[tn-bird] Weekend TN Rambling

June 15-16, 2002
McNairy, Hardin
Stewart, Montgomery
Wilson and Rutherford Co.

I decided to take the weekend and fill in some of the blanks on my TN year 
list. The first stop early Saturday was an area of pines just inside McNairy 
Co. near Big Hill Pond. As the clear cutters have done in recent years in 
some areas, they leave a veil of trees along the highways. Through the tall 
near trees I caught a glimpse of a likely stand of young pines. Up close, the 
trees and amount of undergrowth looked just right for Bachman's Sparrow. 
Immediately I had multiple Chats singing all around and shortly thereafter a 
Prairie Warbler posed for a photo, that was the next to the last regular 
warbler I needed for my year list. 

After walking the road, I decided I needed to view the slope just to the 
north so off the road and into the pines until I finally located a good 
viewing spot. Watching the hill side for movement produced more Chats, 
Prairies, Indigo, lots of Field Sparrows and finally a larger sparrow in the 
distance singing from the top of a pine but too far for my ears. I swung the 
new scope into action and found my first Bachman's for the year. Two down and 
three target birds to go.

I located another likely area east of Big Hill Pond and found the same 
compliment of birds with another Bachman's carrying food. After driving Wolf 
Pen Road and finding the growth below all the pine stands much to dense for 
Bachman's habitat I decided to search the area farther east around Pickwick 
Lake where I use to get my yearly Bachman's. I ran the habitat on both sides 
of the Lake and found no suitable areas. Now I had to head north to meet 
Chris Sloan and Jay Desgrosellier for a chance at Henslow's Sparrow. They had 
started their day in Memphis also filling in year birds and trying for a few 
of the recent rarities and continued on up through the Reelfoot area.

I passed through the length of Cross Creeks NWR without seeing a single duck 
and only one Great Egret but did have one fly over Bald Eagle. We met in the 
late evening and Chris soon had us surrounded by singing, teed up Henslow's. 
A year bird for me and Jay's second lifer for the day as the Painted Bunting 
had cooperated at Ensley earlier. I got a pretty good photo with just the 
head and breast filling the frame. We talked about what we had seen during 
the day and traded info as the sun set with a Blue Grosbeak singing from a 
nearby perch.

The next morning I was again in the hunting mode, trying for Terry Whit's 
Bewick's Wrens south of Cedars of Lebanon State Park but in Rutherford Co. 
After an hour of stopping listening and searching I finally hunkered in at 
the junction of Alsup Hill and Rocky Hill and waited. This had been the 
favored place and it certainly had a lot of bird activity. I watched a group 
of Chickadees feeding in the two large cedar trees at this corner and finally 
noticed a bird flitting around in the lower part of these dense trees. It 
looked like a wren and acted like a wren but I could not get it to tarry long 
in one place. It finally made its way to the outside and posed in the early 
morning sun. It twitched, bobbed and swung its long white spotted tail in 
circles before diving back into the cedar tree. Now one more bird to go.

I started to search all the old locations that I had found Lark Sparrows in 
since Ruth Luckado had directed us in 1990. It had been a few years since I 
had been back to the locations and much had changed. I roamed wider and wider 
circles but no Lark Sparrows. I did have a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves in 
Walterhill at the junction of 266 and 231. I headed back to the wren area as 
Jay had said some Lark Sparrows had been seen in that area. Finally on Rocky 
Hill Road just south of the wren location I found 3 Lark Sparrows feeding off 
a fence around a cemetery set back off the west side of the road. Now I could 
head home with TN bird number 265 for 2002 checked off the list. 

I can give exact locations for these birds if you are interested or share the 
photos of the Prairie Warbler and Henslow's Sparrow, just drop me a line.

Five for five and still TLBA but it took 750 miles of roadway to stay 
lucky............  

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.


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