The Upper Cumberland Region Foray Project—Central Node

A male Baltimore Oriole in the process of feeding young in a nest in a sweet gum near the Beaver Creek Boat Ramp, Barren County, KY, during the foray in that county (5 June 2013); based on foray data from the 26 Upper Cumberland Region counties, Barren County proved to harbor the densest population of this colorful breeding species within the Region; photograph credit: David L. Roemer.

                                           It is a general rule that when the bird fauna stays intact, so does the rest of the fauna and flora.  E. O. Wilson

An Upper Cumberland Region Foray (UCR Foray) is a bird-monitoring survey lasting 3–12 days that is designed to gather data on the breeding status, distribution, and abundance of most species breeding in a single county.  Usually held sometime from late May to late June, a Foray brings together a small group of birders who spend several or more days collecting data and seeking evidence of breeding about as many species of birds as possible. A list of all participants in the 26 forays conducted 2008 to 2016 is provided below.

    Results of UCR Forays often provide the best available data about the breeding status, distribution, and abundance of breeding birds in the Region's 26 counties, usually surpassing in detail of coverage results from two previous efforts along the same lines—TOS forays conducted from the late 1970s and 1980s and/or Tennessee/Kentucky Breeding Bird Atlases conducted from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Furthermore, the non-appearance of the second generation of atlases in Kentucky and Tennessee a quarter century after the appearance of the first-generation atlases in those states is in part made up for by the UCR forays in 10 Kentucky counties and in 16 Tennessee counties. Part of the reason for the non-appearance of the second-generation atlases may have something to do with Max Planck's assertion that science advances one funeral at a time.

    The protocol and instructions for understanding and conducting UCR Forays are explained at the pages accessible via these links:

• Foray Protocol
• Instructions for UCR Forays

    To see a map depicting the counties where UCR Forays and earlier forays have been conducted or to see a table listing all species encountered during UCR Forays (including links to species accounts for all species encountered during the foray period [2008 to 2016]), click on the appropriate link below:

• Map of UCR Foray Locations
• Map of Breeding Bird Atlas Effort in the Kentucky Counties of the UCR
• Map of Breeding Bird Atlas Effort in the Tennessee Counties of the UCR
• Map Depicting Total Species Recorded per Foray Block in KY Counties of UCR
• Map Depicting Total Species Recorded per Foray Block in TN Counties of UCR [currently incomplete]
• Map Depicting Night Effort in Foray Blocks in KY Counties of UCR
• Map Depicting Night Effort in Foray Blocks in TN Counties of UCR

• Atlas of the Breeding Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region

   Links to pages that display results of UCR Forays conducted from 2008 to 2016 follow; these pages also include information from breeding bird atlas efforts conducted in these counties, and some of them include data from forays conducted in the historical past.

Kentucky Counties of the UCR

• Adair County Foray—Central Node (2014)
• Barren County Foray—Central Node (2013)
• Clinton County Foray—Central Node (2009)
• Cumberland County, KY, Foray—Central Node (2014)
• McCreary County Foray—Central Node (2011)
• Metcalfe County Foray—Central Node (2013)
• Monroe County Foray—Central Node (2015)
• Pulaski County Foray—Central Node (2010)
• Russell County Foray—Central Node (2012)
• Wayne County Foray—Central Node (2012)

Tennessee Counties of the UCR

• Bledsoe County Foray—Central Node (1987 and 2012)
• Clay County Foray—Central Node (2010)
• Cumberland County, TN, Foray—Central Node (2010) *
• DeKalb County Foray—Central Node (2008)
• Fentress County Foray—Central Node (1979 and 2013)
• Jackson County Foray—Central Node (2009)
• Macon County Foray—Central Node (2013)
• Morgan County Foray—Central Node (2014)
• Overton County Foray—Central Node (1986 and 2011)
• Pickett County Foray—Central Node (1979 and 2009)
• Putnam County Foray—Central Node (2011)
• Scott County Foray—Central Node (2016)
• Smith County Foray—Central Node (2015)
• Van Buren County Foray—Central Node (2011)
• Warren County Foray—Central Node (2016)
• White County Foray—Central Node (1982, 2007, and 2015)

* If anyone has access to results of the 1985 Foray in Cumberland County, Tennessee, please share them.

    To see physiographic maps of individual Tennessee counties in the Region displaying the USGS quadrangles that overlap them, to see maps of counties displaying the foray blocks that are contained within them (and to get an idea of how much effort might be required to conduct a foray in them), or to see maps of counties displaying the foray blocks that received coverage during the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) project (Nicholson 1997), click on the appropriate link below:

* The number following each entry represents the total number of foray blocks in that county. ** The number following each entry represents the total number of foray blocks surveyed during the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas project; coverage of the blocks was uneven with the "priority" (central eastern) block in each quadrangle getting good coverage and with other blocks in each quadrangle getting a varying amount of coverage.

    To see physiographic maps of Individual Kentucky counties in the Region displaying the USGS quadrangles that overlap them, to see maps of counties displaying the foray blocks that are contained within them (and to get an idea of how much effort might be required to conduct a foray in them), or to see maps of counties displaying the foray blocks that received coverage during the Kentucky Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) project (Palmer-Ball 1996), click on the appropriate link below:

* The number following each entry represents the total number of foray blocks in that county. ** The number following each entry represents the total number of foray blocks surveyed during the Kentucky Breeding Bird Atlas project; coverage of these blocks was consistently good.

Chronology of Upper Cumberland Region Foray Project 2008–2016

    The 2008 UCR Foray was conducted in DeKalb County, Tennessee, 23–26 May by a small group of UCR birders with support from two TOS members. Carol Williams and I co-coordinated the foray in DeKalb County, and I compiled the results (see link above), which included minimal or greater coverage of all blocks in the county.

    The 2009 UCR Forays—conducted in Pickett County, Tennessee, 22–25 May; in Jackson County, Tennessee, 29 May–1June; and in Clinton County, Kentucky, 12–14 June—were quite successful, with all blocks in all counties receiving minimal or greater coverage.  Click on the links above for the results of those UCR Forays.

    The 2010 UCR Forays—conducted in Cumberland County, Tennessee, 29 May–4 June; Pulaski County, Kentucky, 5–11 June; and Clay County, Tennessee, 12–15 June—were also quite successful, with all blocks in all counties receiving coverage, usually minimal or greater.  Ed LeGrand and I were co-coordinators of the 2010 UCR Foray in Cumberland County; Roseanna Denton and I were co-coordinators of the 2010 UCR Foray in Pulaski County; and I was coordinator of the 2010 UCR Foray in Clay County. A TOS Foray was conducted in Cumberland County in 1985, but data from that foray are largely unavailable; anyone who can provide that information will be much appreciated, as it would be good to be able to compare the results of the 2010 UCR Foray with those of the 1985 TOS Foray.

    The 2011 UCR Forays were conducted in Overton (23–29 May 2011), Putnam (6–12 June 2011), and Van Buren (13–15 June 2011) counties, Tennessee, and in McCreary County (30 May–5 June 2011), Kentucky; results of the Overton County foray may be compared with results of the foray in that county conducted during 1986, as well as with results of the Breeding Bird Atlas project in Tennessee.

    The 2012 UCR Forays were conducted in Wayne County, Kentucky (1–10 June 2012), in Bledsoe County, Tennessee (17–22 June 2012), and in Russell County, Kentucky (13–15 and 26–29 June 2012); results from the Bledsoe County foray may be compared with results of the TOS Foray conducted in that county during mid-June 1987.

    The 2013 UCR Forays were conducted in Barren County, Kentucky (1–6 June 2013), Metcalfe County, Kentucky (8–12 June 2013), Macon County, Tennessee (14–22 June 2013), and Fentress County, Tennessee (22–28 June 2013).

    The 2014 UCR Forays were conducted in Morgan County, Tennessee (1–8 June 2014), in Adair County, Kentucky (8–16 June 2014), and in Cumberland County, Kentucky (16–20 June 2014).

    The 2015 UCR Forays were conducted in White County, Tennessee (1–6 June 2015), in Monroe County, Kentucky (1–11 June 2015), and in Smith County, Tennessee (15–25 June 2015).

    The 2016 UCR Forays were conducted in Warren County, Tennessee (1–10 June 2016), and in Scott County, Tennessee (9–24 June 2016).

Cumulative Foray Participants (2008–2016)

Foray Effort Prior to 2008

    The first six forays occurring in the Upper Cumberland Region (UCR) were conducted by members of the TOS in the following counties and during the following years: Fentress (1979), Pickett (1979), White (1982), Cumberland (1985), Overton (1986), and Bledsoe (1987). Data from at least two of these forays were incorporated into the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas.

    A trial Foray was conducted by a group of UCR birders—with support from several TOS members—in White County, Tennessee, 25–28 May 2007, almost exactly 25 years after a TOS foray took place in that county 28–31 May 1982.  Data resulting from these two forays provided a rare opportunity to view changes taking place in a county avifauna over the course of a quarter century. Note: M. L. Bierly shared the original data from the 1982 White County Foray; also Note: in 2015 still another foray was conducted in White County, following the standard protocol for UCR Forays (see above).

Note: U.S. copyright law is very clear about use of intellectual property: short quotations from such property may be presented if a proper citation of the source is provided; longer passages or reprints of entire documents may be presented only if permission is granted by the originator and owner of the intellectual property, in this case Stephen J. Stedman, Professor Emeritus, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee.

Literature Cited

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