[TN-Bird] Red River Gorge, KY weekend/Rock Bridge Burn
- From: FrankRenfrow@xxxxxxx
- To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, IN-BIRD-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, ohio-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 23:06:18 EDT
We (Veronica and Frank Renfrow) were at the Red River Gorge this weekend and
saw quite a few good early spring birds.On Friday March 31 we walked the
Whittleton Arch trail and found 4 Eastern Phoebes, 3 Blue-headed Vireos, 1
Winter Wren, 3 Louisiana Waterthrushes, 4 Pine Warblers and 4 Black-throated
Green Warblers. On Saturday April 1st we found 1 pair of Red-breasted
Nuthatches
inspecting snags (especially interested in one particular dead white pine
snag) along Rock Bridge Trail at the top of the ridge not far from the picnic
area and another male was heard calling near Rock Bridge. Also found along the
trail and along Rock Bridge Road were 12 Blue-headed Vireos, 2 Hermit
Thrushes, 1 White-breasted Nuthatch, 1 Winter Wren, 14 Pine Warblers, 8
Yellow-throated Warblers, 11 Black-throated Green Warblers, 3 Black and White
Warblers,
and 30 Dark-eyed Juncos. We also found a Red-breasted Nuthatch near the
Castle Rock Arch overlook near Sky Bridge, the first time I have definitively
found them that far downstream in the Swift Camp Creek watershed (almost to
the
Red River) but of course it is still early in the season. There were at least
a dozen more Pine Warblers at the Tunnel Ridge Road area near D. Boone hut,
totals for the trip probably reached 50-60 in all, considering those also
heard along KY 715 and at Natural Bridge. We found the pair of Red-breasted
Nuthatches still active around the white pine snag near the Rock Bridge Picnic
area on Sunday April 2nd.
We were very disappointed to find that another large prescribed burn had
just been made along a mile stretch of Rock Bridge Road. I realize that these
burns are a very good idea in prairie areas, cliff edges, and pine woods but I
think they have dubious value as far as a mature white pine-hemlock deciduous
forest is concerned. This is a habitat type of which Kentucky has precious
little in the first place, and one would think that the presence of breeding
Red-breasted Nuthatches here and nowhere else in the state would be enough
reason to preserve the forest as it is. I realize that there is room for
disagreement on this issue, but I would challenge anyone that thinks that
these
burns are a good idea to walk the length of Rock Bridge Road and then see how
they feel. They might notice that most all of the Blue-headed Vireos and
Black-throated Green Warblers are singing on the unburned side of the road,
where
there is still an abundance of coniferous (small white pines and hemlocks) and
evergreen deciduous (i.e.rhododendron, mtn laurel and holly) understory. I am
also rather disappointed that I was falsely assured that no burns were in
the planning for this area in the near future, and that I would be informed
prior to the implementation of future burns, so that I would have time to file
an objection. I have sent this email to the bird listservs of the neighboring
states as well as Kentucky, as many of the visitors to this beautiful area
are from out of state and they should also be made aware of the situation.
Frank Renfrow
Bellevue, KY
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