(1 December–28 February)

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

Introduction

The Region (Figure 1) experienced .

Weather

    The winter began with a minor snow event on the night of 4/5 December that left 5–8 cm (2–3 in) of snow on the ground at most Regional sites.  Heavy rain most of the day 8 December and throughout most of the night of 8/9 December brought Regional rivers up considerably but not to flood stage in most cases.  Moderately severe cold penetrated the Region 9–11 December with night-time temperatures getting down to 15 degrees F.

Wild Food Crop

     The hard mast crop was considered to be below average in the Region; soft mast was somewhat more plentiful than the hard mast crop early in the season but did not last through the winter at many Regional sites. 

Irruptions

    Red-breasted Nuthatches were widespread in small numbers, but no moderate or large numbers were reported during the season, at least as evidenced by the results of the Regional CBCs.  Purple Finches were present in mainly low numbers. Pine Siskins staged almost no "echo" flight from last winter.

Results of Organized Bird Counts

    Results of Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) conducted around the Region early in this season may be viewed at the following link:

    As during the past few years, Great Backyard Bird Count data for the Saturday (13 February 2010) of that count's period were pooled for several counties of the Region, leading to many useful data about 91 species present during late winter in the Region.  Some of these species' populations apparently underwent changes in numbers between the time of the CBCs and the time of the Pooled Data Event. To view data from this year's GBBC Pooled Data Event, click on the following link:

Abbreviations and Symbols: †—documentation form provided in support of bird record; BSFNRRA—Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area; CBC—Christmas Bird Count; CTSP—Cumberland Trail State Park; DBNF—Daniel Boone National Forest; GBBC—Great Backyard Bird Count; m. ob.—many observers; OWSR—Obed Wild and Scenic River.

Waterfowl and Gallinaceous Species

Four Greater White-fronted Geese were noted in the Lucas area of Barren Co., KY, 8 January 2010 (DLR).

    Two female or immature Surf Scoters on Lake Breckenridge, Cumberland Co., TN, 5 December 2009 (DJS photo, JEM) were the first ever for that county; this record brought to ten the number of Regional counties with a record of this, the most common of the scoters in the Region with 45 records.

    Two Black Scoters offshore from Lake Cumberland State Resort Park, Russell Co., KY, 11 December 2009 (RMD) provided the first record of the "fall" in the Region and just the 14th Regionally; they also became a count week species for the Russell/Adair County CBC.

The first Western Grebe record for the Tennessee portion of the UCR was made 12 December 2009 when two of this species visited Lake Tansi, Cumberland Co., TN (JEM, DJS, EKL photo et al.), providing just the 3rd Regional record; these two grebes lingered on the lake until 22 December (m. ob.), and one was still present the next day during the Crossville CBC, providing the first Regional CBC record of this species (DJS, DAD, MJH, CDW).  Another Western Grebe, the 4th for the Region and 1st for DeKalb Co., TN, was well described from the Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, where it was found 27 January 2010 (MJH †, JCF †, CDW).

Bald Eagle data from the winter eagle surveys during January 2010 are noted in the following table:

Cranes through Gulls

During the Christmas BirdBlitz in Fentress/Morgan counties 29 December 2009, repeated playing of an iPod recording of Virginia Rail resulted in a response from a bird of this species (EKL); the site where this record took place was the same site where two Virginia Rails responded to an iPod recording in late November 2009 (see Fall 2009 UCR Bird Report); this record was the first of this rail species (or any rail species) during a Christmas season count in the Region, and it was also the first winter season record for the Region.  The iPod has definitely opened a new chapter in the history of UCR ornithology; thanks to Ed LeGrand for introducing many in the Region to this new technology.

    Reports of  southbound Sandhill Cranes from mid-January 2010 and earlier may be found in the Fall 2009 UCR Bird Report (Appendix A).  Reports of northbound cranes from mid-January 2010 through the spring 2010 season are listed in the Spring 2010 UCR Bird Report (Appendix B).  As in the past, cranes congregated in the Sequatchie Valley near Pikeville, Bledsoe Co., TN, in moderately large numbers during much of the season; the concentration of cranes around Barren River Reservoir, especially in the areas around Bon Ayr and Merry Oaks, was quite large, topping 20,000 (i.e., 40% of the eastern population) by mid-February 2010 (DLR) and representing the largest "wintering" number on record for the UCR.

    Two leg-banded Whooping Cranes (each a female hatched during 2005) visited Barren River Reservoir 6–7 February 2010 (DLR photos) with one still being present 8 February 2010 (TD fide DLR) and on later dates including 15 February 2010 (DLR photo); another leg-banded Whooper (a female hatched during 2005 in Wisconsin and part of the direct release program, not the ultralight-training program) was in White Co., TN, 6 (DAD photos) and 14 (BHS, SJS) February 2010.

    All sightings of American Woodcock from fall 2009 through spring 2010 will eventually be listed in Appendix A (below).

Doves through Shrike

A Barn Owl was noted on Mason Grissom Rd., Warren Co., TN, 31 December (SNM) and 15/17 January 2010 (SNM/Alex McWhirter fide SNM).

    The female Rufous Hummingbird that returned last fall for at least the fourth consecutive year to Van Buren Co., TN, was last sighted 2 January 2010 (JW); either it headed south with the bitter cold that came into the Region near that date, or it succumbed to the cold nights of that period. A Selasphorus sp. was present on West Oak Dr., Cookeville, Putnam Co., TN, during early to mid-December 2009 (BH fide CEW, WAW photo, SJS), being last reported the morning of the Cookeville CBC 19 December 2009 (BHS).

    All reports of Loggerhead Shrike are listed in Appendix B (below).

Vireos through Warblers

First ever during winter in the Region, a White-eyed Vireo was detected along the Whispering Pines Nature Trail in the Kendall Recreation Area below the Wolf Creek Dam, Russell Co., KY, 11 December 2009 (RMD †), a date allowing this vireo to be listed as a count week species for the Russell/Adair County CBC and making it the first of its kind to be registered on a Regional CBC or during the winter season.

    A Blue-headed Vireo near Pollard Cemetery Rd., White Co., TN, 21 December 2009 (EKL †, SGS) during the White County CBC provided the first sighting for that CBC, the third sighting for the collective Regional CBCs, and the fifth sighting during winter in the Region. The Blue-head is a very likely beneficiary of climate change, insofar as its winter status in the Region and surrounding states is concerned.

    A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was photographed at Lake Tansi, Cumberland Co., TN, 23 December 2009 (MJH †, CDW photo, DAD) during the Crossville CBC; this sighting was not only the first for the local CBC and for the collective Regional CBCs, but it was also the first winter season sighting for the Region.

    The Wood Thrush present near City Lake, Putnam Co., TN, during the last 11 days of the previous season also provided a winter season record, being noted 1 December 2009 (BHS), 12 December 2009 (BHS), 13 December 2009 (BHS, SJS photo, photo), and 17 December 2009 (BHS) at that site, the latter as a count week sighting on the Cookeville CBC, the first record for that CBC and for the collective Regional CBCs; these sightings in toto were the first during the winter season for this summer resident of the Region.

Sparrows through Dickcissel

An American Tree Sparrow stayed 1–7 January 2010 in Pikeville, Bledsoe Co., TN (DFV, DJS photo, m. ob.), providing the first record for that county; another single bird was present in Glasgow, Barren Co., KY, 10 January 2010 (LC); still another single was noted near Shopville, Pulaski Co., KY, 12 January–17 February 2010 (CSN); finally, a single was photographed at the Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness, White Co., TN, 19 February 2010 (EKL photo), establishing the first record for that county.  Overall, the season was a moderately good one for this rare Regional winter resident which goes entirely unrecorded during some winters.

    Vesper Sparrows are rarish wintering birds in the Region, making sightings of 1–3 present 5 December 2009–28 February 2010 (and beyond; see Spring 2010 UCR Bird Report) on Mason Grissom Rd., Warren Co., TN (SNM, NPM) of great interest.

    Rarely recorded during winter in the Region, a basic-plumaged Indigo Bunting was present on Love Colony Rd., DeKalb Co., TN, 4–5, 7–8, 11–12, 14, and 16 February 2010 (MJH † and photo), providing another indication of the unusual prevalence of summer resident species in the Region this winter.

    A Dickcissel along the Whispering Pines Nature Trail at the Wolf Creek Dam, Russell Co., KY, 14 December 2009 (RMD, SD) during the Russell/Adair County CBC became the first CBC record for the Region, as well as the first winter season record for the Region.

    A Western Meadowlark on Smith Rd. # 1, Barren Co., KY, 22 January 2010 (DLR photo) was the first for that county and just the second to be recorded Regionally.

Blackbirds through Weaver Finch

All reports of Rusty Blackbird from fall 2009 through spring 2010 will eventually be listed in Appendix C (below).

Observers: Terry M. Campbell (TMC), Linda Craiger (LC), Roseanna M. Denton (RMD), Steve Denton (SD), Douglas A. Downs (DAD), Tom Durbin (TD), Eddie Fuson (EF), Judy C. Fuson (JCF), Michael J. Hawkins (MJH), Linda Henderson (LH), Billie Higginbotham (BH), Nancy S. Layzer (NSL), Edmund K. LeGrand (EKL), Joseph E. Mast (JEM), Scott Marsh (SM), N. P. "Mac" McWhirter (NPM), Susan N. McWhirter (SNM), Connie S. Neeley (CSN), David L. Roemer (DLR), Scott G. Somershoe (SGS), DJ Stanley (DJS), Barbara H. Stedman (BHS), Stephen J. Stedman (SJS), Wayne Tamminga (WT), David F. Vogt (DFV), Jacquie Wagner (JW), Catherine E. Walden (CEW), Winston A. Walden (WAW), Carol D. Williams (CDW).

Literature Cited

Appendix A.  Records of  American Woodcock in the Upper Cumberland Region during Fall 2009, Winter 2009–2010, and Spring 2010.

Appendix B.  Reports of  Loggerhead Shrike during Winter 2009–2010 in the Upper Cumberland Region.

Appendix C.  Reports of Rusty Blackbirds during Fall 2009, Winter 2009–2010, and Spring 2010 in the Upper Cumberland Region.

For more information about Rusty Blackbirds and about the Rusty Blackbird Technical Group, go to this website:

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Research/Rusty_Blackbird/

A new effort to count Rusty Blackbirds—the Rusty Blackbird Blitz—took place during February 2010 to coincide in part with the Great Backyard Bird Count; details at the website above.

Quick links to other sections of this website:

• HomePage for SJS

• The BirdPage

• The ButterflyPage