Great news for area
birders: Access restrictions for a popular birding spot on the Oak Ridge
Reservation in East Tennessee have been lifted. The site, situated along Bear
Creek Road just off Hwy 58 in Roane County, was previously referred to by local
birders as the K-25 Beaver Ponds or ETTP Beaver Ponds. Until recently, a U.S.
Government sign forbade public entry to the ponds, so birding the ponds without
trespassing could only be done from the adjacent roadway. This area is now
officially open to the public (walk in only) and is known as the Heritage
Center Greenway Powerhouse Trail.
This wetland contains numerous dead snags and has
historically been a reliable location for red-headed woodpeckers, prothonotary
warblers, numerous water birds and other interesting species. Users should park
to either side of the bar gate and walk around the gate to access the trail. The
trail is a 0.4-mile long gravel road, bisecting two ponds and associated
wetland habitat. Users will encounter a second sign, indicating no public
access beyond that point. The trail makes a right hand turn just before this
second sign, leading users to the far end of one of the ponds.
The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET)
manages this property for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Security
personnel have been notified of the change from restricted access to public
use. Special thanks go to Bob Greenwell of CROET for overseeing the trail
project,
and to DOE and CROET for maintaining the habitat and supporting its public use
for wildlife viewing. Please respect the property, obey the signs, and adhere
to the American Birding Association’s Code of Ethics.
Heritage Center Greenway Powerhouse Trail is a new eBird
hotspot and I encourage you to use this hotspot in entering your checklists
when you explore this new trail. When you use the mapping tool, the current
hotspots appear as red markers and you need to click on the marker to see the
hotspot name.
If you have already entered checklists for this location,
you can merge your personal location with the hotspot and I hope that most of
you will choose to do this. The great advantage to having hotspots is to allow
easy exploration of the data for the site. You will still be able to create bar
charts, etc. showing just your own observations there but you (and others) will
also be able to see the larger picture.
Here are the instructions for merging: From the "My
eBird" tab under the "My Observations" column on the right,
choose "Manage my Locations." Using the search box on the left, find
your location and click to open it. Your location will appear on the map screen
as a large green radio button. Select "Merge" and zoom out until
you see a smaller red radio button for the hotspot. Viewing the map as a
satellite image will allow you to zoom out farther which may be necessary if
the two locations are very close together. Once you see the red button,
click on it and its name will appear. You will now be asked if you want to
merge your checklist/s with the hotspot. Leave the "Delete after
merging" option checked and click on the merge bar on the left. When
asked if you’re sure say “yes” and all your checklists for that site will
appear in the hotspot.
Carole Gobert, Knoxville
eBird Hotspot Administrator for Tennessee
