Rutherford
County
2012 June 9
On Saturday 15 enthusiastic birders, including one
visiting from Pittsburgh, showed up for the Nashville Chapter of TOS trip, led
by Terry Witt, to search for the open field specialties of Rutherford and
Wilson Counties. We saw all of our
primary target species, starting with a family of 5 SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHERs.
Puzzling however was the yellow lower breast coloration of the 3 young birds,
and we wondered if they could be hybrids. We soon added good looks at a
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, a singing DICKSISSEL, BLUE GROSBEAK, and an ORCHARD ORIOLE
feeding young. Unfortunately, a
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was less cooperative, flying away as we approached it. A
BEWICK'S WREN proved to be even more elusive, but we eventually were able to
find one singing and to see it. As a
bonus, at that stop we spotted two BROAD-WINGED HAWKs and heard a PRAIRIE
WARBLER. Our final quest took us in search of a LARK SPARROW, which we
eventually tracked down. Looking for the sparrow, we also found RED-HEADED
WOODPECKERs and to our pleasant surprise, two COMMON NIGHTHAWKs. With a big
assist from Terry Witt, we finished the morning with an excellent 67 species.
Numbers of the more common species are approximate.
Canada Goose 1
Wood Duck 3
Mallard 2
N. Bobwhite 1
Wild Turkey 18
Great Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Black Vulture 27
Turkey Vulture 4
Broad-winged Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestral 1
Killdeer 1
Rock Pigeon 3
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1
Mourning Dove 7
Common Nighthawk 2
Chimney Swift 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 6
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 3
Purple Martin 2
Tree Swallow 1
N. Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 3
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
Bewick's Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 6
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 11
Prairie Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 2
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 2
Lark Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Dickcissel 4
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Eastern Meadowlark 8
Common Grackle 18
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 3
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 2
Frank Fekel, NTOS Field Trip LeaderNumbers of the more common species are approximate.
Canada Goose 1
Wood Duck 3
Mallard 2
N. Bobwhite 1
Wild Turkey 18
Great Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Black Vulture 27
Turkey Vulture 4
Broad-winged Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestral 1
Killdeer 1
Rock Pigeon 3
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1
Mourning Dove 7
Common Nighthawk 2
Chimney Swift 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 6
Loggerhead Shrike 1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 3
Purple Martin 2
Tree Swallow 1
N. Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 3
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
Bewick's Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 6
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 11
Prairie Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 2
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 2
Lark Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Dickcissel 4
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Eastern Meadowlark 8
Common Grackle 18
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 3
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 2
