[TN-Bird] Robin roost, Lewis County

Tracking down the Robin roost in Lewis County this evening (12/30/08)  
proved to be quite easy.  Just follow the birds.  It is focused along  
Piney Creek a couple of miles east of downtown Hohenwald, in a small  
neighborhood right along the creek and the road.  Locals say the  
birds have been there for about 3 weeks.  It is very impressive  
watching them come into the roost in the evening, needless to say.   
The large majority of the birds were Robins, with blackbirds,  
waxwings, and starlings as minor components. Estimating numbers is  
rough; for the Robins I mostly tried to estimate the rate of new  
arrivals per second and multiply by time.  Since I couldn't see all  
avenues of approach I rounded the Robin estimate up a bit.  My  
guesses as to the total numbers of birds coming into the roost, from  
4:10 p.m. until all were settled in about 5:15 p.m.:

American Robin:  500,000
Starling:  5000
Cedar Waxwing:  300
Rusty Blackbird:  300
Common Grackle:  2000
Brown-headed Cowbird:  200
Red-winged Blackbird:  500

Also coming into a nearby roost were 30 Black and 41 Turkey  
Vultures.  Surprisingly there were no Accipiters around the roost, at  
least not that I spotted.  Careful listening also didn;t turn up any  
hints of calls from any other thrushes in the mix.

Quite a show!

Bill Pulliam
Hohenwald TN


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