[TN-Bird] Hiwassee Refuge area, mostly Meigs Co, east Tenn
- From: "Trently, David J" <dtrently@xxxxxxx>
- To: "tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:26:23 +0000
On Sunday, January 16, Mike Nelson and I decided to support the efforts with
the Sandhill Cranes in Tennessee by attending the Sandhill Crane Viewing Days
at the Blythe Ferry Unit of the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Meigs County. After
a couple short stops on the way, we arrived about 9:30 to the sound of hundreds
of cranes. Most of the water visible from the viewing area was frozen, so there
were very few ducks around. The fields did have lots of cranes, a few Canada
Geese, 2 Ross's Geese and some Great Blue Herons. Four Bald Eagles (2 adults)
put in an appearance, as did 2 immature Red-shouldered Hawks. A lone Great
Egret was well hidden in a distant tree.
We met Melinda Welton there and she had a couple extra tickets for a boat ride
that would take us around Hiwassee Island. We couldn't turn down this great
opportunity! Before heading for the boat dock, we scanned Hiwassee Island from
the bluffs at the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park where we added several
Canvasbacks (we would see them again from the boat, and counted 39), Ruddy
Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead, hundreds of Mallards,
and 3 Bald Eagles.
Where Blythe Ferry Road curves at Shadden Road there were several White-crowned
Sparrows singing, as well as 4 American Pipits feeding in the grass.
After noon we headed for the boat dock at Sale Creek (Hamilton County). We
boarded the Blue Moon for our river tour. I highly recommend taking this trip!
see www.BlueMoonCruises.org<http://www.BlueMoonCruises.org> for information.
They will be running trips until February 26. There is a lot of room on the
boat, and you can choose to view the scenery and birds from inside or outside.
The crew of two naturalists can relate a lot of interesting information about
the area, plus help identify the birds seen.
One of the highlights of our trip, besides being able to cruise all the way
around Hiwassee Island, was the Bald Eagle count. We came up with 27 birds, 21
of which were immatures. We went up the Hiwassee River as far as the Highway 58
bridge, where we were able to see a Bald Eagle on the nest there.
Of course there were thousands of Sandhill Cranes to be seen (7-10 thousand?)
There were not a large number of waterfowl species, although there were
thousands of Mallards around the island!
We saw a lot of pairs of Bufflehead.
At one point, a very dark Peregrine Falcon flew over us.
One flock of 12 Dunlin was a nice addition.
A Mute Swan has been in the area for a few weeks, and we got great looks at
that bird.
Here is a list of birds seen from the boat trip only. Most of the songbirds
were from around the boat dock.
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback - 39
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle - 27 - 6 ad
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Dunlin
Ring-billed Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
David Trently
Knoxville, TN
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