After feasting Thanksgiving with family and friends, Berry and I are birding the coal hills and lakes of central Kentucky. We drove north of Nashville on I-65 and it started raining. That was actually conducive to birding because the rain seems to fix the birds in place. They hunker down in the trees and bushes till it stops raining.
We turned east on Highway 100 and immediately started battling huge coal trucks on the little highway. We saw Eastern Bluebirds on the electricity lines. These we call "America's Bird" because they are red, white and blue, yet in the wintery blow and steady rain, they looked drab and weathered. American Kestrels and Mourning Doves rested on the phone lines while it sprinkled.
The culture of the people changed when we went across the border into Kentucky. Coal is big here. I saw a bumper sticker, "If you don't like coal, don't use electricity." The Shakers, a small religious sect of Charismatic Christians are established here. We also started seeing large blue stars, called "Barnstars" painted on the front of the houses here. These are decorative and can mean good luck in the German community here. We made several photos of such stars.
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We travelled past Scottsville to the Barren River Lake State Park. There were fishermen in boats on the lake, but it was very cold. Berry and I parked in the parking lot at the Marina. We aimed the spotting scope at the edge of the lot and suddenly there were a variety of birds.
- Ring Billed Gulls
- Pied Billed Grebe
- Great Blue Heron
- Tufted Titmouse
- Carolina Wren
- Northern Cardinal
- Belted Kingfisher
- Slate Colored Junco
- English Sparrows
- Pine Warbler
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Red Tailed Hawk
- Carolina Chickadee
- Rock Dove
There were two Pied Billed Grebes swimming and diving in the freezing cold water. Temperatures will drop to 26 degrees F this evening. The Pine Warblers, Tufted Titmice, and Carolina Wren were huddling in the warm cozy underbrush, out of the water and out of the wind coming from the lake. It was two different bird strategies contrasted nicely for us. We however got quickly wind-blown and fled to the diner for coffee and heat.
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Berry and I think all the people in Kentucky are very nice. One patient boater waited for us to get off the ramp. Even the state prisoners in orange jumpsuits on work detail, raking leaves in the sun in the State Park with their armed guard watching, waved at us and smiled pleasantly. What a charming birding spot with happy prisoners. And cynical us, we had just joked about there being a fictional place called "Crystal Meth Cafe" in the last small town.
After lunch we travelled to the Mammoth Springs Cave State Park. We did not go spelunking. We were there for the birds. Birds do not live in caves. But when we went across the Green River on a two-car ferry, we saw this small cave with bars across the entrance to keep people's curiosity from getting them in trouble.
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In the late afternoon we drove to Nortin River Dam, then headed south to the lovely college town of Bowling Green, where we shared a pizza. We are exhausted but this has been a great day of birding.
Robert and Berryphotos courtesy of bshelton, naturefriendmagazine, rfowler
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