FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Broad tailed hummer, whooping cranes

[fekel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

December 10, 2005
Hamilton Co.
Signal Mt.
10:30 am eastern time

Having been out of town for the first TN Broad-tailed 
Hummingbird visit in Nashville, I did the next best thing
and Saturday morning arrived to see the "Second Coming,"
hosted at Dan Williams residence on Signal Mountain. 
Dan reiterated his request to please call him ahead of
time.  The little beauty was soon in sight just a few
minutes after I walked into the heated Williams' home, 
decadent birding at its best.  Although he was still 
coming to the feeder every 10 or 15 minutes, I more often 
saw the hummer chasing other birds. He spent much time out of 
view, perhaps on the far side of the bushes beyond the 
hummer feeder, soaking up the sun.  According to Dan, his 
visits to the feeder become less numerous in the afternoon.  
The guest log had 29 birders signed in the week or so since 
Chris Sloan banded it.  Many thanks to Chris and Dan.

Franklin Co.
mid-day

On the way back to Nashville, I took a detour from I-24
to the Winchester area in order to look for the Whooping 
Cranes.  The directions of Bert Harris in his Dec. 2 posting 
on TN-BIRD were excellent. After a 20 minute "detour" I passed 
the Franklin County Jail, and continued "when what to my 
wondering eyes did appear" but 16 Sandhill Cranes and 2 
pairs of Whooping Cranes feeding ever so near.  They
were actually in the small farm lake on the right side of 
the road a modest distance away.  All four have leg bands
but I could only see those on one of the pair easily.
1st bird
Left leg: Green above white
Right leg: Green above red

2nd bird
Left leg: Green above white
Right leg: Red above what looked like perhaps beige

The other pair were in some taller grasses and difficult
to id.

On the way back out, I realized that the lake can be
seen at great distance, but close enough to know if
the white birds are there, on the left side of the 
road just past the armory but before the jail.

All in all, a wonderful early Christmas present.

-- 
Frank Fekel
Tennessee State University
Center of Excellence in Information Systems
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Box 9501
Nashville, TN 37209 USA

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