Birding in East Tennessee

Today (5/6/05) Allen Trently was married at 5:30pm. We birded most this day to celebrate Allen's last day as a bachelor. We dubbed this event Allen's Bachelor Birding Extravaganza.

We were joined by Larry McDaniel for the early morning at Winged Deer Park. Our list here is as follows:

Killdeer 1
Mourning Dove 3
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Great-crested Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Yellow-throated Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 3
C. Chickadee 7
T. Titmouse 4
Carolina Wren 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
E. Bluebird 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 1
Starling 6
MAGNOLIA WARBLER 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Black and White Warbler 1
Worm-eating Warbler 2
Kentucky Warbler 1
Hooded Warbler 2
Scarlet Tanager 1
E. Towhee 8
Field Sparrow 1
N. Cardinal 8
Indigo Bunting 3
Eastern Meadowlark 1
C. Grackle 4
B.h. Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 2
Goldfinch 2

From there, Allen and I headed over to Austin Springs where we are joined by Fred Alsop and the group from TWRA that are taking a birding refresher course. The following are highlights from Austin Springs:

Canada Goose 7
Mallard 5
Double-crested Cormorant 18
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Killdeer 2
Solitary Sandpiper 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Purple Martin 5
Tree Swallow ~40
N. Rough-winged Swallow 10
BANK SWALLOW 4
Cliff Swallow ~30
Barn Swallow 2
House Wren 1
B-g Gnatcatcher 2
E. Bluebird 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Starling 1
AMERICAN PIPIT 9
Common Yellowthroat 1
Field Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 6
BLUE GROSBEAK 1
Red-winged Blackbird 8
B-h Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 1
Purple Finch 1
House Finch 1

Our last stop before ending the day at a restaurant the features owls on the menu, we stopped in Elizabethton (Carter County) to Blackbottom Shoals and picked up a few good birds here as well:

Green Heron 1
Yellow-crowned Night Heron 3 (2 on nest)
[there are more nest but with the foliage full I couldn't relocate them all]
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
White-eyed Vireo 4
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Cedar Waxwing ~10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Yellow-throated Warbler 3
Indigo Bunting 2

After a nice meal of Hot Wings Allen took the plunge deep into marriage even borrowing my Sibley's book for the honeymoon weekend. Now that's dedication.

Congratulation to Allen and Jennifer Trently (and Jane too!)