[TN-Bird] Wahsington County Osprey
- From: jameswbrooks@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2009 21:35:10 +0000 (UTC)
Started the year with 37 species, best of which was a flyover by an Osprey at
Henderson March in Bowmantown, Washington County. I was nearing the end of the
foot trail when I saw what I first thought was a TV circling behind the Shanks
Farm, partially obscured by the trees. I could not pick up a dihedral to the
wing, just the splayed primaries. It then flew from the farm to the Southeast,
toward the morning sun, but flapping almost all the time. Then I saw the bend
wrist, diagnostic of an Osprey through my 8x42 Leica Trinovids. Due to the
position of the sun I was unable to discern any color to the face, but was on
the bird and estimated 5-10 seconds, long enought to say, "Holy Sh**" at least
twice before it flew out of sight behind the trees. I hiked to the end of the
trail, hoping it might have circled or perched, to no avail.
Rick Knight's annotated checklist of the Birds of East Tennessee, first
edition, Â mentions 5 previous winter records in the region.
Other birds of interest at Henderson Marsh were an Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned
Kinglet and a Black Vulture, also over the Shanks farm on the way back, and a
good opportunity to compare its short tail and long neck to the Osprey I'd
previously seen.
On Green Road in Greene County I had a single male Red-winged Blackbird perched
and the once reliable Red-headed Woodpecker that I did not see at this location
for the past year. Four American Kestrels were seen in Western Greene County,
and finally, after 2 more Black Vultures, a Turkey Vulture.
At Bush-Hog Pond there was a Wilson's Snipe, a Gadwall, a male Green-winged
Teal, 11 Mallards and 36 Canada Geese. This was the only ice-free body of
water I encountered and the long hike around the Wal-Mart Distribution Center,
normally fruitful for Northern Pintail, yielded only 27 Mallards, 8 Song
Sparrows and some much-needed exercise after the culinary excesses of the
previous evening.
James Brooks
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