Results of the Fall BirdBlitz in Clay County, Tennessee—26 September 2009
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| THE bird of the Clay County BirdBlitz, this American Avocet was photographed on Irons Creek Rd. in the eastern part of the county south of Dale Hollow Lake; note the closed eye of this bird as it forages for prey—a blink, or defense against rain, or normal eye condition during foraging? Photo Winston A. Walden (26 September 2009). |
Despite light to moderate rain (see photograph above) lasting from 0430 CDT to approximately 1500 CDT, this birdblitz resulted in some valuable data about the fall birdlife of Clay County, which had not heretofore received any organized bird survey effort during fall. The American Avocet, photographed by Winston Walden, was probably the most unusual bird observed during the count.
To see a table of results for all fall counts conducted in the Upper Cumberland Region during 2009, click on the following link:
| Species | BHS | SJS | WAW | FW | Total |
| HG | MPO | HG | |||
| SR | JDB | SR | |||
| TMC | |||||
| Hours Walking | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Hours Driving | 8.5 | 8.75 | 9 | 0 | 26.25 |
| Total Hours | 9 | 8.75 | 9 | 0 | 26.75 |
| Miles Walking | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Miles Driving | 73.5 | 110 | 105 | 0 | 288.5 |
| Total Miles | 74 | 110 | 105 | 0 | 289 |
| Hours Owling | 1 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | 1.25 |
| Miles Owling | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Hours Feederwatching | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Canada Goose | -- | 1 | 60 | -- | 61 |
| Wood Duck | 1 | 3 | 10 | -- | 14 |
| Blue-winged Teal | 2 | 17 | -- | -- | 19 |
| Wild Turkey | 4 | 51 | 80 | -- | 135 |
| Common Loon | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Great Blue Heron | 2 | -- | 4 | -- | 6 |
| Great Egret | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Green Heron | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 3 |
| Black Vulture | 60 | 5 | 2 | -- | 67 |
| Turkey Vulture | 35 | 10 | 25 | -- | 70 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 ad | -- | 1 ad | -- | 2 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 2 | 1 | -- | 4 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| American Kestrel | 13 | 9 | 5 | -- | 27 |
| Killdeer | 21 | 7 | 13 | -- | 41 |
| American Avocet | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Spotted Sandpiper | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Wilson’s Snipe | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Rock Pigeon | 120 | 16 | 5 | -- | 141 |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Mourning Dove | 105 | 25 | 47 | 6 | 183 |
| Eastern Screech-Owl | 4 | 1 | 1 | -- | 6 |
| Great Horned Owl | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Barred Owl | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Chimney Swift | 79 | 1 | -- | -- | 80 |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | 4 | -- | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Belted Kingfisher | 3 | 1 | 2 | -- | 6 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 17 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 36 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 13 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 3 | -- | -- | -- | 3 |
| Northern Flicker | 19 | 2 | 6 | -- | 27 |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 6 | 6 | 2 | -- | 14 |
| Eastern Wood-Pewee | 2 | 2 | 1 | -- | 5 |
| Empidonax sp. | 3 | -- | -- | -- | 3 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 23 | 29 | 9 | 1 | 62 |
| Eastern Kingbird | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| White-eyed Vireo | 4 | 5 | 3 | -- | 12 |
| Yellow-throated Vireo | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Red-eyed Vireo | 2 | -- | 1 | -- | 3 |
| Blue Jay | 70 | 33 | 44 | -- | 147 |
| American Crow | 90 | 26 | 58 | -- | 174 |
| Tree Swallow | 390 | 7 | -- | -- | 397 |
| Barn Swallow | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | 3 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 12 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 29 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 17 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 36 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 13 | 3 | -- | 3 | 19 |
| Carolina Wren | 17 | 14 | 10 | -- | 41 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 135 | 22 | 43 | -- | 200 |
| Wood Thrush | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| American Robin | 19 | 1 | 1 | -- | 21 |
| Gray Catbird | 6 | 1 | -- | -- | 7 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 17 | 10 | 19 | -- | 46 |
| Brown Thrasher | 3 | -- | 3 | ||
| European Starling | 550 | 205 | 65 | -- | 820 |
| Cedar Waxwing | 3 | -- | 17 | -- | 20 |
| Tennessee Warbler | 3 | 1 | -- | -- | 4 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 1 | 3 | 1 | -- | 5 |
| Hooded Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| American Redstart | 2 | -- | 2 | -- | 4 |
| Magnolia Warbler | 4 | 3 | -- | -- | 7 |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Palm Warbler | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 2 |
| Pine Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Yellow-throated Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Prairie Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Eastern Towhee | 12 | 6 | 2 | -- | 20 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 42 | 5 | 2 | -- | 49 |
| Field Sparrow | 37 | -- | 3 | -- | 40 |
| Savannah Sparrow | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Song Sparrow | 40 | 3 | 1 | -- | 44 |
| Summer Tanager | -- | 2 | 1 | -- | 3 |
| Scarlet Tanager | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Northern Cardinal | 40 | 45 | 22 | 1 | 108 |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 2 | 10 | 4 | -- | 16 |
| Blue Grosbeak | 22 | -- | -- | -- | 22 |
| Indigo Bunting | 23 | 20 | 2 | -- | 45 |
| Eastern Meadowlark | 19 | 5 | 13 | -- | 37 |
| Common Grackle | 6 | -- | -- | -- | 6 |
| House Finch | 8 | -- | -- | -- | 8 |
| American Goldfinch | 6 | 1 | 1 | -- | 8 |
| House Sparrow | 25 | -- | 10 | -- | 35 |
| Total Individuals | 2207 | 655 | 624 | 29 | 3515 |
| Total Species | 78 | 51 | 51 | 9 | 88 |
Key to Observers:
| JDB | JD Becker |
| TMC | Terry M. Campbell |
| HG | Heather Gothard |
| MPO | Michael P. O'Rourke |
| SR | Sue Russell |
| BHS | Barbara H. Stedman |
| SJS | Stephen J. Stedman, compiler |
| WAW | Winston A. Walden |
Comments:
The American Avocet was photographed (WAW; also observed by MPO, JDB) on Irons Creek Rd.; it provided just the second record of this rare shorebird for Clay County, and it was just the 12th for the UCR.
Acknowledgment:
Thanks are extended to the Resource Management Office at Dale Hollow Lake, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for making a guest house available to participants in this count on the night of September 25, 2009.
Quick links to other sections of this website: