Mossy Ridge Trail at Percy Warner Park
Nashville-Davidson Co. TN
April 25 2016
I spent most of the morning slowly hiking the Mossy Ridge Trail at Percy
Warner Park in Nashville. I heard a great deal and actually saw a lot for
deep woods birding.
I was greeted at the new Parking Lot off Chickering Rd by a singing INDIGO
BUNTING as well as a loud COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. I proceeded up the road
into the park. Arriving at the spot where the Mossy Ridge Trail meets he
road, I heard my FOY KENTUCKY WARBLER. A 15 minute wait at the junction of
the Mossy Ridge and Horse Trail paid off as he flew across the trail and
landed close enough for some good looks. A Kentucky Warber has spent the
breeding season in this general area for the past few years, so I'm hoping
this will be the case again.
Although I saw only one TENNESSEE WARBLER, the woods were full of their
song. Also singing were four YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS. I saw two in large
Sycamore Tree by the road near Scott Hollow. Another was in a Sycamore Tree
near Dripping Springs. An OVENBIRD sang repeatedly in the Scott Hollow
area, but remained unseen.
Coming up out of Dripping Springs on what I think is one of the toughest
parts of the trail, I heard a SCARLET TANAGER. I could not find the bird,
but movement in another tree caught my eye- out popped a male SCARLET
TANAGER, but not the one singing.
Two additional warblers that I saw were a WORM-EATING WARBLER (it's song on
the Tornado Road portion of the trail got my attention) and one of the most
copperative adult male AMERICAN REDSTARTS imaginable in the same location.
I also got my first singing SWAINSON'S THRUSH as well as three singing WOOD
THRUSH.
And one RED-EYED VIREO was low enough for me to see it sing and eat. The
others hid singing in the foliage.
Below is a complete list of my observations:
40 species
Barred Owl 2
Chimney Swift 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Downy Woodpecker 8
Eastern Wood-Pewee 3
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
White-eyed Vireo 4
Red-eyed Vireo 18
Blue Jay 10
Carolina Chickadee 16
Tufted Titmouse 24
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 11
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 1
Swainson's Thrush 2
Wood Thrush 3
Ovenbird 1
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 14
Nashville Warbler 1
Kentucky Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Hooded Warbler 2
American Redstart 1
Northern Parula 6
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Field Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 1
Summer Tanager 6
Scarlet Tanager 8
Northern Cardinal 16
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 8
American Goldfinch 7
Kevin Bowden
Nashville, TN
