SUN 02 APR 2006 Elizabethton, Carter County, TN D. Holt A visit Sunday to the Yellow-crowned Night Heron colony behind the sewage treatment plant at Sycamore Drive was productive. There were four pairs of birds in various stages of nest-building, plus an extra individual bird hanging out near one of the pairs, for a total of nine (9) Yellow-crowns observed then at that site. Also seen there were one Red-shouldered Hawk and one Cooper's Hawk. This colony is located around the point at 36.3550 degrees North and 82.2430 degrees West. The Sycamore Drive site is difficult to access for casual birding, requiring crossing two fences and walking down an unmaintained trail in a floodplain, with cobblestones, trash, puddles, and vegetation to contend with. A much easier way to view these yellowcrowns is to watch them when they come to feed in the shoals. They can then be easily viewed from across the river on the greenbelt trail that begins at the old waterworks behind the old Bemberg plant. Walking the paved greenbelt trail downriver will bring you to a bench at a small memorial that overlooks the shoals. A new site that offers an easy view of a yellowcrown on the nest is at Race Dr. in Elizabethton. Sunday morning I also visited this site and confirmed that the nest(s) I discovered there last winter really are Yellow-crowned Night Heron nests. There was one adult bird on one of the nests, and I could see it without leaving my car, and you can too, until the trees leaf out. Just turn south off of Broad Street at McDonalds onto the old Bluff City Hwy. When the Road makes a sharp left curve, turn right (actually its more like go straight) onto Race Drive. After a sharp right curve that brings Race Dr. parallel the river, look for the footbridge at the start of the Millrace Trail on your left. This spot is at about 36.3560 degrees North, 82.2200 degrees West. Parallel park carefully in the grass on the left side of the road before the footbridge, and look to your left into the woods. The bird I saw was nesting in a Sycamore Tree a little above eye level. To its right was an empty nest in a black walnut tree. Look for it, it may have a bird in it soon also. These birds that nest here often feed in the river nearby, and then can sometimes be seen from the Moose Lodge on Lover's Lane across the river. Another site I have been monitoring and where I found a probable yellowcrown nest last winter is crossriver from the Carter Mansion State Historic Area. I was recently informed by Rick Knight that this site is locally known as Hunter Swamp, not to be confused with Hunter Bog which is near Unaka High School and is famous for being the location of several species of rare plants. Hunter Swamp was the location of the first Yellow-crowned Night Heron nest found in the area some twenty-five or so years ago by Glen Eller. This property has recently been acquired by the state of Tennessee and is now, I believe, part of the Carter Mansion State Historic Area. This should be very helpful, as the site has recently been degraded by illegal trash dumping and offroad vehicle joyriding damage. Hopefully the state can help protect this treasure, and as a starter they have already posted signs. I hope soon to report the discovery of active yellowcrown nesting here, and encourage ou r local birders to help me keep an eye on the site. The location is around 36.3555 degrees North and 82.2060 degrees West. From Elizabethton take Hwy 19 E north across the Watauga River, taking the first Exit on the right (towards Stoney Creek), then turn right at the first road on the right, Old Stoney Creek Rd. It deadends at a big turnaround where you can park. On the side of the woods closest to Hwy 19E there is a dirt road into the area. Halfway down it is a level path into the woods on your left into a big open area where dirt bikes have churned up the mud in big circles. Overlooking this area in plain view in a sycamore tree is the nest I found last winter. Don Holt Johnson City, TN