Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Abundance: Uncommon during spring and fall migrations; Very Uncommon during summer; recorded in 23 Regional counties, 9 in Kentucky (no record for Clinton County--as of April 2009) and 14 in Tennessee (no records for Fentress and Macon counties--as of April 2009).

Status: Summer Resident; breeding known from Jackson and Smith counties, Tennessee, and strongly suspected in Morgan County, Tennessee.

Regional High Count: 14 [9 adults and 5 young] (19 June 2009; Jackson County, Tennessee; Nancy S. Layzer); SBC/SBB High Count: 9 [all adults] (26 April 2008; Jackson County [SBB], Tennessee; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 5 (18 September 2004 and 16 September 2006; Putnam County [FBC], Tennessee; m. ob.).

Out-of-Season Records:

22 December 1986 (1) Pickett County [CBC], Tennessee (R. David and Robbie C. Hassler).

30 December 1988 (1) Pickett County [CBC], Tennessee (R. David and Robbie C. Hassler).

30 December 1999 (1) Pickett County [CBC], Tennessee (R. David and Robbie C. Hassler).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: 3 March 2006 (1; Jackson County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman).

    Late Fall: 9 December 2002 (1; Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer), but see also Out-of-Season Records.

    Note: Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for 2001-2010 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). At least 5 nest sites currently (2009) known in Jackson County, Tennessee, as well as 2 in Smith County, Tennessee; used nest found during early spring 2001 at a site in Morgan County, Tennessee, where strongly suspected to breed in previous years.

Habitat:  Forages over bodies of medium-sized and large-sized bodies of water; almost invariably found near large bodies of water during the breeding season.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: 2 registrations (of 125 possible) during 2003 and 1 (of 206 possible) during 2004, leading to a YardWatch status of Rare; the Osprey was considerably less likely to be encountered during YardWatch efforts than during other kinds of efforts in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: Distribution and abundance based on UCR Foray data are mapped as follows:

• Clinton County Foray--12-14 June 2009--no data
• Jackson County Foray--29 May-1 June 2009
• Pickett County Foray--22-25 May 2009--no data
• DeKalb County Foray--23-26 May 2008--no data
• White County Foray--28-31 May 1982--no data
• White County Foray--25-28 May 2007--no data

Remarks: The early spring arrival dates for Osprey began to fall much earlier during the season once observers learned to check the Regional nest sites of this species beginning in late February and early March; the local nesting birds clearly return to the Region much earlier than most migrants passing northward.

    Credit for the first observation of the various nests active in the Region is difficult to offer in an accurate manner, but the following individuals played an important role in bringing these to my attention even if they were not the first person to actually discover these nests: Terry M. Campbell (nests at Camp Discovery near Flynn's Creek in Jackson County, at Jackson County Fairgrounds, and near Sugar Creek east of Gainesboro in Jackson County); Nancy S. Layzer (nest at Jackson County High School); Barbara H. Stedman and Janie C. Finch (nest at Gainesboro Port Authority on Rt. 53 in Jackson County); Kathy Harville (nest at ballpark on Rt. 53 in Smith County); and Harvey Tinsley (nest on Cumberland River in western Smith County).  Nancy Layzer in particular deserves much credit for consistent monitoring of the Osprey nests in Jackson County since about 2004.

Counties with Migration Observations (boldfaced); Counties with Breeding Records (boldfaced green):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying data about this species, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited