[Bristol-Birds] Vesper Sparrow and Cooper's Hawk at Oak Hill Cemetery

I was at Oak Hill Cemetery for a while before work this morning trying to get 
some video of the birds.  I was walking along a cleared area which has sparse 
grasses and red clay when I heard an unidentified, yet somewhat familiar 
finch-like song. Looked around for a while and finally spotted a Vesper Sparrow 
on the ground about 20 feet away.  Beautiful song, hard bird to see against 
light-brown grasses!

On the way out I happend to glance up at a "stick-nest" in some tall trees just 
below the funeral home.  I have had my eye on this spot for a few years because 
I saw a nice stick-nest here about three years ago but could never pin anything 
to it.  Today I saw and got a distant video of a bird at another stick nest 
just a few yards from the one I had been watching.  I looked away for a second 
and back and didn't see the bird on the "nest" anymore.  Then a couple of 
minutes later, and adult Cooper's Hawk flew back in and perched a few feet from 
the nest.  Got some nice video of that bird.  I'll keep any eye on this 
"stick-mass" and see if I can get some better evidence for a nesting record.  
The trees are just below the funeral home near the entrance.  Just scan through 
the trees there and you can't miss these stick nests. Vesper Sparrow was on the 
grassy hill just adjacent to the funeral home parking lot.

Rick 

Rick Phillips
Kingsport, Tennessee

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