[TN-Bird] Saturday on Holston MTN
- From: "Michelle Brown" <mbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "tn-birds" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:41:02 -0400
We loaded up horses, tack, snack and dogs Saturday afternoon after several
hours of fence building. The process of hooking up trailer and loading all
gear and horses is a job in itself. The final detail, the DOGS! I climbed
into the back of the truck to secure Tanner Turkey Locater Extraordinaire when
something caught my eye. Above the tongue of our gooseneck trailer were little
sprigs hanging over the brake box. I leaned in for a closer look and noted a
perfectly formed nest with at least four very small, mostly bald nestlings.
Well pooh! I had hooked the trailer up and moved it from the back yard to the
front yard over an hour earlier. Of course we did the only thing one could do!
We hauled the trailer and all of its contents directly back to the spot from
which it came.
After another 20 minutes of transferring everything from the nest trailer to
the non nest trailer we hit the Holston Mtn area again. We rode an area a
little farther up the mtn. A forest service road called Dogwood Bench. Again
we had turkeys. We also flushed a grouse. Toward the end of our ride I was
gazing off into the tree tops that are eye level on the down hill side of the
road. Everything was so perfect. Dogwoods blooming, a cool breeze blowing and
not one sound in the woods but the hoofbeats of our horses and the exhausted
panting of Tanner Turkey Locater Extraordinaire and our latest addition Belle
Zero Stamina Lazy Lab. I spotted movement in one tree and took a second look.
There on a low limb, sitting perfectly still, was a Broad-Winged Hawk. In all
the years we have been riding on Holston Mtn I have never seen a Broad-Winged
Hawk and in two weeks I have a total of three in two different locations. The
turkeys are a first as well. Their large tracks have always turned up in a
puddle here and there but never spotted one until last week.
We had the usual little Juncos and a few other non-distinguishables.
As for the nesting trailer. After arriving home late Saturday I checked the
nest and an adult bird flew out and tried to rake my eyebrows from my face. I
was relieved that mom had returned after her nest site moved several hundred
feet from its original location. I id'd the birds Sunday as House Finches. I
hope that she will raise her family and move on to another nest location.
If I am fortunate enough to ride again this weekend I will take the binocs and
spend a little more time working on all those flittering critters in the tip
tops of the trees.
Michelle King
Blountville, TN
Sullivan Co
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