Results of the Tenth Annual Fall Bird Count in Putnam County, Tennessee—19 September 2009

Common Grackles generally appear in low to moderate numbers on bird surveys conducted during the autumn, and that was the case when "only" 347 were found in Putnam County during the 2009 Fall Bird Count there; photo Carol D. Williams (1 March 2009 in DeKalb County).

 

This Fall Bird Count, the tenth consecutively in Putnam County, was conducted following a week of fairly heavy rainfall, with six to ten inches being measured at various sites around the county.  Ponds and rivers were at high levels as a result, and some of the count results, such as the high number of Green Herons and the presence of the Least Bittern, may have been affected by this meteorological occurrence.

    To see a table of results for all years 2000–present, click on the following link:

Putnam County Fall Bird Count 2000–Present

    To see a table of results for all Regional counts conducted during 2009, click on the following link:

Fall Bird Counts in UCR during 2009

 

Table 1. Results of Fall Bird Count in Putnam County 19 September 2009; species in red were registered for the first time on this bird count.

Party Leaders BHS SJS EKL MJH WAW FW Totals
Party Members SEP DAD JCF TMS GKE
LH BD
MR
BB
HO
Territory Location SE W SW NW NE
Number of Field Parties 1 1 1 1 1 0 5
Number Field Observers 1 3 2 2 2 0 10
Number  Feederwatchers 0 0 0 0 0 5 5
Start CDT 0530 0420 0430 0700 0600 0615 420
End CDT 1845 1835 1900 1850 1800 1715 1900
    Miles by Car 105 147 80 63 78 0 473
    Miles on Foot 1 0.5 3.5 3 1 0 9
Total Daylight Mi in Field 106 147.5 83.5 66 79 0 482
    Hours by Car 11.5 11.5 6 7 11 0 47
    Hours on Foot 1 0.5 7 4.5 1 0 14
Total Daylight Hrs in Field 12.5 12 13 11.5 12 0 61
Owling Hours 0.75 2 1 0 0 0 3.75
Owling Miles 12 11 15 0 0 0 38
Feederwatching Hours 0 0 0 0 0 13.5 13.5
Low Temperature F 67 67 68 67
High Temperature F 77 79 78 79
Sky AM overcast
Sky PM mostly cloudy
Precipitation AM none
Precipitation PM none
Wind AM (mph) 0–7.5
Wind PM (mph) 0–10
Moon near new
Canada Goose 87 7 120 38 26 14 292
Wood Duck 26 4 20 1 51
Mallard 27 3 4 34
Blue-winged Teal 16 8 24
Northern Bobwhite 3 3
Wild Turkey 40 26 1 5 72
Pied-billed Grebe 5 4 9
Double-crested Cormorant 2 3 1 1 7
Least Bittern 1 1
Great Blue Heron 4 7 3 2 3 1 20
Great Egret 2 2
Green Heron 3 3 2 6 5 2 21
Black Vulture 1 2 2 5 10
Turkey Vulture 21 17 11 3 10 62
Osprey 2 1 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 2
Cooper's Hawk 2 2 3 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 1 2 1 1 8
Broad-winged Hawk 1 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2 1 3 6
American Kestrel 16 5 1 4 4 30
Peregrine Falcon 1 1
Killdeer 1 8 75 65 13 2 164*
Spotted Sandpiper 1 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1 1
Peep sp. 3 3
Ring-billed Gull 1 1
Rock Pigeon 45 1 50 27 16 139
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 1
Mourning Dove 130 83 135 135 79 21 583
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2 1 3
Barn Owl 2 2
Eastern Screech-Owl 7 7 1 2 17
Great Horned Owl 2 3 5
Barred Owl 1 10 11
Common Nighthawk 3 1 4
Eastern Whip-poor-will 1 1
Chimney Swift 1 10 3 52 33 4 103
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 27 7 10 4 5 46 99
Belted Kingfisher 3 3 3 1 3 13
Red-headed Woodpecker 2 4 7 1 14
Red-bellied Woodpecker 29 21 18 7 22 7 104
Downy Woodpecker 14 13 8 26 7 68* (tie)
Hairy Woodpecker 4 3 9 1 2 19
Northern Flicker 11 5 9 8 12 2 47
Pileated Woodpecker 8 11 7 3 2 3 34
Eastern Wood-Pewee 5 18 17 3 16 59
Acadian Flycatcher 1 1 1 3 6
    Empidonax sp. 1 1
Eastern Phoebe 37 32 9 10 32 7 127*
Great Crested Flycatcher 1 1 2
Eastern Kingbird 3 1 1 1 6
White-eyed Vireo 4 22 4 1 10 41
Yellow-throated Vireo 1 10 4 1 2 18
Blue-headed Vireo 1 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2 1 6 2 4 1 16
Blue Jay 90 75 40 34 89 18 346
American Crow 196 88 83 12 95 19 493
Horned Lark 2 2
Barn Swallow 1 10 3 14
Carolina Chickadee 52 23 19 5 23 22 144
Tufted Titmouse 40 30 28 4 26 20 148
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 23 7 4 2 27 12 75
Brown-headed Nuthatch 6 6
Carolina Wren 43 93 13 12 65 16 242
House Wren 1 2 2 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3 2 4 1 2 2 14
Eastern Bluebird 183 125 90 36 125 14 573*
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1 1
Swainson's Thrush 1 1 2 4 8
Wood Thrush 2 6 1 2 11
American Robin 18 8 3 17 11 1 58
Gray Catbird 7 2 3 5 9 3 29
Northern Mockingbird 23 19 26 26 52 2 148
Brown Thrasher 6 3 3 6 7 3 28
European Starling 520 1066 1500 775 2400 7 6268
American Pipit 1 1
Cedar Waxwing 44 2 20 66
Ovenbird 2 1 1 1 5
Northern Waterthrush 2 2
Golden-winged Warbler 2 2
Blue-winged Warbler 1 1 2
Black-and-white Warbler 8 5 3 1 17
Tennessee Warbler 2 8 8 1 2 21
Kentucky Warbler 1 1
Common Yellowthroat 12 2 5 2 7 28
Hooded Warbler 7 7 1 2 17
American Redstart 9 5 7 1 10 2 34
Northern Parula 5 2 7
Magnolia Warbler 7 25 20 13 15 12 92*
Bay-breasted Warbler 1 1 2
Blackburnian Warbler 1 1 2
Yellow Warbler 1 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 5 3 6 2 1 17
Palm Warbler 1 1 6 3 11
Pine Warbler 1 1 2 2 6 12
Yellow-throated Warbler 2 2
Prairie Warbler 1 1 4 6
Black-thr. Green Warbler 1 3 1 2 1 8
Canada Warbler 1 1 2
Wilson's Warbler 1 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1 1
Eastern Towhee 17 5 6 3 7 38
Chipping Sparrow 41 81 28 27 31 2 210
Field Sparrow 22 9 3 1 17 4 56
Savannah Sparrow 4 4
Song Sparrow 21 1 3 3 8 36
White-throated Sparrow 1 1
Summer Tanager 1 11 8 2 7 1 30
Scarlet Tanager 9 7 2 3 21
Northern Cardinal 122 91 22 9 52 23 319
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 7 1 9
Blue Grosbeak 6 4 10
Indigo Bunting 33 9 14 7 3 66
Dickcissel 1 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2 1 300 35 10 348
Eastern Meadowlark 7 9 15 7 38
Common Grackle 2 320 24 1 347
Brown-headed Cowbird 90 50 140
House Finch 28 10 7 1 4 50
American Goldfinch 27 32 33 10 41 22 165
House Sparrow 42 10 25 30 107
Total Individuals 2302 2227 3294 1619 3566 343 13351
Total Species 100 78 85 72 74 40 123

Key to Observers:

BB = Betty Bright
DAD = Douglas A. Downs
BD = Bettie Doyle
GKE = Ginger K. Ensor
FW = Feederwatcher
JCF = Judy C. Fuson
MJH = Michael J. Hawkins
LH = Linda Henderson
EKL = Edmund K. LeGrand
HO = Handley "Ozzie" Oswalt
SEP = Susan E. Pirolo
MR = Michele Ramsey
TMS = Thomas M. Saya
BHS = Barbara H. Stedman
SJS = Stephen J. Stedman, compiler
WAW = Winston A. Walden

 

Comments:

Five species found this year were new to the Putnam County FBC; they are denoted in red in the table (above); 5 species denoted with an asterisk (*) in the table (above) were counted in all-time high numbers or tied all-time high numbers in Putnam County.

The Least Bittern was observed on Waterview Rd. northeast of Monterey off of Rt. 164 (Hanging Limb Rd.) (BHS); there have been no records in the county or the UCR for about 15 years, so this sighting was one of the most important results of the count; this observation provided a new late fall departure date for the county.

The Peregrine Falcon, an immature, was 'scoped near the Ironwood Golf Course (JCF, MJH); this record was just the fourth for the county, and it was the first county record for this species in exactly 17 years, the last record having been obtained 19 September 1992.

The Ring-billed Gull was observed on City Lake from the bridge on Bridgeway Dr. (BHS); this sighting established a new early fall arrival date for the county.

The Barn Owls were located at the traditional site for this species in the county (EKL, DAD).

The Brown-headed Nuthatches were found in the very early hours of the morning at the now traditional site in the county--the Cookeville Golf Course (WAW, TMS); this species has been regular at this site during bird counts for eight years, its numbers, however, not seeming to increase during that interval.

The American Pipit was observed at length along the gravel road that leads to a cemetery from the intersection of Old Mill and Ball Hill rds. (EKL, DAD); it called and responded to its song and calls as played on an iPod; this sighting established a new early fall arrival date for the county and for the UCR.

The Dickcissel was observed in a brushy field in a subdivision off of The Lane Rd. near Brotherton (WAW, TMS); this sighting established a new late fall departure date for the county.

 

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