The Elizabethton Fall Bird Count was held on 27 Sep. by members & friends of the Lee and Lois Herndon Chapter of TOS. The coverage area consisted of Carter County and parts of adjacent Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi & Washington counties. 21 observers in 6 parties spent 69 party-hours in the field, plus 4.5 hours owling. The weather was good until a cold front passed through in the late afternoon. Temperatures were 52-80 degrees. The sky was partly cloudy until the front arrived, then light rain began, with clouds persisting until dusk. Winds were westerly at 5-15 mph, but gusty with the frontal passage. 132 species were found (plus Empidonax sp.). This compares to an average of 123 species over the last 20 years. The all-time high on this count was 137 species in 1993. A total of 6710 individuals were counted. Highlights include (in taxonomic order): Horned Grebe - 2 (record early), Eared Grebe - 3 (at their now-regular site on South Holston Lake), both night-herons, Bald Eagle - 1, Peregrine Falcon - 1, Virginia Rail - 1, Sora - 2, six species of shorebirds (besides Killdeer), LAUGHING GULL - 9 (at South Holston Lake, about 14th record & largest number in 5-county area of Northeast Tenn.), Barn Owl - 2 (at regular site at the V.A. in Johnson City), Com. Nighthawk - 6, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1, Acadian Flycatcher - 1, Philadelphia Vireo - 1, Com. Raven - 13 (by 4 parties), Marsh Wren - 2 (in Shady Valley), 22 species of warblers (including a Golden-winged, 2 Nashville, 102 Tenn., a Yellow, & 3 Canada), Swamp Sparrow - 1, Blue Grosbeak - 13, Bobolink - 1, Red Crossbill - 2, Pine Siskin - 2. Participants were: Fred Alsop, Rob Biller, Wallace Coffey, Rack Cross, Tess Cumbie, Gilbert Derouen, Glen Eller, Don Holt, Rick Knight (compiler), H.P. Langridge, Tom Laughlin, Larry McDaniel, Tom McNeil, Charles Moore, Dexter & Linda Newman, Mike Poe, Bryan Stevens, Allan Trently, Gary Wallace, and Frank Ward. The full list will appear in the chapter newsletter (The Kestrel) & a future compilation of fall counts in THE MIGRANT. ################### Rick Knight Johnson City, TN rknight@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ************************************************* BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST This is a regional birding list sponsored by the Bristol Bird Club to facilitate communications between birders and bird clubs of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. It serves the Russell County Bird Club, Herndon TOS Chapter, Blue Ridge Birders Club, Butternut Nature Club, Buchanan County Bird Club, Bristol Bird Club, Clinch Valley Bird Club and Cumberland Nature Club. -------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to Bristol-Birds. To post to this mailing list, simply send an email to: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe, send an email to bristol-birds-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the one word 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. -------------------------------------------------- Wallace Coffey, Moderator wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (423)764-****