[Bristol-Birds] Active Red-tailed Hawk nest at Riverside on SF Holston River






















 Wilma Boy shared with me, about two weeks ago, a
 large nest along the South Fork Holston River just
 upstream from the Webb Bridge at Riverside in 
 Sullivan County, TN.

 Some of Wilma's and Lois Cox's relatives and friends
 have been seeing larger birds such as Bald Eagles and
 Osprey along the river during fall, winter and spring.

 Wilma said there had been comments made from various 
 cousins about eagles up and down the river but, to the best 
 of her knowledge, no one has seen an eagle nest or
 an eagle at a nest.  

 She said that one likely place where there had been
 reports of a large nest had been checked out by both herself
 and Lois and it was not a big enough nest to be that of a heron, 
 in her opinion.  It seemed evident it was not large enough to be 
 an eagle's   Wilma gave me good directions to the nest and
 where to observe it from.

 I was at that location today and observed the nest.  An adult
 Red-tailed Hawk was busy working
 on the nest and either placing sticks 
 in the proper positions or adjusting 
 what was  already there.  I watched 
 the hawk work for about 15 minutes.
 In the photo you can see the hawk
 on the upper right edge of the nest.

 This nest apparently was there last 
 year or before.  It was there in winter.

 The nest is in a tall tree high on the ridge above Riverside
 Road and towering over the river.  In order to get a good 
 look, I had to go up a steep road into a subdivision which
 leads off Big Spring Rd.  From there I could inspect the nest 
 with my spotting scope.

 In the air photo above, the red marker indicates the position of the
 nest on the ridge.  The yellow mark below with a yellow line
 extending across the river indicates my position in the subdivision
 and the line of sight to the nest.

 Let's go birding . . . .

 Wallace Coffey
 Bristol, TN

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