The Hickory - Priest Lakes CBC was held Dec. 31, 2016. The date of the count
was changed from the traditional date of New Year’s Day because the forecast
looked like New Year’s Day would be mostly heavy rain. Holding the count a day
earlier did not keep the participants from enduring wet weather, because the
day was heavily overcast with periods of sleet and drizzling rain throughout.
The temperatures ranged from 40-48 degrees. Thirteen birders were out on five
routes, Old Hickory Lake, Percy Priest Lake, Neely’s Bend, Shelby Bottoms and
Metro Center/ Hermitage. There was one feeder watch. One group started at 5:00
a.m. and the last group out stayed until 4:30 p.m. Two and a half total hours
of owling produced only one Screech Owl. Total miles by car were 119.7, and
miles by foot were 15.5.
Highlights were Two Merlins, one was in the usual area that has been found at
Percy Priest Lake by Richard Connors for several years now, and a second one
seen on the Old Hickory Lake route by Mike Smith and his team.
Also on the Old Hickory Lake route were 1 Orange-Crowned Warbler, 2 Common
Mergansers, 11 Black Crowned Night Herons and 1 Osprey.
The complete list is below and shows the total number of species at 85. Total
number of birds 16,584.
Thanks to the team leaders and the participants who braved the cold wet day.
Thanks to Scott Block who made a spreadsheet to make all the numbers add up
correctly.
Tarcila Fox
tarcila@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Canada Goose - 317
Wood Duck - 1
Gadwall - 149
American Black Duck - 3
Mallard - 383
Northern Shoveler - 56
Northern Pintail - cw
Green-winged Teal - 6
Redhead - 4
Ring-necked Duck - 21
Lesser Scaup - 14
Bufflehead - 57
Common Goldeneye - 18
Hooded Merganser - 49
Common Merganser - 2
Ruddy Duck - 27
Wild Turkey - 76
Common Loon - 90
Pied-billed Grebe - 82
Horned Grebe - 65
Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Great Blue Heron - 72
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 11
Black Vulture - 69
Turkey Vulture - 3
Osprey - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 7
Bald Eagle - 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 15
American Coot - 239
Killdeer - 23
American Woodcock - 1
Bonaparte's Gull - 171
Ring-billed Gull - 829
Herring Gull - 4
Rock Pigeon - 86
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 15
Mourning Dove - 35
Eastern Screech-Owl - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 16
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 23
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 11
Downy Woodpecker - 13
Hairy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 18
Pileated Woodpecker - 4
American Kestrel - 7
Merlin - 2
Eastern Phoebe - 6
Blue Jay - 71
American Crow - 109
Carolina Chickadee - 57
Tufted Titmouse - 20
White-breasted Nuthatch - 3
Brown Creeper - 3
House Wren - cw
Winter Wren - 3
Carolina Wren - 37
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 22
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 9
Eastern Bluebird - 51
Hermit Thrush - 15
American Robin - 4501
Northern Mockingbird - 28
Brown Thrasher - 8
European Starling - 6868
Cedar Waxwing - 527
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 23
Eastern Towhee - 14
Field Sparrow - 34
Fox Sparrow - 8
Song Sparrow - 40
Swamp Sparrow - 19
White-throated Sparrow - 112
White-crowned Sparrow - 7
Dark-eyed Junco - 14
Northern Cardinal - 143
Red-winged Blackbird - 276
Rusty Blackbird - 35
Common Grackle - 351
House Finch - 21
American Goldfinch - 23
House Sparrow - 17
Total Species - 85
Total Number of Birds - 16584
Tarcila
tarcila@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
