Central Node for Forays in White County, Tennessee—28–31 May 1982, 25–28 May 2007, and 1–6 June 2015

A juvenile Eastern Towhee, photographed in nearby Cumberland County, Tennessee, during May 2007; if observed begging from an adult, this bird would allow confirmation of breeding; photo DJ Stanley.

 

The first White County Foray was conducted by members of the TOS 28–31 May 1982.  Since results of the 1982 White County Foray have not yet been published, the list of 98 species (Table 1)—including two species of nonbreeding shorebirds (in italics)—found in White County during the 1982 Foray is of great interest.  Also of interest are the raw data for that foray, accessible via a link at the bottom of this page; maps displaying the abundance and distribution of species recorded during the 1982 foray are accessible via links connected to the alpha codes for the species in the table provided at that page. Note: many thanks are due to M. L. Bierly for making available the data that resulted from this foray.

    A second foray was conducted in White County 25–28 May 2007.  A summary of the results of the 2007 White County Foray, conducted by a group of birders living mostly within the Upper Cumberland Region, is also provided below (Table 1).  Also of interest should be the raw data for that foray, accessible via a link at the bottom of this page; maps displaying the abundance and distribution of species recorded during the 2007 foray are accessible via links connected to the alpha codes for the species in the table at that page.

    A third foray was conducted in White County 1–6 June 2015, following a protocol different from that used during the 2007 White County Foray but identical to the protocol followed during forays conducted in the UCR from 2008 to 2015. Results of the 2015 foray may be accessed via a link below. In summary, during the 2015 White County foray, data were collected in 44 of the 50 blocks in the county (as opposed to coverage during 2007 when 37 of 50 blocks were covered). Data for 104 species of breeding birds resulted from the foray effort during 2015; in addition 2 non-breeding species were detected. Great thanks are extended to Edmund K. LeGrand for taking part in the 2015 White County Foray and for covering the entirety of the eastern half of the county (i.e., most of the county east of Rt. 111).

    Also at the bottom of this page is a link to the first of eleven pages that provide side-by-side maps for each species recorded during the two White County forays.

    A map (Figure 1a) showing major roadways in White County is accessible via the following link:

    A map (Figure 1b) of White County showing its physiographic provinces may be viewed by clicking on the following link:

    A map (Figure 2) showing the USGS quadrangles for White County may be viewed by clicking on the following link:

    Links to a map (Figure 3a) displaying the 50 "blocks" (i.e., areas consisting of one-sixth of a quadrangle) for the 2007 White County Foray (click on the link [below] for "2007 White County Foray—Raw Data" for a key to the block codes) and to a map (Figure 3b) showing the 19 blocks surveyed during the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) project (Nicholson 1997) follow:

    Maps (Figures 4a and 4b) showing the number of hours of effort expended in each block and the number of species recorded in each block during the 2007 White County Foray may be viewed by clicking on the following links:

 

Table 1. Species Detected during White County Forays—28–31 May 1982 (98 species) and 25–28 May 2007 (106 species). Species in italics are considered to be transients.  Species in maroon were detected during 1982 and during 2007; species in bold blue (9) were detected during 1982 but not during 2007; species in bold red (17) were detected during 2007 but not during 1982.  Breeding Categories and Codes: POS—Possible Breeder; PRB—Probable Breeder; CON—Confirmed Breeder.  X—Present; P—Pair; A—Agitated Behavior; C—Courtship/Copulation; DD—Distraction Display; CN—Adult Carrying Nest Material; NB—Adult Building Nest; UN—Used Nest; FY—Adult Carrying Food for Young; BG—Begging Young; FL— Fledged Young; FS—Fecal Sac Removed from Nest by Adult; ON—Adult on Nest Incubating/Tending Young; NE—Nest with Eggs; NY— Nest with Young. Species with underlined names are linked to a map of the species' abundance and distribution based on 2007 White County Foray data.

Species 28–31 May 1982 25–28 May 2007 25–28 May 2007
Total Individuals Counted Total Individuals Counted Highest Breeding Category and Code Detected
Canada Goose 2 (plus 2 y) 152 CON–FL
Wood Duck 25 (plus 66 y) 61 CON–FL
Mallard -- 8 CON–FL
Blue-winged Teal -- 1 * Transient
Ruffed Grouse 1 -- --
Wild Turkey -- 17 PRB–P
Northern Bobwhite 131 63 PRB–P
Great Blue Heron -- 21 CON–UN
Green Heron 24 22 PRB–P
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 2 ** --
Black Vulture 16 41 POS–X
Turkey Vulture 59 182 POS–X
Cooper's Hawk 2 9 CON–FY
Red-shouldered Hawk 4 10 POS–X
Broad-winged Hawk 12 10 POS–X
Red-tailed Hawk 16 17 PRB–P
American Kestrel 27 26 CON–FL
American Coot -- 1 Transient
Killdeer 30 68 CON–FL
Spotted Sandpiper -- 3 Transient
Lesser Yellowlegs 1 -- Transient
Semipalmated Sandpiper -- 4 Transient
     Peep sp. 37 -- Transient
Rock Pigeon 33 70 PRB–P
Eurasian Collared-Dove -- 1 POS–X
Mourning Dove 277 349 CON–UN
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 58 19 PRB–A
Eastern Screech-Owl 1 2 POS–X
Great Horned Owl -- 2 POS–X
Barred Owl 2 3 POS–X
     Owl sp. 2 -- --
Common Nighthawk 10 2 POS–X
Chuck-will's-widow 14 3 POS–X
Eastern Whip-poor-will 110 12 POS–X
Chimney Swift 134 73 POS–X
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 8 56 PRB–P
Belted Kingfisher 19 6 POS–X
Red-headed Woodpecker 16 10 POS–X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 75 85 PRB–P
Downy Woodpecker 48 54 CON–FL
Hairy Woodpecker 11 10 CON–NY
Northern Flicker 31 22 POS–X
Pileated Woodpecker 36 42 PRB–P
Eastern Wood-Pewee 82 160 POS–X
Acadian Flycatcher 66 63 POS–X
Eastern Phoebe 41 (ON) 97 PRB–A
Great Crested Flycatcher 70 82 CON–FY
Eastern Kingbird 110 87 POS–X
Loggerhead Shrike 15 1 POS–X
White-eyed Vireo 66 111 POS–X
Yellow-throated Vireo 40 54 POS–X
Blue-headed Vireo 1 13 POS–X
Red-eyed Vireo 244 517 CON–FY
Blue Jay 128 128 CON–FY
American Crow 266 297 CON–FL
Horned Lark 3 -- --
Purple Martin 242 150 CON–ON
Tree Swallow -- 27 CON–ON
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 99 49 POS–X
Cliff Swallow -- 24 CON–ON
Barn Swallow 427 322 CON–ON
Carolina Chickadee 110 127 CON–FL
Tufted Titmouse 130 225 CON–FL
White-breasted Nuthatch 14 87 CON–FL
Carolina Wren 75 281 CON–FY
House Wren -- 27 POS–X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 99 185 CON–CN
Eastern Bluebird 372 370 CON–ON
Wood Thrush 66 65 CON–NY
American Robin 160 237 CON–FY
Gray Catbird 24 7 POS–X
Northern Mockingbird 112 272 CON–FL
Brown Thrasher 75 94 CON–ON
European Starling 242 880 CON–NY
Cedar Waxwing -- 62 POS–X
Blue-winged Warbler -- 5 POS–X
Golden-winged Warbler 4 -- --
Northern Parula 10 40 POS–X
Yellow Warbler 5 -- --
Black-throated Green Warbler 5 20 POS–X
Yellow-throated Warbler 36 63 CON–FY
Pine Warbler 5 22 CON–FY
Prairie Warbler 126 43 POS–X
Cerulean Warbler 1 2 POS–X
Black-and-white Warbler 49 35 CON–FY
American Redstart -- 2 POS–X
Prothonotary Warbler 2 2 POS–X
Worm-eating Warbler 16 21 POS–X
Swainson's Warbler 1 -- --
Ovenbird 36 57 POS–X
Louisiana Waterthrush 13 8 POS–X
Kentucky Warbler 49 36 POS–X
Common Yellowthroat 137 206 POS–X
Hooded Warbler 48 70 POS–X
Yellow-breasted Chat 103 100 CON–FY
Eastern Towhee 102 142 PRB–P
Chipping Sparrow 77 230 CON–FL
Field Sparrow 184 (ON) 269 POS–X
Grasshopper Sparrow 7 34 CON–FY
Henslow's Sparrow -- 16 PRB–A
Song Sparrow 120 304 POS–X
Summer Tanager 58 79 CON–FL
Scarlet Tanager 25 54 PRB–P
Northern Cardinal 134 414 CON–FY
Blue Grosbeak 43 61 PRB–P
Indigo Bunting 452 611 PRB–P
Dickcissel 5 3 POS–X
Red-winged Blackbird 285 429 CON–NE
Eastern Meadowlark 408 403 CON–FY
Common Grackle 370 233 CON–FS
Brown-headed Cowbird 104 138 PRB–P
Orchard Oriole 53 57 CON–NB
Baltimore Oriole 1 -- --
House Finch -- 55 CON–CN
American Goldfinch 129 161 PRB–P
House Sparrow 187 223 CON–ON
Total Individuals 8001 11284
Total Hours of Effort 87.1 99
Total Transient Species 2 4
Total Breeding Species 96 102
     Possible Breeding Species 42
     Probable Breeding Species 17
     Confirmed Breeding Species 43
Total Species Observed 98 106

* A male that did not appear capable of flight was observed in the Heritage Marsh 27 May 2007 (DLC, SJS).

** An adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was observed just a few hundred meters from White County in adjacent Burgess Falls State Natural Area, Putnam County, 25 May 2007 (CDW, JCF, NSL, MJH).

The sixteen participants in the 1982 White County Foray were Michael Lee Bierly (compiler), Claude W. Brown, Betty Reid and James Campbell, D. Kenton Dickerson, Kenneth H. and Lillian H. Dubke, Joseph C. Howell, William J. Jones, Jon A. (Tony) Koella, Cleo G. and George R. Mayfield, Mark H. Mayfield, F. Joe McLaughlin, Chuck Nicholson, and Richard W. Simmers, Jr.

The sixteen participants in the 2007 White County Foray were Sharon Brines, Wally Brines, Daniel L. Combs, Douglas A. Downs (co-compiler), Judy C. Fuson, Michael J. Hawkins, Tom Howe, Nancy S. Layzer, Joseph E. Mast, Laura J. McCall, Peter Moyer, Michael P. O'Rourke, Stephen J. Stedman (co-compiler), David J. Trently, Winston A. Walden, and Carol D. Williams.

White County Foray Links:

Literature Cited

 

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