Published: November 02, 2009 01:59 pm      

WILDSIDE: Time to clean feeders and get seed stock ready

I’ve got a lot of things on my mind for this column, so forgive me if I don’t dwell long on any one subject. First, even though this is the beginning of November, I need to give you the date of Saturday, Dec. 5, to put on your calendar. This is when TWRA is sponsoring the Hiwassee Shore Bird and Waterfowl Festival along the river near Dayton. The funding for the day comes from the proceeds of the “watchable wildlife” license plates I and many others purchase. This is a wonderful opportunity to see Sand Hill Cranes, along with many species of ducks, perhaps a pelican or two, and, if we’re lucky, a few whooping cranes. There is an observation deck that allows good viewing with binoculars and scopes, and usually there are several scopes set up for a close-up view of the birds. Knowledgeable TWRA officials will on hand to provide information.

According to Wally Brines of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service there are at least 75 wild birds in the Eastern Migratory Whooping Crane population. They should begin migrating south from Wisconsin on their own schedule soon. They might be embedded with Sand Hill Cranes, so watch for their white bodies with black wing tips in flocks overhead. Though the annual ultralight escort of first year birds no longer comes over the plateau, prior flights did, and whooping cranes (WC) may come and go the way they learned initially. Daily reports on the ultralight flights can be followed on the Web site www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html or you can view live video broadcasts at www.operationmigration.org/crane-cam.html.

In addition to the 20 young WC being escorted, there are nine birds that will participate in DAR, or Direct Autumn Release, whereby they are released in small groups of two or three among older cranes and left to fend for themselves. They too will be monitored during their migration to ensure arrival at their wintering areas. Sightings can be reported to a whooping crane Web site: www.fws.gov/midwest/whopingcrane/sightings/sightingform.cfm. For more information about the project, go to www.bringbackthecranes.org.

Speaking of birds, it is time to clean up your feeders and get your seed stock ready for the cold weather. The Feed Store has a great selection of bird feeders, as well as bags of a variety of seeds and suet. Bob’s Feed and Seed is always the most competitive when it comes to black oil sunflower seeds unless someone has a special. Last year I got a good deal on suet at Tractor Supply and it was a stocking stuffer for my brother-in-law, Art Wojta. I’ve been buying raw peanuts wholesale, 50 pounds at a time, from Mr. Mac’s Peanuts in Alabama. These are really people-grade peanuts, but the birds don’t care. Steve Stedman urges us to keep our hummingbird feeders up in case of late migrants; he keeps track of hummingbirds who return every year for the winter. So far that seems to occur in lower elevations than Crossville, but you never know.

Dick and I were having lunch at Forte’s on the Square the other day, and I spotted Tony Hook at the Cumberland Trail office two doors up. I stopped in to ask him what was new on the Trail, and he told me about a grant just received that will allow them to build more trail northwest of us, linking Cove Lake and Frozen Head State Parks. The grant states it “will allow the hiker to enjoy the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area while experiencing outstanding vistas and watersheds.” In tight economic times, it is good to know that progress will continue to be made on our linear state park that runs through Cumberland County.