May 14, 2006 Cocke County As they have on many occasions over the last few years, Leslie Gibbens and Michael Sledjeski led an excellent birding trip by canoe this morning on upper Douglas Lake in Cocke County. I was privileged to be part of it. Our group gathered at Rankin Bridge around 8:30, departed about 9:00, and returned about three hours later. The itinerary included a short upstream swing along the western bank of the French Broad River, a float downstream along the same side of the river for over a mile into the edge of Rankin Wildlife Management Area, a turn to the eastern bank of the river with a brief trip into the embayment near Holttown Road, and finally a return along the eastern bank to the boat launch at Rankin Bridge. The total number of participants in the group was eleven. I was unable to get everyone's name, but maybe Michael and Leslie can provide that info. Numbers below represent the highlights of the morning, with a few additional tallies for birds I found in a twenty-minute stop along Dutch Bottoms before 8:30 and a quick trip on Lehigh Drive in the early afternoon. My totals are conservative; any trip participant with additional info to contribute is welcome to chime in. Canada Goose (23); Wood Duck (9); Northern Bobwhite (at Rankin Bridge); Double-crested Cormorant (42, including 1 bird at nest); Great Blue Heron (7, including 3 birds at nest); Great Egret (seen near Holttown Road shortly after 12:00 by Michael Sledjeski and me); Green Heron (2); Osprey (4--2 pairs); Bald Eagle (2 immatures); Red-shouldered Hawk (2--1 adult below Rankin Bridge, 1 downy young in a nest upstream from Rankin Bridge); Spotted Sandpiper; unidentified peeps (6 fly-by birds at Rankin Bridge); Yellow-billed Cuckoo; Downy Woodpecker (10); Eastern Wood-Pewee; Eastern Kingbird (8); Yellow-throated Vireo (2); Warbling Vireo (3); Red-eyed Vireo (12); Tree Swallow (6); Northern Rough-winged Swallow (3); Cliff Swallow (75+, mostly at Rankin Bridge; far more birds are present, but many were in nests or were otherwise not visible; there are several hundred nests at the bridge); Barn Swallow (2); Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (20); Wood Thrush (on Lehigh Drive); Gray Catbird; Yellow Warbler (5); Yellow-rumped Warbler (seen by Rick Knight and Michael Sledjeski); Pine Warbler (along Dutch Bottoms); Blackpoll Warbler (2); Prothonotary Warbler (32); Kentucky Warbler (on Lehigh Drive); Common Yellowthroat (12); Wilson's Warbler (singing in a willow thicket along the shore at Dutch Bottoms Baptist Church); Summer Tanager (on Lehigh Drive); Indigo Bunting (45); Chipping Sparrow; Orchard Oriole (12); Baltimore Oriole (13). Don Miller Greeneville, Greene Co., 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 _____________________________________________________________