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Sandhill Cranes in eastern TN--near Carolinas
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Sandhill Cranes in eastern TN--near Carolinas
- From: Patrick Coin <patrick@coinconsult.net>
- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2003 09:44:45 -0500
- Delivered-to: pardo@metalab.unc.edu
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
While traveling back to North Carolina from Chattanooga, Tennessee
over the Christmas holidays, my wife, daughter, and I were treated to
a wonderful spectacle of Sandhill Cranes (and one Whooper) at the
Hiwassee Wildlife Area in eastern Tennessee. This is not,
technically, in the Carolinas, but is just a long day trip from the
western part of North Carolina. I have been making the holiday trip
to visit family in Chattanooga for years and had no idea I was so
close to so many cranes!
Directions to Hiwassee Wildlife Area:
The site is in southeastern Tennessee (Meigs/Hamilton Counties) off
of state highway 60 between the towns of Cleveland and Dayton. This
is northeast of Chattanooga. From Interstate 75, take the exit for
highway 60 at Cleveland and head north and west (away from
Cleveland). Continue past the intersection with highway 58. Pass
through the small community of Birchwood. Just beyond that, and past
the boundary between Hamilton and Meigs County is a well marked road
to the east (right). Follow the signs to the Hiwassee Wildlife Area.
The last turn is a left onto a gravel road which is in good shape but
had a couple of muddy spots when we visited.
(From Chattanooga, Tennessee, one could either come north on I-75 or
take highway 58.)
There is a very nice covered viewing area looking out on cornfields
and a lake at the site. Educational material at the site stated that
some cranes winter, but that maximum numbers are present in February
and March. Most birds breed in the northern US and Canada, and stage
in Indiana and then Hiwassee before continuing south to Florida. We
visited on December 30, 2002, and observed two huge flocks of
Sandhills, numbering perhaps 2-3,000 birds or more. Presumably these
were wintering birds. They made a tremendous racket, flying from one
field to another, calling. I noticed two types of calls amidst the
cacophony: a loud trumpet and also a whiny peeping. The latter was
given by just a few birds, and sure did sound like a begging call, so
perhaps these were juveniles. The birds seemed completely undisturbed
by our presence--the observation platform is within 100 yards of
where some were hanging out, and many flew over us at low altitude.
In addition, one Whooping Crane was mixed in among them. Apparently
this bird was a left-over from the experimental migratory flock which
is being led from Wisconsin (?) to Florida by an ultra-light
aircraft. Though the bird was not ABA countable, presumably, it was
neat to see. I saw it dominate the smaller Sandhill Cranes several
times.
All-in-all, this was a wonderful crane experience. I have seen
Sandhill Cranes before, but never been close to large flocks. I am
not aware of anywhere else close to the Carolinas where one can see
such a large concentration.
If birders visit the cranes via the Chattanooga area, I recommend
Brainerd Levee as a good incidental birding spot. One can see
waterfowl, Savanna Sparrows, and many Common Snipe in the flooded
fields below the levee.
Reference web pages on the cranes:
Tennessee Overhill page on Sandhill Cranes, including map:
http://www.tennesseeoverhill.com/ohexp/sandhillcranes.html
Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge page on Wildlife Watcher site:
http://wildlifewatcher.com/se/hiwassee.phtml
--
Patrick Coin (patrick@coinconsult.net)
web master , field trip chair
New Hope Audubon Society
P.O. Box 2693
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2693
http://www.newhopeaudubon.org/