Field trip of Herndon (Elizabethton) Chapter TOS Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 8am-5pm Participants: Don Holt, Don Miller, Dexter Newman, Linda Newman, Mike Poe Sites: Greene Co.: Green Rd., Matthews Lane(Bible Refuge), Jim Kirk Rd., Pottertown Rd.(Walmart Distribution Center ponds) Jefferson Co.: Douglas Lake(Taylor's Bend) Good birds were found today in spite of cold and drizzle. Highlights as follows: On Green Rd. some time was spent examining a large flock (200 +) of AMERICAN PIPITS at close range. With them were at least 40 KILDEER. Nearby a large flock of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS included a few RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. SAVANNAH SPARROWS watched from the weedy edge of the fields, and in the wooded yard and swamp nearby were at least 6 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, including a first year bird still only partly red on top and with a black line across the white wing patches. Sparrows were the focus at Joachim Bible Refuge Unit. A lone VESPER SPARROW posed in good view for a long look. Other species were SWAMP SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, FIELD SPARROW, SONG SPARROW, AND EASTERN TOWHEE. A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER brought us close to a clean sweep of woodpeckers (we missed the Hairy). Our first RED-TAILED HAWK of the day was followed with a female NORTHERN HARRIER and a "Red-shouldered Blue Jayhawk" that kept messing with me. Traveling on Jim Kirk Rd., the normally wet fields we hoped would turn up some shorebirds were dry, but a JUVENILE DARK MORPH RED-TAILED HAWK made the side trip worthwhile. It was harrassed as it sat in a tree by a juvenile NORTHERN HARRIER, then as it flew off by an AMERICAN KESTREL. After lunch a trip down to Douglas Lake was an adventure as we searched a vantage point we were unfamiliar with, on the Jefferson County side of the lake in a bend in the river (Taylor Bend) below Dutch Bottoms. We finally found the place and saw another RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, many RING-BILLED GULLS, over a hundred GREAT BLUE HERONS, HOODED MERGANSERS, and NORTHERN SHOVELERS. Best of all, we saw 5 SANDHILL CRANES standing together on a sandbar/mudflat! We finished the day back in Greene Co. at the Walmart Distribution Center ponds. NORTHERN PINTAIL (2 male, 1 female), GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, and GREEN-WINGED TEAL rounded out our waterfowl list, while a DUNLIN and a WILSON'S SNIPE were our only sandpipers of the day. Many thanks to Don Miller for his help in finding everything, sites as well as birds. And thanks to Rick Knight for providing Miller with the tip on the site at Douglas Lake. The full species list for the trip follows: Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Gadwall Mallard Hooded Merganser Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal American Wigeon Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Black Vulture Turkey Vulture American Coot Sandhill Crane Kildeer Dunlin Common Snipe Ring-billed Gull Mourning Dove Rock Pigeon Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-headed Woodpecker American Crow Blue Jay Carolina Chickadee Eastern Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird American Robin Northern Mockingbird American Pipit European Starling Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Northern Cardinal Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Vesper Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Eastern Towhee Red-winged Blackbird Rusty Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark American Goldfinch House Sparrow Total spp.=57 Don Holt Johnson City, TN ************************************************* 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-****