[TN-Bird] Sage Thrasher in Knox County
- From: hoyle@xxxxxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 21:42:37 -0500 (EST)
Cove Island
Knox County
So this is the story:
On November 8, while birding on Cove Island, I flushed a grayish-brown,
towhee-sized bird,with white tailspots. It flew to a honeysuckle covered
scrub where it perched for approximately 45 seconds. My initial reaction
was that it was a "minature" thrasher. I was able to observe in that time
its bright yellow eye, a small slightly curved bill, two indistinct white
wing bars, and a heavily streaked breast. It was clearly a member of the
Mimidae family, but not an immature Mockingbird, since it had no white
patches on the wings or in the tail. Based on the field marks and the
Sibley guide, it appeared to be a Sage Thrasher!
I was pretty freaked out about this and wanted to confirm it before going
public.
I returned on Sunday, but was unable to locate it.
On Monday, November 10, Kristine Johnson and I walked back out to Cove
Island. As we were returning around noon from the end of the island, there
was a burst of activity. Amoung the Song Sparrows feeding in the trail,
was the Sage Thrasher running and pausing, hunting for
insects like a Roadrunner. As we followed it, it flew to the low branches
of a tree beside the trail. It sat there for at least 5 minutes observing
us as we observed it. All of the above field
marks were apparent, as well as a buffy wash on the sides of the breast
and the undertail coverts. Kris also noted that the tail was darker than
the upperparts. In total, we observed the Thrasher at close range for
almost 20 minutes.
On Tuesday, November 11, David and Allen Trently, Marcia Davis, and Harold
Howell went with me to the island to look for the bird. Unfortunately
after almost 2 hours of searching we could not relocate it, although we
did see a nice flock of Bonaparte's Gulls, D-cr. Cormorants, Bluebirds,
Palm Warbler, etc. David, Allen, and Harold reluctantly departed. Marcia
and I decided to make one more attempt. Just as we too were about to
leave, Marcia found the Thrasher sitting quietly in a small
honeysuckle infested tree. As a Sharp-shinned Hawk passed overhead, the
Thrasher dove into the underbrush. I was trying to flush the bird from the
underbrush when I noticed it had reappeared close to the trunk of the same
tree. Finally the Thrasher flew off to a privet hedge where it ate a
single berry and posed for another minute in the bright sun.
Cove Island is private property and there is no road access. Marcia and I
are trying to arrange with the peoperty owners for people to see the
thrasher. We have scheduled two field trips to look for the thrasher, the
first tomorrow, Nov.12, and the second on Thursday, Nov. 13. We
will try to plan more trips for the weekend and will let you know as soon
as possible.
On Wednesday, Nov. 12, meet David Trently at 11:30 at the AmSouth Bank
(Bearden Branch) parking lot at 6100 Kingston Pike at the intersection
with Northshore Dr. and Kingston Pike. From I-40 take the Papermill
Rd. exit (exit 383). Follow Northshore Dr. over to the first light at
Kingston Pike. Cross Kingston Pike and turn right into the bank parking
lot.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, meet Susan Hoyle at 11:30 at the same location.
I will keep you posted on the presence of the bird and future
opportunities to look for it.
Susan Hoyle
Knoxville, TN
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