Birding in Tennessee

Day 1: Arrival into Knoxville

Arrival/April 26th and late Afternoon Birding in Knoxville
Area

After arriving into Knoxville in the late afternoon, we will
start with some local birding to start the trip off. We will
likely find Brown-headed Nuthatch and a few of the many
warblers expected on the trip.

ARRIVAL OPTIONS:

There are three good options

for arriving into Tennessee

and starting the trip.

Choice 1:

Fly into Knoxville by 2:30 PM (eastern

time) on April 26.

Choice 2:

ly into Nashville

(saving

on air fare) and arrive on Tuesday (April 26)

by 1

0 AM

(

central time)

. Though

saving in airfare,

you will be adding

2.5

hours in the car to

Knoxville

and adding a $45 (one way) transfer fee.

oice 3:

You could really save on airfare (United) and

spend

an extra night in Nashville on Monday (April 25).

After the afternoon of birding wraps up, we will have dinner
as a group, meet our new birding friends, and conduct a
brief trip orientation.

Day 2: Sharps Ridge for Migrating Warblers and
More in Knoxville area

After breakfast, we will head to Sharps Ridge. This prime
birding site is excellent for spring migration and not far from
where we will be staying. We hope to find a good number of
warblers to start the trip, especially some that don’t breed
locally: Tennessee Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Bay-
breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Cape May Warbler,
Magnolia Warbler (uncommon), Nashville Warbler, Orange-
crowned Warbler (uncommon), Palm Warbler and Yellow-
rumped (Myrtle) Warbler. After lunch, we can visit a couple
other sites in town that offer chances for more migrants.

We will have supper at about 5 PM. Folks wanting to get to
bed early to support an early start are welcome to move in
that direction. Others, with some energy left after supper
can, visit a nearby greenway which should add a few more
species.

Day 3: Cove Lake State Park and Cross Mountain and
More

After an early breakfast (6:00 start), the day will be spent
on enjoying views of many area nesting warblers and
visiting Cove Lake State Park and Cross Mountain. Some
of the warblers we hope to see include Black-throated
Green Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Cerulean
Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Black-
and-white Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Chestnut-
sided Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Pine Warbler, Worm-
eating Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Swainson's Warbler
(with a little luck), Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird,
American Redstart and Northern Parula.

Before we return to our nearby hotel, we may detour to
Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area and/or the Norris
Dam. At these stops, we might pick up some of the key
species which we may have missed earlier in the day.

Day 4: Kyker Bottoms, Wood Thrush Ridge and Chota
Waterfowl Refuge

After packing up and having breakfast, we will head
towards Kyker Bottoms. Morning birding at Kyker Bottoms
is our best chance to add some waterfowl and shorebirds
to the trip list. This is also a good spot for Eastern Screech-
Owl.

We will discuss lunch options, but a good spot is a nice bed
and breakfast -- Wood Thrush Ridge. Here, we can have a
nice vegetarian lunch set up for everyone as we watch her
feeders and scan the countryside for raptors and other
birds. If there are folks interested in butterflies and
dragonflies, we could take a walk around the property to
look for them and more birds.

In the afternoon, we will head south to the Chota Waterfowl
Refuge for a chance to see American Bittern, Sora,
Bobolink and Owls. We will have a picnic supper to assure
we are here at sunset, as this a great place for Chuck-will's-
widow (both seen and heard) and maybe an Eastern Whip-
poor-will or American Woodcock.

After this sunset birding, we will head out on a half hour
drive to the Lodge at Tellico (great place to stay).

Day 5: Cherohala Skyway

This route offers excellent opportunities to see many of the
higher elevation breeding species in the area and is a
beautiful scenic route with 25 miles in Tennessee and with
25 miles in North Carolina. We will have chances at many
of the birds already mentioned, plus we’ll be looking for
Black-throated Blue, Canada, Blackburnian, Hooded,
Chestnut-sided and Worm-eating Warblers, as well as
Least Flycatcher, Veery, Blue-headed Vireo, Rose-
breasted Grosbeak, Brown Creeper and the pale-billed
Carolina race of the Dark-eyed Junco.

Note: Much of the time will be spent on winding roads.

If we time it right, and it is near sunset as we get near
Maryville, we can stop at the Whites Mill Refuge for a
chance to see American Woodcock. From here, we will
take a quick return to Knoxville.

Day 6: Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge and Great
Smoky Mountains National Park

Based upon our success so far and based upon reports of
recent bird sightings over the last few days, we may start
the morning back at Sharps Ridge or go directly to Seven
Islands Wildlife Refuge. We may try other local spots. We
will be focusing on any warblers we may have missed or
any other newly reported surprises.

Seven Islands will provide a nice chance for Yellow-
breasted Chat, Common Yellowthroat, Blue Grosbeak,
Indigo Bunting, Bald Eagle, Summer Tanager,
Grasshopper Sparrow, and Northern Bobwhite.

In the early afternoon, we will drive towards Gatlinburg to
finish the day birding in the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, searching for more high elevation birds,
including Common Raven, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Black-
capped Chickadee. At dusk, we'll be looking for Ruffed
Grouse along the road shoulder. Then, after dark, it's time
to listen for the call of the Northern Saw-whet Owl. Never a
guarantee, at least this area gives us a good chance to
hear some of these small owls and maybe seeing one (with
some luck).

Day 7: Great Smoky Mountain National Park

We will start the day with another chance at Swainson's
Warbler, as well as Acadian Flycatcher, Louisiana
Waterthrush, and Northern Parula.

If interested, we can take a drive around Cades Cove in the
National Park. We will have a chance at some more birds
here (some chance for Henslow’s Sparrow) and can learn a
lot about the history of the people that lived here before
the Park was formed.

We will be returning to our Knoxville hotel – of course with
more opportunities for birding if you still need more!

Day 8: Departure from Knoxville or Nashville

Participants can plan to depart home on this final day, and
there are several good options here.

From Knoxville: If you are flying in and out of Knoxville, you
can catch most any flight on this final day of the trip (May
3). You may want to leave a little time in the morning for
some early morning (before 7 AM). I would plan on flights
out after 9 AM (eastern time).

From Nashville: Those coming in and out of Nashville must
book flights on the way home after 12 Noon (central time).
The transfer van (another $45) will get to Nashville at about
10 AM (central time). Note: Knoxville is on eastern time
and Nashville is on central time.

For more information or to register for this trip, call Charles or Alison at
888-203-7464 or Charles directly at 720-320-1974 or by email at
info@PIBird.com.

Photo by Bill Schmoker