Added two birds to my eastern Knox County yard list during this snowy event, a
Fox Sparrow and Ring-billed Gull (a large flock cruised overhead as the snow
began—it counts!).
White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and an Eastern Towhee were among my
unusual visitors, I kept throwing seed out over the snow as it came down
Friday. We ended up with 11”. More house finches than anything, kept hoping to
see a Purple Finch among them, but none so far.
David, as an aside, my partner works in the golf industry and speaks highly of
your presentations on native plants and birds that he has seen. He is over at
Dead Horse Lake in Knoxville; he has been seeing Northern Shovelers, Gadwall,
and Ring-necked Ducks there. He birds at work quite a bit!
Stay warm all,
Shelby Lyn Sanders
Director of Natural Resources
Foothills Land Conservancy
3402 Andy Harris Road
Rockford, TN 37853
E-mail: slsanders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cell: 405.301.0915
On Jan 16, 2024, at 5:40 PM, rockyturf@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
I wish people still posted sightings on tn-bird. I checked to make sure I
was still subscribed as I have not seen any post lately. I am sure there have
been some good observations with the weather.
Years ago someone posted they always saw a Fox Sparrow when it snowed. Well
today I saw the first one I have seen in a couple of years by my front porch.
Ooltewah got more sleet than snow (looks like 1/2 inch). I assume the Fox
Sparrow came from somewhere that had more snow or else the sleet covering made
it look to find food in places where the ground was still bare. It may be the
latter as yesterday I saw 4 Eastern Towhees at one time in those same bushes
and I had not seen any at my house in months. There was not any sleet under the
bushes along the front porch.
David Stone
Ooltewah, Tn.
Hamilton County
