Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

 

Northern Harrier (Circus cyanea)

Northern Harrier [dorso-posterior view of male]: Photograph Credit: Rickey Shive; Savoyard, Metcalfe County, Kentucky; 17 March 2018.

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Abundance: Uncommon during fall, winter, and spring; Occasional during summer; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the populations present in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident; very small Summer Resident population on the Cumberland Plateauand possibly elsewhere in Regionsuspected to breed but unconfirmed as of 2016; photograph [ventral view of immature perched] (Roseanna M. Denton; Cooley's Pond, Wayne County, Kentucky; 2 December 2006).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 23 (31 December 2010; mostly near Bon Ayr, Barren County, Kentucky [Glasgow CBC]; David L. Roemer, Stephen J. Stedman); FBC/FBB High Count: 3 (4 October 2008; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 3 (24 April 1976; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Out-of-Season (Summer) Records:

13/14 June 2011 (1/1—female-plumaged individuals) Smartt Mountain 1 block/Welchland 5 block (the distance between the locations of these sightings was estimated to be c. 13 km [8 mi]), Van Buren County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman/Barbara H. Stedman), Van Buren County Foray records.

6 June 2013 (1) Barren County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton), a Barren County Foray record.

2 July 2016 (1) Student's Home Rd., DeKalb County, Tennessee (Judy C. Fuson).

Regional Extreme Dates:

   Not provided because of the increasing presence of harriers during the breeding season.

Note: Fall arrival of migrants generally widespread by 25 October; spring departure generally complete by 5 April; Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure during winters from 2002–2003 to 2011–2012 follow:

Winter of... Early Fall Arrival Date Late Spring Departure Date
2002–2003 21 September 11 April
2003–2004 11 October 17 May
2004–2005 29 August 13 May
2005–2006 18 September 22 April
2006–2007 10 September 2 April
2007–2008 15 September 3 May
2008–2009 17 August 11 April
2009–2010 7 September 8 May
2010–2011 25 September 20 May *
2011–2012 14 September --

* But see also Out-of-Season (Summer) Records (above).

Breeding: Possible (Recent); see Foray Results (below).

Habitat: Grasslands of many types.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 6 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 11 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, resulting in YardWatch frequency classifications of Very Uncommon and Uncommon, respectively; the latter YardWatch frequency  classification is consistent with the overall Regional abundance classification, but the former one is not.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

County Dates when Foray Conducted Total Blocks
in County *
Total Blocks in which
Northern Harrier
Recorded
Total Individuals
Recorded
         
Adair 816 June 2014 46 0 0
Barren 1–6 June 2013 54 1 0
Clinton 12–14 June 2009 24 0 0
Cumberland 1620 June 2014 35 0 0
McCreary 30 May5 Jun 2011 51 0 0
Metcalfe 812 June 2013 32 0 0
Monroe 1–12 June 2015 35 0 0
Pulaski 511 June 2010 72 0 0
Russell 1316, 2629 June 2012 31 0 0
Wayne 28 May3 June 2012 54 0 0
         
Kentucky   434 (408) 1 (0.23%) 0
         
Bledsoe 1824 June 2012 48 0 0
Clay 12–15 June 2010 30 0 0
Cumberland 29 May4 June 2010 75 0 0
DeKalb 2326 May 2008 40 0 0
Fentress 1117 June 2012 55 0 0
Jackson 29 May1 Jun 2009 40 0 0
Macon 1722 June 2013 32 0 0
Morgan 1–8 June 2014 58 0 0
Overton 2329 May 2011 47 0 0
Pickett 2225 May 2009 24 0 0
Putnam 6–12 June 2011 46 0 0
Scott 924 June 2016 62 0 0
Smith 1525 June 2015 37 0 0
Van Buren 13–15 June 2011 33 2 2
Warren 1–10 June 2016 47 0 0
White 1–6 June 2015 50 0 0
         
Tennessee   724 (651) 2 (0.27%) 2
         
Region   1158 (c. 1059) 3 (0.26%) 2

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

RemarksA Northern Harrier was observed near the White County Regional Airport during June of one of the first three years (1986, 1987, or 1988) of the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas project (Stephen J. Stedman pers. data); this record was not included in the atlas document (Nicholson 1997).

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Barren Metcalfe Adair Russell Pulaski
Monroe Cumberland Clinton Wayne McCreary
Macon Clay Pickett Fentress Scott
Smith Jackson Overton Putnam Morgan
DeKalb White Cumberland
Warren Van Buren Bledsoe

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Burgess Falls SP, Putnam/White Counties, TN Barren River Lake SP, Barren County, KY
Cumberland Mountain SP, Cumberland County, TN General Burnside Island SP, Pulaski County, KY
Edgar Evins SP, DeKalb County, TN  
Fall Creek Falls SP, Bledsoe/Van Buren Counties, TN Pulaski County Park, Pulaski County, KY
Frozen Head SNA, Morgan County, TN Waitsboro Recreation Area, Pulaski County, KY
Rock Island SP, Warren/White Counties, TN  
Standing Stone SP, Overton County, TN Big South Fork NRRA, KY and TN
   
Cane Creek Park, Putnam County, TN  
Roaring River Recreation Area, Jackson County, TN  

Literature Cited