The 78th consecutive Elizabethton Spring Bird Count was held Saturday, May 1, covering Carter County plus parts of the adjacent counties of Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington.

With 40 observers in 13 parties, plus four feeder watchers, coverage of the count areas was extensive. Participants enjoyed a beautiful sunny day, although most areas had temperatures that had dipped into the upper 30s at sunrise. The day gradually warmed and got into the 70s.

Participants tallied 153 species, which is slightly above the recent 30 year average of 150 species. The all-time high on this count was 166 species and was set in 2016.

Some exceptional finds in Unicoi County included a red-headed woodpecker along the section of the linear trail near the McDonald’s. Each of the five counties in the region produced some good birds for this long-running survey.

Count participants included Fred Alsop, Rob Armistead, Betty Bailey, Gary Bailey, Jerry Bevins, Rob Biller, Ron Carrico, Catherine Cummins, Todd Eastin, Glen Eller, Harry Lee Farthing, Bambi Fincher, Dave Gardner, Tammy Griffey, Jean Henson, Neal Henson, Jacki Hinshaw, Lance Jessee, Jennifer Kennedy, David Kirschke, Rick Knight, Roy Knispel, Richard Lewis, Dianna Lynne, Vern Maddux, Frank McCollum, Larry McDaniel, Joe McGuiness, Cathy McNeil, Tom McNeil, Harry Norman, Susan Peters, Brookie Potter, Jean Potter, Sherrie Quillen, Pete Range, Judi Sawyer, Chris Soto, Michele Sparks, Bryan Stevens, Peggy Stevens, Kim Stroud, Charles Warden and Rex Whitfield.

Rick Knight, the long-time compiler for the count, made note of some of the misses, which included pied-billed grebe, common nighthawk, Acadian flycatcher (just the seventh miss in last 50 years), loggerhead shrike, horned lark, summer tanager and bobolink.

He also made some observations about other count finds.

• One species – brown-headed nuthatch – made its official count debut. Another – evening grosbeak – returned to the count after being absent since the spring of 2000.

• The American robin edged out the European starling for most common bird. Counters tallied 801 robins compared to 618 starlings.

• For only the sixth time in the last 18 years, Northern bobwhite made it onto the count. A single ruddy duck became only the second record for this waterfowl on the spring count. Also making only its second appearance on the spring count was willet, a species of shorebird that only migrates through the region.

• Some species appear to have moved into the region for good. Fish crows have been found the last five of the past six years, and Eurasian collared-doves have been found every year for the past 15 years.

• An amazing 29 species of New World warblers were found this year, including prothonotary warbler for only the third time in the last 15 years.

The total follows:

Canada goose, 412; wood duck, 31; mallard, 89; blue-winged teal, 13; bufflehead, 6; hooded merganser, 1; red-breasted merganser, 5; and ruddy duck; 1.

Ruffed grouse, 4; wild turkey, 28; common loon, 2; double-crested cormorant, 48; great blue heron, 69; green heron, 17; black-crowned night-heron, 2; and yellow-crowned night-heron, 5.

Black vulture, 60; turkey vulture, 128; osprey, 10; sharp-shinned hawk, 1; Cooper’s hawk, 6; bald eagle, 11; broad-winged hawk, 11; and red-tailed hawk, 21.

Virginia rail, 2; sora, 2; killdeer, 32; spotted sandpiper, 32; solitary sandpiper, 31; greater yellowlegs, 3; willet, 10; lesser yellowlegs, 2; and Wilson’s snipe, 1.

Bonaparte’s gull, 9; ring-billed gull, 6; rock pigeon, 106; Eurasian collared-dove, 6; mourning dove, 284; and yellow-billed cuckoo, 4.

Eastern screech owl, 13; great horned owl, 1; barred owl, 2; Whip-poor-will, 27; and chuck-will’s-widow, 16.

Chimney swift, 92; ruby-throated hummingbird, 34; belted kingfisher, 14; red-headed woodpecker, 4; red-bellied woodpecker, 125; yellow-bellied sapsucker, 7; downy woodpecker, 44; hairy woodpecker, 9; Northern flicker,41; and pileated woodpecker, 55.

American kestrel, 9; Eastern wood-pewee, 6; least flycatcher, 5; Eastern phoebe 119; great crested flycatcher, 12; and Eastern kingbird, 59.

White-eyed vireo, 15; yellow-throated vireo, 15; blue-headed vireo, 76; warbling vireo, 1; red-eyed vireo, 228; blue jay, 329; American crow, 358; fish crow, 1; and common raven, 20.

Northern rough-winged swallow, 95; purple martin, 71; tree swallow, 235; barn swallow, 218; and cliff swallow, 473.

Carolina chickadee, 139; tufted titmouse, 199; red-breasted nuthatch, 10; white-breasted nuthatch, 43; brown-headed nuthatch, 2; and brown creeper, 5.

House wren, 60; winter wren, 5; marsh wren, 1; Carolina wren, 202; blue-gray gnatcatcher, 75; golden-crowned kinglet, 6; and ruby-crowned kinglet, 4.

Eastern bluebird, 157; veery, 17; hermit thrush, 3; wood thrush, 80; American robin, 801; gray catbird, 80; brown thrasher, 66; Northern mockingbird, 121; European starling, 618; and cedar waxwing, 15.

Ovenbird, 157; worm-eating warbler, 35; Louisiana waterthrush, 29; Northern waterthrush, 5; golden-winged warbler, 2; black-and-white warbler, 79; prothonotary warbler, 1; Swainson’s warbler, 7; Nashville warbler, 1; Kentucky Warbler, 2;  common yellowthroat, 20; hooded warbler, 163; American redstart, 11; Cape May warbler, 6; Northern parula, 53; magnolia warbler, 4; bay-breasted warbler, 1; Blackburnian Warbler, 13; yellow warbler, 16;  chestnut-sided warbler, 17; black-throated blue warbler, 77; palm warbler,  5; pine warbler, 15; yellow-rumped warbler, 16; yellow-throated warbler, 25; prairie warbler, 4; black-throated green warbler, 95; Canada warbler, 18; and yellow-breasted chat, 9.

 

Eastern towhee, 213; chipping sparrow, 117; field sparrow, 79; Savannah sparrow, 4; grasshopper sparrow, 1; song sparrow, 299; swamp sparrow, 9; white-throated sparrow, 27; white-crowned sparrow, 8; dark-eyed junco, 68; scarlet tanager, 96; Northern cardinal, 359; rose-breasted grosbeak, 36; blue grosbeak, 2; and indigo bunting, 62.

Red-winged blackbird, 550; Eastern meadowlark, 82; common grackle, 324; brown-headed cowbird, 99; orchard oriole, 29; and Baltimore oriole, 18.

House finch, 84; pine siskin, 31; American goldfinch, 283; evening grosbeak, 48; and house sparrow, 70.