[Bristol-Birds] birding at weir dam and South Holston Dam reservation

TN-Birders, Rich Phillips, Don Carrier and all.....

Today was exactly the wonderful, warm, day Rick Phillps described.  I spent a 
few hours 
at the Weir Dam and South Holston Dam reservation this afternoon in Sullivan 
Co.  Most of it was on foot searching conifer stands for possible Brown-headed 
Nuthatches and/or roosting owls. No luck.  I did not search Osceola Island.  My 
efforts were focused on the wider area along the river and up the road to the 
dam and beyond the overlook.

I found that the Mallards are in pairs -- at least five or six pairs at the 
bridge near the water intake below the weir.  Up stream from the weir, near the 
turbine generation spillway, I saw at least eight pairs of Buffleheads and the 
males were swimming between their apparent mates and other approaching males.  
There were several encounters as the males would chase and fight to keep the 
approaching males away.

I spent a little while on nearby Pemberton Rd. and on foot for awhile at 
PowerLine Farms.  Of note was about 20 American Wigeon at the Pemberton Rd. "S" 
curve pond.  This is the first time I have had any significant numbers of them 
there.  A few Canada Geese were nearby but the Ross's Goose, seen with them not 
long ago by Rick Knight, was nowhere to be found.

Several Great Blue Herons are present upstream of the Central Holston Bridge 
and I searched again to see if any birds were carrying sticks.  They are 
actively flying about and landing in trees.  This is not anything to get too 
excited about.  However,  the possiblity of staging to build a new heronry is 
not out of the question.  I am still not sure if a group of birds just migrate 
in and start building nests the first day they arrive at a potential heronry 
site or if the numbers build up over a week.  

So the question is:  how do the birds get together and start a site when they 
have been solitary most of the winter ?  What suddenly triggers their arrival 
and selection of a site ?  Is their an "alpha" bird that just says "here we are 
and everyone needs to get to work building nests" ?  Has that group already 
arrived near the Big Bend of the river ?  Is the signal going to be understood 
from wherever any day now ?  Maybe not.

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rick Phillips 
  To: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 9:00 PM
  Subject: [Bristol-Birds] birding at weir dam


  Birded for a while this morning at the Weir Dam near South Holston Lake.  
Waterfowl were present in good numbers although only a few species represented. 
 It was a really nice day to do some birding.  Can't recall too many January 
days looking for waterfowl in my shirtsleeves!  

  Bufflehead
  American Widgeon
  Lesser Scaup
  Belted Kingfisher
  Common Raven
  Golden-crowned Kinglet
  Eastern Bluebird
  American Robin

  Fieldsheet writeup can be viewed at: 
http://webpages.charter.net/mtnsunfish/Jan302006/fieldsheet02.html

  Rick

  Rick Phillips
  Kingsport, Tennessee

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