The Sandhill Cranes have returned to the Miser Station Bridge in Blount County.
I saw 17 there late this afternoon. (I'll have my eBird report later tonight.)
If last year's pattern holds, they should be there most days (but not all day
every day), for the next couple of months. Also, expect to see one or more
great egrets here as well. The site seems to be a perennial somewhat northerly
overwintering location for them. I saw as many as nine great egrets here last
winter and as many as 56 sandhill cranes.
One birder said that he had an issue earlier in the year with a nearby
landowner about parking on the side of the road. I don't know all of the
specifics, but if you have trouble, you can always park at the Dollar General
and walk across the road.
Also, at Louisville Point Park, right before closing time, I saw one immature
herring gull mixed in with a few hundred ring-billed gulls. I also saw eight
red-breasted mergansers.
Randy WinsteadMaryville, Blount County
