[TN-Bird] Black-throated, and more

From: K Dean EDWARDS <kde@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Tennessee Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 23:40:03 -0500 (EST)
I managed to make it down to see the Black-throated Sparrow as
well, arriving around noon.  Frank Fekel was just leaving.  Morris
Williams and Rob Biller's crew pointed to the brush piles when
I arrived and I was fortunate enough to see the bird within
about 5 min of arriving.  Good timing.  :-)  It popped up
a few more times during the 3 hrs or so I stayed at the farm
but was skittish.  I only got one half-way decent photo... not
good but IDable.  Awesome bird and well worth the 3 hour drive
each way... even without the other goodies below.

A few good birds seen at the farm that I haven't seen mentioned
(at least good for a East TN birder) were mixed flocks of maybe
as many as 400 birds feeding in the muddy fields.  Most near
the BTSP spot were HORNED LARK but also good numbers of 
AMERICAN PIPIT and about 30 or so LAPLAND LONGSPURs.  Right
before turning in at the house, I had about 100 pipits.

On the way back to Knoxville, I spotted a suspicuously hovering
and hunting hawk that may have been the earlier-reported
Rough-legged but I didn't have anywhere to pull over.  This was
on Hwy 64 just west of Winchester in Franklin Co.  Also had a
large raptor making a run along the treeline by the large nursery
just west of Winchester.  Also a REALLY interesting bird (think
LARGE Accipiter) that flew out of sight before I could find
a pull-over.  Two potentially good birds missed in a couple of
minutes.

I also stopped by the field and ponds in Winchester (Franklin Co.)
and had the 2 WHOOPING CRANES and 1 SANDHILL CRANE that were
previously reported.

Finally, I stopped at the rest area on I-24 on Nick-a-jack Lake
in Marion Co. about 5:00PM (EST).  Light was really poor but there
over 10,000 birds just on the water viewable from the rest area
in the east-bound lane.  The vast majority were AMERICAN COOTs,
probably 6000-7000 of them.

There was a good-sized float of about 3000 unidentifiable gulls
about a mile out (a few Ring-billed were up and flying closer).

About 100 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were roosting on the rock
islands.  There was 1 COMMON LOON and about 50 PIED-BILLED GREBES
close enough to ID in the poor light.  There were well over 100
ducks way, way out but the light was too bad to tell much more than
that they were too long-bodied to be coots.  One group of about
25 had the dark-light-dark pattern of Aythya sp., maybe Redhead
but too far and too poor light to be sure.

Lots to see on the way for the sparrow!


Dean Edwards
Knoxville, TN


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[TN-Bird] Black-throated, and more

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