People have contacted me privatelywanting an update on the status of the common
mergansers, so Ithought that I would give a more public update here, if you
wouldpardon my long-winded treatise and speculations.
To the best of my knowledge, the commonmergansers have not been seen since July
20th, when BethSchilling found them somewhat downstream from the Camp Wesley
Woodssite where they had been seen at least four times between 7/6
and7/14—twice by my wife and myself, and twice by Harumi Umi. Boththe Camp
Wesley Woods site and the Beth Schilling site are wellupstream from the Walland
Bridge where they were seen several timesby various people between 5/29 and
6/11.
Since Beth's sighting I have been tothe general area at least six times and
have not relocated the birds. This does not necessarily mean that they are no
longer there, sincethere are many areas of the Little River that are not
visible fromthe road. Also, there was a gap of 25 days between the last
sightingat the Walland Bridge and the first sighting at the Camp Wesley
Woodssite.
Some have suggested that the birdsmight go downstream as the year progresses to
find more food. However, I have also checked downstream quite a few times
withoutsuccess.
If the birds are still presentsomewhere in the area, I suspect that they may
have gone upstream. July and August are peak times for tubers, kayakers, and
hightemperatures along the Little River. It is perhaps possible thatthey
migrated upstream to avoid the tourists and the heat (and whocan blame them?).
One somewhat overlooked sighting was made byLizzie Diener on May 21st at
Metcalf Bottoms in SevierCounty. Many may have associated this sighting with
the previousnumerous and noteworthy sightings in Sevier County by Keith
Watsonand others. However, the Metcalf Bottoms sighting, although inSevier
County, is part of the Little River drainage, and is distantfrom the Little
Pigeon River drainage where the other Sevier Countysightings were made. If this
is the same adult female seen elsewherein Blount County (as is likely), then
the range of the group may bebroader than previously thought. Although I was
not aware of thesignificance of the Diener sighting until tonight, the thought
thatthe birds may have gone upstream instead of down had intrigued me, soI
checked today as far upstream as Meigs' Falls (which is well shortof Metcalf
Bottoms). However, I did not find them.
I will sporadically check back in thegeneral area, perhaps once or twice a
week, and will report back if Ifind them again. In the meantime, no news is not
good news.
Randy WinsteadMaryville, Blount County
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