Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

Abundance:  Occasional; 2 records, 1 each in 1 Tennessee county and in 1 Kentucky county (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population visiting the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Visitor during late fall (2 records); photographs.

Information on Records: 

10 October 1981 (1—immature) Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Lucius B. Dubose, Graham S. Kash, m. ob.; Bierly 1982a), photo (10 October 1981, TTU Photo Services; Stedman 1993).

7 November 2012 (1—immature) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Kittiwakes are typically found near water during daylight hours, but the first Regional record derives from an immature that landed in the middle of Tucker Stadium on the Tennessee Tech campus during halftime of a night football game.  A photo of the bird ran in the Herald-Citizen for October 10 [actually 11], 1981, and an article about it was printed in the issue for October 15, 1981.

Remarks: The first sighting for the Region was also the third for Tennessee (Bierly 1982a).

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.

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.

Literature Cited