[TN-Bird] osprey, etc at Hiwassee
- From: Charlie <cmmbirds@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 10:24:31 -0800 (PST)
Hi folks,
I was able to sneak away from work for the morning, so I went to the
Hiwassee refuge, at the confluence of Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers
in Meigs County.
It was a beautiful day, and though I only had 2 hours, I was able to
see 63 species. The very last bird was probably the most
interesting, considering the late date: As I was driving north on
route 58, I looked left (west) from the Hiwassee River Bridge and saw
an OSREY perched in the middle of the river.
I saw somewhere around 300 cranes, I'm guessing - hard to count as
they circle around, and most land out of sight, so one never really
knows how many birds are double counted. I was NOT able to locate
any Whoopers.
I'm using the dreaded TWRA orange card, so please forgive the
quasi-taxonomic order. I still find these cards useful.
Other birds:
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant: 100+
Great Blue Heron: 6
Bufflehead: 35-40, mostly at the confluence of the Hiwassee and a
small creek north of the refuge.
American Black Duck: 4
Ring-necked Duck: 14
Gadwall: 35-40, maybe more. There were little groups everywhere
Canada Goose: ~40
Mallard: 12
Hooded Merganser: 26
American Wigeon: 5
Northern Harrier: 2 (both immature/female plumage)
Cooper's Hawk: 1
Red-tailed Hawk: 3, including one eating a road-killed 'possum
American Kestrel: one female near where the Harris Sparrow was 2
years ago. NOTE: the area around that pond is quite grown up, and
it is harder to see anything in there. It still hosts a lot of
birds, though, including all the sparrow species I saw today (below)
OSPREY: 1
Black Vulture: at least 100 in 2 good sized kettles
Turkey Vulture: ~ 40
American Coot: one flock of at least 60
Sandhill Crane: ~300-400?
Killdeer: I didn't count, but they were on every mudflat and field I
looked at.
BONAPARTE's GULL: one at the west end of Hiwassee Island
Ring-billed Gull: ~50
Mourning Dove: who knows?
Rock Dove: noted, not counted
Belted Kingfisher: 2. One was perched on a wood duck box in the
lagoon below the observation deck. I watched it swallow the biggest
fish I've ever seen one successfully tackle. It then sat there for
at least 30 minutes, looking like I will next Thursday afternoon...
Northern Flicker: 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 3
Downy Woodpecker: 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker: 2
Eastern Phoebe: 3
American Crow: many
Blue Jay: ~40-50
Carolina Chickadee: 3
Tufted Titmouse: 2
White-breasted Nuthatch: 1
Carolina Wren: 6
Winter Wren: 2
House Wren? I *think* I had one
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 1
Eastern Bluebird: many
American Robin: many
Hermit Thrush: 1
Northern Mockingbird: 8 or 9
Brown Thrasher: 1
Sage Thrasher: /
(just making sure you're realy reading)
American Pipit: 2 on the mudflat, and 2-3 small flocks heard
overhead
European Starling: not counted
Cedar Waxwing: Saw one or more flocks of 40-50 birds fly over. Not
sure if it was just the same flock over and over...
Yellow-rumped Warbler: at least 30
Northern Cardinal: at least 50
Field Sparrow: 3
Fox Sparrow: 1
Song Sparrow: I can't count that high
Swamp Sparrow: 1
White-crowned Sparrow: 6
White-throated Sparrow: many
Eastern Towhee: 2
Red-winged Blackbird: 40-50
Rusty Blackbird: saw one, heard a handful
Commone Grackle: ~25
Eastern Meadowlark: many
House Finch: 4
American Goldfinch: 30-40
Good day!
Charlie
=====
**************************************************
Charlie Muise, Senior Naturalist
Now living in Maryville, TN
Still working in Great Smoky Mountains
National Park
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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