[TN-Bird] Least Flycatcher nest in Shady Valley

An apparent Least Flycatcher's nest was discovered today (5/20) in a small 
grove of young trees along Low Gap Branch in Shady Valley, Johnson County, TN 
at an elevation of about 2,810 feet.  A noisy male was on territory about the 
nest.
Bill Grigsby and Wallace Coffey found the nest shortly after 8 a.m. while 
searching for the specie's nest in the bog-like open understory.   

It is located about 15 feet above the ground in the horizontal fork of a wild 
cherry and about two or three feet from its small trunk.  It looks very similar 
to more than a half dozen such nests I have found 25 miles NE of this location 
in Smyth County, Virginia.   Many of those nests were, however, in upright 
forks of similar size trees.

The Shady Valley nest is rather exposed and well under the canopy of nearby 
trees.  It has a slight global shape, very compact and about 3 inches in 
outside diameter.  It appears to be deep in shape.

No female was seen during the hour we were present.  The literature states that 
the nest is built by the female.  The male was constantly flying about the 
small grove and, at times, perched several feet above the nest.  Once or twice 
it drove other small birds away from the vicinity.  It gave its typical call 
rather constantly while we were present.  

Low Gap Branch is a small stream running about 150 to 175 feet along the 
northeast side of the triangular-shaped grove.  The nest is 50 feet or less 
from the stream and it was along this edge that the male Least Flycatcher 
constantly flew back and forth and often around and in the nest tree.  The 
grove is about one-half acre in size, based on our rough estimates of its outer 
measurements.  The grove contains several red maples, wild cherries, a few 
sapling white oaks and a dominant white pine in the more dry area.  We did not 
attempt to note all of the tree species.

Johnson County is only the third county I know of in East Tennessee where the 
Least Flycatcher nests with Carter County being the only other in Northeast 
Tennessee.

Albert Ganier of Nashville and Bruce Tyler of Johnson City, Tenn. reported the 
Least Flycatcher as "fairly common, chiefly in the woodlands along the Creek" 
5-8 Jun 1934. It was the first time Ganier had recorded the species as a summer 
resident in Tennessee. 
Tuesday I found another bird singing on apparent territory at Orchard Bog in 
Shady Valley.

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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