[TN-Bird] osprey, etc at Hiwassee

Hi folks,

I was able to sneak away from work for the morning, so I went to the
Hiwassee refuge, at the confluence of Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers
in Meigs County.

It was a beautiful day, and though I only had 2 hours, I was able to
see 63 species.  The very last bird was probably the most
interesting, considering the late date:  As I was driving north on
route 58, I looked left (west) from the Hiwassee River Bridge and saw
an OSREY perched in the middle of the river.

I saw somewhere around 300 cranes, I'm guessing - hard to count as
they circle around, and most land out of sight, so one never really
knows how many birds are double counted.  I was NOT able to locate
any Whoopers.

I'm using the dreaded TWRA orange card, so please forgive the
quasi-taxonomic order.  I still find these cards useful.

Other birds:
Pied-billed Grebe  1
Double-crested Cormorant:  100+
Great Blue Heron:  6
Bufflehead:  35-40, mostly at the confluence of the Hiwassee and a
small creek north of the refuge.
American Black Duck:  4
Ring-necked Duck:  14
Gadwall:  35-40, maybe more.  There were little groups everywhere
Canada Goose:  ~40
Mallard:  12
Hooded Merganser:  26
American Wigeon:  5
Northern Harrier:  2 (both immature/female plumage)
Cooper's Hawk:  1
Red-tailed Hawk:  3, including one eating a road-killed 'possum
American Kestrel:  one female near where the Harris Sparrow was 2
years ago.  NOTE:  the area around that pond is quite grown up, and
it is harder to see anything in there.  It still hosts a lot of
birds, though, including all the sparrow species I saw today (below)
OSPREY:  1
Black Vulture:  at least 100 in 2 good sized kettles
Turkey Vulture:  ~ 40
American Coot:  one flock of at least 60
Sandhill Crane:  ~300-400?
Killdeer:  I didn't count, but they were on every mudflat and field I
looked at.
BONAPARTE's GULL:  one at the west end of Hiwassee Island
Ring-billed Gull:  ~50
Mourning Dove:  who knows?
Rock Dove:  noted, not counted
Belted Kingfisher:  2.  One was perched on a wood duck box in the
lagoon below the observation deck.  I watched it swallow the biggest
fish I've ever seen one successfully tackle.  It then sat there for
at least 30 minutes, looking like I will next Thursday afternoon...
Northern Flicker:  3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker:  3
Downy Woodpecker:  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker:  2
Eastern Phoebe:  3
American Crow:  many
Blue Jay:  ~40-50
Carolina Chickadee:  3
Tufted Titmouse:  2
White-breasted Nuthatch:  1
Carolina Wren:  6
Winter Wren:  2
House Wren?  I *think* I had one
Golden-crowned Kinglet:  6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet:  1
Eastern Bluebird:  many
American Robin:  many
Hermit Thrush:  1
Northern Mockingbird:  8 or 9
Brown Thrasher:  1
Sage Thrasher:  /
(just making sure you're realy reading)
American Pipit:  2 on the mudflat, and 2-3 small flocks heard
overhead
European Starling:  not counted
Cedar Waxwing:  Saw one or more flocks of 40-50 birds fly over.  Not
sure if it was just the same flock over and over...
Yellow-rumped Warbler:  at least 30
Northern Cardinal:  at least 50
Field Sparrow:  3
Fox Sparrow:  1
Song Sparrow:  I can't count that high
Swamp Sparrow:  1
White-crowned Sparrow:  6
White-throated Sparrow:  many
Eastern Towhee:  2
Red-winged Blackbird:  40-50
Rusty Blackbird:  saw one, heard a handful
Commone Grackle:  ~25
Eastern Meadowlark:  many
House Finch:  4
American Goldfinch:  30-40

Good day!

Charlie

=====
**************************************************
Charlie Muise, Senior Naturalist
Now living in Maryville, TN
Still working in Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm"
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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