Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)

Abundance:  Rare; 1 record in 1 Kentucky county and in each of 2 Tennessee counties, each record involving a single adult (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during spring (1 record) and fall (2 records); photographs (see links below).

Information on Records: 

20 April 2002 (1—adult) Lillydale Campground, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Winston A. Walden, Stephen J. Stedman photo, Roseanna M. Denton, m. ob.; Casteel 2002c).

29 August 2009 (1—adult) Edgar Evins State Park, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Judy C. Fuson, Michael J. Hawkins).

22 July 2011 (1—adult) Pulaski County Park, Fishing Creek, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Edges of bodies of water of all sizes at fairly open sites.

Remarks: All three Regional records were made at one of the big lakes of the Region.  

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