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| A female Downy
Woodpecker photographed on Aspen Dr., Putnam County, Tennessee, during
early October 2007; photo Stan Hood. |
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Recent
BIRDFOLK Messages (Winter 2007-2008)
Subject: birdfolk message 2008-3 (27
february)
Dear
birdfolk,
The
press of many obligations has kept me from being more prolific with messages
recently, for which many apologies are no doubt due and herewith offered.
Probably
the birdly item that has taken up the most of my time lately has been the
Great Backyard Bird Count, both in the collecting of data during that four-day
event and in the editing and placing online of the contents of the many GBBC
checklists that came my way in the week following the actual event. I'm
happy to report that this year's GBBC Pooled Data Event led to data for 105
species of Regional birds, the highest number ever represented by a single
GBBC Pooled Data Event in its short existence and a number that almost
equals the number of species reported on CBCs during December and early
January 2007-2008. Some nice species found on this year's GBBC in the
UCR include a Greater White-fronted Goose in Pulaski Co., KY (Roseanna Denton
et al.); a blue morph of Snow Goose in Putnam Co., TN (Barb Stedman); Ruffed
Grouse in Cumberland Co., TN (Joseph Mast); Cattle Egret in White Co., TN
(Wally Brines); Merlin in Pulaski Co., KY (RMD); "Audubon's"
Yellow-rumped Warbler, and 8 Palm Warblers in Putnam Co., TN (SJS). Five
Regional counties--Pulaski, KY, and Cumberland, DeKalb, Putnam, and
White, TN--were represented in this year's GBBC extravaganza. Many thanks to
all who submitted one or more GBBC checklists from one of those counties for
Feb. 16, and to all who submitted GBBC checklists of any kind for any day of
that event.
I
earlier sent around a message about the Lapland Longspurs found in DeKalb Co.,
TN, by Judy Fuson and also seen by Carol Williams. This record was the
first for DeKalb Co., which became just the 7th Regional county with a record
of this rarish winter visitor to our neck of the fields; it was also the
latest during spring ever to occur Regionally. Besides her nice longspur
record, Judy also reports that her father had Purple Martin scouts today at
his martin houses in Alexandria, DeKalb Co., TN, the first of the
"spring" to be reported.
Today's
inclement weather was par for the course for Wednesday mornings so far this
year. Only one birdwalk has actually taken place at Cane Creek Park so
far, among five efforts to have such birdwalks. There will be no
birdwalk next week (spring break), but I hope to get back to a regular weekly
birdwalk on Wednesday mornings at CCP starting Mar. 12; we'll see if Mother
Nature can avoid further inclemencies of the meteorological sort by then.
This
Friday is the last day of winter 2007-2008, so if you have any info that could
be used in the Winter 2007-2008 UCR Bird Report, now is the time to get it in.
Last
month I added another species account to the slowly growing number of accounts
that I've created for Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region (BUCR).
The newest account was for the Veery, so take a look at it if you have any
interest in the status, abundance, and distribution of this thrush in our
Region. I've also improved the maps that are linked to the 100 accounts
currently available for BUCR, as well as some of the maps that are linked to
the central node of the White County Foray (2007).
Hope
your early spring is a good one, Steve
Subject: birdfolk message 2008-2 (4
february)
Dear
birdfolk,
Many
Canada Geese in my local area are already paired up and searching for nest
sites, so spring is closer than we might think when the temperature keeps
dropping below the freezing point every few nights. Yesterday I heard
the first calling Mourning Dove of the year in my yard, another early sign of
the vernal season. Anyone hearing Wood Frogs or other amphibs? Other
early signs of the spring? The first singing Pine Warbler is sure to be
heard soon; report it when you hear it.
Cranes
continue to head north in droves; Dave Roemer reported 2000+ in Barren Co.,
KY, Jan. 28, the largest one-day count of cranes to be reported lately, but
many more cranes remain south of the Region and will be heading north shortly.
Judy
Fuson relocated the Krider's Red-tailed Hawk that has wintered south of
Smithville, DeKalb Co., TN, the last two years; on Jan. 26 she found
and photographed it on exactly the same power pole where she has
photographed it during each of the last two winters. Hope this bird
will keep coming back for many more years; such well marked and highly site
faithful individuals offer a way to obtain an approximate idea of longevity
in this species.
Roseanna
Denton did some successful owling in the Little Lick area of the Daniel Boone
National Forest, Pulaski Co., KY, Jan. 30 and heard two Northern Saw-whet
Owls, the first reports of the season so far. This species usually
begins migrating north in early March, so if you are going to do any owling
for it this winter, better go soon.
Roseanna
also found and photographed an immature Greater White-fronted Goose in Pulaski
Co., KY, Jan. 26, providing the 16th Regional record of this rarely occurring
goose. Have a look at her nice photo, available via a link in the Winter
2007-2008 UCR Bird Report.
The
debate about the identity of the swans in south-central Kentucky continues
unabated; like some of the political races now underway, no clear winner is in
sight. These swans might end up being either Tundras or Trumpeters, so
stay tuned if these sorts of birdy debates intrigue you.
I've
had a single Pine Siskin coming to my feeders on an irregular basis since
about the 20th of January. Anyone else getting any of these boreal
irruptives?
As
a result of the long vacation I took from writing these messages from mid-December
to late January, I have failed to note an important milestone in the Regional
birding history, that is, the first Regional CBC to be conducted that
surpassed the 90-species barrier. This happened Dec. 22, when the
Crossville, Cumberland Co., TN, CBC registered 92 species. Congrats go to
Ed LeGrand, Joseph Mast, and all the folks in Cumberland County who made that
CBC the best-ever in the annals of the Regional CBC effort. Now the
Regional birding cadre needs to set its sights on surpassing the
oh-so-magical 100-species barrier on a CBC; here's hoping we all live long
enough to see that happen.
The
Great Backyard Bird Count is now less than two weeks away. Hope you can
submit a few checklists for bird counting you do from Feb. 15 to Feb. 18; if
you count on Feb. 16, please consider forwarding me a copy of your GBBC
checklists for that day, so that your county can be represented in the
Regional GBBC pooled data event (but remember that it takes a minimum of 10
GBBC checklists for a county to get itself represented in the Regional
summary).
It's
early yet, but dates and sites for the Regional Spring Bird Counts (SBC) and
Spring BirdBlitzes (SBB) are solicited from those who are interested in such
matters. The Cookeville SBC will be conducted as usual on the second
Saturday in May, the 10th; dates for SBCs or SBBs in other counties are
welcome. While considering when to conduct these counts, please keep in
mind the dates of the spring meetings of the KOS (April 25-27 at Cumberland
Falls State Park) and the TOS (not yet posted at the website of that
organization).
Last
Wednesday's birdwalk at Cane Creek Park was truncated somewhat when those two
of us who showed up did a little brief consulting and decided that with the
temperature at 20 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind a bit brisk, it would
behoove us to 'scope the lake for waterbirds briefly and then be on our way.
We'll try again this Wednesday, hoping for higher temps and lower wind speeds.
Good
bird counting, Steve
BIRDFOLK messages
are shared with those Upper Cumberland Region birders who share their bird
sightings with me, either directly or indirectly. The minimal
sharing threshold is one bird record per month (note: a bird record always
contains the name of a specific species, the number seen, the date seen,
the site where seen, and the name of the observer). BIRDFOLK
messages are archived at a page of my website that is accessible via the
birdpage:
Subject: birdfolk message 2008-1 (24
january)
Dear
birdfolk,
I've
taken a fairly long break from the business of sending out these messages,
with little or no disruption in the life of anyone that I can tell, so I
may ease my way out of this form of birdliness in the fairly near future.
If that happens, I will try to have some form of replacement available to
those who feel they would benefit from the occasional electronic birdnews
item making its way into their cyberspace.
Christmas
Bird Counts are now well behind us, ten having been successfully conducted
around the Region. Results of eight of these counts are now posted at my
website; I hope results of the remaining two CBCs will be available in the
near term. The next major birding event on the horizon is the Great
Backyard Bird Count, to be conducted Feb. 15-18. A Regional wrinkle on
this kind of count is the "pooled data event," scheduled for Feb.
16. Those who wish to take part in this event need to conduct GBBC-type
counts at a minimum of ten sites in their home county, submit their data from
these counts to the GBBC website, asking for an email copy to be sent to them
by the GBBC program, and then forward a copy of the email results to me. Consult
the page of my website devoted to the GBBC if you want more details about the
pooled data event.
A
frustrating but probably unavoidable aspect of taking part in the
birding life is what I will refer to as the "knotty i.d.
problem." One of these problems involves the swans of North
America, two of which, Tundra and Trumpeter, can be extremely difficult to
separate in the field. Whether you know it or not, you are now living
through an episode of swan i.d. knottiness, initially precipitated when
Roseanna Denton photographed two swans at General Burnside Island State Park
in Pulaski Co., KY, Jan. 8. Roseanna shared her swan photos with many
folk, and the resulting identifications by these folk included all three
of North America's swans--Tundra, Trumpeter, and Mute--with most, but not all, folk
leaning heavily toward the first of these as the species represented in the
photos; lack of consensus on a bird i.d. is not that uncommon, but usually the
spectrum of identifications does not cover every possibility available,
as happened in this case. To complicate matters some, two more swans,
that may have been the same two found by Roseanna at Burnside, appeared
a week or so later in London, KY, somewhat to the east of Pulaski County,
and these swans have been called Trumpeters by most of those who have seen
them or seen photographs of them, even though the London swans look just
like the Pulaski County swans. How this knot will be untied remains
undetermined, and it may stay that way a while, even forever. Such is
one of the dubious joys of the birding life.
Much
less problematic than the swan brouhaha now at the center of the Regional
bird stage have been a few other bird finds in recent weeks. Lynda and
Tom Mills found a Vesper Sparrow, very rare during winter in the Region, at
the McCreary County Airport, McCreary Co., KY, Jan. 1, a nice way to ring
in the new year. Jacquie Wagner sent word that her Rufous Hummingbird continued
to reside in Van Buren Co., at least as of Jan. 14. Roseanna Denton
photographed a Merlin in Wayne Co., KY, Jan. 3 during the CBC there; you may
view her photo of the Merlin, as well as photos of her swans, via links in the
Winter 2007-2008 UCR Bird Report. Ed and brother Harry LeGrand discovered a
Rough-legged Hawk south of Crossville during the Cumberland County CBC, the
first county record of that rarish raptor in several decades. Finally, Ed
LeGrand also observed a Greater White-fronted Goose on the White County CBC,
the first record for that CBC and for that county.
Several
Regional folks have turned in reports of road-killed Eastern Screech-Owls
lately, bringing the total reported in the past 38 months to 45 (with 82.2%
being rufous and 15.5% gray). Thanks to Mike Tatum, Nan Beesley, and Annell
Fields for the recent reports from the road-kill precincts.
Sandhill
Cranes are now moving through the Region in both northerly and
southerly directions; if you sight any cranes, be sure to note the flight
direction of your birds. A classic instance of directional
schizophrenia by mid-winter cranes was witnessed Dec. 29 near Fall Creek Falls
State Resort Park in Bledsoe Co., TN, by Dana Girard; she watched 50 cranes
fly in from the north at noon that day; then the flock started circling right
overhead; when the birds continued their journey, 25 went south and 25 went
north, clearly revealing a division in the collective cranebrain.
I
plan to return Wednesday morning birdwalks at Cane Creek Park to my
schedule this semester. If you wish to take part in the first of these
for 2008, be at the park concession stand a little before 7:00 A.M. next Wed.,
Jan. 30; if inclement weather threatens, the birdwalk may be shortened or
cancelled, but otherwise the show will go on.
Hope
your holiday season was a good one and your new year even better, Steve
Subject: birdfolk message 2007-45 (19
december)
Dear
birdfolk,
Time,
as well as many a bird, flies when you're having fun, so it has been more than
a week since I managed to find the opportunity to communicate in a birdly
manner, and lots of information related to birdliness has come to light during
that interval, so let's get to it.
Christmas
Bird Counts began Dec. 14 with the running of the second annual CBC in Russell
Co., KY. If this count is unfamiliar to you, it's my fault, since I
have somehow managed to ignore its existence for nearly a year, an oversight for
which there is probably no good enough excuse and certainly no
severe enough punishment. Let me offer the compiler of this count,
Roseanna Denton, sincerest apologies for having overlooked her count,
which began last year with a quite respectable one-party effort that led to
the recording of 2335 individuals of 54 species, including some rather nice
ones, a Pine Warbler among them. This year's effort led to the recording
of two species--Surf and Black scoters--never before registered on any of the
Region's CBCs, enough reason to welcome Russell County, albeit belatedly, into
the Regional CBC fold. As far as I can tell, last year's Russell County
CBC was the first organized bird count of any kind to be held in that
county (although there have been KOS meetings in Russell County before
with their attendant effort to provide a list of all the species found during
those meetings). Roseanna plans to continue running this CBC in the
future, so in partial compensation for my failure to recognize her
effort, let me offer to take part in any Russell County CBC that is conducted
in the future, as long as it is held on a day when I am not committed to
another Regional CBC.
Dec.
15 saw the 46th version of the Cookeville CBC, which garnered 88 species
(one short of tying the count record) on a day when threatening rain held
off until almost dark, allowing for a nice count to take place.
Many thanks to the 20 individuals who took part in this count. Dec. 18
(yesterday) witnessed a nice count in Clay Co., TN, where 85 species were
counted, including an adult Golden Eagle, found and photographed by Roseanna
Denton and Arlene Morton. This eagle was the first for the Clay County
CBC and for Clay County all-time, which became the 14th Regional county with a
record of the "other" eagle.
Tomorrow
the White Co., TN, CBC will be conducted, followed on Saturday by the
Crossville, TN, CBC. There will then be a period of rest and
relaxation before the next Regional CBC is conducted, in DeKalb Co., TN, Dec.
27. Somerset, KY, will follow on the 29th, with Wayne Co., KY (Jan. 3),
and Warren Co., TN (Jan. 5) ending this year's CBC extravaganza.
The
training flight of juvenile Whooping Cranes spent a goodly period of time in
Cumberland Co., TN, this year; after arriving Dec. 6, this year's cohort of
Whoopers remained until the morning of Dec. 17, when they took off and made
a pass over the Stonhaus Wine facility on I-40 in Crossville before
wending their way toward Hiwassee Refuge and points southeast. Many
thanks to all those who are involved in this Operation Migration event; in
particular let me thank DJ Stanley for providing some nice photos of the
ultralight-led Whoopers as they passed over the wine store. [Note:
apparently the whooper flight is still grounded in Cumberland County and will
remain there until Dec. 29.]
Sandhill
Crane flocks have continued to make their way southeast through the Region in
recent days, so the end of this year's migration has not yet been reached;
please keep alert for migrant cranes and submit reports as soon as you can.
So far this "fall" over 150 separate reports of crane overflights
have been turned in from many of the counties of the UCR. I expect that
southerly migrating crane flocks will continue to be observed into early
January, whereupon north-directed flocks should begin to appear.
The
Eastern Screech-Owl morph project continues to gather data; most recently
Roseanna Denton sent in a photo of a rufous morph bird that she photographed
Nov. 20 in Pulaski Co., KY, making 41 records of road-killed screech-owls that
have been turned in during the past three years; 82.9% of these road-kills
have been rufous; 14.6% gray; and 2.5% undetermined (meaning mighty mushed up
by a run-in with one or more vehicles).
Rusty
Blackbird sightings continue to trickle in. One of the most recent
observations involved 2 to 5 Rusties that have been roosting in the thick
vegetation of a vernal pool on the property of Ed LeGrand in Cumberland Co.,
TN, during recent nights. Many thanks to all who have kept an eye
out for this fine blackbird; hope more are reported as the winter wears on,
and I certainly hope that some flocks of more than a few individuals are
found.
No
Loggerhead Shrike could be located Dec. 15 during the Cookeville CBC, the
third year in a row without a shrike on that count. Never before have
three years passed without a CBC shrike in Cookeville. However, a shrike
did turn up yesterday on the Clay County CBC, just the 3rd time in nine years
that this decreasing "songbird" has been registered on that CBC.
Let's hope that tomorrow's CBC in White County, one of the few Regional
strongholds for this species, will turn up several of this fine species.
Have
a good holiday season, during which I hope you spend some time counting birds,
Steve
Subject: birdfolk message 2007-44 (10
december)
Dear
birdfolk,
December
6 turned out to be an incredibly active day for crane migration; in all, I
received at least 15 reports totaling about 2000 migrant Sandhill Cranes for
that day, but, being insatiable when it comes to bird records, I am hoping for
even more crane migration records to come my way this month, so send 'em along
as you see 'em.
The
Whooping Crane training flight entered Russell Co., KY, Dec. 4, stayed there
two days, and then made its way down to Cumberland Co., TN, Dec. 6. I'm
note sure if the cranes remain in Cumberland Co. or if they have already
passed southward to Hiwassee Refuge (and maybe beyond, given they are behind
schedule).
A
female Long-tailed Duck appeared briefly at the Floating Mill Recreation Area,
Center Hill Lake, DeKalb Co., TN, Dec. 7; it established the first record for
that county and just the 15th Regionally.
Three
white morph Snow Geese were found and photographed on Rt. 56 in DeKalb Co.,
TN, Dec. 8 by Carol Williams, just the second report of this species in the
Region this "fall"; like the Long-tailed Duck, these geese were
gone the next day.
Rusty
Blackbirds are around the Region in small numbers here and there. A
single was found at the Cumberland Mountain Farm in Cumberland Co., TN, last
Saturday, and five more were found in that county on the Leffle Loop the
same day. Fourteen Rusties, the most reported at one time in the Region
so far this winter, were counted at Hell Bend, at the end of Helm's Bend Rd.,
Smith Co., TN, on Sunday, and two others, as well as the first fall Brewer's
Blackbirds, were present on Old Mill Rd., Putnam Co., TN, that same day.
Please report all sightings of this decreasing breeder of the boreal forest.
The
first of the Regional CBCs is coming up this Saturday when the Cookeville CBC
will be conducted. The period for "count week" for each CBC
includes the three days before and the three days after the actual count date.
Species sighted during count week, but not on count day, can be listed for a
CBC, so if you live within a count circle, please be alert for unusual species
at your feeders and report them if they occur within count week.
I've
not heard much about the Clay County CBC, scheduled for Dec. 18. Is the
Corps of Engineers house once again available for those who come in from out
of town? Are territories pretty much as they have been in the past?
In this case, no news may not be good news, so let's hear some.
Doug
Downs seems to have all under control for the White County CBC, scheduled for
Dec. 20, while Ed LeGrand and Joseph Mast have the details down for the
Crossville CBC, scheduled for Dec. 22.
Good
bird counting, Steve
Subject: birdfolk message 2007-43 (1
december)
Dear birdfolk,
I
looked for the female-plumaged Common Merganser at Cane Creek Park, Putnam
Co., TN, again this morning and again found no evidence of its presence,
but I did not do an exhaustive search around the margins of the lake, so the
bird may still be present; if you find it today or anytime in the future,
please keep me posted about it.
A
nuance related to the saga of the Rufous Hummingbird in Van Buren Co., TN,
needs mentioning. This bird, which has been present in the Wagners' yard
since Aug. 17--a record early fall arrival date for the Region--and which was
present during all of last winter (2006-2007), is probably the same bird as the
unidentified hummer that stayed in the Wagners' yard during the winter of
2005-2006, so it has in all likelihood been around three consecutive winters,
not just two. However, since the hummer present during
2005-2006 was not captured for study, we cannot be entirely sure about its
identity, rendering speculative any discussions along the lines of how long it
has been present.
Black
Scoters made news recently in Barren Co., KY, where three well described
immatures or females were noted Nov. 19 by Aaron Hulsey and in Pulaski Co.,
KY, where three were noted Nov. 24 by Roseanna Denton; these two records bring
to 12 the total number of records of this rare scoter within the Region.
Roseanna also located a Surf Scoter in Pulaski Co., KY, Nov. 23, the 38th
Regional record of this particular scoter sp.
Sandhill
Cranes continue to move south through the Region in substantial numbers; see
the Fall 2007 UCR Bird Report for a summary of all records that have come to
my attention. Paaleeeease, when you report cranes, be sure to include
the date and time of the sighting, the flight direction of the flock, the
location and county of the sighting, and the observers who made the sighting.
She could not finally be certain, but Betty Bright may have seen a
Whooping Crane in with a small flock of Sandhill Cranes yesterday near
Monterey, Putnam Co., TN; keep alert when you are scanning the flocks of
sandhills because there are still quite a few Whooping Cranes known to be
north of the Region but headed south. BTW, the Whooping Crane training
flight currently remains just to the north of the Region in Kentucky; it
should traverse the UCR sometime soon; you can monitor the training flight at
the Operation Migration website.
Very
few reports of Rusty Blackbirds are being turned in around the Region and none
involve a flock of any size at all, the high count to date being just 7.
If you encounter blackbird flocks this winter, be sure to scan them to see if
any members of the flock belong to this species of fast-decreasing, boreally
nesting icterid.
And
the same goes for sightings of Loggerhead Shrikes; please send those along as
you find them.
CBC
dates are set for eight of the nine CBCs likely to be conducted in the Region.
Latest confirmed dates are for Clay Co., TN (Dec. 18), Wayne Co., KY (Jan. 3),
and Warren Co., TN (Jan. 5). Still no word about the date of the
Glasgow, KY, CBC.
The
next Great Backyard Bird Count will be conducted Feb. 15-18, 2008; put it on
your calendar.
The
last Wednesday morning birdwalk of the fall in Putnam Co., TN, went off
without a hitch Nov. 28. Birdwalks will resume in late Jan. 2008; I will
probably conduct most birdwalks during the spring semester at Cane Creek Park,
since few folks find the hilly features of the Osborn Preserve conducive to
pleasurable birdwalking. Note: Merle Osborn, for whom the Osborn Nature
Preserve is named, died this past week; the preserve will serve as a fitting
testament to his love of natural land.
Good
bird counting, Steve
Birding-related
commentary:
Humans being human, we are, sad to say, prone to various
forms of bias no matter what issue comes under discussion, and for the
birdwatcher or the birder one of those issues relates to the area where one's
birdwatching or birding takes place. For whatever reason, birdwatchers
and birders tend not to imitate the subject (birds) that they watch and study
in this regard. Birds are, after all, mostly unconcerned about the
various political and geographical boundaries that birdwatchers and birders
regard so carefully when engaged in their pursuit of birds. Birds'
presence in an area is tied to habitat and food resources almost entirely (and
quite logically), while our presence at birding sites is often tied
instead to the arbitrary lines imposed by surveyors. Let me hasten to
say that being studious of arbitrary boundaries is not all bad; given that
such boundaries lie ready to hand, it would probably be unwise to ignore them
entirely. Even though it would probably be more logical to keep lists of
birds we have seen at all marshes or fields or ponds within a
physiographic region rather than to keep lists for counties, states,
parks, or yards, the latter are far more deeply impressed in our minds
than the former, so we should keep on using them. But sometimes we
should remember that natural divisions of the landscape are more important
than political ones when it comes to understanding birds and that we should
direct our birding efforts along natural lines rather than arbitrary
political ones when possible. The need for this kind of
landscape-related birding effort has led me to use the watershed of the upper
Cumberland River, or at least a significant portion of it, as the
focal point for my own birding energies, and I hope that some of you have
already come to or will come to recognize the same need. If you do make
this transition, you will see how sadly biased are those birdwatchers or
birders who refuse to venture outside of arbitrarily defined birding units,
such as states, in their birdwatching or birding efforts.