This past Saturday turned out to be a very special day of birding. After 50+
yrs. of birding, I was able to observe this Ruby-th Hummingbird on her nest
from a distance of 8ft. That's a little better than the only other one I've
seen ,which was 80ft up in a poplar. I was birding with Don Carrier and Mike
Sanders in Hickory Tree,TN when we located the nest. Timing is everything
sometimes! That was demonstrated to us again when we arrived in the Paddle
Creek Pond area. We estimated around 1,500 Cliff Swallows were congregated on
the power lines, roofs and trees. Watching hundreds of these swallows spend
time sitting on hot metal roofs in the bright sunshine was an interesting
behavior.
As you can imagine, the birding was a little slow so Don and Mike took me over
to Shady Valley for my first time birding that great habitat. We managed some
good finds; Great Egret, Green Heron, Willow Flycatcher, Louisana Waterthrush,
Common Yellowthroat and Wood Duck to name a few. The return to Paddle Creek to
check the silos for Barn Owls was fruitful ! After all these years, to finally
add that owl to my life list was awesome! We first saw one fly out of the
center silo and immediately dive out of sight -a little frustrating. Finally,we
were all given great looks at 2 owls that sat near the opening of the silo for
several minutes. Although mid-July birding slows down we still managed some
good birds I haven't mentioned, such as Bluebirds,Solitary Sandpiper, Great
Blue Heron, Red Tailed, Red-sh and Sharp-shinned Hawk. Thanks to Don and Mike
for showing me some great birding spots and helping me get that Barn Owl. Now
you guys need to post some of your pics from our day...
DaveR/Breaks,VA
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