[TN-Bird] Re: WESTERN GREBE, RT Loon, Brewer's BB - Grainger/Jefferson

Our office is closed this week so I went to Cherokee Dam this morning to see if 
I could relocate Dean's Western Grebe and Red Throated Loons.  Arrived around 
9:30 a.m.  No luck finding the grebe or loons.  From the Route 375 boat ramp 
(Grainger County) where Dean saw them yesterday I found a rather distant flock 
of waterbirds.  5 were mergansers; from their silhouettes I believe they were 
red-breasted.  Also 7 ducks which I couldn't ID from that distance. 3 or 4 were 
the approximate shape of Mallards or Gadwalls; the rest were smaller and just 
looked dark.
 
From Cherokee Dam I went to Mossy Creek WMA in Jefferson County and had better 
luck.  The ducks were all close enough to get good looks at.  3 beautiful male 
Northern Shovelers, the first I've seen this season; 5 Gadwalls and 11 
Mallards.  Also a coot.
 
On the way home I stopped briefly at Douglas Dam in Sevier County but found no 
water birds at all.
 
Carole Gobert, Knoxville, Knox County, TN> Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:44:08 
-0500> From: kde@xxxxxxx> To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [TN-Bird] WESTERN 
GREBE, RT Loon, Brewer's BB - Grainger/Jefferson> > > I had a very productive 
day of birding around the Jefferson City> and Cherokee Dam area in East TN 
Sunday afternoon (28 Dec 2008).> Sounds like one of my birding dreams but I 
still haven't woken up.> > Short version:> WESTERN GREBE and 2 RED-THROATED 
LOONs on Cherokee Lake. Seen> from the boat ramp on Lakeshore Rd on the 
Grainger Co side of the> dam. Take Hwy 92 north past the dam and turn right at 
the next> intersection onto Lakeshore Dr (Hwy 375). Just past the gated> road 
to the dam, turn right onto a dirt road to the boat launch.> This turn is hard 
to see and drops off quickly from the road.> The birds were seen well out on 
the main channel of the lake.> A scope is certainly required.> > BREWER'S 
BLACKBIRDs, 2 male, 4 female in a flock of Rusty Blackbirds> and Am Robins 
feeding in agricultural fields along Odyssey Rd in> Jefferson City. This road 
forms the intersection at Wal-mart> and Lowe's with US Hwy 11-E.> > Longer 
version:> Birding started slow at Cherokee Dam (Jefferson/Grainger Co., TN)> 
with nothing of interest from the Jefferson Co side and only several> 
Ring-billed and Bonaparte's Gulls and Black-crowned Night-Herons> on the 
Holston River below the dam. Things picked up a bit when> I moved to the boat 
launch on the Grainger Co side of the dam> with several Common Loons, Horned 
Grebe, and some ducks. I was> about to call it a day with the best birds being 
3 HERRING GULLs> (2 1st-winter, 1 2nd-winter) when I spotted a RED-THROATED 
LOON> out in the main channel on my last scan of the lake. I watched> it dive 
and preen for a while then scanned some more and came> across another 
Red-throated Loon a little further downstream.> A quick check confirmed the 
other bird was still there and I> eventually had both birds swimming together 
just yards apart.> > Later, I started to pack up again and made another 'last' 
scan.> This time I came across a group of 4 Common Loons closer in.> As I 
checked each bird in the line to make sure it was a Common,> I came to a 5th 
bird that dropped my jaw: a WESTERN GREBE! This> guy came in fairly close 
(about 1/4 mile) just to the other side> of the island at the bottom of the 
boat ramp (which was probably> a penninsula before the recent rains). I tried 
to get some> photos but they probably aren't any good. If they are, I'll> post 
them once I get them off the camera. The bird was seen> well and had a dull 
bill with dark cap extending to the eye.> Also the dark on the back of the neck 
was quite thick unlike on> Clark's Grebe. I've seen thousands of both Western 
and Clark's> in California; this is my 2nd Western Grebe in TN. The TBRC> lists 
Western Grebe as Accidental.> > Finally did pack up (and, yes, I did make one 
more 'last' scan> but nothing else dropped out of the blue) and headed on 
toward> my parents' house (my original destination). As I drove up> Odyssey Rd, 
a large mixed flock of about 200+ birds flushed from > agricultural fields on 
the south side of the railroad tracks.> About 75 of them landed in the trees 
lining the road. These> were split about evenly between Am Robins and RUSTY 
BLACKBIRDs> with at least one female Red-winged Blackbird thrown in. Growing> 
up, I would often get a few Brewer's Blackbirds in flocks in> this area but 
haven't seen any here since the mid-1990s. So> I looked through them carefully 
and finally picked out 2 male> BREWER'S BLACKBIRDs then 4 dark-eyed, uniformly 
grey females.> Unfortunately, another car came by and flushed them all before> 
I could get a photo. The whole lot flew off to the west. Dad> said there have 
been flocks of 'blackbirds' here all winter so> chances are good for spotting 
them again.> > Like I said, sounds like one of my birding dreams.> > Highlights 
(at Cherokee Dam in Grainger Co unless noted):> Canada Goose, 30+> Gadwall, 4+> 
Am Wigeon, 2-3> Mallard, 50+> Bufflehead, 1> RED-THROATED LOON, 2 (seen in 
Grainger and Jefferson Co)> Common Loon, ~20> Horned Grebe, 50+> Pied-billed 
Grebe, 2> WESTERN GREBE, 1 (seen in Grainger and Jefferson Co)> Black-crowned 
Night-Heron, few below the dam> Bonaparte's Gull, 100+> Ring-billed Gull, 100+> 
HERRING GULL, 3 (2 1st-winter, 1 2nd-winter) uncommon here> Eurasian 
Collared-Dove, 1 in usual spot on 11-E in New Market (JCo)> American Pipit, 1> 
RUSTY BLACKBIRD, 30-40 (Odyssey Rd, Jefferson Co)> BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, 6 (2 
male, 4 female), Odyssey Rd, Jefferson Co> > > Dean Edwards> Knoxville, TN> > > 
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=================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.
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      To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
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       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
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         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                ------------------------------
                Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
                         Cleveland, OH
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               Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
                          Rosedale, VA
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