[bristol-birds] East TN heron Sunday

From: Dnldhlt@xxxxxxx
To: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, butternuts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 22:25:00 EDT
     I stopped at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton today, 
April 14, 2002, to look for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron reported by Rick 
Knight.  I ran into Dr. Gary Wallace who kindly told me exactly where to see 
it.  It was standing in the river not thirty feet from the walking trail.  
Seen from above the cream colored crown stripe was teardrop shaped, narrowing 
at the back and projecting behind as plumes.  The cheek spots were white on 
the black face, and the eyes were red.  The neck and belly were evenly gray, 
looking smooth in contrast with the textured appearance of the mottled gray 
wings.  A narrow pale line peeked out in front of the closed wings.  The legs 
appeared to me a pinkish orange.  This is one beautiful bird!  Fortunately, 
it was relatively unconcerned about people's presence, as someone was out on 
the rocks near it.  It stood straighter and narrower while they watched from 
a few yards away.  When they left it shortened considerably as it relaxed.  
In a moment it looked down at the water at its feet.  I thought maybe it had 
spotted a meal, but it opened its bill wide for a moment, then shook its head 
and ejected a pellet!  After a group of people on the trail nearby noticed 
the bird and made a lot of windmill motions pointing it out to each other, 
the bird flew across the river, landing in the shoals where the water from 
the other side of the island comes down into the main channel.  In a moment 
it had a large (ca 4-5 inches long) reddish-brown crawdad sideways in its 
bill.  The bird shook it around, appearing to hit it once on a rock.  The 
crawdad was flipping its tail back and forth.  Suddenly the bird swallowed 
it.  He then proceeded to take four or five drinks of water at intervals of a 
few seconds each.  Each time he dipped his bill then stood normally without 
raising the bill above the horizontal.  I wondered if the crustacean could 
damage the bird internally, but the reddish color might indicate it had 
recently shed its exoskeleton and would be soft.  I then enjoyed the rare 
luxury of leaving before the bird did.
     Later I found myself at Austin Springs in Johnson City.  Actually, I was 
across the Watauga River on Hyder Hill Road looking over toward Austin 
Springs.  I saw a Double-crested Cormorant, a Great Blue Heron, and a Great 
Egret standing in the rain on the far side.  The Great Egret is the first I 
have seen this year.
     Don Holt, Central Community, Carter Co., TN
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[bristol-birds] East TN heron Sunday

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