[Bristol-Birds] Upper Douglas eagle nest

  • From: Michael Sledjeski <mtnsylva@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Duay O'Neil <doneil@xxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 00:33:27 -0500

Huff Hollow, Cocke county, 3/2/08, 4:00 PM
Lake elevation: 957 ft.

We put in a canoe at Dutch Bottoms and crossed the lake to a hollow where bald eagles have nested for several years. In the winter of 2007, heavy equipment had leveled an area about 100 feet from the nest, and when we visited the site in mid-March, there were no adults or nestlings in or near the nest. Today, we found droppings beneath it, and when I climbed a nearby slope, I could see an adult sitting calmly in the nest. I've posted a photo at http://www.pbase.com/ sylvafoto/image/93683423.

There's a dirt road directly beneath the nest, and although county road access is blocked by a gate, ATVs are entering the road from the lakeshore. We saw at least a dozen on the road in the short time that we were there, but the nesting eagle seemed unperturbed. The lake level is now rising, and it's likely that the shoreline approach will be blocked in a week or two.

We crossed the lake to the Jefferson county side, then walked to the lower end of the Taylor Bend inlet. We expected to get closer views of the waterfowl in the inlet, but they stayed a good distance away from us. We saw the same species and approximately the same numbers of ducks that Don Miller reported earlier in the day. We also saw 6 American Pipits, and counted 16 dunlins (photo at http:// www.pbase.com/sylvafoto/image/93684689/medium).

Michael Sledjeski & Leslie Gibbens
Del Rio TN








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