Venture to South Holsten Reservoir
and Other TVA lakes in North Eastern Tennessee
26 February 2005 

After driving north from Asheville, our first stop was Musick's Campground on the shores of South Holsten Reservoir. Here we were able to get fairly close views of an Eared Grebe that was swimming just offshore. Other birds of note included Pied-billed Grebe, Common Raven and numerous Ring-billed Gulls. We then continued onto South Holsten Dam and Tailwater. The scenery in this part of Tennessee is nothing short of spectacular and coupled with the very pleasant weather, this made for a very nice day. Large numbers of Bufflehead and 2 Lesser Scaup were in the river and in the brushy edges along the shore was a typical selection of winter birds, including Yellow-rumped Warblers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Eastern Towhee and White-throated Sparrows. After lunch we ventured to Wilbur and Watauga Lakes. There was a pretty good selection of waterfowl at Wilbur Lake, including Bufflehead (150+) and Ring-necked Ducks. Watauga Lake added a few birds to our list including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Palm Warbler. Overall, the day was a great success with good birds, impressive scenery and beautiful winter weather. Total species count seen or heard was 40.

Bob Olthoff