[TN-Bird] Kingston Steam Plant, 9/16/06 ? Caspian Tern, possible Dickcissels

Returned to Kingston Steam Plant, Roane County, Tennessee, Saturday 
afternoon, September 16, just before 4 p.m.   Went directly to the upper 
pond on the left as you walk from the parking lot.  This is where the 
majority of the shorebirds had been the past two weeks but I was 
disappointed, finding only 4 Least Sandpipers and 4 Killdeer, all at the far 
end.  Water level appeared lower. From there I could see down into the first 
and largest lower pond which parallels the upper one and then bends around 
so that you can walk down the hill and out to the path between its far end 
and the river.  Directly below where I was standing looking out toward the 
river I saw a Mallard and my first of the season American Coot on the lower 
pond.  Of more interest was a large white tern flying from the Steam Plant 
toward the river.  I decided to walk down the hill to see if I could get a 
closer look.

        About half way down the hill I saw a small bird fly into the top of a 
small 
tree at the foot of the hill to my right.  Got it in my scope.  Large silver 
conical bill, very dark streaky back, light underneath, prominent pale 
eyebrow extending to the back of its head.  Its mouth was open revealing a 
pink gape.  Possibly an immature Dickcissel?  Another landed beside it with 
its back to me.  Dark streaky back, short tail, gray nape.  Same large 
silver gray bill, same pale elongated eyebrow.  One by one they dropped down 
into the vegetation.

        Continued on my way.  Got an even more distant look at the tern over 
the 
river as it dropped down to near the surface and then flew.  Phoebes in the 
trees by the river.  Walked back on the path between the two lower ponds.  
It was hot, there was no shade and I had unwisely left my water bottle in 
the car.  By the time I reached the area of the dredge boat and the mud 
flats sometime after 6 p.m., I was exhausted and dehydrated.  My contact 
lenses were foggy from sweat.  Of course that?s when I found the missing 
shore birds.  There were 20 or so feeding actively at fairly close range.  I 
tried to sort them out.  A possible Sanderling, maybe a semi-palm.  I just 
wasn?t up to it.  I ID?d a couple of Leasts and 11 Killdeer (no other 
plovers) and saw out of the corner of my eye a Black Crowned Night Heron 
with a bright red-orange bill.  No, wait, that?s not right.  It?s my tern, a 
beautiful Caspian Tern flying in and landing on a mud flat.  Wow!  It 
eventually took off again and landed in shallow water beside a Great Blue 
Heron where it stood posing.  I admired it at length, then returned to the 
shorebirds.

Had just about decided to give up and leave when I turned and saw the most 
unexpected sight of the day ? a human being, the first I?d encountered there 
in the past 3 weekends.  I IDed him instantly as a birder based upon his 
tall tripod and spotting scope.  Gratefully I joined him hoping that he 
could shed some light on the shorebirds.  He was Kyle from Chattanooga.  He 
agreed that there were Leasts there.  He IDed a Western SP and thought he 
saw a Pectoral. He pointed out two Dowitchers that I had not seen; they were 
standling out a little farther and looked like they were about to nod off; 
one had its head tucked and the other did likewise as I watched. It was now 
7 p.m. and I left the shorebirds to Kyle.  As I walked back to my car and 
bottle of warm water two male red-winged blackbirds flew overhead.

I searched the E-Bird database for Kingston Steam Plant and found no 
sightings of Dickcissels (no House Sparrows either).  No idea the size of 
the database.  There have been Bobolinks reported in September; another 
possibility though the bills I observed were solid silver/gray, no pink. So 
if anyone goes to Kingston you might want to check out the area where I saw 
these birds.

Here?s what I saw or heard:

Mallard ? 15+
D.C. Cormorant ? 3
Gr Blue Heron   - 4
Great Egret -   1
Black Crowned Night Heron ? 2 (one adult, one imm.)
American Coot ? 1
Killdeer ? 15
Least Sandpiper ? 6+
Dowitcher ? 2
Caspian Tern ? 1
Belted Kingfisher ? 1  (heard)
Phoebe ? 2
Common Yellowthroat ? 1 (heard)
Red-winged Blackbird ? 2
American Goldfinch ? 1  (heard)

2 possible Dickcissels
6-10 UFOs (unidentified feeding organisms)


Carole Gobert, Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee


=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen.  The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
      To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
                    tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________ 
                To unsubscribe, send email to:
                 tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
            with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                ------------------------------
                Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
                         Cleveland, OH
                -------------------------------
               Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
                          Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
         
          Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
              web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                          ARCHIVES
 TN-Bird Net Archives at http://www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/

                  EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com

_____________________________________________________________

Other related posts: