Radnor Lake State Natural Area

Nashville-Davidson Co TN

Wednesday 16 April 2014

It was cold this morning, but the sun was bright, providing some great looks at spring migrants at Radnor Lake for the first of the six weekly walks sponsored by the Nashville chapter of NTOS. The group had barely left the parking lot when we spotted a beautiful male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK high in bare branches. Lower down within easy view was a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER while several BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS sang and flitted about.

It got calm as we crossed over the dam, but the spillway came to life with warblers: PALM WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, and a female PRAIRIE WARBLER  sitting calmly at eye level; this latter is a rare visitor at Radnor. The large number of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS was a good study in the variety of plumages in this species.

Later along the lake trail, we got looks at BLUE-HEADED VIREO, WHITE-EYED VIREO, YELLOW-THROATED-VIREO and a lone RED-EYED VIREO.

A RED-TAILED HAWK flew in and perched close by and an OSPREY soared overhead its disinctive M shape in outstretched wings.

Thanks to all who participated and helped to spot and identify and to Pam Lasley who kept the checklist going.

44 species

Canada Goose 6 Wood Duck 2 Wild Turkey 3 Great Blue Heron 1 Osprey 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Coot 2 Barred Owl 1 Chimney Swift 50 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 2 Pileated Woodpecker 2 Eastern Phoebe 1 White-eyed Vireo 3 Yellow-throated Vireo 2 Blue-headed Vireo 1 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 2 American Crow 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 30

Tree Swallow 2 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 2 Carolina Wren 3 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 Eastern Bluebird 1 Cedar Waxwing 20 Blue-winged Warbler 3 Prothonotary Warbler 1 Northern Parula 2 Palm Warbler 5 Yellow-rumped Warbler 14 Prairie Warbler 1 Black-throated Green Warbler 6 Field Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 3 Summer Tanager 1 Northern Cardinal 3 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 2 American Goldfinch 6

Kevin Bowden

Beaman Park

Mar. 29, 2014

The cold rain soaked six daring birders from head to foot today as we bravely ventured to Beaman Park to look for waterthrushes. Despite the rain, our spirits were kept dry and lively! We heard at least four Lousiana Waterthrushes, two of which we saw very well. Other species that were seen/heard included: Eastern Phoebe, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and Northern Cardinal. A HUGE thanks to Ed Schneider for leading us!

Chloe Walker

Field Trip Coordinator

Bell’s Bend Park

Feb. 15, 2014

Despite the bizarre meeting time, nineteen birders showed up at Bell's Bend this evening to look for displaying American Woodcocks. Many of us did a little birding before the "big show" and produced a decent list. Most notable were a couple of Fox Sparrows, one Northern Harrier, and a few fly-over blackbird flocks of several thousand birds consisting of mostly Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles, though there could have been a few Rusties hidden with them. But of course, the main attraction was the woodcocks, and they did not disappoint. At least ten woodcocks were heard and a few seen just after sundown. A big thanks to Cyndi Routledge for leading the outing! A complete list of species is below.

19 species

Northern Harrier-1

Red-tailed Hawk-1

Cooper's Hawk-1

American Woodcock-10

Mourning Dove-1

Carolina Chickadee-x (heard only)

Carolina Wren-2

American Robin-50+

Northern Mockingbird-1

Yellow-rumped Warbler-1

Eastern Towhee-6

Swamp Sparrow-20+

Song Sparrow-20+

White-throated Sparrow-20+

Northern Cardinal-25+

Red-winged Blackbird-1500+

Common Grackle-1500+

Eastern Meadowlark-12

House Finch-2

Chloe Walker

Field Trip Coordinator

Duck River Unit, TWR

Jan. 11, 2014

Eleven birders ventured out to the Duck River Unit of the Tennessee National Wildlife refuge for a wonderful outing with THOUSANDS of waterfowl and other interesting birds. Highlights included one fairly close Greater Scaup at the pump station; four species of geese including Greater White-fronted, Snow, Cackling, and Canada; twenty-six American Pipits at close range; a Palm Warbler at Pintail Blind; two male Brewer's Blackbirds; and an (not surprisingly) uncooperative Le Conte's Sparrow. Below is a list of all the species that were seen/heard.

  

77 species

Greater White-fronted Goose-400 Snow Goose-15 Cackling Goose-15 Canada Goose-300 Gadwall-280 American Wigeon-170 American Black Duck-2 Mallard-2000 Northern Shoveler-200 Northern Pintail-500 Green-winged Teal-60 Canvasback-110 Ring-necked Duck-12 Greater Scaup-1 Scaup sp.-200 Bufflehead-78 Common Goldeneye-7 Hooded Merganser-5 Ruddy Duck-30 Pied-billed Grebe-17 Horned Grebe-6 Double-crested Cormorant-59 American White Pelican-35 Great Blue Heron-8 Turkey Vulture-6 Bald Eagle-10 Northern Harrier-10 Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 Cooper's Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-3 American Kestrel-2 American Coot-195 Killdeer-7 Wilson's Snipe-6 Bonaparte's Gull-35 Ring-billed Gull-45 Herring Gull-4 Mourning Dove-25 Belted Kingfisher-1

Red-headed Woodpecker-2 Red-bellied Woodpecker-4 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-1 Downy Woodpecker-2 Hairy Woodpecker-1 Northern Flicker-3 Pileated Woodpecker-1 Eastern Phoebe-6 Blue Jay-2 American Crow-11 Horned Lark-2 Carolina Chickadee-4 Tufted Titmouse-1 Brown Creeper-1 Carolina Wren-5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-5 Eastern Bluebird-4 Northern Mockingbird-2 European Starling-75 American Pipit-26 Lapland Longspur-2 Palm Warbler-1 Yellow-rumped Warbler-4 Field Sparrow-1 Savannah Sparrow-8 Le Conte's Sparrow-1 Song Sparrow-20 Swamp Sparrow-25 White-throated Sparrow-25 White-crowned Sparrow-2 Dark-eyed Junco-20 Northern Cardinal-5 Red-winged Blackbird-15 Eastern Meadowlark-19 Rusty Blackbird-5 Brewer's Blackbird-2 Brown-headed Cowbird-12 House Finch-1 American Goldfinch-x (heard only)

Chloe Walker

NTOS Field Trip Coordinator

Hickory-Priest Christmas Bird Count

Jan. 1, 2014

Twenty-five people in 5 parties participated, 96 species were reported. The count covers eastern Davidson County with bit of Sumner and Wilson counties included.

Highlights: Some highlights were previously reported by Scott  Somershoe for the Percy Priest Lake section, most notably the out-of-season Yellow Warbler. Fortunately it was seen (and heard) by  most of the party, and well-seen by a few. Also from this location was  Scott's early morning sighting of Pacific Loon and Peregrine Falcon. Ducks, 13 species including 2 merganser species, were fairly well represented but in mostly low numbers; no scoters found. Not too surprisingly Black Vultures outnumbered Turkey Vultures 20-1. 7 Bald Eagles counted, with 3 reported as adults. Falcons totaled 3 Merlins plus the Peregrine. On Priest the evening gull roost was productive with Ring-billed Gull and Com. Loons present in expected high numbers, plus Scott's addition of 2 Red-throated Loons to the mix. Sandhill Crane made the list with a fly-over of 2 at Priest. Several "winter" warblers were found on the Old Hickory section: Orange-crowned (2), Palm (1) & Pine (1), with the addition of Yellow-rumped giving them a 4 warbler day on Jan. 1st! Only 2 Purple Finches and 1 Rusty Blackbird reported, those from Neely's Bend.

To view the entire list click on Bird Count Results on the right menu and select Hickory-Priest CBC under 2014.

Richard Connors

Compiler

Nashville Christmas Bird Count
Dec. 15, 2013

The Nashville CBC was held on Sunday, Dec. 15 and produced 82 species and one count week species, American Wigeon at Radnor Lake. The day was cold and cloudy, and the wind may have kept some birds down in open areas like Bells Bend Park. A female Long-tailed Duck was found by the Hwy 70 group on a small lake in Bellevue, and continues to constantly dive for food there as of Dec.18. A Peregrine Falcon was a nice find on Sneed Rd. on the Warner Park route, and an American Tree Sparrow was spotted by the Harpeth West group off of Hwy 100. Other highlights included 172 Wild Turkeys, 3 Bald Eagles, 1 Sandhill Crane, 4 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 27 Hermit Thrushes, 4 Palm Warblers, and 3 Purple Finches. Blackbirds were noticeably scarce. Thank you so much to all who participated, and to Susan Hollyday for a delicious supper/compilation. We couldn't do this without everyone's help.

To view the entire list click on Bird Count Results on the right menu and select Nashville CBC under 2013.

Jan Shaw, Compiler

Percy Priest Lake

Dec. 7, 2013

Six birders gathered for the NTOS field trip to Percy Priest Lake. We had a bit of a foggy start at Percy Priest dam, and then went clockwise around the lake. Best birds were a mixed flock of 25 Redheads and 50 Lesser Scaup plus an adult Bald Eagle seen from Anderson Rd Public Use Area. Seven Red-breasted Mergansers were seen at Hamilton Creek Park. A list of species found is below:

43 species

Northern Shoveler-20 Green-winged Teal-8 Redhead-25 Lesser Scaup-50 Bufflehead-3 Common Goldeneye-4 Hooded Merganser-15 Red-breasted Merganser-7 Ruddy Duck-2 Common Loon-19 Pied-billed Grebe-4 Horned Grebe-8 Great Blue Heron-3 Black Vulture-30 Bald Eagle-1 Cooper's Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-1 American Coot-78 Killdeer-9 Bonaparte's Gull-109 Ring-billed Gull-86 Herring Gull-2

Mourning Dove-2 Red-bellied Woodpecker-3 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-1 Northern Flicker-2 Blue Jay-22 American Crow-17 Carolina Chickadee-15 Tufted Titmouse-2 Carolina Wren-2 Golden-crowned Kinglet-5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-1 Eastern Bluebird-31 American Robin-19 Northern Mockingbird-1 European Starling-140 Cedar Waxwing-6 Yellow-rumped Warbler-10 Song Sparrow-3 Dark-eyed Junco-11 Northern Cardinal-1 American Goldfinch-2

Chloe Walker

NTOS Field Trip Coordinator