BIRDS of the UPPER CUMBERLAND REGION

Summer 2009 UCR Bird Report

(1 June–31 July)

 

Stephen J. Stedman

Department of English and Communications
Box 5053
Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, TN 38505

sstedman@tntech.edu

                                                    

Introduction

Summer in the Upper Cumberland Region (Figure 1) resulted in a fairly large number of interesting reports; read on.

Weather

    Weather during the season was about "normal" during June but considerably cooler and somewhat wetter than the norm during July.

Survey Efforts

    Breeding Bird Surveys, point counts, and other bird-monitoring efforts were continued in the Region this season.  For a look at some of the monitoring results from this season (summarized for some species in the accounts below), click on an appropriate link below:

Results of UCR Forays

    Three—count 'em, THREE!—UCR Forays were conducted in the Region during late May and early June. Pickett County (22–25 May), Jackson County (29 May–1 June), and Clinton County (12–14 June) were all the subject of some intense bird surveying, and many of the resulting data improved knowledge of the breeding avifauna of these counties in a number of ways. Any results pertaining to breeding species are discussed in this report; for foray results relevant to the spring migration, see the Spring 2009 UCR Bird Report. Links to the foray results, including numerous maps, are provided below:

Onset of the Fall 2009 Migration

    Arrival dates for some fall migrants, especially among the shorebirds, occur as early as July, sometimes even late June; a page with early dates of arrival for migrant species during "fall" 2008 may be viewed at the following link:

Abbreviations:  †—written documentation provided; ad—adult; BBS—Breeding Bird Survey; BSFNRRA—Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area; CTSP—Cumberland Trail State Park; DBNF—Daniel Boone National Forest; KY— Kentucky; NPS—National Park Service; OWSR—Obed Wild and Scenic River; SNA—State Natural Area; SRS—Summer Roadside Survey, Putnam County, Tennessee; TN—Tennessee; UCR—Upper Cumberland Region; USGS—United States Geological Survey; y—young. 

Acknowledgments

    Many thanks to the observers cited below who provided records directly or indirectly for this report.

    To the following for assistance with the Pickett County Foray, many thanks are especially due: Robbie C. Hassler, Michael P. O'Rourke, Michelle O'Rourke, and Winston A. Walden.  For assistance with the Jackson County Foray, many thanks are due to Ginger K. Ensor, Judy C. Fuson, Michael J. Hawkins, Linda Henderson, James Layzer, Nancy S. Layzer, Edmund K. LeGrand, Thomas M. Saya, Barbara H. Stedman, Winston A. Walden, and Carol D. Williams; for assistance with the Clinton County Foray, many thanks are due to Roseanna M. Denton, Douglas A. Downs, Thomas M. Saya, Winston A. Walden, Ben Yandell, and Mary Yandell.

    Many thanks are also due to USGS personnel who provided basic materials to those conducting federal BBSs in the Region; and thanks are also due to the USGS  for maintaining the BBS website where many BBS data (collected by many dozens of volunteer route runners) are accessible to those interested in the breeding status of Kentucky and Tennessee birds.

    It is good to report that bird monitoring in the Daniel Boone National Forest continued this year with the point count route at the Little Lick Recreation Area being conducted by Roseanna M. Denton.  Thanks to personnel with the Forest Service for maintaining this vital bird-monitoring survey.

 

Waterfowl through Gallinaceous Species

 

Loons through Herons

The discovery of an adult Pied-billed Grebe with two half-grown young north of Gainesboro, Jackson Co., TN, 30 May 2009 (BHS) during the 2009 UCR Foray in Jackson County provided one of the highlights of that event.  At least two earlier records of breeding by this species are known from the Region: one in Cumberland Co., TN, (based on an adult with young found at the lake in Cumberland Mountain State Park during the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas [BBA] project [Nicholson 1997]) and one in Warren Co., TN (based on freshly broken eggs found in a floating nest in a marsh near Morrison [Todd 1944]).

    Double-crested Cormorants continued to be present in small to moderate numbers into early summer, especially along the Cumberland River, where noted during the 2009 UCR Foray in Jackson County at several sites.  Can Regional breeding evidence be far from discovery?

    The first evidence of the post-breeding dispersal of long-legged waders came 3 July 2009 when two Great Egrets were noted c. 1.5 km downstream from the Snake Creek boat ramp along the Green River backwaters, Adair Co., KY (RMD).

 

Vultures through Coot

As also the case during Spring 2009, a Turkey Vulture breeding site on Leffle Webb Rd., Cumberland Co., TN, was active this year and highly successful; after the discovery of two eggs during March and one young vulture in late May, two fairly large young were photographed 3 July 2009 (EKL photo).

    All five of the known Osprey nests in Jackson Co., TN, had at least one adult on the nest 30 May 2009 (SJS) during the Jackson County Foray. An adult was observed briefly circling over a pond on Mason Grissom Rd., Warren Co., TN, 13 June 2009 (SNM); if it represented a locally breeding bird, it undoubtedly represented an as yet unknown breeding site. An adult was noted 17 June 2009 at the well-known nest atop a light pole at a ball field on Rt. 53 in Smith Co., TN (WOH). A report from Jackson County for 19 June 2009 (NSL) follows:

Camp Discovery—2 on nest (probably 1 adult and 1 very large young);

Fairground—1 adult and 1 young in nest; 1 adult on nearby pole;

High School—1adult on nest, 1 young in nest, 1 adult on nearby pole;

Port Authority—1 adult on nest, 1 young in nest, 1 adult flew in;

Sugar Creek—1 adult on nest, 1 young in nest, 1 adult in nearby tree;

Total—14 (9 adults and 5 young) at 5 nests, the most Ospreys ever recorded at this set of five nests during one survey. Looks like a good breeding season is taking place.

    An adult Bald Eagle pursuing a Turkey Vulture at Middle Falls, Burgess Falls S. P., Putnam Co., TN, 16 June 2009 (NSL) is an intriguing observation, possibly indicative of territorial aggression and local breeding.  A second-hand report of an adult eagle feeding three young eagles a coot at Lake Tansi, Cumberland Co., TN, either during the season or, more likely, during the spring 2009 season (fide DJS) was of considerable interest, if the observation is accurate.

    An American Coot at a small pond on Shady Lane, Putnam Co., TN, 24 June 2009 (EKL) provided one of few summer records for that county and for the Region.

 

Shorebirds through Terns

Three Spotted Sandpipers were the first of the "fall" in the Region when spotted along Fishing Creek in Pulaski County Park, Pulaski Co., KY, 13 July 2009 (RMD).

    Earliest this "fall" Regionally were four Solitary Sandpipers near Mark, Pulaski Co., KY, 26 July 2009 (CSN).

    Ten Least Sandpipers were the first of the "fall" in the Region when spotted along Fishing Creek in Pulaski County Park, Pulaski Co., KY, 13 July 2009 (RMD).

    A Pectoral Sandpiper was the first of the "fall" in the Region when spotted along Fishing Creek in Pulaski County Park, Pulaski Co., KY, 13 July 2009 (RMD), and it was also earliest ever in that county.

    The earliest Short-billed Dowitcher this "fall" Regionally was an adult along Fishing Creek in Pulaski County Park, Pulaski Co., KY, 13 July 2009 (RMD), making it by far the earliest ever during fall in that county.

    A Black Tern on the lake at Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park, Van Buren Co., TN, 26 July 2009 (DFV) was earliest Regionally this "fall" and just the second record ever for this county, the first having taken place 25 July 1979 (Bierly 1979d), almost exactly 30 years to the day before the present record.

    A Forster's Tern at Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park, Van Buren Co., TN, 26 July 2009 (DFV) was the first for that park, that county, and earliest Regionally this "fall."

 

Doves through Vireos

Efforts to monitor the Regional populations of the breeding owls usually end in abject failure, so it is a pleasure to recount the results of some nocturnal work conducted during the 2009 UCR Foray in Jackson County.  One observer (BHS) covered twelve blocks in the northern part of that county and conducted night counting periods of 30 minutes each in 11 of the blocks. As a result of this effort, Eastern Screech-Owls were detected in ten blocks, Great Horned Owls in five blocks, and Barred Owls in 11 blocks.  These results, limited as they are, still provide a better "view" of the distribution of these breeding owls than almost any other method of assessing this matter currently available.

    At least one Willow Flycatcher was present 1 June 2009 on Holleman's Bend Rd., Jackson Co., TN (SJS) during the foray in that county; this site was about 1 km from a site where this scarce breeder was noted 12 May 1991.  Another Willow was noted during the foray in Clinton Co., KY, 12–13 June 2009 (DAD photo) on Hudson Rd., a site where this species was first recorded 6 June 2005 (see Summer 2005 UCR Bird Report).  Five Willows—four singing and one calling—were counted 7 July 2009 during a canoe survey along a marshy stretch of the Cumberland River near the boat ramp on White's Bend Rd., Jackson Co., TN (SJS, EKL); this total tied the all-time Regional high count.

    Scissor-tailed Flycatchers continue to fare well in Bledsoe Co., TN.  Two adults were observed bringing food to at least two young in the nest at the first-discovered breeding site on Ninemile Crossroad 13 June 2009 (HB).  After a moderately thorough search of much of the valley in Bledsoe County 21 June 2009 turned up only two adults with three fledglings at the Ninemile Crossroad site (EKL, SJS, SK), it was feared that a contraction of the local breeding population had taken place since last year (when at least five breeding sites were found), but later searches turned up more records of STFLs on Ninemile Crossroad, as well as at other sites, as follows: 23 June 2009—2 adults and 3 fledglings on Ninemile Crossroad; 2 adults and 2 fledglings on East Valley Rd. at Swafford Pond (probably); and 1 adult on Oxier Hollow Rd. (all noted by CG, TK, DN); 28 June 2009—2 adults and 3 fledglings/juveniles on Ninemile Crossroad; 1 adult on Oxier Hollow Rd., 1 adult on East Valley Rd. north of Melvin Crossroads/Oxier Hollow Rd.; and 2 pairs of adults on East Valley Rd. between Ninemile Crossroad and Worthington Cemetery Rd. (all noted by ShW, StW).

    During the three forays conducted in the Region from late May to mid-June, the Loggerhead Shrike was located only in Clinton Co., KY, where a single bird was registered (see Appendix A).  No new breeding sites were discovered for this species during the season other than the foray site, and few sites formerly occupied were found to harbor shrikes.  One of these was on Student's Home Rd., DeKalb Co., TN, where an adult was seen in July at a site where nesting has occurred in several recent years but where no nesting evidence was discovered this year (JCF), and another was on County House Rd. in the same county.

    A singing Blue-headed Vireo at a pine-dominated cemetery off of Rt. 127 just inside Clinton Co., KY, 13 June 2009 (SJS) during the 2009 UCR Foray in that county provided the westernmost breeding season record of this expanding vireo for the Region; the elevation of this site—a bit more than 320 m (1000 ft)—provided further evidence that the Blue-head is subsuming more and more sites of lowish elevation into its breeding range in the Region and probably in Kentucky, Tennessee, and throughout the eastern U.S.

    Records of Warbling Vireos each breeding season are usually few, making each worthy of mention, and this season was a bit better than most for this vireo.  The 2009 UCR Forays turned up first-ever records for Pickett Co., TN—where single singers were noted in the Moodyville 4 block 23 May 2009 (SJS) and in the Moodyville 1 block 24 May 2009 (SJS)—and for Jackson Co., TN—where singles were noted in the Granville 4 block 29 May 2009 (SJS), in the Dodson Branch 4 block 30 May 2009 (EKL), and in the Whitleyville 2 block 31 May 2009 (BHS); no evidence of this vireo was turned up during the 2009 UCR Foray in Clinton County, KY, where the species remains completely unrecorded.  Warbling Vireos turned up on two Regional BBS routes in slightly higher than usual numbers—two were present at one stop (45) of the Silver Point BBS in Smith Co., TN (SJS), and a total of three were present at two stops (2 at stop 8 and 1 a stop 13) of the Sulfur Lick BBS in Monroe Co., KY (SJS)—giving a Regional BBS total of 5, most ever.  Whether these findings signal an upswing in the Regional population of this retiring vireo or just greater effort to locate it (or both) remains an open question.

 

Corvids through Waxwing

Two Cliff Swallows nests were observed at an overpass on Rt. 111 near Algood, Putnam Co., TN, 4 (DC) and 8 (SJS) July 2009, providing the first known nesting of Cliff Swallow on the Highland Rim portion of Putnam County and following quite a few earlier nesting records from the far western (Central Basin) part of the county.  Despite considerable efforts to locate the Cliff Swallow during the 2009 UCR Forays in Pickett Co., TN, and in Clinton Co., KY, no evidence of its presence in either county was detected, and the species remains completely unrecorded in the latter county, while being represented by just a few spring records in the former.  Results from the 2009 UCR Foray in Jackson Co., TN, revealed the considerable presence of this swallow in many blocks, results that were fully anticipated to be the case.

    House Wrens remain a somewhat enigmatic species in the Region.  Dramatic increases in (usually urban and suburban) parts of some counties conflict with relatively low and stable numbers in other counties, making it difficult to know what is going on with its overall Regional population.  Results of the 2009 UCR Forays revealed very little evidence of its presence in Jackson and Pickett counties, and in the latter county its low population as reflected by the 2009 foray data can be compared to its similarly low population in the same county during the 1979 foray and during the 1986-1991 atlas project in the same county. Foray results from Clinton Co., KY, during 2009 revealed a sizable population in and around Albany, but the only comparative data against which to judge the results of the 2009 foray are those from the 1985-1991 atlas project, which generated no registrations of House Wrens in Clinton County (though only four of the county's 24 blocks were surveyed during the atlas), making such a comparison difficult.

    A visit to Dorton Knob, Cumberland Co., TN during late June (EKL, JEM) led to a breeding season record of Veery at that site for the fifth consecutive year.

 

Warblers

Blue-winged Warblers were not detected in Pickett Co., TN, during the 1979 foray in that county or during the 1986-1991 Breeding Bird Atlas project, so the appearance of this species in five blocks, including 6 singing males in the Pall Mall 1 block, was another indication of this species' continuing colonization of many Regional sites where it was apparently once absent.

 

Sparrows through Weaver Finch

Seven Savannah Sparrows including at least two pairs, two additional seemingly unpaired singing males, and at least one fledgling  were discovered at Shadow Mt. Estates, Dunbar Rd., Cumberland Co., TN, 14–27 June 2009 (EKL video/audio et al.), the first breeding season records for that county, now the 3rd Regional county with one or more breeding season records; on the last date cited a probable family group was noted with a likely adult feeding a likely fledgling. Up to three singing Savannahs plus two nonsingers were also noted on Bud Tanner Rd. in Cumberland Co., TN,  21–24 June 2009 (JEM, EKL). Still another site in Cumberland County—the University of Tennessee Grasslands Unit on Dunbar Rd. and Ted Davis Rd.—was discovered to harbor Savannahs this summer, with two singing birds plus a nonsinger being noted there 27 June 2009 (EKL). A Savannah was once again singing near Christine, Adair Co., KY, 23 June 2009 (RMD), a site where breeding was confirmed the preceding breeding season.

    Little information about the Regional population of Henslow's Sparrow was added during the season on the heels of a somewhat lackluster spring season for the species.  The best news came from County House Rd., DeKalb Co., TN, where two Henslow's were located 17 June 2009 (JCF) at a site where the species has been present in a couple of earlier years.

    Rose-breasted Grosbeak was recorded at Dorton Knob, Cumberland Co., TN, during late June (EKL, JEM), the only Regional site besides Frozen Head S. P., Morgan Co., TN, where this fine songster is known to breed.

    After a good spring, the Dickcissel continued to fare well this season, being found at two sites—Bob Bullock Rd. and Cherry Creek Rd. near the White County line (SHF)—in Putnam Co., TN, where never noted in the past.  During the 2009 UCR Foray in Clinton County, two Dickcissels were found 13 June 2009 in the Savage 2 block (DAD), the first ever to be detected in that county.

    Following the best Regional irruption of Pine Siskins in about two decades during the winter of 2008–2009, some late-lingering individuals were reported around the Region, including June records from Cumberland Co., TN (1 June 2009, EKL), Pulaski Co., KY (6 June 2009, RMD), Jackson Co., TN (7 June 2009, LH), and Putnam Co., TN (27 June 2009, GKE), the latter record providing a new late departure date for Putnam County and the Region..

   

Observers: Harold Birch (HB), David Chaffin (DC), Roseanna M. Denton (RMD), Douglas A. Downs (DAD), Ginger K. Ensor (GKE), Susan H. Ford (SHF), Judy C. Fuson (JCF), Carole Gobert (CG), W. Oakley Hall (WOH), Linda Henderson (LH), Tony King (TK), Starr Klein (SK), Nancy S. Layzer (NSL), Edmund K. LeGrand (EKL), Joseph E. Mast (JEM), Susan N. McWhirter (SNM), Denise Nauman( DN), Connie S. Neeley (CSN), DJ Stanley (DJS), Barbara H. Stedman (BHS), Stephen J. Stedman (SJS), David F. Vogt (DFV), Stan Wallace (StW), Shane Williams (ShW).

 

Literature Cited

 

Appendix A: Reports of Loggerhead Shrike during Summer 2009 in the Upper Cumberland Region.

#

 Date Observer(s) County, State Site
         
1 12 June DAD Clinton, KY Central Union Rd. (Foray)
1 17 June JCF DeKalb, TN County House Rd.
1 7 July JCF DeKalb, TN County House Rd.
1 17 July JCF DeKalb, TN Student's Home Rd.
1 26 July SNM Warren, TN Mason Grissom Rd.

 

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