I finally made it back to this new park in Roane County this afternoon and as
Ron noted, its name appears to have been changed. The Lakeshore Park sign was
nowhere to be seen; the only signage that identified the area said TVA Swan
Pond Recreation Area, so that is the new name for the hotspot. I really,
really like this place. The best birds I saw were five Caspian Terns just
across the river, lolling about on a sandbar and bathing and a yellow-throated
warbler. I didn't count them but there must be about 50 nestboxes and most of
them are occupied by Tree Swallows with Bluebirds occupying a few. Other
highlights were 13 Lesser Scaup and the rookery on "Shoreline Island". The
trees are leafing out but I counted at least 65 Double-crested Cormorants on
nests with at least 8 Great Blue Heron nests among them.
It's well worth the hassle to visit this spot, and by hassle I mean traffic
jams due to construction on I-40 west. Westbound traffic is down to one lane
in two locations, the first jam starts just after exit 362; I managed to avoid
that one today by driving to Oak Ridge from west Knox County and taking Route
58 to I-40. I couldn't avoid the second jam that began shortly after I got on
40 but it wasn't too bad. Then there is the road construction near the steam
plant. There was one location on Swan Pond Road and another on Swan Pond
Circle where flagmen directed traffic onto one lane. So leave a little extra
time for traveling if you're coming from the east.
Carole Gobert, Knoxville
From: aves7000@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [TN-Bird] Lakeshore Park, Roane County
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2015 18:32:01 -0400
TN-birders,
Dollyann & I went out to the Kingston Steam Plant area (Roane County)
this morning to see what is happening with the area after years of work
removing
the fly ash that broke loose several years ago. The whole area has basically
been off limits, especially to birders, for a long time. We were pleased to
find
that the narrow peninsula just north of the old fly ash area, called Swan Pond
Recreation Area by TVA (and called Shoreline Park in eBird) is now open to the
general public, and thus, birders. TVA has planted (and labeled) numerous trees
on the peninsula and there are paved walking paths all around the park. You can
go all the way out to a narrow point that affords a nice view of a large swath
of the Emory River. This could be great for wintering waterfowl watching, with
deeper water in the main channel off to the east, and maybe dabbling ducks in
the shallower water off to the west.
While there is limited habitat for a great diversity at the moment, over
time this might turn out to be a pretty nice place to go birding. There are a
few spruce/fir trees around and many pines that should attract migrants like
Cape May warblers, etc. There is an island in the Emory River on the left side
just as you enter the park near the first parking area on your right. We scoped
the island (I could NOT find the name for this island in Google Maps, so I am
naming it “Shoreline Island” for clarity) and found: 15 Great Blue Herons on
nests; 13 Black-crowned Night-Herons in the trees and shrubs but could not find
any nests; and 93 Double-crested Cormorants on nests and many more around. This
is the largest concentration of cormorant nests that I know of in East TN.
There
are 2 active Osprey nests in the area also. One off the south end of Shoreline
Island and another closer to the TVA former fly ash area to the west. Birds are
sitting on both nests.
Right now there are a lot of exposed muddy shorelines in the area, so it
might be decent for shorebirds in the coming weeks. There is a nice, new
bathroom at the end of the peninsula bordering the parking lot. Looks like this
place may have some potential. There are also a few picnic tables around.
Great birding,
Ron Hoff and Dollyann Myers
Clinton, TN
