Results of a Bird Inventory in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Kentucky and Tennessee, December 2004 through February 2005
Under contract with the National Park Service, Barbara (BHS) and Stephen Stedman (SJS) conducted a bird inventory of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (BSFNRRA). The inventory, focused on breeding and wintering species of this National Park Service (NPS) unit, covered the 2003 and 2004 breeding seasons, as well as the winters of 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. The following species were given particular attention:
| Short-eared Owl (winter) | ||
| Whip-poor-will (summer) | ||
| Red-headed Woodpecker (winter and summer) | ||
| Blue-winged Warbler (summer) | ||
| Golden-winged Warbler (summer) | ||
| Prairie Warbler (summer) | ||
| Cerulean Warbler (summer) | ||
| Swainson's Warbler (summer) | ||
| Louisiana Waterthrush (summer) | ||
| Kentucky Warbler (summer) |
If you have data about any bird species noted above or not noted in the table below for either the breeding or wintering season, even if from a year prior to 2003, please contact us at the following e-mail address with the particulars of the sighting, including as accurate a date as possible:
Data from the BSFNRRA were obtained during winter 2004-2005 on the following dates by SJS : 1, 3, and 4 December 2004; 28 and 30 January 2004; and 4, 6, 12, 18, and 25 February 2005. Data were obtained from walking transects along trails and from general birding in the park. The total number of species detected in the park during the winter was 55, 54 being winter residents; of the 54 winter residents detected, all 54 were detected as part of contracted inventory effort.
Key to the sites surveyed:
BMB--Burnt Mill Bridge Loop (4 miles), Scott, Tennessee
TA--Twin Arches Loop (6.5 miles), Fentress, Pickett, and Scott, Tennessee
YA--Yahoo Arch/Falls Loop (6.5 miles), McCreary, Kentucky
SC/LF--Station Camp to Leatherwood Ford (8 miles), Scott, Tennessee
HB/BC--Huling Branch/Bear Creek Loop (6 miles), McCreary, Kentucky
HC--Honey Creek Loop (6.5 miles), Scott, Tennessee
NBC--No Business Creek Loop (8 miles), Scott, Tennessee
A checklist of the birds of the BSFNRRA is available at this link:
Species in red below were not found as a result of inventory and other effort to detect birds during the winter of 2003-2004, but they were found during this winter. Species in blue were noted during the winter of 2003-2004 but not during this winter.
| Sites | BMB | TA | YA | SC/LF | HB/BC | HC | NBC | Other | Total |
| Date | 28 Jan | 3 Dec | 4 Feb | 12 Feb | 30 Jan | 6 Feb | 18 Feb | ||
| Start EST | 1009 | 1306 | 0938 | 0905 | 0939 | 0927 | 0916 | ||
| End EST | 1231 | 1606 | 1639 | 1305 | 1309 | 1247 | 1453 | ||
| Hours | 2.3 | 3 | 5.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 5.6 | 27.2 | |
| Sky | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Wind (Beaufort) | 0-1 | ? | 4/1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | ||
| Temp (F) | 30s | 40-50s | 20-40s | 30s-50s | 30s | 30-40s | 30s-40s | ||
| Canada Goose | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | x | |
| Wood Duck | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | x |
| Am. Black Duck | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | -- | x | |
| Mallard | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | -- | x | |
| Ruffed Grouse | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | x | 1 |
| Wild Turkey | -- | x | 1 | 5 | 1 | -- | x | x | 7 |
| Black Vulture | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | x | -- | x | |
| Turkey Vulture | -- | 1 | -- | x | -- | x | -- | x | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | -- | -- | 1 ad | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | |
| Red-sh. Hawk | -- | -- | 2 | 1 | x | x | 1 | x | 4 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | -- | x | 1 | x | 1 | -- | x | x | 2 |
| [Sandhill Crane] | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | x |
| Killdeer | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | x | x |
| Am. Woodcock | -- | x | -- | x | -- | -- | x | x | x |
| Rock Pigeon | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Mourning Dove | x | -- | x | x | -- | x | 1 | x | 1 |
| E. Screech-Owl | -- | -- | -- | x | - | -- | -- | x | |
| Great Horned Owl | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Barred Owl | -- | x | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | x |
| N. Saw-whet Owl | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Belted Kingfisher | 1 | -- | 2 | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | x | 5 |
| Red-bell. Woodp. | 1 | 1 | x | -- | 2 | x | -- | 4 | |
| Yellow-bell. Saps. | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | x | 5 |
| Downy Woodp. | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 4 | 3 | x | 34 |
| Hairy Woodp. | 2 | -- | 2 | 4 | 3 | x | 4 | x | 15 |
| N. Flicker | x | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | x | 3 |
| Pileated Woodp. | 3 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 | x | 41 |
| E. Phoebe | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | x | x | x | 2 | |
| Blue Jay | x | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | |
| Am. Crow | 1 | -- | x | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | x | 11 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 7 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 7 | 14 | x | 67 |
| Tufted Titmouse | -- | 1 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 6 | x | 32 |
| Red-br. Nuthatch | x | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | |
| White-br. Nuthatch | 3 | -- | 3 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 21 | |
| Brown Creeper | 1 | -- | 2 | 4 | -- | 3 | 1 | 11 | |
| Carolina Wren | 5 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 14 | x | 55 |
| House Wren | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | x | |
| Winter Wren | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | x | 29 |
| Golden-cr. Kinglet | 20 | 19 | 15 | 29 | 13 | 15 | 24 | x | 135 |
| Ruby-cr. Kinglet | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| E. Bluebird | x | -- | x | x | x | 1 | x | x | 1 |
| Hermit Thrush | -- | 1 | x | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | x | 3 |
| Am. Robin | x | -- | x | x | x | -- | x | x | x |
| N. Mockingbird | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | -- | -- | x | x |
| Brown Thrasher | x | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | |
| Eur. Starling | -- | -- | -- | x | x | -- | x | x | x |
| Cedar Waxwing | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Yellow-r. Warbler | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | -- | x | x |
| Pine Warbler | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Eastern Towhee | x | -- | -- | -- | x | x | -- | x | x |
| Field Sparrow | -- | -- | x | x | x | x | 1 | x | 1 |
| Fox Sparrow | x | -- | x | -- | x | -- | 1 | x | 1 |
| Song Sparrow | x | -- | x | 1 | x | x | 5 | x | 6 |
| Swamp Sparrow | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | 4 | x | 4 |
| White-thr. Sparrow | x | 2 | x | 4 | x | x | 6 | x | 12 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | x | 6 | x | x | -- | 7 | 17 | x | 30 |
| N. Cardinal | 1 | 1 | x | x | x | x | 7 | x | 9 |
| Red-w. Blackb. | x | -- | -- | x | -- | -- | x | x | x |
| E. Meadowlark | x | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | x | |
| Common Grackle | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Br.-h. Cowbird | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Purple Finch | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| House Finch | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Pine Siskin | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Am. Goldfinch | 1 | 1 | -- | -- | x | -- | -- | 2 | |
| House Sparrow | -- | -- | -- | x | -- | -- | x | x | x |
| Total Individuals | 57 | 45 | 65 | 114 | 84 | 60 | 132 | 557 | |
| Hours | 2.3 | 3 | 5.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 5.6 | 27.2 | |
| Ind./Hr. | 24.8 | 15 | 11.8 | 28.5 | 24 | 18.2 | 23.6 | 20.5 a | |
| Winter Resident Species Registered on Transect | 16 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 23 | 34 | |
| Winter Resident Species Noted Same Day Elsewhere in Park | 14 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 20 | |
| Total Winter Residents | 30 | 18 | 30 | 34 | 31 | 26 | 34 | 39 | 54 |
x = not observed during transect but noted same day elsewhere in BSFNRRA.
[ ] = not a winter resident of the park
a compare this result with the result (45.8) from same transects conducted during the winter of 2003-2004; also compare with results from the springs of 1994 (78.4), 1995 (87.4), 1996 (80.2), 1998 (86.1), and 2000 (86.1) and from the falls of 1995 (37.6), 1997 (39.1), 2000 (38.2), and 2001 (36.2) [Stedman and Stedman 2002].
Literature Cited
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2002. Notes on
the Birds of the Big South Fork National River and
Recreation Area and Obed National
Wild and Scenic River. Privately printed, Cookeville, Tennessee,
146 + viii pp.