[TN-Bird] Merlin, "Audubon's" at EBFH

From: K Dean EDWARDS <kde@xxxxxxx>
To: Tennessee Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 10:01:27 -0500 (EST)


Two noteworthy birds while counting for the Norris CBC on Saturday,
14 Dec 2002... though not quite as good as a Long-billed Murrelet...
TLBA indeed.

Both were at or near Eagle Bend Fish Hatchery in Clinton, TN (Anderson
Co.) along Hwy 61 alongside the Clinch River.

I arrived early and, while waiting for the gate at the hatchery to be
opened, drove over to the soccer fields across Hwy 61 from the fish
hatchery.  In the treeline along the river, in the far corner almost
directly under the Hwy 61 bridge, I had a 1st-year "Audubon's" Yellow-
rumped Warbler foraging in a flock of 7 "Western" Palm Warblers and
5 "Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Saw the bird well while it sat rather still about 20 ft away at eyelevel
or slightly below for about 2 min.  The head was very plain and
wet-concrete colored with a disctinct broken eye-ring with crescents
above and below the eye.   I looked hard for a pale eye-brow but could
not find even the slightest hint of one (some 1st-year female "Myrtle"s
have VERY indistinct eye brows but other features here rule that out in
my opinion).  The ear patch did not stand out from the rest of the face.
The throat patch was triangular, very sharply defined and did not extend
back up and under the ear patch as in "Myrtle".  The throat was not pure
yellow but was creamy on the chin becoming more buffy orange near the
breast.  I've seen bazillions of "Myrtle"s and a handful of fall and
spring "Audubon's"s in California.

The Merlin was seen and photographed in a tree just outside the entrance
to the fish hatchery around 2:00pm.  I observed it for about 30 min
before leaving it and continuing on my second pass of the hatchery.

Tried hard but could not find the Osprey that Nell Moore reported
at the hatchery a couple of weeks ago.  Also not a single coot to
be found and only 1 each of Killdeer and Wilson's Snipe.

A good day with 54 species for me.  Lots of ducks at the hatchery
including a Canvasback and a "classic" male hybrid Mallard X Am Black
Duck, 2 more Palm Warblers for a total of 9 on the day.  Covered a
friend's farm in the late afternoon.  Sam had planted an acre of sunflower
and cover/forage plants from Quail Unlimited.  Best bird was a Fox
Sparrow but 40 or so Cardinals and about that many Eastern Meadowlarks
were nice to see.  Just missed the Horned Larks but Chuck can tell you
about that.


Dean Edwards
Knoxville, TN




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[TN-Bird] Merlin, "Audubon's" at EBFH

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