April 18, 2018,
Dave Magers recently spotted an American Bittern just south of Clarksville near
a community called Southside, Montgomery County, and he gave Ken Oeser and me
directions to it. Ken and I arrived at the location about 4:30 pm yesterday
(Apr 17). Traveling northward on Chapel Hill Rd take a right onto Shelton
Ferry Rd, which leads eastward toward the Cumberland River. After reaching the
river the road borders the western side of the river northward for a short
distance and then the road turns sharply leftward and then sharply rightward.
After the rightward turn, on the right side of the car look for a ditch
partially filled with water. The ditch runs straight out from the road more
than 100 meters. A bittern was seen standing just beside the ditch about 5
meters from the road and another bittern was standing beside the ditch about 40
meters from the road. We took most of our photos from the car window (See one
photo attached). We traveled onward to Cross Creeks NWR but we did not see the
neotropical cormorant reported by several birders to perch on a snag located
there; nor were there any other cormorants at that location or nearby.
Jackie Corbin
Nashville, Davidson County
Attachment:
bittern.pptx
Description: bittern.pptx
