[Bristol-Birds] Giant flock of cormorants at Steele Creek Lake
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:20:22 -0400
Had a telephone call this evening from Joe Poore of Bristol
who reported that he saw a flock of what we believe is
Double-crested Cormorants at Steele Creek Lake in Bristol,
TN.
He estimated 200 to 300 birds. The birds were seen about
6:45 p.m. along the Lakeside Trail at the mouth of Deep Cove
just west of the dam.
Joe said the number could be less. The birds flew in and made
a grunting noise as they settled into trees. Some were just up
the slope of the ridge in pines and many were in a big popular
tree along the shoreline and trail.
He said another 100 or more were turning in the air and those
perched in the popular tree were perched from 40 to maybe 80
feet above the trail. He was able to walk under the birds and
look up at them without them spooking to flight. He was hiking
east on Lakeside Trail towards the dam.
He gave a very satisfying description of the birds, their markings,
size, tail, many with light necks and breast. It was just at dusk
and he did not have binoculars. He does own at least a couple
of good field guides and frequently uses them to ID birds.
When we discussed the number to try and get as accurate
estimate as we could, it seem like the number was at least
200 or more.
The Birds of NET (Knight-2) indicates the high count for
the species in the area is 170+ by Rick Knight, 12 Nov 1986.
Let's go birding.....
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
Other related posts:
- » [Bristol-Birds] Giant flock of cormorants at Steele Creek Lake
