First, the shrikes. A few weeks ago my brother, my Dad, and I were doing the
Rutherford/Wilson County route for the Nashville Spring Bird Count, and we
found three Loggerhead Shrikes on Couch Road (just off Lytle Creek Road) in
Murfreesboro. This does not include young in a nest that we also found there.
Today, a few of us wanted to check that area again and found a whopping seven
shrikes, which just beats my high count for this species (previously six)! None
of them cooperated perfectly, but a few were definitely juvenile birds. While
most of the birds flew to one side of the field, we could hear more calling on
the other side, including some probable begging calls. I'm curious as to
whether there are actually two breeding pairs there??
Another surprise for us was the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers - six birds. The
"normal" pair at the entrance of Lytle Creek Road was present, and another male
that once had (probably still has) a mate was alone on Wilson Overall Road. Two
Scissor-tails were also observed on Couch Road. Neither had a long tail and
both looked relatively "fresh". Maybe juveniles?? The last bird was farther
down Wilson Overall, just before it becomes Dilton Mankin Road, and he had the
longest scissor-shaped tail I've ever seen! It was enough to convince Mom to
turn around. ;-)
Always great to see our local "specialties"!
Chloe WalkerMurfreesboro, TN
