Yesterday, June 4, Leslie Gibbens and I canoed around a very active heronry on Cherokee Lake from 7:00 PM until sunset. "Bird Island", as it's called by local fishermen and boaters, is marked by 12-mile signs at the east and west ends, and located 1 mile north of the Kidwell boat ramp near Panther Creek State Park. Since it's south of the Holston River channel, I suppose it's located in Hamblen county, although it's a bit closer to the Grainger county riverbank to the north. The island, presumably owned by TVA and managed by TWRA, is no more than a couple of acres in size and covered with a variety of mature deciduous trees mixed with a few pines and red cedars. Nestlings clamored for food and adults came and went continuously while we cruised around. The birds seemed accustomed to close human proximity. Great blue heron and double-crested cormorant nests were set high in the canopy; black-crowned night heron nests were lower down, often obscured by foliage; several great egret nests, with at least 2 nestlings apiece, were above mid-level in some trees in the middle of the island. According to Nicholson's 1997 TN Breeding Bird Atlas, there's been only one confirmed great egret nest not on or near the Mississippi River. Yesterday's sighting indicates that this "in-need-of-management" species is starting to flourish in East Tennessee. I'm sure that my counts were on the low side for individuals and nests; leaves blocked some nests, and birds kept arriving and leaving, and we were short of time. Bird Island heronry merits recognition and protection for its importance to waterbird populations in this end of the state. The numbers (N - occupied nest): Canada goose (3) Mallard (4) Double-crested cormorant (190, 33N) Great blue heron (155, 30N) Great egret (39, 4N) Cattle egret Black-crowned night heron (124, 32N) Black vulture (34) American coot (one-legged & left behind) Tree swallow (3) Common grackle (many) Michael Sledjeski Del Rio, Cocke county TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________