The video below shows Buffalo Mountain burning on May 7, 2008.  I was at the ILAB when Josh Elliott any myself noticed how well you could see the mountain burning from 2+ miles away from our vantage point.  So we grabbed the video camera and filmed for about 30 minutes.  Josh then did a down and dirty edit and we posted it to YouTube.  It is not really birding stuff...but it is nature related and it will affect the birds on Buffalo Mountain.

For those that read Bristol Bird Network and Tennessee Bird Network (mayhap there actually may be a few), this entry has not been posted there yet.  The Lee and Lois Herndon Chapter Bird Club of Elizabethton generally has the compilation before posting to the bird networks.  Since this compilation won't be until May 6th, I didn't know if I should or not, so I opted on not.  If there had been something very surprising or a real rare find I would have posted to the networks that evening or made phone calls from the field.  So consider this a exclusive to East Tennessee Birding and if you don't want to find out until the compilation, stop reading now.....

On Saturday, April 26th, I helped with the 2008 five county spring bird count that Rick Knight compiles.  I covered the Shady Valley / South Holston Lake area for Wallace Coffey this year.  Wallace couldn't make the count this year.  I was joined by Eric and Kathy Noblet of Johnson City and Larry McDaniel joined us just after lunch at "The Point" or the TWRA boat ramp at South Holston Bridge.  Larry had counted at Steele Creek Park that morning and went to the Weir Dam just before meeting us. 

The area covered by our party (with Larry joining us in the afternoon) was: Cross Mountain, Backbone Rock, Hwy 133 from Backbone Rock to Shady Valley, Shady Valley (including Quarry Bog, Quarry Bog Road, Orchard Bog, Orchard Rd, 421 over Holston Mountain, Towhee Ridge (last  / first forest service road on the Bristol side of Holston Mountain, "The Point" at South Holston Bridge, Observation Knob, Musick's Campground, TWRA boat ramp next to Musick's, Cold Springs Church (on Cold Springs Road), V. I. Ranch Road, Bristol Caverns property, Middlebrook Lake, Ron Carrico's property.

We had one of the better days I have ever had on a spring count.  The total species count of 101 can be attributed to many good eyes searching, lots of different habitats visited, and a lot of luck. 

A few I didn't really expect or otherwise notable birds were: 15 Wood Ducks evenly divided between Ron Carrico's pond, Middlebrook Lake, and Beaver Dam Creek (on Hwy 133 toward Backbone Rock), 4 Red-breasted Merganser's at Musick's,  Common Loons at Musick's (3 first year birds, 1 in summer plumage), Blue-winged Teal found by Kathy Noblet in an area protected by boat travel at the TWRA boat ramp next to Musicks,  Greater Yellowlegs, found again by Kathy at the TWRA Boat Ramp next to Musicks (positively IDed by the call when flushed), Solitary Sandpiper at the Middlebrook Lake Dam, Virginia Rail in from Orchard Bog but could not located one in Quarry Bog in Shady Valley, Yellow-billed Cuckoo heard from Towhee Ridge, 3 species of Owl from Ron Carrico's property in south Bristol (3 Great Horned Owls calling the morning of count - heard by Ron at 4:30am, 2 Eastern Screech Owls - one heard and one seen at 10:30pm by Ron and myself, and 1 Barred Owl heard calling from a neighboring ridge top by  Ron and myself), 2 Winter Wrens along Hwy 133 outside Shady Valley, Gray Catbirds finally back, nesting pair of Yellow-throated Vireos at Cold Springs Church, and Indigo Buntings are finally back.

The complete list follows:

  1. Canada Goose 18
  2. Wood Duck 15
  3. Mallard 14
  4. Blue-winged Teal 4
  5. Red-breasted Merganser 5
  6. Common Loon 4
  7. Double-breasted Cormorant 5 ( four fly by at "The Point" and 1 at Musick's)
  8. Great Blue Hearon 4
  9. Green Heron 2
 10. Black Vulture 7
 11. Turkey Vulture 11
 12. Osprey 1
 13. Cooper's Hawk 1 (Ron Carrico's property)
 14. Broad-winged Hawk 3 ( 1 at Towhee Ridge and a breeding pair on Ron Carrico's property again)
 15. Red-tailed Hawk 2
 16. American Kestrel 1
 17. Virginia Rail 1
 18. Killdeer 9
 19. Greater Yellowlegs 1
 20. Solitary Sandpiper 1
 21. Spotted Sandpiper 6
 22. Ring-billed Gull 40
 23. Rock Pigeon 3
 24. Mourning Dove 41
 25. Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
 26. Eastern Screech-Owl 2
 27. Great Horned Owl 3
 28. Barred Owl 1
 29. Chimney Swift 23
 30. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5
 31. Belted Kingfisher 2
 32. Red-bellied Woodpecker 8
 33. Downy Woodpecker 4
 34. Northern Flicker 7
 35. Pileated Woodpecker 4
 36. Eastern Phoebe 12
 37. Great-crested Flycatcher 1
 38. Eastern Kingbird 2
 39. White-eyed Vireo 5
 40. Yellow-throated Vireo 2
 41. Blue-headed Vireo 11
 42. Red-eyed Vireo 7
 43. Blue Jay 114
 44. American Crow 63
 45. Common Raven 2
 46. Tree Swallow 43
 47. Northern Rough-winged Swallow 19
 48. Cliff Swallow 7 (South Holston Bridge and Hwy 44 to Musick's)
 49. Barn Swallow 23
 50. Carolina Chickadee 33
 51. Tufted Titmouse 34
 52. Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 (Cross Mountain)
 53. White-breasted Nuthatch 4
 54. Carolina Wren 25
 55. House Wren 31
 56. Winter Wren 2
 57. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 (hwy 133)
 58. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 17
 59. Eastern Bluebird 19
 60. Wood Thrush 28
 61. American Robin 83
 62. Gray Catbird 7
 63. Northern Mockingbird 26
 64. Brown Thrasher 18
 65. European Starling 116
 66. Northern Parula 9
 67. Yellow Warbler 2
 68. Black-throated Blue Warbler 37
 69. Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 ("The Point" SHL Bridge)
 70. Black-throated Green Warbler 28
 71. Yellow-throated Warbler 2 (nesting pair at "The Point")
 72. Pine Warbler 1 ("The Point" SHL Bridge)
 73. Black and White Warbler 18
 74. Worm-eating Warbler 4
 75. Ovenbird 15
 76. Louisiana Waterthrush 15
 77. Common Yellowthroat 18
 78. Hooded Warbler 35
 79. Yellow-breasted Chat 1 (Quarry Bog Road)
 80. Scarlet Tanager 5
 81. Eastern Towhee 56
 82. Chipping Sparrow 33
 83. Field Sparrow 7
 84. Savannah Sparrow 1 (Quarry Bog entrance)
 85. Song Sparrow 72
 86. Swamp Sparrow 3
 87. White-throated Sparrow 12
 88. White-crowned Sparrow 12
 89. Dark-eyed Junco 16
 90. Northern Cardinal 46
 91. Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
 92. Indigo Bunting 3
 93. Red-winged Blackbird 89
 94. Eastern Meadowlark 11
 95. Common Grackle 64
 96. Brown-headed Cowbird 29
 97. Orchard Oriole 2(Cold Springs Church and Middlebrook Lake area)
 98. Baltimore Oriole (Cold Springs Church and Bristol Caverns)
 99. House Finch 12
100. American Goldfinch 228
101. House Sparrow 35

I stiopped at Rasar Farm in Carter County after work Friday, April 25th from about 4:30-7pm.    Small storm came through and birds were active before and after the brief rain. 

Migrants include:

Blue-winged Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 4
Osprey 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Eastern Kingbird
Cliff Swallow ++
Barn Swallow +
Tree Swallow ++
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher ++
Solitary Sandpiiper 1

Earlier this week (Monday) I stopped at Rasar Farm after work in Carter Count, this is my report to Bristol Birds Network...

4 - 21 - 08

Stopped briefly at Rasor Farm just outside Elizabethton in Carter County today.

5 Solitary Sandpipers
Yellow-rumped Warblers +
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers ++
Tree Swallows ++
Northern Rough-winged Swallows ++
Brown-headed Cowbirds +
Other common resident birds...


And Yesterday  (Wednesday), I had my first Yellow Warbler for the year....

4  - 23 - 08

While out surveying this morning in Johnson City (Washington County) I had the
pleasure of hearing a Yellow Warbler repeatedly tell me how sweet he was.  I
had the total station set up on the corner of Clark St and Johnson St (across
from Kiwanis Park on West Market).

sweet sweet sweet i'm so sweet

Birded parts of Carter, Johnson and Sullivan Counties on Sunday - 4 / 20 / 08.

Places visited:

Cross Mountain - CM (Carter / Johnson County)
Backbone Rock - BR (Johnson County)
Highway 133 To Backbone Rock - 133TBR (Johnson County)
Shady Valley - SV (Johnson County)
Quarry Bog in Shady Valley - QBSV (Johnson County)
Quarry Road (next to Quarry Bog) - QRSV (Johnson County)
Orchard Bog in Shady Valley - OBSV (Johnson County)
Iron Mountain - IM (Johnson County)
Holston Mountain - HM (Johnson County,  Sullivan County)
Towhee Ridge Rd on Holston Mountain (self named first logging road up Holston Mt on Left) - TRHM (Sullivan County)
South Holston Lake at the Point (421 Bridge) - SHL P (Sullivan County)
South Holston Lake at Musick's Campground - SHL M (Sullivan County)
South Holston Lake at TWRA Boat ramp (next to Musick's) - SHL T (Sullivan County)
Carrico residence (Bristol) - CAR (Sullivan County)

Species in BOLD = new migratory or visiting species for the year (for me)


Birds Seen and Where:

 1. Canada Goose - QB, SV, SHL M
 2. Mallard - QR, SHL M
 3. Northern Shoveler - SHL M
 4. Red-breasted Merganser - SHL M
 5. Common Loon - 4
 6. Great Blue Heron - SHL M
 7. Black Vulture - SHL P, SHL M, SHL T
 8. Turkey Vulture - QBSV, SHL M, SHL T
 9. Broad-winged Hawk - TRHM(Nesting Pair), CAR (Nesting Pair)
10. Red-tailed Hawk - QBSV
11. Virginia Rail - QBSV, OBSV
12. Killdeer - SHL M
13. LAUGHING GULL - SHL M (Rick Knight found this, I was just lucky enough to arrive about 3 hours later...)
14. Bonaparte's Gull - SHL M
15. Ring-billed Gull - SHL P, SHL M, SHL T
16. Herring Gull - SHL M
17. Rock Pigeon - SV
18. Mourning Dove - SV
19. Barred Owl - IM (calling at noon) - not migratory or visiting, but my first for the year
20. Chimney Swift - CAR
21. Belted Kingfisher - SV, CAR
22. Red-bellied Woodpecker - QBSV, CAR
23. Downy Woodpecker - SV, CAR
24. Northern Flicker - CAR
25. Pileated Woodpecker - SHL T
26. Eastern Phoebe - SV
27. Eastern Kingbird - SHL P
28. White-eyed Vireo - SHL T
29. Blue-headed Vireo - CM, HM(Sullivan County side), IM
30. Red-eyed Vireo - IM
31. Blue Jay - SV, etc
32. American Crow - SV, etc
33. Common Raven - 133TBR
34. Tree Swallow - QBSV, OBSV, SHL P, SHL M, SHL T
35. Barn Swallow - QBSV, OBSV, SV, SHL M
36. Carolina Chickadee - SV, etc
37. Tufted Titmouse - SV, etc
38. White-breasted Nuthatch - 133TBR, IM
39. Carolina Wren - SV, etc
40. House Wren - QBSV, OBSV
41. Winter Wren - 133TBR
42. Ruby-crowned Kinglet - QRSV
43. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - SV, QBSV, OBSV
44. Eastern Bluebird - QBSV, OBSV, SV
45. Wood Thrush - CM (Carter County side)
46. American Robin - SV, etc
47. Northern Mockingbird - QRSV
48. Brown Thrasher - CM (Johnson County side), SV, SHL M, SHL T
49. European Starling - SV, etc
50. Northern Parula - BR, 133TBR, TRHM
51. Black-throated Blue Warbler - CM(Carter County Side), 133TBR, BR
52. Yellow-rumped Warbler - SHL P
53. Black-throated Green Warbler - CM(Carter County Side), BR, HM(Sullivan County Side)
54. Yellow-throated Warbler - SHL P (nesting pair)
55. Pine Warbler - SHL P
56. Black and White Warbler - CM(Carter County Side), BR, 133TBR
57. Worm-eating Warbler - 133TBR
58. Ovenbird - CM (Carter County Side)
59. Louisiana Waterthrush - CM(Carter County Side), 133TBR
60. Common Yellowthroat - QRSV
61. Hooded Warbler - CM (Carter County Side), BR, 133TBR
62. Eastern Towhee - BR, 133TBR, SV, HM(Sullivan County Side), TRHM
63. Chipping Sparrow - SV, etc
64. Field Sparrow - CM(Johnson County Side), QRSV
65. Song Sparrow - SV, etc
66. White-throated Sparrow - SV
67. White-crowned Sparrow - QRSV
68. Dark-eyed Junco - BR, 133TBR, IM, HM(both sides)
69. Northern Cardinal - SV, etc
70. Red-winged Blackbird - SV, etc
71. Eastern Meadowlark - QBSV, OBSV, SV
72. Common Grackle - SV, etc
73. Brown-headed Cowbird - SHL P
74. House Finch - QRSV
75. American Goldfinch - SV, etc
76. House Sparrow - QBSV, SV