[bristol-birds] Unusual birds at Musicks (South Holston Lake)
- From: "Glen Eller" <geller@xxxxxx>
- To: <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,<geller@xxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 23:23:37 -0400
My daughter (Lia Pritchard), Rack & Carol Cross and myself were birding
at Musicks Campground on South Holston Lake, which is in TN but sighting
across the lake into VA. We had 2 Black Terns in non-breeding plumage and
4 Bonaparts Gulls also in non-breeding plumage. The Terns were dark, slaty
grey above and a dusky grey below. They had very pointed wings with a very
fast wing beat. We also noticed the dark collars extending down from the
head to below the ears. The Bonaparts Gulls were very light (almost white)
below and light grey above, with a single dark spot behind the ear and they
had
black bills. The gulls had a much slower wingbeat when flying. None of the
observers really noticed the black trailing edge of the wings. Both species
were
first observed by Carol Cross flying on the Virginia side and then flew over
to
with-in 50 yards of our vantage point on the Tennessee side. The birds were
not
seen together but within 30 minutes of each sighting. After consulting with
Sir
Wallace Coffey we were advised of the unusual early date for the Bonaparts
Gulls
and all four observers feel confident with their identification. We also
had
1 single Ring-billed Gull and a Great Blue Heron. No Great White Heron was
found.
I had made a brief stop at Rural Retreat Lake in VA before getting to
Musicks and
found 4 Least Sandpipers, 1 Forsters Tern and a singing Yellow-billed
Cuckoo.
Glen Eller
Galax, VA
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