[tn-bird] Rankin birds and tours
- From: "michael sylva" <mtnsylva@xxxxxxx>
- To: "TN-bird" <TN-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 11:38:07 -0400
Yesterday evening, Leslie Gibbens and I observed 2 nests occupied by Great Blue
Herons, 2 Great Egrets carrying sticks and 2 other GEs displaying breeding
plumage. The rookery is past the tipple and across the tracks in a pine grove.
Leslie also spotted a Snowy Egret there - we'd seen one wading near the TWRA
gate earlier in the month. Also at the rookery, there were 24 Black and 7
Turkey Vultures roosting in a pine snag.
On 5/27/02, we found 2 Black-crowned Night Heron nests in the riverbank rookery
which was unoccupied last year, likely because of lower lake levels. We saw 34
Double-crested Cormorants gathered on a fallen tree, but they're not nesting at
the same location at the bottoms as the past 2 years.
We counted 30 Prothonotary Warblers, including one using a nestbox we made and
set out with a group of afterschool kids from Newport. Another was occupied by
a Tree Swallow.
We found a nest in a small cypress which we think belongs to a Yellow-throated
Vireo - the nest and eggs fit Stokes' description, but we didn't get a good
look at the bird, which is new species for us.
Also seen:
Yellow-billed Cuckoo(5)
Green Heron(28)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (8)
Eastern Kingbird(14)
Orchard Oriole (7)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow(1)
Cliff Swallow (many)
Pied-billed Grebe(1)
Osprey (nesting on the old bridge)
And the usual cast of Wood Ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese, Redwinged Blackbirds,
and Woodpeckers (Downy, Redbellied, Pileated). Also a river otter, many
painted turtles and dragonflies.
>>>>
A boat is essential for wildlife observation at the current lake level (993').
We have four canoes available for no-fee guided tours or individual use. We'd
appreciate the help of more experienced birders in identifying several species
we've seen or heard but haven't been certain about. We're free most evenings
(6:00 to 9:00 PM is a great time to paddle at Rankin) and some weekends.
Michael Sylva
Del Rio TN
(423) 487-3161 or mtnsylva@xxxxxxx Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer
download : http://explorer.msn.com
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