NTOS Christmas Bird Count

The Nashville CBC was conducted on Saturday, Dec. 17 and totaled 76 species, about average for the count. There was also one Count Week species, 5 Canvasbacks, at Radnor Lake. No unusual species were reported, but there was one Red-breasted Nuthatch which has not been common here this year. Three Bald Eagles were found, 2 adults and 1 immature. There was one late Indigo Bunting at Radnor Lake, an occasional winter species in the Nashville area. Thank you to all who helped with the count, and to Susan Hollyday who provided us with a delicious compilation supper.

Click "Bird Count Results" on the right to view the complete results.

Total Species - 77

Total Birds - 9324

Old Hickory Dam Area

J. Percy Priest Dam Area
Davidson Co., TN
Saturday, 2011 Dec. 10
Clear and very chilly

On Saturday morning, December 10, ten intrepid Tennessee birders, representing several counties in middle Tennessee, converged at Old Hickory Dam in northern Davidson County for the Nashville TOS field trip.  They spent a very chilly morning searching for various winter species.  A walk through the woods next to the dam produced an EASTERN PHOEBE, good numbers of GOLDEN CROWNED KINGLETs, and several BROWN CREEPERs, and FOX SPARROWs, the latter being a life bird for some in the group.  Perhaps the best bird of the morning was a FORSTER'S TERN that circled low over Snow Bunting Peninsula.

Also seen in the area were a nearby COMMON LOON, BONAPARTE'S GULLs, and plenty of HORNED and PIED-BILLED GREBEs.  Duck numbers were rather low with only RUDDY and MALLARDs seen.  Since the morning was still young, as a bonus, we drove to the J. Percy Priest Dam.

While no new species were found on the lake, a drive to the area below the dam produced a lone RUSTY BLACKBIRD that posed in a bare tree for the group.  At the end of the morning the group had found 44 species. 

List of birds found:

Mallard 15

Ruddy Duck  18
Common Loon 11
Pied-billed Grebe  12
Horned Grebe  22
Double-crested Cormorant  1
Great Blue Heron  9
Black Vulture  36
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk  6
American Coot  81
Killdeer  5
Bonaparte's Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 170
Forster's Tern 1
Mourning Dove  1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  4
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Phoebe  1
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  5
Carolina Chickadee  8
Tufted Titmouse  4
Brown Creeper  3
Carolina Wren  6
Golden-crowned Kinglet  9
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  5
Eastern Bluebird  14
American Robin  32
Northern Mockingbird  2
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  209
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3
Eastern Towhee  2
Field Sparrow  4
Fox Sparrow  3
Song Sparrow  11
Swamp Sparrow  5
White-throated Sparrow  4
Northern Cardinal  8
Rusty Blackbird 1
American Goldfinch  2

Frank Fekel

NTOS Field Trip Leader

Benton and Henry Counties, TN
Saturday, 2011 Nov. 19
8:30am-4:15 pm

Fifteen birders, including David Kirschke from East Tennessee, enjoyed the NTOS sponsored trip to Pace Point and the Britton Ford areas around Kentucky Lake. The weather was surprisingly warm and conditions were reasonably good for viewing during most of the day. Highlights began even before we reached the town of Big Sandy. The group stopped at a spot on Lower Big Sandy Road and had nice views of a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. At Big Sandy we joined forces with several additional birders and headed toward Pace Point. A stop at Lick Creek resulted in several BALD EAGLEs and two distant HORNED LARKs. Bennett's Creek Overlook produced its usual flotilla of MALLARDs plus several other duck species. A NORTHERN HARRIER and a flyover, calling AMERICAN PIPIT added additional spice to our list. The cove area just short of Pace Point produced a RED-NECKED GREBE that spent a good deal of time diving and so unfortunately, was observed by only a few of our group. At the Point the highlight was several COMMON GOLDENEYEs. On our way to Rocky Point we got close up views of a number of HOODED MERGANSERs plus a female WOOD DUCK at a small pond. Eating lunch on the run, the afternoon was spent on the Britton Ford side of Kentucky Lake where we got several new duck species, including BLACK DUCK, REDHEAD, and CANVASBACK, and added a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER that spent much of the time trying to sleep and avoid identification. A brief foray to Eagle Creek produced a raft of 83 PIED-BILLED GREBEs and a lone AMERICAN EGRET. We finished the outing at Paris Landing State Park, where the wind substantially increased, making viewing difficult. Everyone enjoyed the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER found in the picnic area. At the end of a long but satisfying day we had tallied ~63 species.

Totals are very approximate and representative at best for most species:

Canada Geese 25
Wood Duck 1
Gadwall 65
Am. Wigeon 3
Am. Black Duck 9
Mallard hundreds if not a thousand or more
N. Shoveler 2
N. Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 4
Canvasback 5
Redhead 20
Ring-necked Duck 2
Lesser Scaup 100
White-winged Scoter 1
Bufflehead 40
Common Goldeneye 4
Hooded Merganser 24
Ruddy Duck several hundred
Common Loon 12
Pied-billed Grebe 135
Horned Grebe 20
Red-necked Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 30
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 4
Bald Eagle 6
N. Harrier 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Am. Kestrel 1
Am. Coot several hundred
Killdeer 11
Bonaparte's Gull 6
Ring-billed Gull 90
Herring Gull 15

Mourning Dove 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downey Woodpecker 1
N. Flicker 3
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Blue Jay 2
Am. Crow 50
Horned Lark 9
Carolina Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
E. Bluebird 6
Am. Robin 3
Am Pipit 1 calling and flyover
E. Towhee 2
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 6
N. Cardinal 4
E. Meadowlark 2
Am. Goldfinch 4

Frank Fekel
Nashville TOS Field Trip leader

Radnor Lake Sate Natural Area
Nashville-Davidson Co, TN
19 October 2011
 
Eleven birders braved the raw weather (breezy, low gray ceiling, and temperatures in the mid 40's) to attend the last Radnor Lake Wednesday Walk for Fall 2011. Although we did not travel as far or stay as long as we normally do, we did pick up a species we had not previously seen this fall: an AMERICAN WIGEON was spotted among a small group of WOOD DUCKS on the lake. We ran into several flocks of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, which would have been our only Warbler species had it not been for one briefly-seen COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

Thanks to all who participated this Fall, providing their assistance in spotting and identifying the 77 species that we observed on the six walks.

Here's a recap of today's observations:

19 species

Canada Goose  6
Wood Duck  10
American Wigeon  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  4
Northern Flicker  2
Pileated Woodpecker  2
Blue Jay  2
Carolina Chickadee  11
Tufted Titmouse  6
Carolina Wren  7
Eastern Bluebird  1
Gray Catbird  1
Common Yellowthroat  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  16
White-throated Sparrow  3
Northern Cardinal  9
Indigo Bunting  1

ELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL CENTER becomes RADNOR LAKE STATE NATURAL AREA

Early on Saturday morning, October 15, birders for the monthly NTOS field trip arrived at the entrance of the Ellington Agricultural Center (EAC) and found that its gate was locked. That morning they learned that the field trip had been inadvertantly scheduled on the date of the EAC's Music and Molasses Festival, which was to begin later in the day, and so all the trails were closed. Plan B was soon formed and pressed into service. Frank Fekel stayed near the EAC entrance for a time to redirect birders, who quickly drove to the east parking lot of nearby Radnor Lake State Natural Area.

Excellent fall weather produced a pleasant three hour walk around Radnor Lake, and 7 birders were able to discover 39 species, including residents, migrants, and winter visitors. Although only 6 species of warblers were found, everyone enjoyed good looks at fall plumaged BAY-BREASTED WARBLERs. Other highlights included YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. The most frustrating sighting was a flock (or perhaps a couple flocks) of ducks that flew above the lake several times and almost directly overhead at one point, but which could never be identified as to species.

The bird list from Radnor Lake follows:

Canada Goose 48
Wood Duck 22
American Wigeon 1
Ring-necked Duck 1
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 4
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Coot 5
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 7
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 8
Northern Flicker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 6
Carolina Chickadee 12
Tufted Titmouse 7
White-breasted Nuthatch 8
Carolina Wren 11
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 7
Swainson's Thrush 1
American Robin 2
Cedar Waxwing 32
Tennessee Warbler 2
Magnolia Warbler 3
Bay-breasted Warbler 5
Palm Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 22
Black-throated Green Warbler 5
White-throated Sparrow 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 2

Radnor Lake State Natural Area
Nashville-Davidson County, TN
October 12, 2011

Fall. Fog. Warblers. The combination of these three brought to life the term "Confusing Fall Warblers" this morning for the regular NTOS-sponsored walk at Radnor Lake State Natural Area. In the gray surroundings, we were forced to bird perhaps as we should more often, testing our skills by looking at quantitative shape e.g. bill size and tail length, etc. and flight patterns, rather than by color and the obvious markings. We got better at it. But the improved lighting as the morning progressed may also have been a factor. We still managed to get ELEVEN species of WARBLERS. Once again, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS showed up in large numbers. But perhaps the highlight was a male HOODED WARBLER that flitted low and perched out in the open for a "warbler second" not far from the Long Bridge. We also had a female INDIGO BUNTING near the Spillway. The 250 or so COMMON GRACKLES were flying overhead, a sign that the fog was lifting.

Below is the recap of species observed by the group.

39 species

Canada Goose 18
Wood Duck 37
Blue-winged Teal 96
Northern Shoveler 2
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 2
American Coot 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 8
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Philadelphia Vireo 2
Carolina Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 9
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 14

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
Swainson's Thrush 4
Gray Catbird 2
Cedar Waxwing 20
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 2
Hooded Warbler 1
American Redstart 2
Magnolia Warbler 9
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Black-throated Green Warbler 10
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 9
Indigo Bunting 1
Common Grackle 250
American Goldfinch 1

Bird Walk with the Mayor

Oct 8, 2011

In collaboration with Mayor Dean of Nashville and the Metro Parks personnel, NTOS held a bird walk for the public at Shelby Bottoms near downtown Nashville on Saturday, October 8.  Mayor Dean and several of his staff showed up for the walk plus about 40 interested individuals, including several parents with young and enthusiastic children and some NTOS members.  The crowd was divided into several small groups led by NTOS birders Scott Block, Camille Crenshaw, Frank Fekel, Amy Potter, Chris Sloan, Susan Tirrill, and Mary Zimmerman.  Routes through Phase I of Shelby Bottoms varied, and the walk, which began at 7:30 am, lasted 2-3 hours depending on the individual group.

Although much of the time was spent talking about birds and answering questions, the groups did identify a nice variety of birds. Combining lists we found 49 species plus 2 unidentified flycatchers.

There were 10 species of warblers detected with MAGNOLIAs being the most numerous and generally the most accommodating.  Several wintering species showed up such as YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, BROWN CREEPER, and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW.

Species list and an estimate of the maximum numbers seen by an individual group.

Canada Goose 46

Mallard 3
Double-crested Cormorant 12
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Killdeer 2
Mourning Dove 2
Chimney Swift 10+
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4
Downy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker 4
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Empidonax species 2
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 7
Carolina Chickadee 11
Tufted Titmouse 4
Brown Creeper 2
Carolina Wren 4
Eastern Bluebird 4
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 6
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling   many
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Magnolia Warbler 9
Chestnut-sided Warbler 2
Yellow-throated Warbler 3
Bay-breasted Warbler  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 5
Field Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 7
Indigo Bunting 1-- sang
Common Grackle 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 30
American Goldfinch  2