January 1, 2018 [2018/2019] - Count Year 119
This was the 21st Shady Valley / Mountain City Christmas Bird Count over
the last 22 years. Count year 113 [2012/2013] was cancelled due to
inclement weather. There were 58 species found this year which is just
under the 61 species average for this count over the 20 years (not
including the cancelled year). Bald Eagle was added this year to the count.
With the growing number of nests on nearby and neighboring lakes (South
Holston and Watauga) it was only a matter of time before one showed up on
this count. It was found in the Mountain City/Laurel Bloomery area by Tom
McNeil. I marked it at unusual because of the addition of the species but I
think they will continue to be a part of this count in the future.
Loggerhead Shrike was found again on this count in the Neva/Mountain City
area by Rick Knight which is only the 3rd time it has been found on the
count. (Count year 108 [2007/2008] and Count year 115 [2014/2015]) Of
note, Blue Jay (18 total) was the lowest since count year 98 [1997/1998].
Northern Mockingbird (37 total) and White-throated Sparrow (15 total) set
new high and low counts respectively. Previous high count for Northern
Mockingbird was 36 in count year 108 [2007/2008] and previous low count for
White-throated Sparrow was 24 in count year 110 [2009/2010]. Northern
Flicker tied the high count of 20 species in count year 115.The Weather was
above the 20 year average in both the low and high temperature. The high
was 58 (50.1 average) and the low was 46 (29.6 average) with cloudy to
partly cloudy skies and no precipitation.
Canada Goose 351
Mallard 44
Hooded Merganser 8
Wild Turkey 71
Great Blue Heron 7
Black Vulture 18
Turkey Vulture 17
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 5
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 11
Rock Pigeon 63
Mourning Dove 137
Eastern Screech-Owl 4
Barred Owl 2
Belted Kingfisher 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker 13
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 28
Hairy Woodpecker 7
Northern Flicker 20
Pileated Woodpecker 16
American Kestrel 11
Eastern Phoebe 5
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Blue Jay 18
American Crow 372
Common Raven 8
Carolina Chickadee 95
Tufted Titmouse 34
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 37
Brown Creeper 1
Winter Wren 1
Carolina Wren 63
Golden-crowned Kinglet 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 138
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 55
Northern Mockingbird 37
European Starling 501
Yellow-rumped Warbler 14
Field Sparrow 33
Dark-eyed Junco 31
White-crowned Sparrow 16
White-throated Sparrow 15
Song Sparrow 135
Swamp Sparrow 6
Eastern Towhee 6
Northern Cardinal 60
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Common Grackle 1
House Finch 37
American Goldfinch 80
House Sparrow 12
Total Individuals 2679
Total Species 58
Many thanks to the participants this year!
Kathleen Britts
Ron Carrico
Harry Lee Farthing
Rick Knight
Roy Knipsel
Phillip Lewis
Richard Lewis
Guy McGrane
Joe McGuiness
Tom McNeil
Adrianna Nelson
Michele Sparks
A little added data year for the state compiler:
4 Parties - data for the combined party particulars below
Nocturnal Birding Start 5:45am
Nocturnal Birding End 7:00am
Diurnal Birding Start 7:30am
Diurnal Birding End 4:00pm
14 hours by foot
8 miles by foot
17 hours by car
195 miles by car
0 Feeder Watchers
Clear to Partly Cloudy Low 46, High 58
Robert Biller
Compiler Shady Valley / Mountain City CBC
Elizabethton, TN
