I went to Bridgestone-Firestone Centennial Wilderness WMA on Eastland Road
in White County (on the Cumberland Plateau) early this morning (29 Apr 2017)
to check for Henslow's Sparrow. They've been seen there annually for the
past few years, but I but wasn't able to find any today. Some of the habitat
may still be suitable, but it's getting a bit briery, hence the large number
of Yellow-breasted Chats (estimated at 32). Very few transient migrants were
found, though there was an Olive-sided Flycatcher, which strikes me as quite
early in migration (photo with eBird checklist at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S36385918). Also a pair of
Brown-headed Nuthatches was in the same area in the small grove of
Short-leaf Pines at the back of the fields. I've seen Brown-headed
Nuthatches there in past years as well as at several other nearby parts of
White County, though I think these birds wander widely among the patches of
suboptimal habitat. A pair of Common Nighthawks were apparently courting
(flying together with occasional chases, but no dives) over the older burned
areas. While we typically think of nighthawks as downtown birds (nesting on
roofs and taking advantage of insects at lights), they can be found fairly
routinely at cut-over areas and young pine fields in this part of the
plateau, so it wasn't that surprising to find them this morning.
Ed LeGrand
Cumberland Co., TN
