Last Friday I returned home from work (Remember that Roger?) and after a grueling week decided I needed to get away. Around 6:30 that night I started recruiting people to go to Nashville to see the Snowy owl. My son Christian and David Raines decided to try this crazy last minute scheme. The next morning at 5:30 AM me, David, and Christian traveled to Spring Hill TN to get a life bird and we were not disappointed. We arrived at the Saturn plant where the Snowy owl had been spotted most frequently. We were greeted by severely cold conditions. The wind was blowing out of the NW, the exact same direction in which the owl had been seen. When the owl made his first appearance around 12:30 we greeted it with red tear-filled smiles and knocking knees. It remained in place until around 4:30 PM when a misguided man with a pocket camera somehow got into the Saturn compound and continued to approach the bird until it departed. Luckily the crowd was only armed with expletives which were profusely launched in his direction. David's brother Jim, a Nashville resident, joined us about 10 minutes after the bird was flushed. Jim never got to see the owl but he will return this week for another chance. Cold, tired, frustrated, and hungry we did what any self-respective birder would do; We retreated to Cracker Barrel and consumed large quantities of food and coffee. Jim and David exchanged many stories of their youth in Buchanan county. Christian and I enjoyed the stories and almost stopped eating a couple of times to listen. It was good to listen to the old-timers reminisce. (Got Ya Dave!). We located a hotel - checked in and I slept like a stone. The next morning we were back at the field at daybreak and greeted by a brisk temperature of 19 degrees. After an hour or so with no luck David remembered a small lake not far away that Jim and he had visited more than 10 years ago. It didn't take much convincing to get into the heated car and start our journey. We arrived a few minutes later at Radnor lake where we greeted by fabulous views of many species of ducks. There were 75-100 Canvas Backs that afforded the largest number and closest views of this species I had ever experienced. Hundreds of American Robins filled every nook and cranny of the park and sang as if it were a spring day in April. We had scheduled a noon departure from the flatlands and after about an hour of enjoying the lake we headed back to the Saturn plant. Jim joined us for a second chance. No luck. We were left with no choice but to eat again. After a great meal at an mom and pop Italian restaurant we said our goodbyes and hit the road. As we complied the trip list it became apparent the 50 species could be had with a just a little more effort. With Dave navigating, Tennessee Map in hand, it became clear we would pass over a large lake, J. Percy Priest. With dreams of gulls we zipped off the motorway and found our gulls plus a few more species. Quick apologetic calls were made to the families as it became clear our scheduled 6 PM Tri-cities arrival would not happen. We arrived in Bristol at 8:30 Sunday night and poor Dave fired up his truck for two more hours of driving pleasure. It was a great trip and I wish you all could have joined us. Here's the trip list: (53 species) American Goldfinch American Black duck American Coot American Kestrel American Robin (hundreds) American Widgeon Black Vulture Blue Jay Bufflehead Canada Goose Canvasback Cardinal Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren Cedar Waxwing Common Grackle (thousands) Common Loon Crow Downy Woodpecker Eastern Bluebird Field Sparrow Gadwall Golden-Crowned Kinglet Great blue heron Greater Scaup Herring Gull Horned Lark (Hundreds) House Sparrow Killdeer Mallard Meadowlark Mocking Bird Mourning Dove Pigeon Pied-Billed Grebe Pileated Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-headed duck Red-Tailed Hawk (75-100) Red-winged Blackbird Ring necked Duck Ring-Billed Gull Ruby crowned Kinglet Savannah Sparrow Snowy Owl Song sparrow Starling (tens of thousands) Swamp Sparrow Tufted Titmouse White throated Sparrow Wild Turkey Yellow-rumped warbler Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Don Carrier
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