[TN-Bird] Best wildlife show in TN + Whooping Crane

From: Melinda Welton <weltonmj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tnbird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2010 21:33:04 -0600
The Thanksgiving cold front brought more than a few thousand Sandhill Cranes
to Hiwassee, it also blew in the first Whooping Crane for the season. At
7:30 AM  John and I found over a thousand cranes within view of the
observation platform, and more kept arriving every minute from the river
(I'm guessing we saw about 4,000 Sandhill Cranes in less than 4 hours). We
were joined by "local" birders Debby and Roy Shannon, and Charles Murray and
as we were dazzled by the amazing crane show and the cavorting eagles,
Charles spotted a single Whooping Crane strutting out from behind some
distant trees. He/she foraged along with the other cranes in the corn for
about an hour and then went behind the trees again. Before we left the
platform to explore the area, 13 birders and 4 hunters had visited the
platform to enjoy the cranes with us. John and I explored the area and
returned to the platform at 3:30 PM. Only about 800 cranes were on the
grounds around the platform from then until sunset, but during that time,
groups of cranes and ducks were constantly strung along the horizon. I'd
guess at least a 1,000 cranes went to roost along the river. Also enjoying
the wildlife show were members of CTOS and KTOS, and folks from Kentucky,
Virginia, Georgia, and east Tennessee, most of them birders, some
photographers, some showing grandchildren their first Sandhill Cranes - 27
folks in all. We shared spotting scopes and field guides and had a lovely
time, even though the Whooper never showed again. We'll be staying to watch
the show tomorrow as well!

Bird list for the day:
19 Snow Geese
3 Ross' Geese
1 Common Loon
230 Canada Geese
1 Mute Swan
22 Gadwall
48 Widgeon
20 Mallard
4 N. Shoveler
3 N. Pintail
11 Green-wing Teal
125 Ring-necked Duck
10 Bufflehead
20 Hooded Merganser
1 Ruddy Duck
12 Pied-billed Grebe
14 D.c. Cormorant
61 Gr. Blue Heron
1 Great Egret
5 Black Vulture
8 Turkey Vulture
6 Bald Eagle
2 N. Harrier
3 Red-tailed Hawk
320 Am. Coot
4000 Sandhill Crane
1 Whooping Crane
23 Killdeer
1 Wilson's Snipe
135 Ringed-billed Gull
2 Bonapart's Gull
50 Rock Pigeon
1 Mourning Dove
3 Kingfisher
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 E. Phoebe
1 Blue Jay
300 Am. Crow
2 Carolina Chickadee
2 Carolina Wren
1 Golden-cr. Kinglet
18 E. Bluebird
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 E. Towhee
4 White-throated Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 VESPER SPARROW
2 N. Cardinal
1 E. Meadowlark
35 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Purple Finch

Melinda Welton & John Noel
Franklin, TN



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[TN-Bird] Best wildlife show in TN + Whooping Crane

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