Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata)

Abundance: Occasional; 1 record in 1 Tennessee 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 hurricane season (1 record); specimen (see details below); photograph (see link below).

Information on Records: 

12 July 2005 (1—alternate-plumaged adult, a road casualty) Rt. 96 c. 5 km north of I-40, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman photo [of specimen], Barbara H. Stedman; Casteel 2005d), a product of the passage of remnants of Hurricane Dennis through the Region 11–13 July 2005; specimen to bird collection at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ( UTCB # 146).

Habitat: Highly pelagic, so usually found near large bodies of water when displaced by hurricanes and tropical storms; its occurrence as a road casualty c. 8 km from the nearest large body of water (Center Hill Lake) was therefore completely unexpected.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Remarks: 

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