the group around a half hour later.  Gentry
took several dozen photographs as he and others in the group observed
the spoonbill at rest and feeding.  At around 5:20, it flew from the
area and was last seen headed downriver in a southwesterly direction.
Several more photos were taken of the bird in flight.

A complete list of observers includes: Phine Britton (GTOS), Steve
Dearstone (Kinser Park Manager), Phil Gentry (Greeneville Sun), Jim Holt
(GTOS), Rick Knight (Herndon TOS), Alice Loftin (GTOS), Don Miller
(GTOS), Richard Nevius (GTOS), Willie Ruth Nevius (GTOS), Linda Northrop
(GTOS), Jo Anne Routledge (GTOS), Larry Routledge (GTOS), Virginia
Williams (GTOS).

John C. Robinson's An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Tennessee
(1990) lists one record for Roseate Spoonbill: a juvenile observed at
the Duck River Unit of Tennessee NWR (Humphreys County) June 29-July 13,
1972 (p. 42).  Rick Knight informed the group at Kinser Park this
afternoon that he believed a few more sightings had also been documented
for the species.

Anyone hoping to find the bird over the next few days is advised to
examine carefully the area at and around the boat ramp, including the
shoreline below the access road leading to the ramp.  This is
practically all the accessible viewing area available at Kinser Park.
The river immediately downstream from the park is reachable only by
boat.

Directions to Kinser Park:

(1) From near the intersection of Main Street and McKee Street in
downtown Greeneville, take South Main Street and proceed out of town.
(At the town's edge, South Main Street becomes Old Asheville Highway.)

(2) Follow Old Asheville Highway about five miles or so.  Turn right
onto Kinser Park Lane.  (Signs offer direction to the park for
approximately the last mile.)

(3) Follow Kinser Park Lane into the park.  Proceed past the gate almost
a half mile.

(4) Turn right onto the access road leading to the boat ramp.  The ramp
is about a half mile beyond this turn.

Don Miller,
Greeneville, TN

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=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
        jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx      (423) 764-3958
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