The Sandhills Are Coming Through Again

For the first time this year I saw the Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) flying overhead.  It has become an annual tradition for me to enjoy watching the Sandhill Cranes arrive in East Tennessee on their way further south.  I was outside working on a car in the driveway and heard that distinctive call high up in the sky.  I stopped what I was doing and looked into the bluebird sky until I found the classic disorganized flight pattern that seems to be going nowhere fast of the Sandhills.  There were six in the first group I saw and then through out the day I saw three other groups of 5 to 7.

Chipping Sparrows & Juncos

I sat on the back porch this afternoon noticing several small groups of small song birds flitting around the trees - I  got the binoculars out and discovered that they were dark eyed juncos and chipping sparrows.  Really neat little birds - they must be moving through the area taking advantage of the strong fall winds. These aren't my photos, just a couple of nice shots I found off the internet.

The K-25 Ringnecks Are Back

Every year about this time a beautiful flock of ringneck ducks (Aythya collaris) show up a the pond across Hwy 58 from K-25.  I saw about 30 or 40 on the pond for the first time this year today.

Bald Eagle on the Clinch River

Today I went fishing on the Clinch River and while I was traveling up the river past the Gallaher bridge up from the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Site I noticed a bald eagle on a long out in the water.  The log was up on a real shallow area and was lodged.  The gorgeous white head and yellow beak were very prominent, as I got within 50 yards of him before he took to flight.