[TN-Bird] Re: red-cockaded woodpecker in tennessee
- From: Charlie <cmmbirds@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: cpnichol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, sunfish0501@xxxxxxxxxxx, tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:51:40 -0800 (PST)
Hi folks,
I don't work for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but work in the
area and know the folks involved. So even though I don't pretend to
be the expert that Chuck Nicholson and Bob Hatcher are, I do have a
little to share here. There have been no sightings in the park in a
minimum of 5 years (and I believe none since Chuck did the work
mentioned in his email). I've been in the area mentioned, and the
habitat there is marginal at best. However the park does continue to
burn when resources and weather allow, so perhaps one day habitat
there will be better - if birds can find it again.
Last year I recieved word of a possible sighting of RCW at a feeder
north of the park. The gentleman invited me to look for it. The
habitat there was fairly dense, youngish pine with other stuff mixed
in, and moderate undergrowth - not prime RCW habitat. The location
of the feeder where he reports 2 or more birds to have visited for
over a week is close enough he had a very good view of whatever birds
visit. His verbal descriptions and reasons why they were not another
species all seemed sound to me. However he had no photos, and the
birds stopped coming at least 2 days prior to my arrival. All the
land in that area is private, and the person who owns the access road
(not the same man who invited me over) does not wish lots of extra
company.
So there is an extremely slight possibility that 2 or more birds have
been in the state as recently as 2005. But I wouldn't hold my
breathe.
Charlie
--- cpnichol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> The red-cockaded woodpecker population in the Smokies was gone by
> 1985. I spent some time in the late 1980s working in the Skunk
> Ridge area where it was last found; the pine habitat had continued
> to deteriorate and a couple of the previously used cavity trees had
> fallen.
>
> More recently, 3 or 4 years ago, Alcoa, through its Tapoco
> subsidiary (since renamed), hired biologists to survey for RCWs in
> the same part of the park where RCWs occurred in the 1970s and
> 1980s, as well as on nearby Tapoco lands. This survey was
> conducted as part of Tapoco's hydro plant relicensing effort to
> determine whether Tapoco's new license needed to include specific
> requirements for managing RCWs. The survey crew did not find any
> recent evidence of RCWs or good quality habitat for RCWs.
>
> I believe Smokies staffers have also done some survey work in the
> area, but beyond negative reports on the birds, I don't know the
> details of these efforts.
>
> Chuck Nicholson
> Norris, TN
>
> >
> > From: "Rick Phillips" <sunfish0501@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Date: 2005/12/26 Mon AM 09:56:23 EST
> > To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject: [TN-Bird] red-cockaded woodpecker in tennessee
> >
> > Hi Folks,
> > During the late 1970's I was part of a group of people who
> crawled around through some very rugged terrain in the Great Smokey
> Mountains and other places looking for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.
> We found a few birds and some nest cavities in the smokies. I have
> not kept up with the status of this bird very well, although I
> vaguely rmember reading snippets that seemed to imply that it was
> no longer being observed in Tennessee (notice I did not say it was
> gone). Can anyone clue me in to the current status of this bird in
> the state and particularly what efforts have been made to survey
> for the birds in the smokies?
> >
> > Rick
> >
> > Rick Phillips
> > Kingsport, Tennessee
> > =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
> >
> > The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
> > first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
> > You are also required to list the count in which the birds
> > you report were seen. The actual date of observation should
> > appear in the first paragraph.
> > _____________________________________________________________
> > To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
> > tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > _____________________________________________________________
> > To unsubscribe, send email to:
> > tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> > Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
> > endorse the views or opinions expressed
> > by the members of this discussion group.
> >
> > Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
> > wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> > _____________________________________________________________
> > Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> > web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
> > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> > Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
> >
> > _____________________________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
>
> =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
>
> The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
> first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
> You are also required to list the count in which the birds
> you report were seen. The actual date of observation should
> appear in the first paragraph.
> _____________________________________________________________
> To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
> tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> _____________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe, send email to:
> tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
> ______________________________________________________________
> TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
> endorse the views or opinions expressed
> by the members of this discussion group.
>
> Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
> wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> _____________________________________________________________
> Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
>
> _____________________________________________________________
>
>
>
*******************************************************************
Charlie Muise, Naturalist near
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
"To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illuminated mind
the whole world sparkles with light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the count in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual date of observation should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
_____________________________________________________________
Other related posts:
